There was no doubt great hype for the World Series of 2000, as it marked the first Fall Classic where both teams were from New York. The Mets and Yankees would be tightly contested contests. Plenty of room for outstanding relief work. That's where Mike Stanton comes into play. Or, to the mound.
But it had been one disappointing season for Mike. He won just two games, lost three and had an earned run average over four. The great thing about pitching for the Yankees during that time was the playoffs offered a shot at redemption. Stanton had been no stranger to the postseason. He'd pitched in the playoffs every year since 1991 (The 1994 season had been cancelled in August).
Stanton, for his part, won a game vs. Oakland in the American League Division Series. But, against Seattle in the American League Championship Series, Mike just stayed in the bullpen, never getting into a single game. Though Mike had been on the winning New York Yankees in 1998 and 1999, he had yet to find any pitching success in the World Series for them. But Stanton had sure been a force to be reckoned with in 1991 and 1992 when he was with the Atlanta Braves.
So when the World Series started, it looked more likely that manager Joe Torre would ride the arms of Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and perhaps Orlando Hernandez deep into all the games, then turn the ball over to someone not named Mike Stanton. From there, Mariano Rivera, the star closer, would mop up.
In game one at Yankee Stadium, the Mets were rude visitors. Overcoming an early 2-0 lead, the National League Champions had a great seventh: They scored three times and pitcher Al Leiter held the fort!
The Yankees relied on Jeff Nelson to keep them in the ballgame, holding off Mariano Rivera for later (And possibly a save situation). Nelson was certainly a better pitcher than Mike Stanton in 2000. During the regular season, Jeff went 8-4 and posted an earned run average of just 2.45. So in the opening tilt, Nelson had to keep his team in the ballgame.
Things didn't exactly start out on the right foot for the excellent reliever. Nelson came on in the top of that fateful seventh with the game tied (2-2), two on and two out. Edgardo Alfonzo greeted him with a run-scoring single.
From there, Nelson did the job. Mike Piazza was then retired. Plus Jeff had a nice 1-2-3 top of the eighth. Mariano Rivera would not get a save in this game, but took over from there. After a shaky top of the ninth, Mariano put up a "0" on the scoreboard to keep his team in it. His efforts that inning were rewarded as the home team tied it in the bottom of the frame. Rivera found his range and got the side 1-2-3 (Two strikeouts) in the tenth.
The problems for the New York Yankees was their National League counterparts stayed right with them. The Yankees didn't score in the bottom of the inning. Rivera could not keep going.
So, here's where Joe Torre turned to Mike Stanton. The lefty got the side out in order in the top of the eleventh. Once again, the Yankees could not score, though. So Stanton went right back out there for the top of the twelve inning. Again, the Mets went down 1-2-3. And, it was time for the home team to send the crowd home happy. Jose Vizcaino played hero, hitting a walk-off single to win it for the Yankees and Mike Stanton. But I'll bet few took notice of the lefty reliever's contributions in this contest. Nelson was Nelson, Rivera was Rivera. But the Yankees had needed more innings from their bullpen and Mike Stanton had provided 'em with it.
The first game sure set the tone for the rest of the 2000 Fall Classic. Every contest seemed to come down to the final at-bat. However, Jeff Nelson and Mariano Rivera almost failed to protect a huge lead in the second game. The never-say-die Mets nearly erased a 6-0 Yankees lead. Perhaps, good as Nelson and Rivera were, the Yankees needed that "one more" great reliever to help them?
Down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning at Shea Stadium in the third contest, Mike Stanton was needed again, indeed. There were runners on the corners and one out. However, Bubba Trammell hit a sacrifice fly to give the New York Mets a nice, two-run cushion. Chuck Knoblauch tried to get things going for the Yankees in the top of the ninth, as he led off with a single. Luis Polonia, Derek Jeter and Dave Justice were all retired, and the Mets were right back in this World Series.
Game four was a big one. The Yankees started out great. A run in the top of the first. Another in the second. Still another tally in the third. However, that was it for their offence. And the Mets got a two-run home run by Mike Piazza in the bottom of the third to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
Denny Neagle, David Cone and Jeff Nelson settled things down for the Yankees after that. At least, all seemed to be going along just fine until the seventh inning.
Lenny Harris walked with one out. Joe Torre couldn't bring Marino Rivera in this early. So, here came Mike Stanton. And did he ever shine. First, he struck out pinch hitter Bubba Trammell. Then, he fanned another pinch hitter, Kurt Abbott, to get the New York Yankees out of that inning still ahead. Rivera was needed to get six outs. He did just that.
So Jeff Nelson got the win. And Mariano Rivera got the save. Mike Stanton had to settle for just a hold. Things went smoothly again for Mike in the fifth contest. Only this time, he'd figure into the decision.
The Yankees were up three games to one, but no one should have been counting the Mets out. The Yankees scored first in the top of the second, only to then see the Mets get two themselves in the bottom of the frame.
The New York Yankees tied it in the top of the sixth as Derek Jeter hit a solo home run. But starter Andy Pettitte was removed after seven pretty good innings. The Mets managed eight hits off him. Mike Stanton came in to pitch the top of the eight. Well, the Senior Circuit champs got not one hit off Mike. Better still, it was Luis Sojo who hit a dramatic two-run single in the top of the ninth. Two runs ahead was more than enough when you have Mariano Rivera in the bullpen.
Rivera did the job, pickup up his second save. However, good as Mariano was, his earned run average in the 2000 World Series was 3.00. Jeff Nelson's was 10.13. Mike Stanton? Well, he had to settle for just two wins, a hold and an ERA of 0.00. He'd put his so-so regular season performance behind him.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005.
Nemec, et al. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. https://www.baseball-reference.com/. 10 Mar. 2022.
Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 10 Mar. 2022.
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