Ninth Inning, Bases Loaded, Two Men Out. Two Strikes
Alex Rodriguez slapped his hands as he rounded first base yesterday afternoon and then nearly plowed into the third-base coach Larry Bowa as he rounded third. Before touching home plate, he heaved his batting helmet toward the sky, a smile on his face every step of the way.
Rodriguez has been playing in the major leagues for 13 seasons. But with one swing of the bat, he became a kid again.
?It felt awesome,? Rodriguez said of his trip around the bases, which he earned after belting a game-winning grand slam that capped an improbable 10-7 victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. ?I was so excited. I felt foolish running around the bases like it was Little League. I just remember I almost knocked Bowa over at third. I saw the fans kind of rocking behind him. It was kind of cool.?
It was rare, too. The Yankees have played 16,116 games in their 105-year history, but they have ended only eight games with a grand slam. Yesterday?s game-ending grand slam, the third of Rodriguez?s career, may have been the most dramatic. And it overshadowed a disappointing major league debut by Kei Igawa, the Japanese left-hander whom the Yankees signed in the off-season.
The Yankees (2-2) trailed by a run with two out and the bases empty in the ninth inning, a situation similar to the one described in the Ernest L. Thayer poem ?Casey at the Bat.? Then Robinson Can? singled up the middle against Orioles closer Chris Ray, Derek Jeter walked and Bobby Abreu was hit by a pitch to bring up Rodriguez.
Like Casey in the poem, Rodriguez had two strikes against him. But that was where the comparison ended. Ray offered a 95-mile-an-hour fastball on a 1-2 count that Rodriguez sent over the wall in right-center.
?Somehow, I knew it was going to come down to me,? said Rodriguez, who had three hits and six runs batted in, including a two-run homer in the first inning. ?Even with two outs and nobody on.?
The fans roared their approval. The Yankees piled out of the dugout and mobbed Rodriguez. Johnny Damon attempted to lift him in the air, but, maybe thinking about his strained right calf, did not. Jeter urged Rodriguez to make a curtain call, and he obliged.
And today, he’ll strike out once and they’ll boo him.
