<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=15J2Bj_0wHGbNy600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=15J2Bj_0wHGbNy600" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>On October 26, 1996, John Wetteland delivered a 3-2 pitch to Mark Lemke, who popped it up into foul territory on the third base side. Third baseman Charlie Hayes, who had replaced Wade Boggs for defense in the seventh, ranged to his right and, just a few feet from the wall, caught the ball for the third out of the inning — and the final out of the 1996 World Series.After blowing a 2-0 lead to the Yankees in the 1996 World Series, the Atlanta Braves failed to make the World Series the following two seasons, losing first to the Florida Marlins, then to the San Diego Padres. While they remained the cream of the crop in the National League — they had made the NLCS in seven straight seasons and had 207 wins across the previous two seasons — Atlanta had become not the grand ruler of the Senior Circuit, but the final boss for teams to overcome on the way to the World Series.Compared to the previous squads, the 1999 Atlanta Braves were a flawed team, ranking just sixth in the NL in runs per game, and only barely leading the NL in runs against per game instead of lapping the rest of the league. Even so, they finished the season with 103 wins, riding a strong rotation and bullpen to five more wins than their run differential would suggest, not only earning the No. 1 seed in the NL, but also boasting the best record in all of baseball.The Braves’ NL dynasty of the ‘90s were dominated by their pitching staff, and 1999 was no exception. All the attention goes to the Big Three, a trio of Hall of Famers — Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz — who headlined the Braves pitching staff from 1993 to 2002, and for good reason. During that decade, they collectively won five Cy Young Awards, while most teams would have been thrilled to have just one, let alone all three. And, although their performances in 1999 were below their normal standards — Glavine’s 109 ERA+ and even Maddux’s 129 ERA+ were among the worst of their careers to that point — there was nobody in the Yankees’ rotation who Brian Cashman wouldn’t have traded for any of these three, one to one (with the possible exception of Roger Clemens).What made the Braves’ pitching staff in 1999 even scarier, however, was their best pitcher was arguably none of these three, but No. 4 starter Kevin Millwood. He finished the season with a 2.68 ERA, posted an 18-7 record, and struck out a team-high 205 batters in 228 innings en route to a top-three finish in the NL Cy Young vote (Randy Johnson, having signed with the Diamondbacks, won what would become his first of four straight awards). Millwood had all the makings of a veritable ace ... and he was their fourth starter.Although the Braves struggled to fill the fifth spot in their rotation throughout the season, their bullpen remained as dominant as their first four. Closer/Enemy of New York John Rocker (2.49 ERA, 38 saves) led a relief corps that finished fourth in baseball with 4.9 fWAR. When teams had finally forced the starters out of the game, they had to deal with one of the best bullpens in the game; it just wasn’t fair.In contrast to previous seasons, the Atlanta lineup was solid, but a bit top-heavy. Chipper Jones (.319/.441/.633) remained his excellent self while winning the only MVP of his Hall of Fame career, and center fielder Andruw Jones paired Gold Glove defense in center field with a .365 OBP and 26 home runs. But a midseason slump to All-Star Brian Jordan and an injury to catcher Javy López, however, left them with only one other consistently above-average bat: first baseman Ryan Klesko. Even so, when you’re running out a rotation that was honestly better than anything you could put together in MLB The Show with “forced trades” turned on, just having two and a half dangerous bats is more than enough.Not surprisingly, just as the Yankees bowled over the American League, the top-seeded Atlanta Braves rolled over the National League. The Houston Astros hung a four spot on reliever Mike Remlinger in Game 1 of the NLCS to secure a 6-1 victory, but dropped the next three in spectacular fashion — including an exciting extra-innings loss in Game 3 — to allow the Braves to return to the NLCS for the eighth straight season.Facing the New York Mets in the NLCS, Atlanta jumped out to a 3-0 lead, stamped by one of the greatest pitchers’ duels of all-time in Game 3. Up against Mets pitcher Al Leiter, Gerald Williams led off the top of the first with a walk, advancing to second on an E1. Williams and Bret Boone then ran a double steal, Mike Piazza threw the ball into center field, and Williams came around to score to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead.Leiter escaped without any more damage: he got Jordan to fly out to center, and Jones threw out Boone attempting to score on a sacrifice fly. That one run, though, would prove to be more than enough, as Leiter and Maddux traded zeroes for seven innings, then both bullpens traded zeroes for two innings. Despite a combined 10 hits, five walks, and three errors, neither lineup even truly threatened.Much like the 2024 Mets, however, the 1999 Mets would not go down quietly. A two-run single by John Olerud with two outs in the eighth gave New York a come-from-behind victory in Game 4, and Robin Ventura’s famous “grand slam single” secured victory from the jaws of defeat in the bottom of the 15th in Game 5. Unfortunately, midnight came for Cinderella, for although the Mets clawed back from a 5-0 deficit after Leiter (working on three days’ rest) melted down in the first inning to force extras, Andruw Jones worked a bases-loaded, pennant-clinching, walk-off walk in the 11th to punch their ticket to a 1996 rematch.A long series always results in the pitching rotation going completely off the rails, especially when it ends in a pair of lengthy extra-innings matchups. As we know, how a team lines up their staff has a major effect on how a particular series plays out, so let’s take a look at how each team set up their rotation.<h2>Game 1: Orlando Hernández vs. Greg Maddux (10/23)</h2>The benefit of winning the ALCS in four to five games is that you have a chance to completely realign the starting rotation. Fresh off winning ALCS MVP, Orlando Hernández got the ball to start Game 1 of the World Series despite starting the clinching game of the previous series.This matchup would prove to be El Duque’s greatest challenge yet, as while he avoided a flu-ridden Glavine, he had to contend with Maddux. The future Hall of Famer was making his 24th postseason start (and 25th appearance overall, as he came out of the bullpen during NLDS Game 3). As good as he had been during the regular season throughout his career, he was even more effective in the postseason, posting a 2.92 ERA and limiting opposing batters to a .650 OPS.<h2>Game 2: David Cone vs. Kevin Millwood (10/24)</h2>After his breakout regular season, Millwood announced himself nationally in the 1999 postseason. His first start, Game 2 of the NLDS, was a one-hit complete game victory where only two batters reached base — on a home run and an error. He nabbed the save in extra innings during Game 3 of the same series, before leading the Braves to a pair of victories in a pair of starts in the NLCS, including the clinching Game 6.Meanwhile, David Cone, who struggled down the stretch, got the ball for the Yankees. In his first start of the postseason, Game 2 against Boston, he spun seven innings of two-run ball, striking out nine and allowing just seven hits. September may have been rough, but when the lights shone brightest, Coney shone, too.<h2>Game 3: Andy Pettitte vs. Tom Glavine (10/26)</h2>With the series headed to the Bronx, the Braves turned the ball over to a somewhat-recovered Glavine, the pitcher who was on the mound when the Yankees began to turn the tide in the 1996 World Series. With 25 postseason starts under his belt, Glavine had arguably put together his best performance in his previous outing — the aforementioned seven shutout innings in Game 3 of the NLCS before coming down with the flu.The Yankees sent out their own postseason veteran, albeit one who was a full four years younger. In his most recent outing, Andy Pettitte had allowed just two runs in 7.1 innings against the Red Sox to put the team within one game of the World Series. Three years prior, his two World Series starts against Atlanta had gone very differently, as he blew up for seven runs in Game 1, but tossed 8.1 shutout innings in Game 5.<h2>Game 4: Roger Clemens vs. John Smoltz (10/27)</h2>Pushed to the brink, the Atlanta Braves turned to their third former Cy Young, a man who continues to hound the Yankees today (albeit this time, from our television sets). Like the other two members of the Big Three, Smoltz was a postseason veteran, making his 28th October appearance that saw him come out of the bullpen on several occasions even as he remained in the rotation. In 1999, he made one start apiece in the NLDS and NLCS (in each case, Game 4), and made relief appearances* in NLCS Game 2 (in which he earned a save) and Game 6 (in which he melted down and allowed the Mets to tie the game).*As it turned out, this would be Smoltz’s final high-profile start for awhile, as he underwent Tommy John surgery the following spring and reinvented himself as an elite closer in the early 2000s.The Yankees countered with the pitcher acquired to be their ace, Roger Clemens. Despite his lengthy career, Clemens had a fairly lackluster postseason resume, with a 3.88 ERA in just nine playoff starts. The 1999 playoffs had done nothing to establish his reputation in either direction: although he threw seven shutout innings to clinch the sweep in the ALDS, he melted down and was knocked out after recording six outs in Game 3 of the ALCS.So how would this series wind up playing out? If you didn’t already know, you can probably tell from the number of games listed that Atlanta’s dominant pitching simply ran out of gas after a crazy end to the NLCS, and folded against a surging — and well-rested — Yankees lineup. As for the particulars, though, you’ll just have to wait and see.Read the full 1999 Yankees Diary series here.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

1999 Yankees Diary: The Rematch of ‘96

On October 26, 1996, John Wetteland delivered a 3-2 pitch to Mark Lemke, who popped it up into foul territory on the third base side. Third baseman Charlie Hayes, who had replaced Wade Boggs for defense in the seventh, ranged to his right and, just a few feet from the wall, caught the ball for the third out of the inning — and the final out of the 1996 World Series.