October 8, 1995: Thanks to a 2-run double off Jack McDowell by Edgar Martinez, the Seattle Mariners become only the 4th team in major league history to overcome a 2-game deficit to win a 5-game series, when they dramatically come from behind to beat the New York Yankees in 11 innings, 6-5 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
This was the last game as Yankee manager for Buck Showalter, mainly because he let starting pitcher David Cone throw 147 pitches, rather than trust a reliever warming up, a young Panamanian named Mariano Rivera.
"147 pitches." Brian Cashman, then an assistant to general manager Gene Michael, would have a brain aneurysm if he read those words today.
It was also the last game as a major league player for Don Mattingly: Although he only said he was taking the 1996 season off, we knew he wouldn't be back for 1997.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner subsequently moved Michael to an oversight role, hired Joe Torre as manager, and hired Bob Watson as general manager. Watson soon made the trades to bring Mariners Tino Martinez and Jeff Nelson, and Chicago Cub catcher Joe Girardi, to New York. The Last Baseball Dynasty is about to begin.
And that's the 1st reason why it's a good thing that the Yankees lost: If the Yankees had won, they might have beaten the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, and they might have beaten the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. But there's no guarantee. And there's certainly no guarantee that, without the changes made in the 1995-96 off-season, the Yankee Dynasty that we know, from 1996 to 2003, would have happened.
The Mariners lost the ALCS to the Indians, and Cleveland had its 1st Pennant in 41 years. The Indians lost the World Series to the Braves, and Atlanta had its 1st Pennant in 30 seasons of trying. Each set of fans had waited a long time, through close calls and many awful seasons in awful stadiums, with sparse crowds.
At least Braves fans had Hank Aaron for some of that. Aside from Bob Feller for the first couple of years of the drought, what did Indians fans have? The young Rocky Colavito, the unfulfilled promise of pitchers Herb Score and Sam McDowell, a Cy Young season from Gaylord Perry, the end of Frank Robinson's playing career, and the too-soon trades of Dennis Eckersley and Joe Carter?
With 25 years of hindsight, it is better that the Yankees lost. Seattle, Cleveland and Atlanta fans had waited a long time for what they got in October 1995. The Yankees would take stock, make the necessary adjustments, and win much more.
And that's the 1st reason why it's a good thing that the Yankees lost: If the Yankees had won, they might have beaten the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, and they might have beaten the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. But there's no guarantee. And there's certainly no guarantee that, without the changes made in the 1995-96 off-season, the Yankee Dynasty that we know, from 1996 to 2003, would have happened.
Seriously: If the Yankees hadn't lost to the Mariners, do you think they would have traded for Mariners Tino and Nellie?
It was more than that: By winning this series, the Mariners saved Major League Baseball in the Pacific Northwest. A ballot measure to fund the building of a new ballpark passed, and Safeco Field opened in 1999. (It was renamed T-Mobile Park in 2018.)
It was more than that: By winning this series, the Mariners saved Major League Baseball in the Pacific Northwest. A ballot measure to fund the building of a new ballpark passed, and Safeco Field opened in 1999. (It was renamed T-Mobile Park in 2018.)
If the Yankees had won, then the measure might not have passed, and, today, the Mariners would likely be playing their home games in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. At least, with the area's nautical tradition, they wouldn't have to change their name: They could be the Tampa Bay Mariners.
The Mariners lost the ALCS to the Indians, and Cleveland had its 1st Pennant in 41 years. The Indians lost the World Series to the Braves, and Atlanta had its 1st Pennant in 30 seasons of trying. Each set of fans had waited a long time, through close calls and many awful seasons in awful stadiums, with sparse crowds.
At least Braves fans had Hank Aaron for some of that. Aside from Bob Feller for the first couple of years of the drought, what did Indians fans have? The young Rocky Colavito, the unfulfilled promise of pitchers Herb Score and Sam McDowell, a Cy Young season from Gaylord Perry, the end of Frank Robinson's playing career, and the too-soon trades of Dennis Eckersley and Joe Carter?
With 25 years of hindsight, it is better that the Yankees lost. Seattle, Cleveland and Atlanta fans had waited a long time for what they got in October 1995. The Yankees would take stock, make the necessary adjustments, and win much more.
In 2010, the MLB Network listed this game at 15th on their list of MLB's 20 Greatest Games -- limited in scope, due to the availability of surviving videotape, to 1975 onward.
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October 8, 1995 was a Sunday. The National League's pair of Division Series had already been decided. But there were NFL games on this day:
* The New York Giants beat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-21 in overtime at Giants Stadium.
* The New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills, 29-10 at Rich Stadium (later Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Redskins, 37-34 in overtime at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Denver Broncos beat the New England Patriots, 37-3 at Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-16 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now EverBank Stadium).
* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 19-16 at Tampa Stadium.
* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-24 in overtime at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in the Miami suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers, 34-24 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.
* The Detroit Lions beat the Cleveland Browns, 38-20 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Carolina Panthers, 37-21 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Houston Oilers, 23-17 in overtime at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Oakland Raiders beat the Seattle Seahawks, 34-14 at the Oakland Coliseum.
* And the next day, on Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Diego Chargers, 29-23 in overtime at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
* Except for the expansion Panthers, the entire NFC West had a bye week: The San Francisco 49ers, the St. Louis Rams, the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints.
The NBA season hadn't started yet. But the NHL season just had, and there were 2 games played. The Florida Panthers beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3 at the Miami Arena. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
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