2000 ALCS recap

For the second year in a row, both of New York's teams were in the League Championship Series. An eventual Subway Series, the first since the golden age of New York baseball when the Giants and Dodgers resided there, seemed like only a matter of time. Excitement was sky-high in the Big Apple.

Seattle had settled for the AL Wild Card, and then it built up steam by sweeping the White Sox in the ALDS. In Game 1 in the Bronx, Freddy Garcia and three Mariners relievers combined for a 2-0 victory, with Rickey Henderson's RBI single and Alex Rodriguez's solo homer providing the runs.

Orlando Hernandez, the 1999 ALCS MVP, remained a clutch postseason performer by answering with a dominant Game 2 performance, combining with Mariano Rivera for a 7-1 win. All seven of those runs came in the eighth inning, giving some much-needed relief to Yankees fans who were rooting for the Subway Series matchup in the World Series.

The Yankees won the next two to take a 3-1 series lead, and Game 4 was one for the ages. Roger Clemens, who had been 0-2 in the previous ALDS against Oakland, came into the game with an all-time postseason record of 3-5, allowing 40 earned runs in 83 1/3 innings. But in Game 4, one of the most masterful postseason outings ever, he struck out 15 in a one-hit shutout. Al Martin's leadoff double in the bottom of the seventh finally broke up the no-hitter.

Seattle won Game 5, 6-2, after coming from behind to score five runs in the fifth. That sent the series back to the Bronx for Game 6, and with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh, David Justice stepped up to the plate. Seattle was ahead 4-3, hoping to tie the series, and Piniella came out to bring Arthur Rhodes in to face the left-handed slugger.

Justice already had been to four World Series with Atlanta and Cleveland, providing the big hit that had meant his only ring so far, with the '95 Braves. He launched a three-run homer, giving New York a 6-4 cushion as part of a big six-run inning, and later earned the ALCS MVP title. The Yankees clinched with a 9-7 win, and their next game was against the Mets. A dream was coming true for New Yorkers, the first Subway Series since 1956.

Seattle shortstop Alex Rodriguez had a big 4-for-5 outing with a homer in the final game, and that proved to be his final game as a Mariner. He signed a massive contract with Texas after the season, and he eventually joined the Yankees in 2004.

Path to the ALCS
ALDS: New York over Oakland (3 games to 2); Seattle over Chicago (3 games to 0)

Managers: Joe Torre, NYY; Lou Piniella, SEA

MVP: David Justice