LEADOFF HOMER IN GAME 4 OF 2000 WORLD SERIES
Whether Mets fans or Yankees fans, the whole city of New York will remember this moment.
The 2000 World Series was the first Subway Series since the Dodgers and the Yankees faced off in 1956. It was the Dodgers’ next-to-last season in Brooklyn before they relocated to Los Angeles.
In 2000, the Yankees led the series 2-1 heading into a crucial fourth game at Shea Stadium, and Jeter knew the Yankees needed to deflate the ecstatic Mets crowd.
“We’re playing at Shea Stadium, there are some Yankee fans here, but you want to take the crowd out of the game,” Jeter said. “When you’re playing in these types of games, runs can be hard to come by.”
Jeter, leading off Game 4, did not hesitate when he saw the first pitch. He sent the fastball from Mets starter Bobby Jones flying into the left-field stands for a 1-0 lead.
“When we saw him hit a home run on the first pitch of the game, we knew everything was going to be all right. We knew,” second baseman Luis Sojo said.
It was the 16th leadoff home run in World Series history. With that hit, Jeter also extended his World Series hitting streak to 13 games. Manager Joe Torre’s decision to have the aggressive Jeter lead off instead of hitting him in his normal No. 2 spot paid immediate dividends.
“He is not a [classic] leadoff hitter. He sees the ball, he’s going to swing at the ball and make things happen. I know he’s only been around five years, but he has a lot of qualities of taking charge and leading by example.” Torre said.
The Yankees went on to beat their crosstown rivals in five games to complete their three-peat as World Series champions. That title was also their fourth in five years.