The old adage is “chicks dig the long ball.” But I wonder how people feel about sacrifice flies. On a night in Detroit in late June 2000, the Yankees tied an obscure MLB record en route to an easy win over the Tigers on what turned out to be a pivotal day for the once-and-future championship club.
The ease of this particular win was in large part thanks to the man on the mound. Andy Pettitte came into this contest with a 4.90 ERA, four days removed from giving up six runs to the White Sox in 5.1 innings. So of course, he was completely untouchable in Detroit. “You can’t predict baseball, Suzyn.”
June 29: Yankees 8, Tigers 0 (box score)
Record: 38-35, .521 (3 GB)
Outside of one half-inning, this was a pretty uneventful game. One team did not score at all and the other scored all its runs in one sustained offensive barrage. But what a glorious half-inning it was… for the Yankees and their fans, at least.
Through three, Pettitte and Detroit starter Dave Mlicki threw dueling zeroes up in the run column. Then, the fourth frame arrived and the dam burst.
After Paul O’Neill singled, Bernie Williams tripled him home to put the Yanks on the board. From there, Tino Martinez lofted a ball to left field that scored Bernie on the first sacrifice fly of the inning.
Three more hits – two singles and a double – scored another run to make the Yankee lead 3-0 and put runners on second and third. José Vizcaíno then hit another fly ball to left field. His sac fly made it a 4-0 game, and an error on the transfer in left field allowed him to reach and the other runner to scamper to third.
A Chuck Knoblauch single scored the fifth Yankee run of the inning and ended Mlicki’s outing. When things go bad, they can go bad really quickly.
Derek Jeter greeted Detroit pitcher Nelson Cruz with a double to left center that extended the Yankee lead to 7-0. Paulie’s second single of the inning put runners on the corners. Bernie then came to the dish and, stop me if you’ve heard this before, drove a ball deep enough to the outfield to bring home the eighth and final run of the inning… and the game.
It was the Yankees’ third sacrifice fly of the inning, tying a major league record. By the time Detroit escaped the fourth, 13 Yankees came to the plate. Eight runs, eight hits, one error, and two men left on base. What an inning.
Pettitte didn’t take the big league for granted. He kept his foot firmly on the gas pedal, shutting the Tigers down with ease. Detroit’s best chance to inflict some damage came in the fifth when they managed to put runners on the corners with two out. AP, though, got Luis Polonia to harmlessly fly out for the final out.
Pettitte’s efficiency – allowing only six hits and two walks, keeping his pitch count under control – enabled him to go the distance. The complete game shutout lowered his ERA a full half-point, from 4.90 to 4.40.
The Yankees notched an off-field win to pair with their victory in Detroit. After trade talks for Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa and two-time AL MVP Juan González went nowhere (the latter trade was reported as being all but a done deal a week earlier), New York pivoted.
In exchange for Ricky Ledée, Jake Westbrook, and Zach Day, the Yankees obtained David Justice from Cleveland (as detailed by Matt Ferenchick here). The lefty slugger went on to be a key piece of this final iteration of the most recent Yankees dynasty. In 68 regular season games after the trade, Justice put up a monstrous (even in the Steroid Era) .977 OPS, with 20 longballs, key for a team that, when it acquired him, was a mere three games over .500 and three games out of first place in the AL East. The future ALCS MVP was truly integral to the three-peat.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.