Sweeny Murti's Top Yankee Stadium Moments: 10-6

New York, NY (WFAN)  -- 10. Bobby Murcer's 5 RBI game the day of Thurman Munson's funeral-August 6, 1979.

That night, Bobby Murcer became a hero forever for Yankee fans.

--Ken Singleton, 2008.

The day Thurman Munson died-August 2, 1979-is a date that every Yankee fan over age 35 certainly remembers. It was a sad day all around baseball. The Yankees had just finished a road trip to Milwaukee and Chicago, and Munson went home to Canton, Ohio. He was piloting a small plane, practicing takeoffs and landings, and died in a crash at the Canton-Akron airport.

The Yankees returned home for a four game series with the first place Orioles. The Yankees lost Friday and Saturday before winning on Sunday. The final game of the series was Monday night, August 6th. That morning the Yankees gathered in Canton, Ohio for Munson's funeral. Bobby Murcer choked up as he gave one of the eulogies that day. He returned home with the team and started that night in left field, batting second.

Murcer broke in as a Yankee and was Munson's teammate and friend for five years before Murcer was traded after the 1974 season. He had returned to the Yankees in late June of 1979, reunited with Munson for a little over a month before the Yankee captain's tragic death.

Bobby Murcer had not had a very successful return to pinstripes to that point. In 29 games since being acquired from the Cubs for a minor leaguer, Murcer was batting just .220 (22 for 100) with zero home runs and just 5 RBIs. But just hours after burying his friend, Murcer found the strength to put together the signature game of his career and one of the most emotional nights in the history of Yankee Stadium.

Ken Singleton played right field for the Orioles that night. He later went on to become close friends with Bobby Murcer as a Yankees broadcaster. As a native New Yorker and an opposing player in the Stadium on the night of August 6, 1979, he had a unique perspective.

"Thurman Munson was somebody you felt was always going to be there," Singleton recalled recently. "He was somebody you always had to deal with as an opponent, somebody that was one of the rocks of their team for sure. He was a very clutch player. Personally I had a lot of respect for him."

The announced crowd at Yankee Stadium was 36,314. "I can recall the feeling of sadness in the Stadium," Singleton said of that hot August night. "Just the whole place was…it seemed like Yankee Stadium was exhausted with all this grief that had been going on for the past few days. Once the game started you started thinking about the game."

The game was televised across the country on ABC's Monday Night Baseball. The night didn't start out well for the Yankees. Baltimore scored a run in the 2nd inning and another in the 5th. Singleton homered in the 6thoff Ron Guidry to make it 4-0 Baltimore. Murcer was 0-for-3 to that point, including a strikeout in his first at-bat against Dennis Martinez.

In the bottom of the 7th, after a two-out walk to Bucky Dent and a double by Willie Randolph, Murcer hit a 3-run homer that brought the Yankees back into the game. The Yanks put two more runners on base that inning, but reliever Tippy Martinez struck out Graig Nettles to keep the Orioles ahead by one.

The game moved to the 9th with the Yankees still down 4-3. Dent walked to lead off the inning and Randolph was bunting to move him into scoring position. But the pitcher Martinez fielded the bunt and threw the ball away, moving runners up to second and third. Up came Bobby Murcer.

Murcer singled to left field, both runs scored, and the Yankees won the game 5-4. "I can recall walking off the field," Singleton said. "Yankee Stadium cheering like crazy. Bobby had driven in all 5 runs, his teammates mobbing him around first base."

Even Singleton, a player on the other team, knew after the game that this was how it was meant to be. "I got back to my locker. It was really quiet. It wasn't a catastrophic loss from our standpoint (the Orioles were in first place by a big margin and would eventually get to the World Series in 1979). But I began to think (leaving the ballpark) 'if the Yankees should win one game from us this year, with all they've been through…maybe they should win this one."

"I had never seen Yankee Stadium so down as it was that night. Never in my life since then or before then had I seen a multitude of fans just with an outpouring of grief." Singleton added, "It was almost as if when Bobby got that hit to win the game, it was a reminder that things are going to get better.

9. David Wells (May 17, 1998) and David Cone (July 18, 1999) perfect games.

As teammates and close friends David Wells and David Cone used to playfully refer to each other as "dirtbags." If that was a club they wanted to be in, they joined a decidedly more exclusive club on two Sunday afternoons in the late 1990's.

There have been 15 perfect games in modern major league history and Wells and Cone each pitched one at Yankee Stadium.

Wells beat the Twins 4-0 on a cool day in the Bronx, where the 49,820 fans were probably more excited about the Beanie Baby giveaway that day than the game itself. That changed as the day went on.

Wells wasn't known as a strikeout pitcher, but he fanned 11 Twins on this day. In the 9th inning, 3rd baseman Jon Shave popped out to short right field and catcher Javier Valentin struck out. The last hitter was shortstop Pat Meares, who flew out to right. Paul O'Neill squeezed the final out.

Wells' perfect game was the first at Yankee Stadium since Don Larsen's in the 1956 World Series. Wells and Larsen had something else in common too-they were both graduates of Point Loma High School in San Diego.

Wells was traded to Toronto the next spring, so he wasn't in the building when his fellow dirtbag had his date with history on a steamy July day in 1999.

Cone was facing the Expos in interleague play, an unusual series that began on a hot Sunday afternoon. 22-year old Javier Vazquez had just been called up by the Expos to make the start because of an injury to Carl Pavano. Seriously.

The day began with a special ceremony for Yogi Berra, back at Yankee Stadium for the first time in more than a decade after ending his feud with George Steinbrenner a few months earlier. Yogi Berra Day drew 41,930 fans. The pregame ceremony concluded with Don Larsen throwing out the first pitch to Berra, reuniting the battery from the first perfect game thrown in the Bronx in 1956. The magic touch was passed on to Cone.

The Yankees jumped on Vazquez for 5 runs in the second inning, home runs in the inning by Derek Jeter and Ricky Ledee. There seemed little doubt that the Yankees were going to win today. Cone set down the first 9 Expos in a row, but after the 3rd inning the game went into a rain delay. The elements could have interfered with history, but the delay was only half an hour, so Cone went back to work in the 4th inning and resumed his pursuit.

In the 8th inning, Jose Vidro hit a grounder to the right side that Chuck Knoblauch snared on the backhand and then fired a bullet to first for the out. Remember, this was the time when Knoblauch's throwing problems were becoming an issue, so the play stood out even more.

In the 9th, after Chris Widger struck out, Ricky Ledee almost botched Ryan McGuire's short fly ball to left, but held it for out number two. The last hitter, Orlando Cabrera hit a popup to third base. Scott Brosius gloved it and David Cone dropped to his knees in disbelief. After several near misses at no-hitters, Cone had beaten the Expos 6-0 and had his perfect game.

Larsen was watching in person and Cone gave him a big hug in the hallway afterwards. Wells called from the clubhouse in Atlanta where the Blue Jays were playing. The three Yankee pitchers who had perfect games to their credit were all connected now, and all three shared in the glory that day.

The aftermath for both Wells and Cone was mixed. In his second tour with the Yankees, Wells was fined $100,000 by the team in 2003 for comments made in his book, namely that he was hung-over the day he pitched his perfect game. Nevertheless, Wells continued to have success on the mound, winning 15 or more games five times after that 1998 season. Cone was just 16-29 the rest of his career after his perfect game. Wells still hasn't officially retired. Cone announces games for the YES Network.

Dirtbags, maybe. But they share another bond that Yankee fans remember more fondly.

8. Aaron Boone's home run-October 16, 2003.

What happened in 2004, as the Yankees lost a 3 games to none lead to the Red Sox in the ALCS, ended the 86-year frustration known as The Curse of the Bambino. But the Curse was extended the year before in maybe the most memorable single game in the history of the long and storied rivalry.

Bucky Dent's home run in the 1978 playoff game at Fenway Park was certainly special, completing the Yankee comeback from a 14-game July deficit. But that game simply sent the Yankees to the playoffs. In this game, the Yankees trailed 5-2 in the 8th inning of Game 7, a World Series berth at stake. The only runs they had scored were on two solo home runs by Jason Giambi, barely keeping them within striking distance. They were 6 outs away from elimination, staring at arguably the greatest right-handed pitcher of his generation, Pedro Martinez. There was no way the Yankees could win this game. And even if they did, would you believe the hero would be a guy who wasn't even on the team two and a half months earlier?

Aaron Boone was acquired from Cincinnati at the trading deadline. In the only two months he would spend as a Yankee, Boone hit .254 with 6 home runs and 31 RBIs. Through the ALDS and the first 6 games of the ALCS, Boone was 5 for 31 with 1 RBI. Boone was on the bench when Game 7 started, with Enrique Wilson starting in his place at 3rd base.

Down 5-2, the Yankees put together an amazing 8th inning rally against Pedro, aided by Boston manager Grady Little's decision not to go to his bullpen. Jorge Posada's blooper to short center capped a 3-run rally and had every inch of the Stadium shaking to its core.

When the game moved to the bottom of the 9th, Mariano Rivera came on to pitch and Boone came on to play 3rd base after Wilson was removed for a pinch-hitter. Rivera pitched 3 brilliant innings to keep the game tied. Boone who hadn't batted yet in the game, walked up to the plate to lead off the 11th inning against Boston's Tim Wakefield, getting set to begin his second inning of work.

"I actually felt leading off the inning like I was going to do something," Boone said on WFAN last year. "Willie Randolph reminded me that I was his sleeper pick for the series. Joe (Torre) said, 'Think up the middle. That doesn't mean you won't hit a home run, but just stay through the middle.' I just had a good feeling. I wasn't saying 'I'm going deep.' I just had a feeling like 'I'm gonna do something here.'"

Even with that confidence, Boone wasn't quite sure how to attack the knuckleballer Wakefield. "He gets that thing dancing like no one I've ever seen. I considered taking a pitch, but then I said 'quit overanalyzing it, get a good pitch to hit.'"

Boone was about to put his name into Yankee lore forever. "It definitely had that awesome atmosphere," Boone said. "I don't know if I necessarily felt mystique. Derek (Jeter) would always tell me throughout the season, 'you know the ghosts show up here every now and then. They'll be out in October.'"

Aaron Boone swung at the first pitch of the 11th inning from Tim Wakefield and hit a home run into the left field stands to win the game and the pennant. "I knew I got it. I made a quick check to make sure it was staying fair and then just floated around the bases, I guess. I don't remember much from that point on."

Yankee Stadium erupted. The players came pouring onto the field. Jeter yelled out with his arms raised. Rivera ran straight towards the pitcher's mound and collapsed in a heap. The Curse was still alive and the Yankees were going back to the World Series.

That the Yankees lost the Series to the Marlins doesn't completely overshadow how monumental the comeback against Boston really was. And in some ways, neither does the horrific collapse of 2004, when the Yanks blew a 3-games-to-none lead as Boston extinguished the Curse. Aaron Boone's home run is still a moment Yankee fans hold onto. The Yanks lost the World Series in six games, and Aaron Boone never played in pinstripes again. In January 2004 Boone tore up his knee playing basketball. The Yankees voided his contract. In desperate need of a third baseman with only a few weeks until spring training, the Yankees traded for Alex Rodriguez. That final chapter has yet to be written.

But for Aaron Boone, his legacy is one swing. "That's the one moment that will follow me and I'll get to talk about forever. I wish I could remember it better. To this day I don't have a real clear picture of it in my head."

That's okay, Aaron. The rest of us do.

7. Game 6 of the 1996 World Series-October 26, 1996.

The Yankees hadn't won the World Series since 1978. For the most successful franchise in baseball history, it was the longest drought since the Yankees began collecting World Series trophies. On this night, they brought the title home again and Yankee fans rejoiced.

First-year manager Joe Torre led the Yankees to the AL East division title. The Yankees then cruised past Texas and Baltimore in the playoffs to reach the World Series for the first time since 1981. They faced the Atlanta Braves, to that point the team of the decade in baseball. The Braves reached the World Series in 1991 and 1992, and won the Series in 1995. The defending champs then blitzed the Yankees in the Bronx to take a 2-games to none lead, making it look as if the Yankees return to supremacy would have to wait. The next three games in Atlanta, the next generation of Yankee mystique began to take form.

David Cone allowed just 1 run in 6 innings to lead the Yankees to a 5-2 victory in Game 3. Then came the epic Game 4 comeback. Jim Leyritz's 3-run home run in the 8th tied the game 6-6. Wade Boggs drew a bases loaded walk in the 10th and the Yankees won 8-6 to tie the Series two games apiece. Andy Pettitte pitched the Yanks to a 1-0 victory in Game 5, as Paul O'Neill sealed it with his running grab in the alley for the final out. The Yankees returned home up three games to two.

Greg Maddux had beaten the Yanks 4-0 in Game 2. This time, the Yanks had the momentum and they could feel the celebration was imminent. 56,375 fans packed into the building hoping to see the Yanks return to glory. The game was scoreless into the 3rd when Paul O'Neill doubled and moved to third on a ground out. The next batter was Joe Girardi.

"I thought they were going to give me the safety squeeze," Girardi said recently. "Me being an aggressive hitter, Maddux made a mistake over the middle and I swung at it." Girardi laced a triple to centerfield. He raced around second and into the third. "I felt like I was running on air." O'Neill had scored to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead and Girardi was on third base. The crowd was delirious. The Yankees scored two more in the inning to take a 3-0 lead.

Atlanta scored a run in the 4th inning to make it 3-1. John Wetteland came on to get the final three outs, hoping to bring the Yankees and their fans their first World Series Championship since 1978. "It feels like the biggest inning of your life," Girardi said.

It didn't end easy. The Braves broke through for a run to make it 3-2 and had runners at first and second with two outs. "And look who's coming up, " announced Vin Scully on the network radio call as Mark Lemke strode to the plate. "Little Mr. October." Lemke wasn't the biggest cog in the Braves machine, but he certainly had gotten enough big hits over the previous few Octobers for Scully to draw the comparison to the Yankees own legend, Reggie Jackson. Lemke hit a foul ball along the third base side that went out of play. Then he hit one in nearly the same spot, and this time third baseman Charlie Hayes had a play. All the ball had to do was come down. "I couldn't believe that it actually was going to happen," Girardi said. Hayes squeezed it for the final out. The Yankees were World Series Champions. Wetteland jumped high into the air and Girardi caught him. The stadium shook. What does it feel like at that exact moment? "Sheer excitement," Girardi said. "It almost brought me to tears I was so happy. What you felt inside, the overall accomplishment and all the years you played and practiced and the time you put in, it's like 'Man, this is unbelievable.'"

The players made a victory lap to salute the fans. Wade Boggs jumped on a policeman's horse. Two days later the team rode through the Canyon of Heroes in a victory parade.

The team would repeat the scene three more times in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The Yankees had taken their place again as the elite team in the sport. This was not completely new. Previous generations of Yankee fans had gotten used to yearly October celebrations. This one had not yet had the pleasure. That's why 1996 remains special. That's why that night will stay with them forever.

6. Tino Martinez/Derek Jeter/Scott Brosius home runs in the 2001 World Series-October 31-November 1, 2001.

The word unbelievable gets thrown around quite a bit. It was never more appropriate than on these two nights, when the Yankees staged back-to-back wins as dramatic as any in World Series history. And with what seemed like the entire country actually rooting for the Yankees to lift up New York post-9/11, the moments were dripping with more emotion than you could ever imagine.

The Yankees were in search of their fourth straight World Series championship, facing the Arizona Diamondbacks. Behind dominating efforts by Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, the D-Backs won the first two games in Arizona. The Yanks eked out a 2-1 win in Game 3 but were facing Schilling on three days rest in Game 4.

Schilling allowed just 3 hits over 7 innings and turned a 3-1 lead over to Arizona's closer Byung-Hyun Kim. Kim struck out the side in a 1-2-3 8th inning. He had two down and one on when Tino Martinez came to bat, the Yankees just one out away from falling behind three games to one. Tino Martinez hit a 2-run home run to centerfield that tied the game at 3. Unbelievable.

"I remember hitting first base and taking one second to listen to the crowd and look at the reaction and it was definitely as loud as I've heard it there," Martinez said recently. He also knew right away how big that shot was for his team in this best of seven. "When it went out, I just remember thinking 'We're back in it.'"

Kim put two more runners on base in the 9th before striking out Shane Spencer and sending the game to extra innings. He had pitched two innings, but Arizona manager Bob Brenly brought Kim back again in the 10th.

With two outs in the 10th, Derek Jeter came to bat. As the Yankee Stadium clock moved past midnight the calendar also turned to November 1st. Moments later Jeter roped a pitch over the right field fence for a game-winning home run. They called him Mr. November.

After being just one out away from being down three games to one, the Yankees evened the series two games apiece. And it got better the next night.

In Game 5, the Yankees were right back in the same spot and it was déjà vu all over again. With Arizona up 2-0 Brenly put his closer Kim right back in to start the 9th. Jorge Posada led off with a double, but two outs later the Yankees were once again down to their last gasp. Scott Brosius hit a two-run homer to left that tied the game at two. Unbelievable.

"I was sitting right on the bench next to Bernie Williams," said Martinez. "As soon as Scott hit it Bernie and I just looked at each other. We didn't even stand up, we just looked at each other and went 'you gotta be kidding me' and then we jumped up and went crazy, we were just shocked."

In the 12th inning, Alfonso Soriano drove in Chuck Knoblauch with a single to right and the Yankees won the game 3-2. Twice they had been down to their final out and both times they came back to win, grabbing a three games to two lead in the World Series.

The mystique and aura of Yankee Stadium became a major part of the storyline of this World Series. Before it started, the disbelieving Curt Schilling quipped, "Mystique and aura are dancers at a nightclub." Everyone believed now.

But the special feelings wouldn't last for the Yankees. They went back to Arizona and were hammered by the Diamondbacks 15-2 in Game 6. In Game 7, the mystique and aura took mysterious u-turns. The Yankees led 2-1 going to the 9th, and it was Arizona that rallied. The D-backs scored twice off Mariano Rivera, the winning run scoring on a bloop single by Luis Gonzalez. The Yankees lost the World Series in a year when it didn't seem like it was possible for them to lose.

Still, in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, people in New York made the Yankees a part of the healing process. It almost didn't matter that the Yankees didn't actually win the World Series.

A few days after Arizona's victory Tino Martinez was back in New York City with Derek Jeter and a few other friends. "When we came back to New York…the fans treated us like we won that World Series," Martinez said. "They were thanking us and thanking us (even though) we didn't complete the deal. The way they were reacting to us and appreciative of how hard we battled was something I'll never forget."

Unbelievable.

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