“Bad” would be a direct-yet-fitting word to describe the end of the regular season for the 2000 Yankees. They wrapped things up by losing 15 of their final 18 games, which included seven in a row to finish
it out. Both the Devil Rays and Orioles swept them away, and they only clinched the AL East because Boston also lost on a night in which the Yankees lost by 11. The vibes could not be lower, and they had to rest on their laurels to hope that they could turn it around come October.
The White Sox were the AL’s best team in 2000, and they faced the Wild Card-winning Mariners in their ALDS matchup. The Yankees drew the up-and-coming Athletics, who captured the AL West to earn their first playoff trip in eight years. All three other AL clubs had more wins than the Yanks’ seemingly paltry 87.
Oakland’s Jason Giambi would win AL MVP with a huge year, bashing 43 homers and leading the league in OBP and wRC+ via a .333/.476/. 647 triple slash with a 183 wRC+. Even more concerning for the Yankees? The A’s dangerous pitching staff. While Mark Mulder was out, his “Big Three” teammates Tim Hudson and Barry Zito were more than capable of causing headaches, and the Jason Isringhausen-led bullpen was no walk in the park, either.
Game 1 of the Division Series was set to take place in Oakland, and with the Yankees already reeling headed into the playoffs, things would not get much better for the Bombers kicking things off in October.
October 3: Yankees 3, Athletics 5 (box score)
Playoffs: Trailing 0-1 in ALDS (87-75 overall)
The pitching matchup in this one was Roger Clemens against Gil Heredia, as both Zito and Hudson were needed to nail down the playoff spot in Oakland’s final two regular-season games. So New York had a clear advantage there thanks to that fortune, but the veteran righty Heredia had still done a nice job in nearly 200 innings for Oakland, recording a 114 ERA+.
The Yankees got things rolling in the second, giving Clemens some early run support in Game 1. After Jorge Posada reached on a single, back-to-back doubles from Luis Sojo and Scott Brosius had the Bombers rolling early, and leaving the second inning ahead 2-0.
Meanwhile, Clemens was doing an excellent job keeping the Oakland bats at bay. Through his first four innings of work, the Rocket had allowed just one hit and already racked up five strikeouts. That hot start would come to an abrupt stop in the fifth inning, however. Eric Chavez and Jeremy Giambi both reached base to begin the bottom half, still trailing 2-0. Ramón Hernández got the A’s on the board with his single into right field. Two batters later, old friend Randy Velarde pitched in with an RBI knock of his own. With the game now tied, Clemens uncorked a wild pitch that allowed another Oakland run to score.
With the Yankees trailing after the fifth, Tino Martinez partially righted the ship with a timely sacrifice fly in the top half of the sixth. Clemens, however, remained unstable for the bottom half. Following a pair of singles from Chavez and the younger Giambi had them in position once again, Hernández did his part yet again with a double into right field. Chavez scored the go-ahead run, but Jeremy Giambi was thrown out at home thanks to an effective relay (somewhat foreshadowing events of the next postseason), which ended the inning as well as Clemens’ start.
After the promising start, Clemens finished allowing four earned runs over his six innings of work.
While the pitching end of the deal had begun to fail the Yankees, they were doing little to counter it with the bats. Heredia also left the game after six decent innings, giving way to a trio of Oakland relievers — Jeff Tam, Jim Mecir, and eventually Isringhausen. The A’s bullpen did everything they could, ultimately keeping the Yankees scoreless in the final third of Game 1.
The Athletics tacked on some insurance in their half of the eighth, when Chavez continued his solid evening with an RBI single off of Mike Stanton, putting his squad up by the eventual final of 5-3. Isringhausen was called upon to close things out for Oakland, due to face the bottom of the Yankee order. Posada and pinch-hitter Glenallen Hill struck out to begin the inning on a low note, before Brosius grounded to Miguel Tejada to put a close on Game 1.
The regular season had ended in whimper, and now the postseason had started out much the same. The Yankees had effectively lost eight in a row. They would need a quick turnaround if they wanted a chance at the three-peat — or hell, to even avoid being in a position to be swept in Game 3 at home.
While we all know how this season ended, you wouldn’t believe it given how things felt 25 years ago, today.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.
