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Look back at: Divisional Playoffs |
League Championship
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Sunday, October 22
O'Neill's walk the at-bat of the night
ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- You'll remember Jose Vizcaino's game-winning hit into left field.
You'll certainly remember Todd Zeile's almost-homer.
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Paul realized he was overmatched with the fastball with the hip problem he has. So he was just going to battle. He was probably just going to foul off as many pitches as he could and hope he got one in the middle of the plate or draw a walk.
He's a professional hitter. Like Joe Torre says about his club, it knows how to play and knows what to do in situations. And O'Neill, because he has the hip problem and because Benitez blew a few fastballs by him, knew he wouldn't be able to do any major damage, so he was going to do anything to get on base.
Ventura dove into the stands to try and catch one of O'Neill's fouls. When he didn't get it, Benitez went from a 1-2 count to 3-2. Two more fouls, then O'Neill walked.
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You may even remember David Justice's two-run double in the gap and Bubba Trammell's pinch-hit single and Chuck Knoblauch's sacrifice fly.
What you may not remember is Paul O'Neill's walk -- the critical at-bat of Game 1.
With the Mets holding a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Bobby Valentine summoned flame-throwing Armando Benitez to close out the win on enemy turf. Benitez is no stranger to doing that. But he's also no stranger to postseason failure. San Francisco's J.T. Snow hit a three-run homer off him in the ninth inning to tie Game 2 of the Division Series -- the seventh lifetime postseason homer Benitez had surrendered, more than any reliever in history. And while the Mets rallied to win that game, it was also a reminder that as dominating as Benitez was during the regular season, he always appears vulnerable in October.
So there was a buzz circling Yankee Stadium as Benitez took the mound. He retired Jorge Posada for the first out and when he went ahead 1-and-2 on O'Neill, it appeared he would have an easy inning. The Yankees' 12-game World Series winning streak was about to be smoked away by a slew of Benitez fastballs.
But O'Neill shanked off two pitches into the third-base stands. And then drew two balls. And then fouled off two more pitches. Finally, on the 10th pitch of his at-bat, O'Neill drew ball four.
For a player struggling at the plate since early September, it was a tremendous at-bat against perhaps the game's hardest thrower. Pinch-hitter Luis Polonia then lined a 1-0 pitch into right for a single, with O'Neill stopping at second. Jose Vizcaino then hit a 2-1 pitch into left for another single. It was too shallow to score O'Neill but the bases were loaded with two outs. Chuck Knoblauch then hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Benitez, the man usually victimized by the long ball, had been undone by a walk and two little singles.
It hurt all the same.
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