Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 63
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 13 2
Cleveland Indians 0 0 3 2 5 0 0 0 X 10 13 1
Williams Grand Slam Caps Comeback From Five Down; Indians Win 10-5
There is a kind of game that teaches you about patience — about what a team looks like when it decides, collectively and without discussion, that five runs is not enough to lose by. Florida scored three in the first on a barrage of doubles off Nagy, added another in the second on Eisenreich's double, another in the third on White's sacrifice fly, and after two and a half innings the Marlins led 5-0. Al Leiter had retired six of the first seven Cleveland batters he faced. The night looked settled.

The third inning was where the Indians began to believe. Vizquel singled, Roberts tripled to deep right-center at 106 off the bat, Justice beat out an infield hit to score Roberts, and Sandy Alomar drove a double to the left-center gap at 110 miles per hour — Justice never stopped running, scoring from first without a throw. Three runs, just like that, and the building shifted its weight forward. In the fourth, Matt Williams caught an 0-1 pitch from Leiter and drove it 395 feet to left-center. Two-run homer. Tied, 5-5. Leiter's evening, which had begun with such economy, was over after four innings and seven hits allowed.

Then came the fifth. Justice singled off Heredia. Alomar worked a nine-pitch walk. Thome walked to load the bases. Ramirez fought back from 0-2 to single home Justice. And Williams — who in some other version of this same October night might have gone hitless, might have grounded into a double play, might never have gotten this chance — crushed the first pitch he saw 382 feet to left field. Grand slam. Cleveland 10, Florida 5. The last four innings were a formality, the kind of quiet denouement that follows an act of such completeness that nothing else needs saying. Williams finished with six runs driven in and was named series MVP, though the real story was simpler than any one man: a lineup that refused to accept what the first inning told them was true.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 5 1 2 0 0 0 1 .400 0 0
J. Eisenreich LF 5 0 2 1 0 0 0 .400 0 1
M. Alou DH 5 1 2 0 0 2 3 .400 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 4 1 1 0 1 1 2 .250 0 0
B. Bonilla 3B 5 2 2 2 0 1 4 .400 0 2
D. Daulton 1B 5 0 2 1 0 0 4 .400 0 1
C. Johnson C 3 0 1 0 1 2 1 .333 0 0
D. White CF 3 0 1 1 0 0 4 .333 0 1
C. Counsell 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000 0 0
Totals 39 5 13 5 2 7 22
BATTING
Doubles: D. White (1, 6th Inning off E. Plunk, 0 on, 1 out) G. Sheffield (1, 1st Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 2 outs) J. Eisenreich (1, 2nd Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 1 out) D. Daulton (1, 1st Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 2 outs) B. Bonilla 2 (2, 1st Inning off C. Nagy, 2 on, 2 outs; 3rd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: D. White 2 , G. Sheffield 2 , E. Renteria 2 , C. Johnson , J. Eisenreich 3 , D. Daulton 3 , B. Bonilla 4 , M. Alou 2
2-out RBI: D. Daulton , B. Bonilla
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: D. White , G. Sheffield , E. Renteria , D. Daulton , C. Counsell
Sac Fly: D. White
Team LOB: 9

FIELDING
Errors: E. Renteria , D. Daulton
Double Plays: 1 (Bonilla-Counsell-Daulton)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 .200 0 0
B. Roberts LF 5 1 2 1 0 1 0 .400 0 1
D. Justice DH 5 2 3 1 0 0 2 .600 0 1
S. Alomar Jr C 4 1 2 1 1 0 2 .500 0 1
J. Thome 1B 4 1 0 0 1 1 3 .000 0 0
M. Ramirez RF 4 1 3 1 0 0 0 .750 0 1
T. Fernandez 2B 4 1 0 0 0 0 6 .000 0 0
M. Williams 3B 3 2 2 6 1 0 0 .667 2 6
M. Grissom CF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 0 0
Totals 38 10 13 10 3 3 15
BATTING
Doubles: S. Alomar Jr 2 (2, 3rd Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 2 outs; 8th Inning off D. Cook, 1 on, 2 outs) M. Ramirez (1, 2nd Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 2 outs)
Triples: B. Roberts (1, 3rd Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: M. Williams 2 (2, 4th Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 1 out; 5th Inning off F. Heredia, 3 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr 4 , M. Williams 8 , O. Vizquel , B. Roberts 4 , M. Ramirez 4 , D. Justice 3
2-out RBI: S. Alomar Jr , M. Williams , B. Roberts , D. Justice
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , J. Thome 2 , M. Grissom , T. Fernandez
GIDP: S. Alomar Jr
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Errors: B. Roberts
FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
A. Leiter 4.0 7 5 5 0 1 1 57 37 11.25
F. Heredia L (0-1) 0.2 3 5 5 2 1 1 27 17 67.50
J. Powell 1.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 21 16 0.00
D. Cook 1.2 2 0 0 1 1 0 33 18 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 29
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 19, F. Heredia 7, J. Powell 7, D. Cook 8
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 3-8, F. Heredia 0-1, J. Powell 1-3, D. Cook 1-3
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 57-37, F. Heredia 27-17, J. Powell 21-16, D. Cook 33-18
Inherited Runners - Scored: D. Cook 1-0
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy 3.0 8 5 5 1 1 0 59 37 15.00
E. Plunk W (1-0) 2.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 31 22 0.00
A. Morman 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 15 0.00
P. Assenmacher 1.2 2 0 0 0 3 0 31 22 0.00
J. Mesa 0.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 13 7 0.00
M. Jackson SV (1) 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 12 7 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 21
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 18, E. Plunk 8, A. Morman 4, P. Assenmacher 7, J. Mesa 3, M. Jackson 2
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 4-4, E. Plunk 3-3, A. Morman 0-3, P. Assenmacher 0-2, J. Mesa 0-0, M. Jackson 0-1
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 59-37, E. Plunk 31-22, A. Morman 20-15, P. Assenmacher 31-22, J. Mesa 13-7, M. Jackson 12-7
Inherited Runners - Scored: A. Morman 1-0 , P. Assenmacher 1-0 , J. Mesa 1-0 , M. Jackson 3-0
WP: P. Assenmacher
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Matt D Williams
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