Following an 11-1 disaster the previous day, the 2000 Yankees looked to salvage a split in their early August four-game set with the Seattle Mariners. Unfortunately, Trade Deadline acquisition Denny Neagle had his first truly disastrous outing of the season — the beginning of a late-season slide that ultimately raised his ERA from 3.52 at time of the trade in early July to 4.52 at season’s end. The only silver lining on this day—and boy did it turn out to shine brightly—came in the transaction log. More on that in a minute.
August 7: Yankees 5, Mariners 8 (box score)
Record: 59-48 (1st in AL East, 3.5 games ahead)
The early part of this game was structured in what Classicists call a chiasmus — an A-B-B-A framework. The game began with both Neagle and Seattle starter John Halama trading zeroes, with the Yankees scratching the first run across as David Justice opened the bottom of the second with a solo shot to give New York a 1-0 lead. That lead would not last long, however: Rickey Henderson led off the top of the third with a walk, stole second (as Rickey often did), advanced to third on a groundout to first base, and came around to score on an Alex Rodriguez sacrifice fly to right. Seattle would then jump out to a 2-1 lead in the fourth, courtesy of a miniature rally that culminated with a David Bell sacrifice fly to right that plated Jay Buhner. In the bottom of the inning, Justice repeated his second inning, leading off the frame with a solo shot to right to tie the game at two.
Once the fifth began, though, this nice, organized framework came to an end, and unfortunately for the Yankees, things would go off the rails in all the wrong ways. With two outs in the fifth, A-Rod gave New York fans a preview of what they would see after trading for him four years later: a solo shot deep to left that gave the M’s a 3-2 lead.
Then, in the sixth, Neagle absolutely collapsed. Buhner led off the inning with a line drive single to left. Two batters later, Bell added a single of his own to put runners on first and second with one away. Neagle then walked Henderson to load the bases for Carlos Guillén. With a 3-2 count, Guillén slapped a fly ball down the right field line that may have been a short porch unicorn; but they don’t ask you how far it goes, only how many runs scored — and this time, it was a grand slam that gave Seattle a 7-2 lead.
Over the final third of the game, both teams traded runs. Glenallen Hill added a solo shot of his own to go along with Justice’s two, as both trade acquisition hitters attempted to pick up their counterpart on the mound. Buhner, however, got that run right back with a solo shot of his own to lead off the seventh. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half of the inning, but only managed to score one run on a Paul O’Neill sacrifice fly. Both teams went down quietly in the eighth. The ninth inning saw Jorge Posada hit the Yankees’ fourth home run of the day (all solo shots) but it was too little, too late, as the Yankees ultimately fell to the score of 8-5.
It was a disappointing day on the field for the Bombers, but a small move they made in the background turned out to make this 25th anniversary an important one. During the previous offseason, the Yankees let infielder Luis Sojo go to the Pirates in free agency. He had been part of their three-time champions across the past four years on the bench, but the Yankees decided to move on. Although Sojo was hitting better than he had in recent years (91 OPS+ in 61 games with the Bucs) he found himself unhappy in Pittsburgh with a losing team.
27 Feb 2000: Infielder Luis Sojo #14 of the Pittsburgh Pirates poses for a studio portrait on Photo Day during Spring Training in Bradenton, Florida. Getty Images
Fortunately for Sojo—and eventually the Yankees themselves—an opportunity emerged with a reunion given Chuck Knoblauch’s tough 2000 campaign. The Yanks had acquired José Vizcaíno in June to spell him (and his yips) defensively at second, but by August, Knoblauch found himself on the then-disabled list for the first time in his career with tendinitis and inflammation in his right elbow. At the Trade Deadline, the Pirates decided to effectively replace Sojo on their team with his future teammate in New York, Enrique Wilson, who they acquired from Cleveland. So they designated Sojo for assignment, and who should be happy to pick him back up than the Yankees?
The trade went through on August 7th after Sojo cleared waivers. Minor-league righty Chris Spurling went to Pittsburgh with Sojo delighted to return to the Bronx. Spurling pitched parts of four unremarkable seasons with the Tigers and Brewers. Sojo got the game-winning hit off the Mets’ Al Leiter in the 2000 World Series clincher, helping secure the three-peat. Convenient little move, no?
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.