Yankees provided first-ever November MLB highlight 20 years ago today

As the calendar turns to November 1, we look back at the first November World Series game played on this date 20 years ago between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees.

Because of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the 2001 World Series was pushed back to its latest start date ever, October 27. Arizona won the first two games at home before the Series shifted to New York for Games 3 through 5.

The Yankees took Game 3 to slice Arizona’s lead to 2-1 in the Series, setting up a pivotal Game 4 on Halloween night in the Bronx.

As Game 4 became more and more intense, the Diamondbacks snapped a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth with a two-run burst thanks to Erubiel Durazo’s RBI double and a Matt Williams groundout. After getting to Yankee relievers Mike Stanton and Ramiro Mendoza to silence the home crowd, Arizona took a 3-1 lead and looked to be grabbing control of the Series.

That’s when the New York Yankees and Derek Jeter created some Halloween and eventually November magic

After the New York Yankees went in order in the bottom of the eighth and Arizona was retired in order in the top of the ninth, Diamondbacks closer Byung-Hyun Kim returned to the mound for his second inning of work. After striking out all three Yankee batters in the eighth, Kim retired Derek Jeter on a bunt attempt before allowing a single to Paul O’Neill. The next batter, Bernie Williams, became Kim’s fourth strikeout victim, leaving the Yankees just one out before they were doomed to a 3-1 Fall Classic deficit.

Tino Martinez, however, would hit the first pitch he saw from Kim for a two-run home run to tie the game and force extra innings.

Arizona was retired in order in the 10th and Kim made his way back to the mound for his third frame of the night. A pair of fly outs put Jeter at the plate with two outs. As the All-Star shortstop strode to the plate, the clock struck midnight, and Major League Baseball was playing its first-ever action in November.

It didn’t take long for Jeter to make November baseball special and knot the series at 2-2.

After Jeter’s late-night heroics just hours earlier, New York would also take the first regularly scheduled November World Series game. However, like Game 4, that game would start on one day (November 1) and end on another (November 2) when Alfonso Soriano’s RBI single plated Chuck Knoblauch to give the Yankees a 3-2 win.

While New York would find plenty of November magic in its home park, the Diamondbacks returned the favor once the Fall Classic headed back to Arizona, winning both games to earn the team’s first and only (to date) World Series title.