Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 54
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 5 10 1
Cleveland Indians 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 1 X 7 11 1
Sheffield Ejected in First; Indians Exploit Shorthanded Marlins in Game 3
Gary Sheffield lasted eight pitches. He fouled off three of them, took a called third strike from Charles Nagy on a 2-2 count, and then informed home plate in language sufficient to earn an early shower. One inning into the fifty-fourth playing of this October Tuesday, Florida's most dangerous bat was already in the clubhouse tunnel, which ought to have told the Marlins something about how the evening would unfold.

It told Cleveland everything. The Indians, patient as bailiffs, worked Al Leiter for five walks and nine hits in four innings, stole four bases against a defense that had lost its composure along with its right fielder, and built a 6-1 lead on the accumulated weight of singles, sacrifice flies, and Marquis Grissom's first-pitch home run into the left-field seats — 367 feet worth of punctuation to open the fifth. Leiter needed 93 pitches to record twelve outs. By the time Felix Heredia jogged in from the bullpen, the damage was structural.

Eric Plunk did his best to return the favor. Summoned to start the sixth with a five-run cushion, he faced four batters, retired one of them, and surrendered a solo homer to Bobby Bonilla, a double to Darren Daulton, and a two-run shot to Charles Johnson that carried 382 feet into the rain. Ten pitches, three runs, and a very long walk back to the dugout. Kurt Abbott added a solo homer in the seventh off Alvin Morman, and suddenly the margin was a single run.

But Manny Ramirez's insurance single in the eighth — a line drive to left that scored David Justice from second — gave Michael Jackson room enough to retire the Marlins in order. Nagy, who allowed just an unearned run over five innings before the bullpen melodrama, earned the win and the series MVP. He had done this before, of course, even if he could not say when.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 5 0 2 0 0 1 1 .400 0 0
J. Eisenreich LF 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 0 0
M. Alou DH 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .200 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 0 0
a- K. Abbott RF, 3B 3 1 1 1 0 1 2 .333 1 1
B. Bonilla 3B, RF 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 .333 1 1
D. Daulton 1B 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 .667 0 0
C. Johnson C 4 1 1 2 0 1 3 .250 1 2
D. White CF 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .250 0 0
C. Counsell 2B 3 1 1 0 1 1 3 .333 0 0
Totals 36 5 10 4 3 9 18
a - K. Abbott substituted for G. Sheffield in the 1st

BATTING
Doubles: D. Daulton (1, 6th Inning off E. Plunk, 0 on, 1 out) C. Counsell (1, 3rd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 1 out) M. Alou (1, 7th Inning off A. Morman, 0 on, 1 out)
Home Runs: C. Johnson (1, 6th Inning off E. Plunk, 1 on, 1 out) B. Bonilla (1, 6th Inning off E. Plunk, 0 on, 1 out) K. Abbott (1, 7th Inning off A. Morman, 0 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: D. White , E. Renteria 2 , C. Johnson 4 , D. Daulton 3 , C. Counsell 2 , B. Bonilla 4 , M. Alou 2 , K. Abbott 4
2-out RBI: K. Abbott
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: G. Sheffield , C. Counsell , M. Alou , K. Abbott
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
SB: J. Eisenreich (1)
CS: D. White (1)

FIELDING
Errors: K. Abbott
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 4 2 2 1 1 0 2 .500 0 1
B. Roberts LF 5 1 2 0 0 1 3 .400 0 0
D. Justice DH 3 1 0 0 2 0 4 .000 0 0
S. Alomar Jr C 3 0 2 3 0 0 3 .667 0 3
J. Thome 1B 2 0 0 0 3 0 3 .000 0 0
M. Ramirez RF 3 0 1 2 1 2 5 .333 0 2
T. Fernandez 2B 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 .200 0 0
M. Williams 3B 5 1 1 0 0 1 6 .200 0 0
M. Grissom CF 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 .667 1 1
Totals 33 7 11 7 8 4 32
BATTING
Doubles: S. Alomar Jr (1, 5th Inning off F. Heredia, 1 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: M. Grissom (1, 5th Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr 3 , M. Williams , O. Vizquel 2 , B. Roberts 2 , M. Ramirez , M. Grissom 5 , T. Fernandez
2-out RBI: , S. Alomar Jr 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , M. Williams 2 , O. Vizquel , J. Thome 2 , T. Fernandez
Sac Fly: S. Alomar Jr , M. Ramirez
Hit by Pitch: S. Alomar Jr
Team LOB: 13

BASERUNNING
SB: O. Vizquel (1) , B. Roberts 2 (2) , T. Fernandez (1)

FIELDING
Errors: C. Nagy
OF assists: 1 (Ramirez (Alou at 3rd base))
FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
A. Leiter L (0-1) 4.0 9 5 5 5 2 1 93 49 11.25
F. Heredia 3.0 1 2 2 2 2 0 49 29 6.00
J. Powell 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 19 9 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 21
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 27, F. Heredia 12, J. Powell 5
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 2-8, F. Heredia 3-4, J. Powell 1-2
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 93-49, F. Heredia 49-29, J. Powell 19-9
Inherited Runners - Scored: J. Powell 1-1
Hit Batsmen: A. Leiter
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy W (1-0) 5.0 3 1 0 2 5 0 98 61 0.00
E. Plunk 0.1 3 3 3 0 1 2 10 7 81.00
A. Morman H (1) 1.2 4 1 1 1 1 1 25 15 5.40
J. Mesa H (1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 5 0.00
M. Jackson SV (1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14 7 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 62
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 21, E. Plunk 4, A. Morman 8, J. Mesa 3, M. Jackson 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 5-5, E. Plunk 0-0, A. Morman 0-2, J. Mesa 1-1, M. Jackson 0-2
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 98-61, E. Plunk 10-7, A. Morman 25-15, J. Mesa 8-5, M. Jackson 14-7
Inherited Runners - Scored: J. Mesa 1-0
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Charles Nagy
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 3:45
Attendance: 44,880
Special Notes: Gary Sheffield was ejected in the 1st inning for arguing a strike call.