Revisit Tino's 2001 Game 4 HR on MLB Network
Tino Martinez connected for one of the biggest home runs of his career and Derek Jeter became “Mr. November” in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, regarded as one of the most memorable contests of an epic and emotional Fall Classic.
MLB Network is paying tribute to that ‘01 World Series on Thursday, beginning with Game 4’s appearance in the “MLB’s 20 Greatest Games” series at 9 a.m. ET, hosted by Bob Costas and Tom Verducci. Game 4 will air in its entirety at 10:30 a.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. ET.
As rescue and recovery heroes toiled in the rubble of the World Trade Center about nine miles south of Yankee Stadium, the Yankees were down to their final out when Martinez launched a two-run, game-tying home run off D-backs closer Byung-Hyun Kim.
"It's my favorite personal moment of my career," Martinez has said. "It was an amazing feeling. We had gone through Sept. 11, we lost two in Arizona, and after winning Game 3, to do that in Game 4, it was amazing. It gave the fans a brief break from thinking about all the tragedy."
The clock ticked past midnight an inning later as Jeter strode to the plate, then drove a 3-2 pitch from Kim over the 314-foot marker into the right-field seats, sparking delirious pandemonium among an announced crowd of 55,863.
"People still come up to me and tell me where they were when I hit that home run, especially New Yorkers," Jeter said in 2016. "Even if it was for a few seconds, I think it made a lot of people who were going through the toughest time in their lives smile."
The dual blasts prevented Arizona from taking a 3-1 series lead after Curt Schilling fired seven strong innings on short rest. Orlando “El Duque” Hernández pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball, but Arizona scored twice in the eighth off Mike Stanton. Kim improbably was the goat again in Game 5, serving up a game-tying blast to Scott Brosius in the ninth inning before the Yankees went on to win in 12 innings.
Game 7 of the 2001 World Series was won by Arizona. That deciding contest will be featured as part of the “MLB’s 20 Greatest Games” series at 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, with the contest airing in its entirety at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. The games will be discussed on MLB Tonight at 6 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET on Thursday.