By Dave Diamond
Consider this a heartfelt apology if you want, but it really is a newfound respect for the unpredictable nature of baseball and for one athlete in particular. Over the past seven years, hundreds of scorecards, records and milestones have changed the game forever and became facts. Or at least I thought they did.
After a fateful game in October 1999, it was cemented as common knowledge, that Kenny Rogers would never, could never, and should never get the ball in a big spot again. We remember when he walked Andrew Jones with the bases loaded on five poor pitches–the 3-0 pitch was called a strike, but it was outside-to quell the Mets comeback attempt against Atlanta and thus send the Braves to another miserable World Series loss. How can we forget?
His measure of success in the postseason before that incident was not exactly satisfactory. He lost Game 2 of the Division Series earlier that season for the Mets, just one night after unknown Masato Yoshii found a way to beat then D-Backs ace Randy Johnson in Arizona. In his playoff experiences with the Yankees earlier in his career, there was more of the same. In three starts for the 1996 World Champs, he never got passed the third inning. The guy was frankly embarrassing on dates past Sept. 31. So, it was common knowledge.
It was printed in this column a week ago, as fact, that the Tigers had Kenny Rogers on the roster, so certainly Detroit would succumb to the Yankees. When it became a make-or-break Game 3 start for Rogers, with the pressure of Lake Michigan on his back, the stakes could not have been any higher for another Kenny meltdown. I guess that’s why they call him “the Gambler.” You can lose a million times, but when you win, boy, do you win big.
Check the television ratings in the New York area for that game. Every one of those viewers sat dumbfounded, jaw-dropped, hands folded. With each knee-bending curveball Rogers threw, New Yorkers made sounds as if someone was stabbing them with a fork. He toyed with the Bombers. A fastball pushing 95 mph to accompany that teasing breaking ball, and just over three hours later, we all had the same question burning through our souls, but could not get to our lips. What the hell just happened?
What happened was 7 2-3 shutout innings of one of the best pitching performances you will ever see. Rogers breezed through the Yankees mighty lineup like a man on a mission, and with each screaming showcase of emotion after all of his eight strikeouts, avenging his past was certainly on his mind. He never had a one-two-three inning, but you could make the argument that this was the greatest moment of his career, which includes a perfect game in 1994.
The victory effectively ended the heavily favored Yankees’ season and perhaps has catapulted the Tigers to further glory, and maybe a World Championship. But Rogers gained something far more important than another start in the later rounds of the playoffs.
The gambler wagered his career and, at age 41, he hit the jackpot. There will be no further questions about his heart or his ability to pitch in October. For even if this is his last go around on baseball’s biggest stage, he need not step back on the mound. He could leave baseball now knowing he accomplished something many players can only dream about.
He left New York baseball fans speechless.
