2001 American League Division Series
Encyclopedia
New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics
Game 1, October 9
Safeco FieldSafeco Field
Safeco Field is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington. The stadium, owned and operated by the Washington-King County Stadium Authority, is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,878 for baseball...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
Game 2, October 11
Safeco FieldSafeco Field
Safeco Field is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington. The stadium, owned and operated by the Washington-King County Stadium Authority, is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,878 for baseball...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
Game 3, October 13
Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
Game 4, October 14
Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
Game 5, October 15
Safeco FieldSafeco Field
Safeco Field is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington. The stadium, owned and operated by the Washington-King County Stadium Authority, is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,878 for baseball...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
Composite box
2001 ALDS (3–2): Seattle MarinersSeattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
over Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
New York vs. Oakland
Yankees win series 3–2, becoming the first team in MLB history to win the ALDS after dropping the first two games at home.Game 1, October 10
Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New YorkGame 2, October 11
Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New YorkGame 3, October 13
Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
This series is notable for a defensive play in the seventh inning of Game 3. With Oakland leading the five-game series two games to none, on the verge of completing a sweep, the Yankees took a 1–0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs and Jeremy Giambi on first base, Terrence Long hit a line drive
Line drive
In baseball, a line drive is a type of batted ball, sharply hit, and on a level trajectory. The threshold between a line drive and a fly ball can be subjective....
into the right field corner. With Giambi rounding third base, right fielder Shane Spencer
Shane Spencer
Michael Shane Spencer is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. In Major League Baseball, he played a total of 538 games for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and New York Mets, compiling 438 hits, 59 home runs, and 242 RBI...
's throw missed both cut-off men. It appeared that Giambi would score easily, tying the game, when the shortstop Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American baseball shortstop who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. A twelve-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter's clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning have made him a central...
, while running across the diamond, reached out, cradled the ball, and shovel passed it to catcher Jorge Posada
Jorge Posada
Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta is a Major League Baseball player who is currently a free agent and has played his entire career for the New York Yankees. He served as the Yankees primary catcher for most of his career, though following off-season knee surgery, he was moved to designated hitter for...
. Posada tagged Giambi, who attempted to jump over the tag as opposed to sliding around it. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
ranks this play as the 45th most memorable moment of the last 25 years. It would be replayed countless times over the following years, most recently as part of filmmaker Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
's documentary The Tenth Inning in late September 2010. After the game, Jeter told the press that the team had been practicing this type of play all year as a result of a similarly botched throw in spring training. According to Jeter, the idea of stationing the shortstop down the first base line on balls hit to deep right field came from Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer
Don Zimmer
Donald William "Popeye" Zimmer is a former infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball, currently serving as a senior advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball organization...
, who was a shortstop and second baseman during his playing career; however, he stated that his initial intent was to throw the ball to third to try to get Long, and that his throw home was a reaction play. Zimmer confirmed this in a conversation with Oakland's third base coach Ron Washington
Ron Washington
Ronald Washington is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and the current manager of the Texas Rangers. Prior to managing the Rangers, Washington coached in the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics organizations.-Playing career:Washington was signed by the Kansas City Royals on July 17, 1970...
the next day.
This single play is often credited with changing the momentum of the series. The Yankees held on to win this game, and then finished off the A's by winning Games 4 and 5 as well.
"The Flip" was shown in a commercial for the sports drink Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
, except that Jeter made the throw to Posada too late, thus Posada could not tag Giambi in time allowing him to score. After promoting the drink, the play was replayed, but this time Jeter threw it at the right time and Posada tagged Jeremy Giambi out.
Game 4, October 14
Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
Game 5, October 15
Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New YorkJeter also made another spectacular play (again with Terrence Long batting) that is often overlooked. In the top of the eighth inning of Game 5, Long hit a towering foul pop up in a two-run game. Jeter, running and following the ball at the same time made a backhanded grab and then turning his body, flipped into the stands. For a moment, no one knew if the ball had been caught. Here is Thom Brenneman's call of the play:
Jeter would continue to play in the postseason despite a slight leg injury from the tumble.
Composite box
2001 ALDS (3–2): New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
over Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....