New York Yankees Starting Lineup: 1998 World Series Game 4
The New York Yankees took the field for Game 4 of the 1998 World Series for what was to be the final game, as they completed a sweep of the San Diego Padres, putting a exclamation point on a season that gives pause to those who rank the greatest teams ever assembled. As they do that, in all likelihood they would center on the Yankees lineup that took the field at Qualcomm Stadium on October 21, 1998.
The New York Yankees won 125 games in 1998, more victories than any Major League Baseball franchise ever managed in a season. The team finished with a .714 winning percentage, the best in more than 70 years and fourth best in history. They broke a 44-year-old league record by winning 114 regular season games and then went 11-2 during the postseason, including a sweep of the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
To put the accomplishments of this team into some kind of perspective, though, consider this: the Yankees finished first in the American League in runs scored (965), base on balls (653), on-base percentage (.364) and OPS (.825). Their team batting average of .288 ranked them second in the league.
The pitching staff, while not sensational, still led the American League with a team ERA of 3.82 with the backbone of Mariano Rivera and his 36 saves just emerging in a career that would lead him to a possible unanimous selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
They were also in their third season under the guidance of Joe Torre, who led them to a long-awaited World Series title in 1996 during his first year at the helm. But they were bounced from the postseason the following year as a Wild Card team, meaning they would need to wait until 1998 to once again fulfill owner George Steinbrenner’s perpetual mandate of championship-or-bust.
With the exception of two team members who went astray of the law (more on that later), it was a team of men with strong determination and character. The Yankees responded in spades to the challenge from “The Boss” and they would go on to establish a run that remains unchallenged by any team since.
So let’s get started by taking a look at the lead off hitter in the Yankees lineup that day…