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The 2000 World Series, the 96th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, featured a crosstown matchup between the two-time defending champion New York Yankees and the New York Mets, with the Yankees winning four games to one for their third straight championship and 26th overall. It marks, to date, the last World Series with a repeat champion. It was the first postseason Subway Series since 1956. The Yankees were in the World Series for the third straight year, fourth in the previous five, and 37th time overall—the most of any team in the MLB, while the Mets made their fourth World Series appearance—the most of any expansion franchise in the MLB and its first since winning the title in the 1986 World Series.

Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the new World Umpires Association signed in 2000, the traditional National League and American League umpire was discontinued. All umpires reported to Major League Baseball, with an interim uniform. During the 2000 playoffs, the new umpire uniforms (black and cream shirts), with the Major League Baseball logo on the caps and shirts, were used for the first time.

The Yankees were the first team in baseball to three-peat as champions since the 1972–1974 Oakland Athletics and the first professional sports team to accomplish the feat since Michael Jordan's 1996–1998 Chicago Bulls.

Background

New York Yankees

Although the Yankees were in the midst of a dynasty and not far removed from their dominant 114-win 1998 season, the 2000 season was their weakest performance in years. They won just 87 games in the regular season and lost their last 7 games of the season. Many players who were great in 1998 (Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neal, Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, and David Cone) had below-average seasons in 2000.

Nonetheless, strong seasons by Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Mariano Rivera were enough to secure the AL East by 2.5 games. In the post-season, they defeated the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS 3-2 and the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS 4-2 to reach the World Series. At the time, they were just the 4th team since 1960 to make the World series after winning fewer than 90 games in the regular season.

New York Mets

Highlighted by MVP-caliber seasons from Edgardo Alfonzo and Mike Piazza as well as strong pitching performances from Al Leiter and Mike Hampton, the New York Mets won 94 games in the regular season to capture the Wild Card by 8 games. By winning the 1999 and 2000 Wild Card, the Mets achieved their first back-to-back post-season appearances in franchise history, a feat that remains unmatched in their history.

The Mets would defeat the 97-game winning San Francisco Giants in the NLDS 3-1 and the 95-game winning St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in the NLCS. The 2000 World Series was the first World Series appearance for the Mets since their championship in 1986 and just their second post-season appearance since 1988.

Summary

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL New York Mets (1)

Matchups

Game 1

Saturday, October 21, 2000 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York

The opener fell on two anniversaries. Twenty-five years prior, Boston Red Sox's catcher Carlton Fisk ended Game 6 of the 1975 World Series with his famous home run off the left field foul pole in Fenway Park in Boston to beat the Cincinnati Reds and force a Game 7. Twenty years prior the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series title, defeating the Kansas City Royals in six games.

Game 1 was a match-up between postseason veterans Al Leiter and Andy Pettitte. Both starters pitched scoreless until the sixth inning when David Justice's two-run double put the Yankees on top. In the top half of the seventh, Pettitte would quickly lose the lead on a barrage of hits, the last by Edgardo Alfonzo to put the Mets on top. However, the Yankees would rally to tie the game on Chuck Knoblauch's sacrifice fly against Mets closer Armando Benítez. José Vizcaíno would drive in Tino Martinez in the twelfth inning with his fourth hit of the game to win it for the Yankees.

Game 2

Sunday, October 22, 2000 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York

In Game 2 Roger Clemens started for the Yankees. Earlier in the year during regular season Interleague play, Clemens had hit Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball that resulted in Piazza getting a concussion and going on the disabled list. Game 2 still saw its share of controversy with Clemens and Piazza. Early in the game during Piazza's first at bat, Clemens pitch had shattered Piazza's bat. The ball went foul, but a sharp edge of the bat came towards Clemens. Clemens came off the mound and threw the bat towards the baseline, almost hitting the running Piazza. Piazza was perplexed and baffled by Clemens' actions and many lambasted Clemens for his actions. Clemens, after the game, explained himself saying he did not see Piazza running and threw the bat because he was pumped up with nervous energy and initially charged the incoming broken bat, believing it to be the ball at first. Piazza hit a home run off reliever Jeff Nelson later in the game, but in the end the Yankees came away with a 6–5 win.

The Yankees' Game 2 win tied the longest AL winning streak in the World Series at ten games (the AL had previously won ten straight from 1927–29 and again from 1937–40).

Game 3

Tuesday, October 24, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York

The Mets broke open a 2–2 tie in the eighth inning to go ahead and eventually win the game. This ended the Yankees fourteen-game winning streak in World Series play dating back to the 1996 World Series.

Yankee hurler Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez earned the loss, snapping his previous undefeated postseason record of 6–0.

Game 4

Wednesday, October 25, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York

The Yankees scored first on a first pitch solo home run by Derek Jeter. It is the sixteenth lead off homer in World Series history, also marked the thirteen-game hitting streak in the World Series for Jeter. Footage of this home run currently serves as the background for the title screen of YES Network's "Yankeeography" series.

Game 5

Thursday, October 26, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York

The Yankees scored first on a Bernie Williams solo home run in the second inning. However, the Mets responded with two unearned runs off Andy Pettitte in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the sixth, Derek Jeter homered to tie the game at 2–2. In the top of the ninth, Luis Sojo hit a two-out single off Mets' starter Al Leiter, the throw from center field hit Jorge Posada as he was sliding into home plate and went into the Yankees dugout, allowing Scott Brosius to score and Luis Sojo to take third base, putting the Yankees on top 4–2. In the bottom of the ninth, Mike Piazza faced Mariano Rivera as the tying run with two outs. Piazza hit a deep fly ball, but it was caught in the deepest part of the ballpark by Bernie Williams to end the game at exactly midnight to give the Yankees their third straight world title and fourth in five years.

Of Piazza's fly ball, many thought it was a homerun. Yankees manager Joe Torre said:

"It was probably the most scared I've been when Mike hit that ball ... I screamed, `No!' Because any time he hits a ball in the air, it's a home run in my mind. I saw Bernie trotting over for that. I said, 'Wow! I guess I misread that one.' "

Yankees catcher Jorge Posada similarly said years later:

“I remember it was a loud sound ... It was a pitch that got too much of the plate. It was supposed to be inside. I remember the swing, I remember Mo’s reaction. And then I looked at the ball and I see Bernie running after it, and then he stopped. And I’m like, O.K., we’re good.”

However, Bernie Williams after the game, with champagne pouring over him, said, "I knew right away ... I knew he didn't hit it." Likewise, Mariano Rivera in his last season (2013) was asked if he thought Piazza had hit a homerun and answered, "No ... He didn't hit it with the sweet spot."

Game 5 was the final World Series game at Shea Stadium (1969, 1973, 1986 and 2000). This would also be the only time that visiting teams won a World Series at Shea Stadium. (Mets lost in 1973 in Oakland). This World Series win was sense of revenge for Roger Clemens. He won the World Series in the same stadium he lost it at in 1986 while with the Yankees' fierce rival, Boston Red Sox. Adding further revenge, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game were members of the Mets' 1986 team.

Composite box

2000 World Series (4–1): New York Yankees (A.L.) over New York Mets (N.L.)

Aftermath

2000 would be the last World Series title the Yankees would win for nine years; they lost the 2001 World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks and the 2003 World Series to the Florida Marlins. This was the final World Series the New York Yankees won while playing at the old Yankee Stadium and the final World Series played at Shea Stadium. Both stadiums closed at the end of the 2008 Major League Baseball season.

As for the Mets, the 2000 World Series was the last hurrah for this core of Piazza, Leiter, Franco, Alfonzo, Ventura, and manager Bobby Valentine. After consecutive seasons of competitive baseball , the Mets would average 74 wins in the next four seasons. After 2002, Bobby Valentine and nearly all of the coaching staff were fired, and by 2005, Mike Piazza was the only remnant from the 2000 team; he would leave the Mets after that season.

The Mets have not made the World Series since 2000. Their only postseason appearance since then occurred in 2006, where they lost the NLCS to the eventual champions St. Louis Cardinals.

Records

• The 1998–2000 New York Yankees establish a record of ten consecutive games won in consecutive World Series. The previous record was nine by the 1937–1939 Yankees. Overall, the Yankees had won fourteen straight World Series games (starting with Game 3 of the 1996 World Series) breaking the mark of twelve straight by the 1927, 1928 and 1932 Yankees.
• Mariano Rivera became the first and, to date, only pitcher to record the final out in three straight World Series. In 1998, he retired Padres' Mark Sweeney to clinch the championship; in 1999, he retired Braves' Keith Lockhart; and in 2000, he retired Mets' Mike Piazza.

Radio and television

The World Series telecast on Fox was the first year of their exclusive coverage of the Fall Classic (although the new contract would technically begin the next year). As in previous World Series televised by the network, Joe Buck provided the play-by-play with Bob Brenly and Tim McCarver (himself a Yankees broadcaster and a former Mets broadcaster) as color commentators. Game 5 of the series was Brenly's last broadcast for Fox, as he left to become manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and, incidentally, go on to defeat the Yankees in the World Series the following year. Brenly returned to broadcasting in 2005 as part of the Chicago Cubs broadcasts on CSN Chicago and WGN, and also has called postseason games for TBS.

ESPN Radio's coverage was without Joe Morgan for a second consecutive year for reasons made unclear. Instead, Jon Miller shared the booth with Dave Campbell, ESPN Radio's Sunday Night Baseball color man. In 1999, Morgan was absent from ESPN Radio's World Series coverage because he was working the television broadcasts with Bob Costas on NBC. During Game 3, Miller was forced to leave the booth after the top of the first inning due to an upper respiratory infection. Charley Steiner, serving as a field reporter for the network, filled in on play-by-play for the rest of the game; Miller resumed his duties in Game 4 of the Series.

Ratings

The World Series drew an average of 12.4 national rating and a 21% share of the audience, down 22.5% from the previous year. Although the Series drew well in the New York metropolitan area, it was, at the time, the lowest-rated World Series in history. Many contemporary analysts argued that the ratings slide was due to lack of interest outside of New York City. Others thought the ratings slide was related to the television viewing audience becoming more fragmented in the wake of cable television, but online streaming media services were actually in its infancy and were a non-factor in 2000.

The next four World Series (2001-2004) were all rated higher than the 2000 World Series except the 2002 World Series, as that Series was affected by waning fan interest after the 2002 All-Star Game controversially ended in a tie. Not until after the Boston Red Sox ended the Curse of the Bambino with their victory in the 2004 World Series would the World Series see a more long-term decline in ratings: every World Series from 2005 - 2013 World Series have drawn lower ratings (sometimes substantially lower) than the 2000 Series.

DVD

On October 11, 2005 A&E Home Video released The New York Yankees Fall Classic Collectors Edition (1996–2001) DVD set. Game 5 of the 2000 World Series is included in the set. The entire series was released October 2013 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Notes

1. The 1997 Indians won 86 games, the 1987 Twins won 85 games, and the 1973 Mets won 82 games.
2. The Mets missed the post-season by 1 game in 1997 and 1998, they made the NLCS in 1999, and they made the World Series in 2000

References

Inline citations

1. "2000 World Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 6, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
2. "2000 World Series Game 1 - New York Mets vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
3. "2000 World Series Game 2 - New York Mets vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
4. "2000 World Series Game 3 - New York Yankees vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
5. ^ "2000 World Series Game 4 - New York Yankees vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
6. "2000 World Series Game 5 - New York Yankees vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
7. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20001027&slug=4049962
8. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/sports/baseball/03out.html?_r=0
9. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/27/sports/baseball-subway-series-rivera-and-rest-of-pen-did-job-when-needed.html
10. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/55829/mariano-meets-with-mets-fans-employees
11. "Yanks' fans celebrate as Mets' mourn". USA Today. October 27, 2000. p. 6C. Briefly: Members of the New York Mets' 1986 World Series champions—catcher Gary Carter, first baseman Keith Hernandez, outfielders Lenny Dykstra and Mookie Wilson and pitcher Ron Darling—took part in the ceremonial first pitch.
12. Graves, Gary (October 27, 2000). "Mets invoke grit of 1986 champs". USA Today.
13. Salisbury, Jim (October 27, 2000). "Ex-Phillie Dykstra Still a Mets Dude". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D1.
14. "World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
15. Zipay, Steve (October 26, 2000). "Going Yard, Off Guard". Newsday. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
16. "Subway Series is lowest-rated Fall Classic in history". CNN.
17. "2000 Yankees World Series Collector's Edition". Home Theater Forum.

Bibliography

• The subway series: the Yankees, the Mets and a season to remember. St. Louis, Mo.: The Sporting News. 2000. ISBN 0-89204-659-7.

External links

• 2000 World Series at WorldSeries.com via MLB.com
• 2000 World Series at Baseball Almanac
• 2000 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
• The 2000 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) at Retrosheet
• History of the World Series - 2000 at The Sporting News. Archived from the original in May 2006.
• World Series > Subway Series

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