NEW YORK -- Perhaps the Yankees' New Hero Every Day theme has never been crystallized as clearly as it was in the ninth inning of their latest World Series clincher Thursday night.
A team with a $112 million payroll produces ... utilityman Luis Sojo as its hero du jour?
Yes, it's true: The man who cracked a two-out, game-winning single in the top of the ninth to give the Yankees their third consecutive World Series title is listed as 34 (although he looks much older) and he's been traded for Devon White and Kelly Gruber during his well-traveled 14-year professional career.
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| Luis Sojo drives in the winning run for the Yankees in Game 5. (AP) | |
"That was the biggest hit of my life," Sojo said over and over afterward. "I just wanted to put the ball in play. That was an unbelievable game."
It was 2-2 when the ninth inning started, and there were two out when catcher Jorge Posada coaxed a walk against Mets starter Al Leiter. Scott Brosius followed with a single, and up stepped Sojo.
He was simply trying to hit the ball up the middle when Leiter delivered his 142nd -- and final -- pitch of the game.
"It was a BP (batting practice) fastball," Sojo said. "The ball didn't cut. It stayed up. I don't know how hard he threw it."
However hard Leiter threw it, Sojo sent it blazing up the middle even harder. As Posada crossed home plate, center fielder Jay Payton's throw hit him and deflected away -- allowing Brosius to score as well.
That made it 4-2, and that's the way it will be recorded in the history books -- under the chapter Yankee Lore.
Sojo was a part of the Yankees' titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999, too, before nearly missing this one. He signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent last January and played with the Pirates until Aug. 7 when the Yankees, looking for infield help because of Chuck Knoblauch's throwing problems and sore arm, acquired him in a waiver deal exchange for minor league right-hander Chris Spurling.
"I don't know how to explain this moment," Sojo said. "I mean, it's a dream come true.
"I was thinking about the Yankees the whole year. When they got (Jose) Vizcaino, I said, 'OK, I'm done.' And I forgot about it.
"And then when (Pittsburgh) put me on waivers, I always remember this, because I told my wife, 'If nobody picks me up, I'll shut it down.' And here I am.
"The first phone call that I get is from the guy from the Yankees."
Which is the latest in a long list of tributes to the Yankees. They have a habit of being in the right place at the right time, and it's no accident.
Thanks to their acumen, Sojo was able to be in the right place at the right time when it counted Thursday night.
