Team personifies N.Y.'s enduring spirit

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© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 2, 2001

NEW YORK -- The flag continues to fly. Tattered, yet defiant. Torn, yet proud. Pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center, the U.S. flag was raised above Yankee Stadium as a symbol of a city's enduring spirit.

The question now -- at 12:40 this morning -- is this:

Which symbol of the city is more defiant?

Which New York institution is more proud?

The New York Yankees have won 26 World Series championships, the most remarkable run of success in any major-league sport. And it is quite possible that no World Series in the Bronx has matched the magic of this one.

Down to their final out for the second night in a row, the Yankees hit a two-run home run to tie the score in a World Series game before winning in extra innings.

It had been 72 years since a team won a World Series game when trailing by two or more runs in the ninth inning. This team did it on successive nights.

"This is the most incredible couple of games I have ever managed, obviously," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

It would be irresponsible to claim the postseason has, in any way, erased the pain of the Sept. 11 tragedy. But to say the Yankees have not provided a diversion to the grim images of real life would be ignoring the obvious.

The mayor sits in the front row, wearing a Yankees cap. The players take the field in batting practice wearing the hats of New York's police, fire and rescue squads. This city loves its Yankees and the Yankees love their city.

"There's plenty of people who love what that Yankee emblem means," rightfielder Paul O'Neill said. "It stands for behaving like a professional, for winning and for history. You could talk a long time about what that N.Y. really means."

The World Series is not yet won -- the Yankees lead the Series 3-2 with Game 6 Saturday in Arizona -- but the point already has been made:

No collection of players has been so aptly called a team.

There may have been greater collections of talent. There may have been more dominant dynasties. But no group of players has blended so magnificently into one whole.

As a group of parts, they are less than intimidating. The Yankees are short on MVP candidates and do not have the league's dominant player at any of the eight fielding positions. There is no Ruth or Gehrig. No DiMaggio or Mantle. Just a manager with uncommon grace and a team with uncommon heart.

Three years ago, when most of these players were in their prime, the Yankees were clearly the best team in the majors. Today, they are not.

O'Neill, Scott Brosius, David Justice and Orlando Hernandez are on the downside of their careers. The starting pitching is a strength, but the offense is a mess. The defense has broken down several times this month.

But there is something about players who know how to win. About a team that refuses to quit. And those are qualities in which this team, these players, may be unparalleled in the game's history.

Over the past two years, the Yankees have won seven World Series games. Six have been by one run. The other was by two runs.

"It has happened so many times that you almost begin to expect it," reliever Mike Stanton said. "But you can't help but shake your head when it does. You say, "This is unbelievable,' but you just watched it. Again and again."

This is the place of mystique and aura. Of improbable stories and magic moments. At Yankee Stadium, they remember the imperfect man who pitched the perfect World Series game in 1956. They remember the night in 1977 when the legend of Mr. October was written with three successive home runs.

And, someday soon, they will talk about the night when a unappreciated first baseman hit a two-run home run to tie Game 4 in the ninth. And the night when a broken-down third baseman hit a two-run home run to tie Game 5 in the ninth. They will talk about the twin nights when a World Series turned.

You want mystique?

Tino Martinez was 0-for-9 in the Series when he hit his home run Wednesday.

You want aura?

Chuck Knoblauch had been sent to the bench and was 0-for-13 before beginning the winning rally this morning with his single to lead off the 12th.

This is not to say the Yankees are a team of destiny. To assign the outcome to the fates is to say that they have played no role.

"That's cheapening what the Yankees are all about," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. "They're a super baseball team. Writing it off to something supernatural takes away from what their players have done."

Fans chanted O'Neill's name throughout the ninth inning in honor of what is expected to be his final appearance at Yankee Stadium. O'Neill, 38, is expected to announce his retirement after the Series. As he returned from rightfield to the dugout in the bottom of the ninth, O'Neill stopped to tip his hat to the crowd.

"Running in with 50,000 people chanting your name, I had no idea what to do," O'Neill said. "In no way was I conceding the game by doing that, but I wanted to thank the fans because they've been good to me. I knew after (Game 4) that we still had a chance to win, but what are the odds.

"You have to believe you can win. But two nights in a row? Really, what are the odds of that?"

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