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| Date | October 8, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Kingdome | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Seattle,Washington | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 57,411 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time of game | 4:19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | ABC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Brent Musburger,Jim Kaat andJack Arute | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | KIRO (SEA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | KIRO:Dave Niehaus andRick Rizzs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Double was awalk-offdouble hit by theSeattle Mariners'Edgar Martínez in the decidingGame 5 ofMajor League Baseball's1995 American League Division Series on October 8, 1995. Trailing by one run in the bottom half of the 11th inning, withJoey Cora on third base andKen Griffey Jr. on first, Martinez'shitdrove in Cora and Griffey, giving the Mariners a 6–5 victory over theNew York Yankees to clinch the series, 3–2. The play is held to be the "biggest hit in franchise history".[1]
Amid rumors that the team would be sold and/or relocated, the Mariners—who had produced only two winning seasons (1991 and1993) since beginning play in1977—mounted a late-season comeback in1995 to clinch their first postseason appearance in franchise history. They then mounted a series of comebacks in the ALDS, first overcoming a 2-game series deficit to force a deciding Game 5, then tying Game 5 in the 8th inning to forceextra innings, and finally a one-run 11th inning deficit that was overcome by the Double.
The hit is regarded as the defining moment of Martinez's 18-yearHall of Fame career.[1] Mariners broadcasterDave Niehaus' call of the play—which is equally memorable to Mariners fans as the play itself—is also regarded as the highlight of his career. The play is also credited with keeping a Major League Baseball team in the city ofSeattle, as it helped garner support for a new taxpayer-funded stadium for the Mariners.[2][3] That stadium, known today asT-Mobile Park (it was originally known as Safeco Field through the end of the2018 season), opened in1999, with the Double depicted in a mural as part of the stadium's art collection.
_in_front_of_the_Seattle_Kingdome_Stadium_on_6_October_1982_(6371846).jpg)
For several years the Mariners had been dogged by rumors that the team's ownership group led byJeff Smulyan had been considering selling and/or relocating the team to a different city.[4][5] This was primarily due to low attendance and revenue[4] caused by the team's losing ways (prior to 1995, they only had two seasons with awinning percentage over .500).[6] In addition, theKingdome was known for itsdrab baseball environment and it was beginning tofall apart, causing Mariners games to require rescheduling in 1994.[7]
In1992, Smulyan's ownership group sold the Mariners to the Baseball Club of Seattle, aconsortium led byHiroshi Yamauchi[8] and laterNintendo of America.[9] Almost immediately, the new ownership group began campaigning with local and state governments to gain public funding for a new stadium. (In 2016,Nintendo of America sold most shares of Seattle Mariners ownership held by it to a new ownership group, though Nintendo retained a 10% ownership of the team after the sale was completed.[10])
In an election held on September 19, 1995, the residents ofKing County voted against a 0.1-percentage-point sales tax increase to fund the building of a replacement stadium.[11][12] As a result, the ownership group set an October 30 deadline for local leadership to come up with a plan to finance a new stadium, or they would put the team up for sale.[13]
After being as many as 13games out of first place at the beginning of August,[14] the Mariners mounted a late-season comeback that, coupled with a late-season collapse by theCalifornia Angels,[15] forceda tiebreaker game between the teams. The Mariners won the tiebreaker, 9–1,[16] winning their first division title and first postseason trip in franchise history.
In theALDS, the Mariners quickly fell into a 2–0 deficit to the heavily favoredYankees in the best-of-five series.[17] However, the Mariners won the next two games and forced a "winner-takes-all" Game 5 at theKingdome.[17]
After the Yankees took a 4–2 lead on aDon Mattingly 2-RBI double in the 6th inning, the Mariners came back to tie the score at 4 in the 8th inning and eventually forcedextra innings.[18] In the top of the 11th inning, the Yankees scored a run on anRBI single byRandy Velarde off of Mariners aceRandy Johnson[18] and were threeouts from reaching theAmerican League Championship Series.
In the bottom half of the inning, YankeesaceJack McDowell, who had entered the game in the 9th inning for a rarerelief appearance, facedJoey Cora,Ken Griffey Jr., andEdgar Martínez—the second, third, and fourth batters in the Mariners'order, respectively.[18]Second baseman Cora dragged abunt down thefirst base line and reached first basesafely on aninfield hit.[18] Yankees managerBuck Showalter argued the call, believing Cora should have been called out for running off thebaselines; however, theumpires' ruling stood.Center fielder Griffeysingled to short right-center field, allowing Cora to reachthird base.[18]Designated hitter Martinez then doubled down the left field line, scoring Cora with the tying run and Griffey with the winning run.[18] The Mariners'dugout emptied and mobbed Griffey, Martinez, and Cora on the field in celebration of the franchise's first ever playoff series victory.
Dave Niehaus's radio call of the Double is as memorable to Seattle fans as the play itself and became one of the hallmarks of Niehaus'sFord C. Frick Award-winning career:[19]
Right now, the Mariners looking for the tie. They would take afly ball; they would love abase hit into the gap and they could win it withJunior's speed. The stretch and the 0–1 pitch on the way toEdgar Martínez; swung on and LINED DOWN THE LEFT FIELD LINE FOR A BASE HIT! Here comes Joey! Here is Junior to third base, they're going to wave him in! The throw to the plate will be...LATE! The Mariners are going to play for theAmerican League Championship! I don't believe it! It just continues! My oh My! Edgar Martínez with a double ripped down the left field line and they are going crazy at the Kingdome![20]
ABC Sports throughThe Baseball Network broadcast the Double on television.Brent Musburger[21][22] along with color commentatorJim Kaat and field reporterJack Arute called Game 5:
No balls and a strike toMartínez. Line drive, we are tied!Griffey is coming around! In the corner isBernie. He's going to try to score! Here's the division championship! Mariners win it! Mariners win it!
Musburger's call, dramatic as it was, incorrectly implied that Bernie Williams fielded the double in left. Bernie was playing center field at the time.Gerald Williams was in left field playing the ball and making the late throw back to the infield.
In New York, the Double was described[23] on radio byJohn Sterling onWABC:
It'll be an 0-1; the pitch...LINED...base hit down the left field line! The tying run scores!Griffey heads towards third...he's being sent in! The throw home is...not in time! Seattle wins! Seattle wins theDivision Series on a double byEdgar Martínez!
CBS handled the national radio coverage of the Double withErnie Harwell on the call[24] alongside color commentatorAl Downing.
The pitch...SWING...base hit, left field! Here comesCora, he'll score. Here comesGriffey, rounding third. He's being waved home! Here comes the relay...fromFernández! SLIDES...and theMariners win it in the 11th inning on a base hit byEdgar Martínez! A thrilling finish and they will battle theCleveland Indians for theAmerican League championship! The final score, Seattle 6 and theYankees 5! You're listening to theDivision Series from CBS Radio Sports!
The Mariners' late season comeback, their first division title in franchise history, and ultimately the Double, brought the Seattle fan base back to life and sparked a desire to keep the team in town.Lou Piniella, the Mariners'manager from 1993 to 2002, called Martínez's hit and the 1995 postseason "the hit, the run, the game, the series and the season that saved baseball in Seattle."[1] Soon after the events of October 8, theWashington State Legislature held a special session and approved an alternative funding package to enable the building of a new ballpark, which culminated in the construction ofSafeco Field.[11][12] Since 2019, the ballpark has been known as T-Mobile Park.[25]
The Double is regarded by Seattle fans and Martínez himself as the defining moment of Martínez's 18-yearMajor League Baseball career – which was played exclusively with the Mariners[1][26] – and was one of several highlights of Mariners franchise history in which Martínez played a major role.[2] In 2004, the city of Seattle renamed a street near T-Mobile Park "Edgar Martínez Drive" to honor Martínez's contributions to the Mariners, including his double that "saved baseball in Seattle."[27] Martínez was inducted into theSeattle Mariners Hall of Fame in 2007, and he was subsequently inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.[28][29]
In2007, when Griffey returned to Seattle for the first time since his 1999 trade to theCincinnati Reds, the image of him at the bottom of the dog-pile after scoring the winning run was included in a photo collage of highlights of Griffey's Mariners career.[26] It was presented to him by former teammates Martínez andJay Buhner (both retired by then).[30]
The image of Griffey sliding intohome plate has been immortalized at T-Mobile Park in a mural created byThom Ross calledThe Defining Moment.[31]
Griffey's slide into home plate was also the inspiration behind the title of the 1996 video gameKen Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run.[32]
The game would be Buck Showalter's last as Yankees manager and Don Mattingly's final game as a player before his retirement. During the offseason the Yankees would acquire Mariners first basemanTino Martinez, who would go on to be part of theYankees'1996 World Series winning team, their first under new managerJoe Torre.
The play is featured prominently inJon Bois' third episode ofDorktown: The History of the Seattle Mariners.[33]
| Pitcher New York Yankees | Batter Seattle Mariners | Result (outs in bold) | Score Mariners – Yankees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack McDowell (R) | Joey Cora (S) | Bunt single | 4–5 |
| Ken Griffey Jr. (L) | Single to center; Cora to third | ||
| Edgar Martinez (R) | Double to left; Cora and Griffey scored | 6–5 |