October 9, 1996, 25 years ago today: Game 1 of the American League Championship Series is held at the original Yankee Stadium. The Yankees trail the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th. The big, scowling, fearsome Armando Benitez is on the mound for the Orioles. He does not yet have a reputation as a pitcher who chokes in the clutch. He is about to get one.
He pitches to Derek Jeter, the Yankees' rookie shortstop. Jeter, as later fans might guess, uses an inside-out swing to send the ball to right-center field. Oriole right fielder Tony Tarasco goes back, stands at the fence, and holds up his glove.
Tarasco is a fool. Take a look at the tape: His glove wasn't lined up right. He played it totally wrong. Instead of falling into his glove, it would have hit the fence above him and to his right -- or from the view of the TV fan, "back and to the left." It's baseball's "Zapruder Film." The ball would have gone for at least a double, possibly a triple, putting the tying run in scoring position.
See? Back, and to the left.
Except that’s not what happened. Jeffrey Maier, a 12-year-old fan from Old Tappan, Bergen County, New Jersey, ran over, and reached out with his glove. The ball hit his glove, and as he tried to pull it into the stands, he lost control of it. That's right: He didn't even get the ball.
Umpire Rich Garcia ruled it a home run, tying the game. Tarasco was furious. Oriole manager Davey Johnson -- at that moment, still the last man to manage a New York team to a Pennant, the 1986 Mets -- runs out to protest. To no avail.
In the bottom of the 11th inning, Randy Myers, who had pitched for Johnson on the '86 Mets and had won a World Series under Lou Piniella for the 1990 Cincinnati Reds, pitched to Bernie Williams, the star of the Yanks' AL Division Series win over the Texas Rangers. On radio station WABC, John Sterling said this:
Theeee pitch, swung, and it's driven to deep left! It is high! It is far! Iiiiiiiit… is gone! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!
It wasn't the first time Sterling had used the line, but it was the first time I'd heard him drag it out that much. Final score: Yankees 5, Orioles 4.
After the game, the media asked Yankee manager Joe Torre about the fan-assisted Jeter home run. Without missing a beat, or changing his expression, The Man of One Face said, "Did anybody see Bernie's home run? That wasn't bad." Laughter in the press room.
The Orioles won Game 2. The series went to Baltimore, and the Yankees won 3 straight, and won the Pennant. Torre was in the World Series for the 1st time, having been a player from 1960 to 1977, and a manager since then. They lost the 1st 2 games of the World Series to the Atlanta Braves, then took the next 4 to dethrone them as the World Champions. The Yankees had won for the 1st time in 18 years.
The Orioles have since made the Playoffs in 1997, 2012, 2014 and 2016. But they still haven't won the World Series, or even a Pennant, since 1983.
Their fans still say they were robbed of a Pennant: If Garcia had made the correct call, interference, then Jeter would have been out, and the Orioles would have won Game 1, they still would have won Game 2, and would have been unstoppable in winning the Pennant, and would have beaten the clearly vulnerable Braves in the World Series.
But they didn't. It was all because of that kid.
The Top 5 Reasons You Can’t Blame Jeffrey Maier for the Baltimore Orioles losing the 1996 American League Pennant
5. Tony Tarasco. He blew the play. If he had tracked the ball properly, he would have gotten under it and jumped for it. Jeffrey Maier probably saved him from being the biggest goat in the history of Baltimore sports. Tarasco still owes Maier a steak dinner, in my opinion. At the very least, now that Maier is about to turn 38, he could buy him a beer.
4. Bernie Williams. He not only hit the Game 1 winner, but torched the O's in Games 3 and 4 in Baltimore as well.
3. The Bullpens. The Yankees had Graeme Lloyd, Jeff Nelson and a rookie named Mariano Rivera setting up John Wetteland. The Orioles had Benitez setting up Myers.
2. The Managers. Joe Torre kept his cool. Davey Johnson lost his cool. He got so upset over the call that his anger spread to his team. He could have calmed them down afterward and said, "Aw, forget it. We got screwed, but it's just one game. If we win Game 2 here tomorrow, we can come home with a tie, and we'll be in great shape to take this thing. Put it out of your minds and win tomorrow." He didn't.
This wasn't the first such example in postseason history, and it hasn't been the last. Frankly, I think the Mets won that 1986 in spite of Johnson, not because of any leadership he provided. A better manager, and the Mets might have won the Pennant in 1988, too, and at least won the National League East in 1985, 1987 and 1990.
1. The Yankees Were Better. Yes, they were. They did win the Division (the Orioles had won the Wild Card), they didn't need steroids (the Orioles had Rafael Palmeiro, who was caught, and Brady Anderson, who has never been publicly outed but whose season and career fit the profile), and they won all 3 games at Camden Yards.
The next season, the Cleveland Indians would win 2 of the 3 ALCS games in Baltimore. The Orioles have a record of 1-5 in ALCS games played at Camden Yards.
From their 1st postseason home game, Game 3 of the 1966 World Series, to Game 6 of the 1971 World Series, they were 13-2 in home postseason games. From Game 7 of the 1971 World Series to today, the Orioles' home record in postseason play is 13-18. That's at home.
Or, to put it another way, they have won just 1 home game in ALCS play in the last 38 years. And you can't say, "Curse of Camden Yards," because they were playing at Memorial Stadium for some of that. If you can't defend your home field in the Playoffs, you have no right to blame a kid in the stands at an away game.
The Yankees proved they were better going on to win that Pennant, a stretch of 6 Pennants and 4 World Championships in 8 years. The O's? Still looking for their 1st Pennant since Ronald Reagan's 1st term.
Jeffrey Maier went on to play baseball at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he became the school's all-time hits leader. He served as an extra and assisted with baseball skills training for the actors in ESPN’s miniseries about the 1977 Yankees, The Bronx is Burning.
He now works with Internet LeagueApps in Manchester, New Hampshire. Yes, Jeffrey Maier (who now prefers to be called Jeff) lives and works in "Red Sox Nation." Beyond that, his wife Andrea is a Sox fan. He says, "I've been able to look past that flaw in her character." They have 3 children, all boys.
5. Tony Tarasco. He blew the play. If he had tracked the ball properly, he would have gotten under it and jumped for it. Jeffrey Maier probably saved him from being the biggest goat in the history of Baltimore sports. Tarasco still owes Maier a steak dinner, in my opinion. At the very least, now that Maier is about to turn 38, he could buy him a beer.
4. Bernie Williams. He not only hit the Game 1 winner, but torched the O's in Games 3 and 4 in Baltimore as well.
3. The Bullpens. The Yankees had Graeme Lloyd, Jeff Nelson and a rookie named Mariano Rivera setting up John Wetteland. The Orioles had Benitez setting up Myers.
2. The Managers. Joe Torre kept his cool. Davey Johnson lost his cool. He got so upset over the call that his anger spread to his team. He could have calmed them down afterward and said, "Aw, forget it. We got screwed, but it's just one game. If we win Game 2 here tomorrow, we can come home with a tie, and we'll be in great shape to take this thing. Put it out of your minds and win tomorrow." He didn't.
This wasn't the first such example in postseason history, and it hasn't been the last. Frankly, I think the Mets won that 1986 in spite of Johnson, not because of any leadership he provided. A better manager, and the Mets might have won the Pennant in 1988, too, and at least won the National League East in 1985, 1987 and 1990.
1. The Yankees Were Better. Yes, they were. They did win the Division (the Orioles had won the Wild Card), they didn't need steroids (the Orioles had Rafael Palmeiro, who was caught, and Brady Anderson, who has never been publicly outed but whose season and career fit the profile), and they won all 3 games at Camden Yards.
The next season, the Cleveland Indians would win 2 of the 3 ALCS games in Baltimore. The Orioles have a record of 1-5 in ALCS games played at Camden Yards.
From their 1st postseason home game, Game 3 of the 1966 World Series, to Game 6 of the 1971 World Series, they were 13-2 in home postseason games. From Game 7 of the 1971 World Series to today, the Orioles' home record in postseason play is 13-18. That's at home.
Or, to put it another way, they have won just 1 home game in ALCS play in the last 38 years. And you can't say, "Curse of Camden Yards," because they were playing at Memorial Stadium for some of that. If you can't defend your home field in the Playoffs, you have no right to blame a kid in the stands at an away game.
The Yankees proved they were better going on to win that Pennant, a stretch of 6 Pennants and 4 World Championships in 8 years. The O's? Still looking for their 1st Pennant since Ronald Reagan's 1st term.
Jeffrey Maier went on to play baseball at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he became the school's all-time hits leader. He served as an extra and assisted with baseball skills training for the actors in ESPN’s miniseries about the 1977 Yankees, The Bronx is Burning.
He now works with Internet LeagueApps in Manchester, New Hampshire. Yes, Jeffrey Maier (who now prefers to be called Jeff) lives and works in "Red Sox Nation." Beyond that, his wife Andrea is a Sox fan. He says, "I've been able to look past that flaw in her character." They have 3 children, all boys.
Maier, with 2 of his sons,
interviewed by Sweeny Murti of WFAN
Come to think of it, the Orioles' last World Series win came on October 16, 1983. Maier was born on November 15, 1983, just 1 month later.
The Curse of Jeffrey Maier? Or the Curse of Tony Tarasco?
*
October 9, 1996 was a Wednesday. Game 1 was also played in the National League Championship Series. The defending World Champion Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Cards would take the next 3 games, and it looked like they would play the Yankees in the World Series. But the Braves won the next 3, setting up the 1st Yankees vs. Braves World Series since 1958, in Milwaukee.
It was midweek for football, and the NBA season hadn't started yet. But the NHL season had, and there were 6 games played, 1 involving a local team:
* The New York Islanders played the Ottawa Senators to a tie, 3-3 at the Corel Centre in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario. (It's now named the Canadian Tire Centre. Why Canada uses the British spelling "Centre," but not the British spelling "Tyre," I don't know.)
The Isles led 2-0 late in the 1st period, and 3-1 with 3 minutes left in regulation. But that's when Daniel Alfredsson scores, and an interference penalty on Scott LaChance with 36 seconds left gave the Senators a chance to pull their goalie and make it a 6-on-4. With 2 seconds left, Alexandre Daigle scored to send the game to overtime, where no winner could be found.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Los Angeles Kings, 6-3 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-0 at the Joe Louis Arena.
* The team then known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-0 at the United Center in Chicago.
* The St. Louis Blues beat the Calgary Flames, 3-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.
* And the Buffalo Sabres beat the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.