1996 ALCS recap

A 12-year-old boy named Jeffrey Maier added his name to Yankees postseason lore in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, where he reached out over the wall in right field with his mitt and robbed Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco of a fly ball struck by Derek Jeter. It would play a key role, as New York ended a 14-year World Series hiatus (excluding the canceled 1994 postseason) dating back to the 1981 Series.

Umpire Rich Garcia, without a proper angle to view the ball's final arc, ruled Jeter's hit a home run, and the umpiring crew agreed. Television replays showed that it should have been ruled fan interference (and likely would have bounced off the wall above Tarasco's reach), but there was no replay in those days, and the rookie shortstop's solo shot tied the score at 4 in the bottom of the eighth.

Baltimore had blown a 4-2 lead through six innings against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, and the final blow came in the bottom of the 11th, when Bernie Williams homered off closer Randy Myers.

When the Orioles won Game 2 a day later, 5-3, it could be said that they stole back home-field advantage -- or that they should have been up in the series, 2-0. Either way, the Maier incident never receded into the background, instead growing into New York tabloid legend and looming over this ALCS, with the boy even embraced by the Yankees organization. The Yankees went on to win the next three games in Baltimore, never needing another home game in the series.

Jeter was 10-for-24 (.417) with that famous homer and five runs in the series, Darryl Strawberry hit three homers over the last two games, Pettitte recorded his first of a record 19 postseason wins, and Williams was named ALCS MVP with after batting .474 and driving in six runs. A new era of Yankees Fall Classics was about to begin.

Path to the ALCS
ALDS: New York over Texas (3-1); Baltimore over Cleveland (3-1)

Managers: Joe Torre, NYY; Davey Johnson, BAL

MVP: Bernie Williams