Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 65
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 0
Cleveland Indians 4 0 0 1 7 0 1 0 X 13 17 1
Alomar Grand Slam in First Starts Rout; Indians Crush Florida 13-1
Sandy Alomar Jr. stepped in with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the first inning, and the count went to 2-1, and what followed was a line drive to left field at 98 miles per hour that traveled 373 feet and never came back. Grand slam. Four batters into the game, four runs on the board, and Al Leiter standing on the mound looking at his hand as though it belonged to someone else. Some nights arrive already decided, and the only question left is how large the margin will grow.

It grew large. Nagy was brilliant — 7.2 innings, eight strikeouts, one run surrendered on a meaningless double in the eighth — throwing 118 pitches with the easy confidence of a man working with a cushion that never deflated. He scattered six hits across seven shutout innings, bending but never breaking, the kind of performance that in another game might be the story. In this one it was simply the frame around Alomar's portrait.

The fifth inning was where Cleveland turned a comfortable lead into an embarrassment. Seven runs on seven hits, the lineup batting around, each man seemingly arriving at the plate already knowing what pitch was coming. Alomar doubled after Justice popped out to open it. Williams singled two home. Grissom doubled two more in. Roberts singled. Alomar came up again and drove in Vizquel with a single through the left side. Twelve to nothing. The Marlins went through two pitchers in the inning and neither could find the plate or, when they did, could keep the ball out of the gaps.

The final was 13-1, and Alomar — 3-for-4, five runs batted in, the grand slam that ended things before they properly began — was named series MVP. He has stood in this batter's box sixty-five times now, in sixty-five versions of this same Tuesday night, though he could not possibly know that. What he knows is the weight of the bat and the speed of the pitch and the particular sound a ball makes when it leaves cleanly. Tonight, that was enough.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 5 0 1 0 0 1 3 .200 0 0
J. Eisenreich LF 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 .250 0 0
M. Alou DH 4 0 0 0 1 2 2 .000 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 3 0 1 0 2 1 1 .333 0 0
B. Bonilla 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 6 .250 0 0
D. Daulton 1B 4 1 1 0 0 1 6 .250 0 0
C. Johnson C 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .250 0 0
D. White CF 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .250 0 1
C. Counsell 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .250 0 0
Totals 36 1 8 1 4 9 25
BATTING
Doubles: D. White (1, 8th Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 2 outs) E. Renteria (1, 3rd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 0 outs) C. Counsell (1, 6th Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: D. White 2 , G. Sheffield , E. Renteria 2 , C. Johnson , J. Eisenreich , D. Daulton , C. Counsell 2 , B. Bonilla
2-out RBI: D. White
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , E. Renteria 2 , D. Daulton 2 , C. Counsell , B. Bonilla 2
Team LOB: 11

BASERUNNING
SB: G. Sheffield (1) , E. Renteria (1)

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Bonilla-Counsell-Daulton)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 4 3 3 1 2 0 1 .750 0 1
B. Roberts LF 4 1 1 1 1 1 3 .250 0 1
D. Justice DH 5 1 1 1 1 0 6 .200 0 1
S. Alomar Jr C 4 2 3 5 1 0 0 .750 1 5
J. Thome 1B 5 1 1 1 0 2 4 .200 0 1
M. Ramirez RF 4 1 2 0 1 0 2 .500 0 0
T. Fernandez 2B 4 2 3 0 1 0 1 .750 0 0
M. Williams 3B 5 1 1 2 0 1 5 .200 0 2
M. Grissom CF 5 1 2 2 0 0 4 .400 0 2
Totals 40 13 17 13 7 4 26
BATTING
Doubles: S. Alomar Jr (1, 5th Inning off F. Heredia, 0 on, 1 out) O. Vizquel (1, 1st Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs) D. Justice (1, 7th Inning off T. Saunders, 1 on, 1 out) M. Grissom 2 (2, 2nd Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs; 5th Inning off T. Saunders, 2 on, 1 out)
Home Runs: S. Alomar Jr (1, 1st Inning off A. Leiter, 3 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr 7 , M. Williams , O. Vizquel 4 , J. Thome , B. Roberts , M. Ramirez 2 , D. Justice 2 , M. Grissom 4 , T. Fernandez 3
2-out RBI: S. Alomar Jr , O. Vizquel
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Thome , B. Roberts , M. Ramirez , D. Justice 2
GIDP: M. Grissom
Hit by Pitch: B. Roberts
Team LOB: 11

BASERUNNING
SB: T. Fernandez (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 L (0-1) 3.2 6 5 5 2 3 1 63 38 12.27
F. Heredia 0.2 4 5 5 1 0 0 29 20 67.50
T. Saunders 2.0 6 3 3 2 1 0 47 24 13.50
L. Hernandez 1.2 1 0 0 2 0 0 39 22 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 28
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 19, F. Heredia 7, T. Saunders 13, L. Hernandez 9
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 4-4, F. Heredia 0-2, T. Saunders 3-1, L. Hernandez 2-3
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 63-38, F. Heredia 29-20, T. Saunders 47-24, L. Hernandez 39-22
Inherited Runners - Scored: F. Heredia 1-0 , T. Saunders 2-2 , L. Hernandez 1-0
Hit Batsmen: L. Hernandez
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy W (1-0) 7.2 8 1 1 3 8 0 118 72 1.17
E. Plunk 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 0 17 10 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 64
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 35, E. Plunk 5
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 7-8, E. Plunk 0-3
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 118-72, E. Plunk 17-10
Inherited Runners - Scored: E. Plunk 1-0
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Sandy Alomar Jr
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 3:43
Attendance: 44,880