Time Warp
If you have been following the financial markets recently you may have heard how the S+P 500 closed today under 700 for the first time since Ocotber of 1996. It was October 28, 1996 actually, the first weekday of trading after the Yankees won the 1996 World Series.
Just think, the last time we were here financially Joe Girardi was a player and World Series hero. A-Rod was 20 (and steroid free?), Jeter just 21. Andy Pettitte, all of 24, had pitched an incredible Game 5 to send the Yankees home to New York with a 3-2 lead.
The 1996 World Series was the first Yankees championship I was really old enough to remember and it will always be a special one for me. I can close my eyes today and picture Charlie Hayes camping under that pop-up to win the Series. I still can see Leyritz parking that hanging slider to tie things up at 6.
Yet when I look at the calendar I see that those events happened nearly 13 years ago. A glimpse in the mirror seems to confirm that too. We seem a long way from "We play today, we win today", Mariano Duncan's great team mantra.
I have been thinking of that team a lot as the dire financial comparisons evoke that fateful October of 1996. It brings me back to a theme we have bounced around this board a lot this winter; baseball's power to distract us from life's troubles. I have to admit, I took some time today and watched some of the Yankees-Team USA game. I don't normally watch much of early spring training, but it felt good to do so today. I think I will watch a lot of the WBC and I will keep counting the days until April 6th. It can't get here soon enough.
Comments
I feel like I should comment. I was 6 years into my move to Atlanta, the Braves were the team, America's team and my 2nd adopted baseball team.
Watching them was wholesome, righteous. They were the good guys for so many years. They were coming off their title in 95 over the Indians and with super rookie Andruw Jones on the scene they were rockin and heading towards back to back.
Smoltz in game one got the run support, won 12-1.
Maddux had probably his best postseason pitching performance of his career in game 2, Braves win 4-0. 8 innings, scattering 6 hits, no walks and using 82 pitches.
Game 3 in Atlanta, Yankees score 3 in the 8th to run away 5-2.
Game 4, one of those games you know where you were when the impossible happened. Top of the 8th, 2 on, Wohlers in to go two innings to close the game out. Leyritz hits it out to tie the game. Steve Avery lost the game in the 10th after getting the first two hitters out. Walks, errors, etc. blew that one.
Game 5 - Pettitte/Smoltz gem. 1-0 final.
Game 6 - Maddux gives up a 3 spot in the 3rd and that was enough, 3-2.
That Braves team shoulda, coulda, hard to believe it didn't win more than 1 championship.
For the record, I was at a party watching game 4, celebrating the 3 run lead in the 8th when Wohlers threw the lame duck slider. The basement the party was in was decorated top to bottom in 1996 Atlanta Olympics memorabilia. I have my own stash still but this place was green and purple (colors of the games).
Posted by: blmeanie![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 3, 2009 11:28 PM
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BL- I was sitting in a bar in the middle of Boston along with the guy who writes the other side of this site. Needless to say, I was one of the few who cheered when Leyritz hit that homer.
My future wife went to Game 6 (she didn't let me take her ticket, but I married her anyway) I have a picture she took of the celebration. It's the closest I have ever been to seeing a Yankees World Series game in person.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 4, 2009 08:27 AM
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