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It’s been over a decade since the Yankees have won a World Series, but what exactly happened during that fateful year? This blog outlines a timeline of the Yankees’ last World Series win.
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1998 World Series
The 1998 World Series was the 104th edition of Major League Baseball’s championship series. The Yankees won the Series in six games over the San Diego Padres, securing their 24th World Series title and first since 1978. This section will provide a detailed timeline of the Yankees’ 1998 World Series win.
Game 1
In the bottom of the second, Tino Martinez hit a two-run homer to give the Yankees a 3–0 lead. In the top of the fourth, Mark McGwire hit a two-run home run off of Orlando Hernández to cut the lead to 3–2. After Chad Curtis homered in the bottom of the fourth, McGwire homered off of Hernández again in the fifth inning to tie the game at four. The Yankees took the lead in the bottom half when Bernie Williams walked with the bases loaded, forcing in Jorge Posada. In the sixth inning, Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson allowed consecutive singles to McGwire and Gary Gaetti, putting runners on first and third with one out. Nelson then struck out Fernando Tatís and got Todd Zeile to foul out, keeping the score 5–4.
The score remained 5–4 until the bottom of the ninth inning when Mariano Rivera came on to pitch for the Yankees. He allowed a leadoff double to Mark Grudzielanek and then an infield single to pinch hitter Danny Bautista, putting runners on first and third with no outs. Pinch runner Dave McKay then scored from third on an error by Rivera when he threw wildly past first base while attempting to pick Bautista off first. After walking Joey Hamilton intentionally, Rivera struck out pinch hitter Kerry Robinson and then got Réggie Sanders to pop out, ending Game 1 with a 6–5 Cardinals victory.
Game 2
On October 18, 1998, the New York Yankees took on the San Diego Padres in game 2 of the World Series. This was a must-win game for the Yankees, as they had lost game 1. The Yankees were down 6-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning, when pinch hitter Chad Curtis hit a walk-off three-run home run to win the game 7-6. The home run was hit off of Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, and it gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the series. The Yankees would go on to win the World Series in four games.
Game 3
In Game 3, the Yankees took on the Padres in San Diego. The game was close, but the Yankees ultimately won 2-0. This was the first time in franchise history that the team had ever won a World Series game on the road.
1999 World Series
The Yankees last won the World Series in 1999. It was their 25th World Series win, and they did it in dramatic fashion. They won in the bottom of the ninth inning of game four, with a walk-off home run by third baseman, Scott Brosius.
Game 1
The 1999 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Atlanta Braves, with the Yankees winning in a four-game sweep.
Game 1 was played on October 25, 1999, at Yankee Stadium. In the game, Yankees pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez outdueled Braves counterpart John Smoltz by a score of 1–0. Yogi Berra threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game.
Game 2
In Game 2, the Yankees came out aggressively, scoring three runs in the first inning off of Mets starter Al Leiter. Bernie Williams hit a leadoff home run, and after a single by Chuck Knoblauch and a walk by Derek Jeter, David Justice hit a three-run home run. The Yankees added another run in the second inning on an RBI single by Tino Martinez. After that, however, Mets starter Leiter settled down and pitched five scoreless innings.
Meanwhile, Yankee starter Andy Pettitte was cruising, pitching seven scoreless innings while only giving up four hits. In the eighth inning, though, things began to unravel for Pettitte and the Yankees. With one out in the inning, Robin Ventura hit a solo home run to cut the Yankee lead to 4-1. Then, after Pettitte got the second out of the inning, he gave up back-to-back singles to Jay Payton and Timo Perez. Yankees manager Joe Torre then brought in Mariano Rivera to try and get out of the jam.
However, Rivera was unable to do so, as he gave up a two-run single to Mike Piazza that tied the game at four. The Mets then took the lead in the ninth inning when Edgardo Alfonzo hit a sacrifice fly that scored Ventura from third base. The Mets went on to win the game 5-4, evening up the Series at one game apiece.
Game 3
In Game 3, the Yankees faced off against Braves starter Russ Ortiz. The game was scoreless through four innings, but the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Bernie Williams hit a solo home run to right field. The Braves answered back in the top of the sixth, when Chipper Jones hit a solo home run to tie the game.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Yankees catcher Jorge Posada hit a walk-off home run to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the series. This would be Ortiz’s only loss of the postseason; he would go on to win two more games for the Braves, including Game 5 of the World Series.
2000 World Series
The New York Yankees last won the World Series in 2000. It was a remarkable feat, considering they had lost the Series the year before to the crosstown rival Mets. Here is a timeline of the Yankees’ 2000 World Series win.
Game 1
The 2000 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the New York Mets, with the Yankees winning in five games to capture their third consecutive championship and 26th overall. The Series was broadcast on Fox, officiated by umpires from the American League. This was the first all-New York World Series after 1956, and also the first World Series to be played between two teams from New York City. Also, it was the first World Series to end in November.
The 2000 World Series was notable for several game-turning plays. In Game 1, Yankee outfielder Bernie Williams made a game-saving catch on Met outfielder Timo Perez’s fly ball with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning; had Perez’s ball fallen in, not only would Perez have had a walk-off hit, but also Mets’ catcher Mike Piazza would have probably scored from second base (he was being held up at third base by third base coach Steve Trachsel), giving the Mets a 6–5 victory and putting them up 1–0 in the series. Instead, Williams caught Perez’s fly ball for the final out of Game 1, preserving the 5–3 win for the Yankees and evening up the series at one game apiece.
Game 2
The 2000 World Series featured a rematch of the 1999 World Series, with the New York Yankees again facing the New York Mets. The Yankees won the first game in 1999, and they wanted to keep that momentum going. In Game 2, they got off to a good start with Bernie Williams hitting a home run in the first inning. The Mets quickly tied it up in the bottom of the inning, but the Yankees took the lead again in the top of the second. The Mets tied it up again in the bottom of the second, but this time, they took the lead in the top of the third. The Yankees didn’t give up, though, and they tied it up again in the bottom of the third. From there, it was all Yankees. They scored three more runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth. The Mets couldn’t keep up, and the final score was 8-2 Yankees. With that win, they took a 2-0 lead in the series.
Game 3
The Bronx Bombers took Game 3 in a close 4-3 victory, with Tino Martinez providing the walk-off heroics with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. Derek Jeter had another big game, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored. The Yankees would go on to win the series in five games.
