in 2001, baseball gave us a different kind of World Series. It was already destined to be unusual as the first major sports championship played after 9/11, but the baseball itself stood out, too.
This was a battle between the New York Yankees — the historic “Evil Empire” looking for a fourth-straight championship — and the Arizona Diamondbacks, a franchise only in its fourth year of existence. Entering Game 7, the battle had been unevenly fought. Arizona won three games at home by vast margins, while the Yankees won Games 3, 4, and 5 in the Bronx by one run apiece.
Game 7 in Phoenix was a tight, low-scoring chess match to decide the series. New York’s Roger Clemens and Arizona’s Curt Schilling performed brilliantly in a Hall of Fame-caliber pitching duel, and the game came down to legendary pitchers in relief: Randy Johnson making an unusual late-game appearance, and Mariano Rivera coming in to add yet another save to his famously clutch career.
It didn’t end up as expected, and the majesty of the final moment can’t be fully appreciated without a deep, deep rewind into what came before. Check out the video above for the full story, and find more episodes of REWINDER right here.