Memories of the Big House in the Bronx -- July 28, 1996

July 28, 1996 -- New York Yankees 3, Kansas City Royals 2

It wasn't my first Yankee game at the Stadium, nor even the first time I saw them win a game there-- but it was extremely special all the same. Back then, the walk-off home run was something that, at 11-years-old, I had only seen once: Joe Carter in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, off of Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams. Coincidentally, it was the first time I became self-aware that the mullet was a very silly coif... but I digress.

Where was I? Walk-off homers, right. Now, I find that they happen with much higher frequency (a disproportionate amount for the Red Sox, to boot), but this game was special because I was in the lower deck of the left field grandstands (right next to the visitor's bullpen) and I saw my first real-life walk-off ding-dong job. The bottom of the ninth saw the Yankees down 2-1, and Tino Martinez (who was my favorite player-- I bought a shirt with his name and famous #24 on the back that day near Gate 2) base on balls off Royals closer Jason Jacome. Gerald Williams came in to run for Tino (as the '96 Yankees were apt to do, as in their first year under manager Joe Torre they were built more like a national league team-- hitting and running, sacrificing the baserunners to second and third, and stealing bases-- very much unlike the homer-happy Yanks of present-day), and up to the plate strolled Darryl Strawberry.

My pop is a Met fan, so I grew up watching their games in the late 80's and early 90's-- I actually didn't know that Yankees existed until my gandfather took me to Yankee Stadium for my first game there in 1992. So, the familiarity with "The Straw" was strong for me-- we used to sit on the couch, my father and I, chanting "Darryl... Darryl" in that monotone that became infamous in ballparks around the nation as either an encouragement or a catcall, depending on the location and which team Darryl played for (Mets, Dodgers, Giants, & Yankees over the course of 17 seasons) at the time. To this day, I'll maintain that his natural loping, fluid stroke from the left side is the greatest swing I've ever seen, and perhaps will ever see.

In 1996, Strawberry was a part-time player for Torre's Yankees. After being in and out of trouble with the law with drugs and illicit behavior for years prior, in addition to nagging injuries (Straw hadn't played more than 43 games in a season in five years--1991-- before his 63 in '96.), Torre lobbied to bring in Strawberry back to New York, to the city in which his star shined brightest. Strawberry rewarded Torre's faith by becoming his primary left-handed pinch-hit threat (along with Cecil Fielder from the right side, and former All-Star Ruben Sierra, the Yankees perhaps had one of the best power-hitting benches in major league history), and someone who could spell the aforementioned Williams in left, or Paul O'Neill in right field a day or two a week.

In a lefty-lefty matchup, Jacome decided to pitch to The Straw, and fell behind 3-1 with Williams dancing off first, threatening to swipe second. He came back with a strike that Darryl flailed at, bring the count full at 3-2. After two throws to first to check on the runner, Jacome elevated a pitch, and in turn, Strawberry elevated it out to right center. The moment you heard the bat crack and began to trail the flight arc of the ball, as with so many Strawberry homers, the only question remaining was how far back into the bleachers the ball would travel. The ball soared past future Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon (babyfaced at 22-years-old, in his second year with the Royals), then the 385-foot sign in right-center and landed about ten rows deep as the crowd erupted. The homer was Strawberry's 300th of his career-- the caption on the back page in the New York Post the next day read: "Straw-some."

What I forgot about that day was that Dwight "Doc" Gooden pitched for the Yanks and would have taken the hard-luck loss (8.0 IP & 2 ER, the only blemish being a 2-run homer off the bat of Jose Offerman in the third inning) had not Strawberry bailed him out with his heroics. The "Dead End Kids," as Sports Illustrated once labeled them at the nadir of their simultaneous drug and legal problems, found their way (at least for a little while) in the mid-90's as Yankees, and this game represents one of their last few great days as ballplayers.

For those interested in the box score, the link is: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA199607280.shtml