October 2001 was an emotional time for New York Yankees fans, most of whom were still reeling from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
But the Yankees’ postseason run helped get them through a difficult time, proving once again the therapeutic value of sports in modern society.
Or at least that’s what we were told by the hype machine of Fox-TV.
For an outside observer with no rooting interest, the idea that the Yankees “deserved” to be world champions in 2001 to ease the minds of their fans was simply East Coast media blather.
At least that was my attitude going into the 2001 World Series between the Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks. While writing the game story for Game 4 at Yankee Stadium, I became involved in a supernatural moment I’ll never forget.
Arizona was about to take a 3-1 lead in the Series, with a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Yankees assistant general manager Kim Ng stepped out of her office and into the press box.
I’d known Ng since she worked in the baseball operations department of the White Sox, and we had a casual conversation between innings. My game story was almost complete and ready to send to the Tribune as closer Byung-Hyun Kim came out to work his second inning after striking out the side in the eighth.
Paul O’Neill singled with one out, and Tino Martinez smacked a two-run, game-tying home run as the place went up for grabs. I began swearing and frantically rewriting my story on deadline, while Ng stood right behind me with a huge smile on her face.
Ng decided to stay in her position for good luck, and when Derek Jeter hit the game-winning home run one inning later, she walked away a happy woman. The very next day the Diamondbacks were about to take a 3-2 lead in the Series, with a two-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth.
But manager Bob Brenly called on Kim again, causing me to yell aloud, “Why? Why? Why?” Again my game story was almost complete when Scott Brosius hit a two-out, two-run home run off Kim to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Arrrgh!
I got up out of my seat and cursed loudly. As soon as I turned around, I discovered that Ng had sneaked back into the press box and was standing in the exact same spot behind me as the day before. It truly was, as Yogi Berra said, deja vu all over again.
Ng stayed in her position, and Alfonso Soriano singled home the winning run in the 12th. New York had won again and flew to Arizona with a 3-2 lead. I recall thinking that this was what John Lennon must have been talking about when he sang “Instant Karma.”
My seat in Bank One Ballpark for Games 6 and 7 was located in center field, so I didn’t get to see Ng again.
I don’t know if she ever found another writer to stand behind for good luck, but if she did, it didn’t work. The Diamondbacks came back to force Game 7 with a 15-2 win, then won it all on Luis Gonzalez’s ninth-inning single over the lip of the infield.
Ng is now an assistant GM with the Dodgers, while Brenly is the Cubs’ TV analyst. I’ve never told Brenly how miserable he made me in 2001 by bringing back Kim, a proven deadline-killer, in Game 5.
Some things are better left unsaid.
