Tino and Bernie

I snapped this during August's Joe Torre Day ceremony at Yankee Stadium. And when I checked out my "this date in baseball history" notes, posting this was a no-brainer. Williams scored the tie-breaking run (on an Oakland fielding error) as the Yankees beat the A's 5 - 3 in the fifth and deciding game of the 2001 ALDS. Martinez, hitless on the night, moved Williams into scoring position when he was hit by a pitch.
2001 was the final year of the heart of the last Yankee dynasty -- the team's fifth pennant in sixth years. But the personnel began to change the following season. Martinez was replaced by Jason Giambi; 3rd baseman Scott Brosius retired. And the team chemistry, the "likeability" factor was never quite as strong as it was from '96-'01. They're not Hall of Famers the way Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera proved to be, but the way Tino and Bernie played, and yes, the results, made them Yankee favorites for this generation, much as Chris Chambliss and Graig Nettles were three decades earlier.
And while watching the success of the Royals and Giants the last couple of weeks has been fun, go ahead and be honest, don't miss the Yankees not being part of the post-season?

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