Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 43
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 10 1
Cleveland Indians 2 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 X 8 12 1
Roberts Goes 5-for-5; Indians Survive Florida Rally to Win Game 3
Bip Roberts went five for five on this particular Tuesday night — the forty-third iteration of a game that has now been played enough times to reveal every possible version of itself — and what stayed with you afterward was not the statistical perfection but the variety of its expression: a full-count single through the right side in the first, a first-pitch double to right-center in the second that scored Grissom from third, another double later, two more singles scattered through the middle innings like punctuation marks in an increasingly emphatic sentence. Five at-bats, five hits, each one different in trajectory and timing, as though Roberts were conducting a private seminar on the art of putting bat to ball in forty-seven-degree rain.

The Indians built a 6-0 lead through two innings, the signature blow being Sandy Alomar Jr.'s three-run home run on the very first pitch he saw from Leiter in the second — 384 feet into the left-field seats, the sort of swing that requires no setup, no working of the count, just the immediate recognition of a mistake and the authority to punish it. Leiter lasted just four outs, and his line read like an accusation: five hits, six runs, forty-eight pitches of diminishing conviction. But the Marlins, as they have done in certain other tellings of this evening, refused to go quietly. The fourth inning brought six runs on four hits and a critical Tony Fernandez error at second base — Charles Johnson's two-run homer to right starting the avalanche, Edgar Renteria's infield single loading the bases, and then two runs scoring on a grounder that went through Fernandez's legs as though the ball had somewhere more important to be. Sheffield's single to left completed the evening's work, scoring Eisenreich and Alou to tie the game.

Tied at six, Cleveland answered in the fifth with the quiet efficiency of a team that has, in some sense it cannot articulate, been here before. Matt Williams walked on four pitches, Grissom singled him to second, and after the bases loaded on a walk to Vizquel, Roberts — who else — beat out an infield chopper to first that scored Williams. Then Vizquel tagged from third on Alomar's deep fly to left-center, and the lead was 8-6, which proved to be enough. Eric Plunk, Paul Assenmacher, and Mike Jackson combined for five and a third innings of scoreless relief, the Marlins managing just two hits against them and never putting a runner past second base. The final score held at 8-6, a game whose shape — early dominance, sudden collapse, quiet reassertion — felt almost like a lesson in the cyclical nature of competitive momentum.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 5 1 3 0 0 0 2 .600 0 0
J. Eisenreich LF 5 1 0 0 0 1 5 .000 0 0
M. Alou DH 5 1 1 0 0 2 2 .200 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 4 0 1 2 1 0 3 .250 0 2
B. Bonilla 3B 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 .000 0 0
D. Daulton 1B 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .750 0 0
C. Johnson C 4 1 1 2 0 3 2 .250 1 2
D. White CF 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .000 0 0
C. Counsell 2B 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .333 0 0
Totals 38 6 10 4 3 7 21
BATTING
Doubles: D. Daulton (1, 2nd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 0 outs)
Home Runs: C. Johnson (1, 4th Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: G. Sheffield , E. Renteria 3 , C. Johnson 4 , D. Daulton 4 , C. Counsell , M. Alou
2-out RBI: G. Sheffield
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: E. Renteria , C. Counsell , B. Bonilla , M. Alou
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Errors: C. Counsell
Double Plays: 1 (Renteria-Counsell-Daulton)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 4 1 0 0 1 0 1 .000 0 0
B. Roberts LF 5 2 5 2 0 0 0 1.000 0 2
D. Justice DH 4 1 1 0 1 1 5 .250 0 0
S. Alomar Jr C 3 2 1 4 0 1 4 .333 1 4
J. Thome 1B 3 0 1 0 2 2 2 .333 0 0
M. Ramirez RF 4 0 2 2 1 0 1 .500 0 2
T. Fernandez 2B 5 0 0 0 0 1 5 .000 0 0
M. Williams 3B 3 1 0 0 1 3 5 .000 0 0
M. Grissom CF 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0
Totals 35 8 12 8 6 8 23
BATTING
Doubles: B. Roberts 2 (2, 2nd Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 1 out; 3rd Inning off F. Heredia, 0 on, 2 outs) M. Ramirez (1, 4th Inning off F. Heredia, 0 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: S. Alomar Jr (1, 2nd Inning off A. Leiter, 2 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr 4 , J. Thome , B. Roberts 7 , M. Ramirez 3 , D. Justice , M. Grissom 2
2-out RBI: M. Ramirez
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: S. Alomar Jr , M. Williams 2 , J. Thome , D. Justice , T. Fernandez 2
GIDP: M. Ramirez
Sac Fly: S. Alomar Jr
Hit by Pitch: S. Alomar Jr
Team LOB: 11

BASERUNNING
SB: B. Roberts (1) , M. Grissom (1)

FIELDING
Errors: T. Fernandez
FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
A. Leiter 1.1 5 6 6 2 1 1 48 28 40.50
F. Heredia L (0-1) 2.2 4 2 2 2 3 0 49 31 6.75
J. Powell 2.2 2 0 0 1 3 0 43 27 0.00
D. Cook 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 19 10 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 13
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 13, F. Heredia 14, J. Powell 11, D. Cook 5
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 1-2, F. Heredia 3-2, J. Powell 3-2, D. Cook 2-0
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 48-28, F. Heredia 49-31, J. Powell 43-27, D. Cook 19-10
Inherited Runners - Scored: J. Powell 2-2 , D. Cook 1-0
Hit Batsmen: A. Leiter
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy 3.2 8 6 2 2 2 1 75 44 4.91
E. Plunk W (1-0) 2.2 2 0 0 1 3 0 50 28 0.00
P. Assenmacher H (1) 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 23 14 0.00
M. Jackson SV (1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15 10 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 27
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 22, E. Plunk 11, P. Assenmacher 5, M. Jackson 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 5-4, E. Plunk 3-2, P. Assenmacher 3-1, M. Jackson 1-1
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 75-44, E. Plunk 50-28, P. Assenmacher 23-14, M. Jackson 15-10
Inherited Runners - Scored: E. Plunk 1-0
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Bip Roberts
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 3:50
Attendance: 44,880