Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 1
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 2 0 0 2 1 4 1 0 4 14 18 1
Cleveland Indians 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 7 2 15 20 1
Indians Rally Past Marlins in Wild 29-Run Slugfest
Twenty-nine runs is not a World Series game; it is a barroom argument rendered in base hits. The Indians built early and comfortably — three in the first, singles producing runs with the mechanical ease of October confidence — then watched Florida dismantle the margin piece by piece through the middle innings until the Marlins held 10-6 after seven and the upper deck at Jacobs Field had gone quiet in that particular way a crowd goes quiet when it senses the architecture of an evening collapsing. The eighth changed everything. Sandy Alomar Jr. hammered a 1-1 pitch 368 feet into the left-field seats for two runs, and then Matt Williams, who had worked the count to 3-1 against Robb Nen with a wild pitch already having brought home Thome ahead of him, launched a ball 433 feet to right-center — a distance that seemed to stretch the geometry of the park itself — and suddenly Cleveland led 11-10. Bip Roberts's first-pitch double to the gap scored two more. Seven runs, and the ballpark had become a place where sound was physical.

Florida, being Florida, refused the premise. Darren Daulton ambushed an 0-2 pitch for a solo homer to left-center in the ninth — 418 feet, the crack of it still hanging in the cold air when Charles Johnson doubled and Moises Alou tripled to right-center. Edgar Renteria grounded a single through the left side at 107 miles per hour to tie it. Then Michael Jackson, who had entered to hold a three-run lead, walked Sheffield on four pitches with the bases full, and the go-ahead run scored without anyone swinging a bat. Florida 14, Cleveland 13. The night had turned so many times it no longer had a discernible shape.

Livan Hernandez came on to close it. He retired Alomar on a grounder, then watched Thome bloop a 3-1 single into shallow center. Manny Ramirez followed with an eight-pitch war — three foul balls prolonging the at-bat before a fly to right ended it. Two outs, one on. Tony Fernandez walked on a full count after fouling off the 3-2 pitch to stay alive. Williams again. He worked to 2-2, fouling two back, then drove a double into the left-center gap — Thome scoring standing, Fernandez wheeling home from third when the relay throw chased the wrong runner. The ball had barely settled into the outfield grass and the game was over: 15-14, a box score that read like a typographical error, the kind of night that felt — even as it was happening — as though it contained too many possible endings for just one game.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 6 2 3 1 0 0 3 .500 0 1
J. Eisenreich DH 4 3 2 0 2 0 1 .500 0 0
B. Bonilla 3B 5 1 3 4 1 0 1 .600 1 4
b- J. Conine 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 5 0 0 1 1 1 4 .000 0 1
c- A. Arias 3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
D. Daulton 1B, RF 4 3 3 3 1 0 4 .750 1 3
C. Johnson C 5 2 2 0 0 3 3 .400 0 0
D. White CF 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 .667 0 1
a- M. Alou PH, CF 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1.000 0 1
C. Counsell 2B 4 0 1 2 0 1 3 .250 0 2
C. Floyd LF 5 1 1 1 0 3 4 .200 0 1
Totals 42 14 18 14 6 8 23
a - M. Alou pinch hit for D. White in the 9th
b - J. Conine substituted for B. Bonilla in the 9th
c - A. Arias substituted for G. Sheffield in the 9th

BATTING
Doubles: C. Johnson (1, 9th Inning off M. Jackson, 0 on, 0 outs) J. Eisenreich (1, 5th Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 0 outs) D. Daulton (1, 7th Inning off E. Plunk, 0 on, 0 outs)
Triples: M. Alou (1, 9th Inning off M. Jackson, 1 on, 0 outs)
Home Runs: D. Daulton (1, 9th Inning off M. Jackson, 0 on, 0 outs) B. Bonilla (1, 6th Inning off B. Anderson, 2 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: D. White 2 , E. Renteria 3 , C. Johnson 3 , C. Floyd , J. Eisenreich 3 , D. Daulton 7 , C. Counsell , B. Bonilla 6 , M. Alou 3
2-out RBI: G. Sheffield , E. Renteria , D. Daulton , B. Bonilla
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: G. Sheffield , E. Renteria , C. Floyd , D. Daulton
Sac Bunt: C. Counsell
Sac Fly: D. Daulton
Team LOB: 8

BASERUNNING
SB: E. Renteria (1) , C. Floyd (1)

FIELDING
Errors: B. Bonilla
Double Plays: 1 (Renteria-Counsell-Daulton)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 6 1 1 0 0 1 6 .167 0 0
B. Roberts LF 6 1 5 2 0 0 0 .833 0 2
D. Justice DH 5 1 1 1 1 1 3 .200 0 1
S. Alomar Jr C 6 2 2 3 0 0 4 .333 1 3
J. Thome 1B 5 5 5 3 1 0 0 1.000 2 3
M. Ramirez RF 4 0 2 0 2 0 2 .500 0 0
T. Fernandez 2B 5 2 0 0 1 0 7 .000 0 0
M. Williams 3B 6 1 3 5 0 1 3 .500 1 5
M. Grissom CF 3 2 1 0 2 2 4 .333 0 0
Totals 46 15 20 14 7 5 29
BATTING
Doubles: M. Williams (1, 9th Inning off L. Hernandez, 2 on, 2 outs) J. Thome 2 (2, 3rd Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs; 5th Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs) B. Roberts 2 (2, 1st Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 1 out; 8th Inning off R. Nen, 2 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: S. Alomar Jr (1, 8th Inning off F. Heredia, 1 on, 1 out) M. Williams (1, 8th Inning off R. Nen, 1 on, 2 outs) J. Thome 2 (2, 1st Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 2 outs; 7th Inning off D. Cook, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr 5 , M. Williams 7 , O. Vizquel , J. Thome 13 , B. Roberts 7 , M. Ramirez 2 , D. Justice , M. Grissom
2-out RBI: S. Alomar Jr , M. Williams 2 , J. Thome , B. Roberts , D. Justice
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , S. Alomar Jr 2 , M. Williams , O. Vizquel 2 , D. Justice
GIDP: O. Vizquel
Team LOB: 11

FIELDING
Errors: M. Ramirez
PB: S. Alomar Jr
FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
A. Leiter 5.0 8 5 5 3 3 1 88 52 9.00
D. Cook 1.0 4 1 1 1 0 1 30 17 9.00
F. Heredia 1.1 2 3 3 1 1 1 27 16 20.25
R. Nen BS (1) 0.1 4 4 4 1 0 1 18 8 108.00
L. Hernandez L (0-1) 1.0 2 2 2 1 1 0 36 21 18.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 31
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 26, D. Cook 7, F. Heredia 8, R. Nen 6, L. Hernandez 6
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 3-9, D. Cook 1-1, F. Heredia 2-1, R. Nen 1-0, L. Hernandez 1-1
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 88-52, D. Cook 30-17, F. Heredia 27-16, R. Nen 18-8, L. Hernandez 36-21
Inherited Runners - Scored: F. Heredia 1-0 , R. Nen 1-1 , L. Hernandez 1-0
WP: R. Nen
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy 4.2 7 5 5 2 3 0 94 56 9.64
B. Anderson 1.0 3 4 4 1 1 1 25 15 36.00
E. Plunk 1.1 3 1 1 0 2 0 23 17 6.75
A. Morman 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 17 10 0.00
M. Jackson BS (1) 0.2 4 4 4 3 2 1 29 14 54.00
J. Mesa W (1-0) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 31
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 23, B. Anderson 7, E. Plunk 7, A. Morman 3, M. Jackson 9, J. Mesa 1
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 3-8, B. Anderson 1-1, E. Plunk 0-2, A. Morman 0-2, M. Jackson 0-0, J. Mesa 1-0
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 94-56, B. Anderson 25-15, E. Plunk 23-17, A. Morman 17-10, M. Jackson 29-14, J. Mesa 4-3
Inherited Runners - Scored: B. Anderson 1-0 , A. Morman 1-0 , J. Mesa 3-0
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Jim Thome
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 4:48
Attendance: 44,880