1998 American League Championship Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season New York Yankees (4) Joe Torre 114–48, .704, GA: 22 Cleveland Indians (2) Mike Hargrove 89–73, .549, GA: 9
Dates	October 6–13
MVP	David Wells (New York)
Umpires	Jim Evans Ted Hendry John Shulock Larry Young Tim Welke Jim McKean
Broadcast
Television	NBC (United States) MLB International (International)
TV announcers	Bob Costas andJoe Morgan (NBC) Gary Thorne andKen Singleton (MLB International)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Dan Shulman andBuck Martinez
ALDS	New York Yankees overTexas Rangers (3–0) Cleveland Indians overBoston Red Sox (3–1)
← 1997 ALCS 1999 →

The1998American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of theAmerican League side inMajor League Baseball's1998 postseason, was played between the East Division champion and top-seededNew York Yankees and the Central Division champion and second-seededCleveland Indians.

The Yankees defeated the Indians four games to two and went on to sweep theNational League championSan Diego Padres in the1998 World Series to win their 24th World Series championship. New York, who won 114 games during the regular season, recorded their only two losses of the 1998 postseason in this series.

Cleveland advanced to the ALCS by ousting the Wild CardBoston Red Sox three games to one in theAL Division Series, while New York swept the West Division championTexas Rangers three games to none.

This was the second consecutive year in which the Yankees and Indians met in the postseason. The Indians won the1997 ALDS over the Yankees in five games.

New York won the series, 4–2.

Tuesday, October 6, 1998, atYankee Stadium (I) inBronx, New York

Cleveland came in as heavy underdogs, but also were the defending American League Champions. In Game 1, the Yankees got off to a good start, by hitting four straight singles in the bottom of the first to score two runs. A groundout and stolen base then put runners on second and third with two outs before a wild pitch toShane Spencer scored another run. Spencer walked beforeJorge Posada's RBI single made it 4–0 Yankees and knocked starterJaret Wright out of the game.Chad Ogea came on in relief and allowed an RBI single toScott Brosius. Posada's leadoff home run in the sixth off Ogea made it 6–0, then next inning, back-to-back leadoff doubles byPaul O'Neill andBernie Williams made it 7–0. Eventual ALCS MVPDavid Wells cruised through8+1⁄3 innings. A two-run homer byManny Ramírez would knock home the only runs of the game for Cleveland in the ninth.Jeff Nelson retired the last two batters of the game.

Wednesday, October 7, 1998, atYankee Stadium (I) inBronx, New York

In Game 2, 20-game winnerDavid Cone went for the Yankees, who looked like they would go to Cleveland up two games in the series. However,David Justice hit a home run in the fourth, putting the Yankees behind for the first time in the postseason. AScott Brosius double with two on offCharles Nagy tied the game in the seventh, but the Yankees would squander the chance to score him. They would also squander many chances in the game to score, as the game moved to extra innings.Jim Thome led off the top of the 12th with a single.Enrique Wilson was then called on to pinch run.Travis Fryman then laid down a sacrifice bunt, and asJeff Nelson went to throw it to first, he hit Fryman and the ball rolled pastChuck Knoblauch covering. Knoblauch tried to argue the call as the ball continued to roll past third base. Wilson and Fryman continued to run and Wilson would score and Fryman advanced to third as the ball was still not dead. The play would eventually be ruled an error byTino Martinez. The Indians now had the lead back and loaded the bases with one out when Nelson hitSandy Alomar Jr. with a pitch and walkedJoey Cora.Graeme Lloyd relieved Nelson and allowed a two-run single toKenny Lofton. Indians relieverDave Burba earned the win, whileMike Jackson shutout the Yankees in the bottom of the inning for the save as the Indians tied the series 1–1.

Friday, October 9, 1998, atJacobs Field inCleveland, Ohio

AtJacobs Field for Game 3, the Yankees were rendered helpless by a barrage of Indian home runs and the dazzling pitching of young flamethrowerBartolo Colón. After the Yankees took the lead in the first whenChuck Knoblauch hit a leadoff single, moved to third on two groundouts and scored on aBernie Williams RBI-single, the Indians took control of the game.Jim Thome led off the bottom of the second with a home run, thenMark Whiten doubled, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on anEnrique Wilson single to make it 2–1 Cleveland. In the fifth,Manny Ramirez homered with two outs, then afterTravis Fryman walked, back-to-back home runs by Thome and Whiten made it 6–1 Indians and knock starterAndy Pettitte out of the game. The strong pitching of Colon silenced the Yankees' bats the rest of the way as the New York batters were held hitless from the fifth inning onwards. Colon would finish with a four-hit complete game victory, and the Indians took a 2–1 edge in the best-of-seven series.

Saturday, October 10, 1998, atJacobs Field inCleveland, Ohio

The Yankees looked toOrlando "El Duque" Hernández for a clutch pitching performance. Hernandez had come to the Yankees shrouded in mystery, havingdefected fromCuba just ten months earlier. He was making his postseason debut with this start against former YankeeDwight Gooden.Paul O'Neill gave Hernandez a run to work with by hitting a home run off Gooden in the top of the first. In the fourth, Gooden walked two beforeChili Davis's RBI double andTino Martinez's sacrifice fly scored a run each. The Yankees added one more run in the ninth onScott Brosius's sacrifice fly with two on offPaul Shuey, the run charged toDave Burba. Hernandez pitched seven shutout innings whileMike Stanton andMariano Rivera pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively as the Yankees' 4–0 win tied the series 2–2.

Sunday, October 11, 1998, atJacobs Field inCleveland, Ohio

Instead of pitchingJaret Wright in Game 5, Indians' managerMike Hargrove looked toChad Ogea, who pitched well in the1997 World Series, to give his team a three games to two lead in the series. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch beforeChili Davis's single scored two. Another hit-by-pitch loaded the bases beforeTim Raines's RBI groundout made it 3–0 Yankees. A leadoff homer byKenny Lofton in the bottom of the inning offDavid Wells put the Indians on the board. After two singles and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with no outs, a sacrifice fly byManny Ramírez made it a one-run game. In the second,Chuck Knoblauch drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on aPaul O'Neill single to make it 4–2.Chili Davis homered in the fourth off Wright to put the Yankees ahead by three, butJim Thome hit his third home run of the series in the bottom of the sixth to make it a two-run game. Wells and the Yankees' bullpen held off any further Indians scoring, and the Yankees were one win away from the World Series.

Tuesday, October 13, 1998, atYankee Stadium (I) inBronx, New York

In the bottom of the first, three consecutive one out singles offCharles Nagy byDerek Jeter,Paul O'Neill andBernie Williams made it 1–0 Yankees, thenChili Davis's sacrifice fly to right field made it 2–0. Next inning,Joe Girardi singled with one out and scored onChuck Knoblauch's double. Next inning, a single and error put two on with no outs andScott Brosius's home run two outs later made it 6–0.David Cone pitched four shutout innings, but the Indians refused to go quietly. In the fifth, three consecutive singles loaded the bases with no outs, thenDavid Justice walked to force in a run and afterManny Ramirez struck out, a grand slam byJim Thome made it 6–5.Ramiro Mendoza, then pitched three shutout innings while in the sixth,Derek Jeter's triple with two on offDave Burba made it 8–5, then Jeter scored on William's single offPaul Shuey to make it 9–5 Yankees.Mariano Rivera sealed a World Series berth in the ninth withOmar Vizquel grounding out to end the ALCS, sending the Yankees to their second World Series in three seasons.

1998 ALCS(4–2):New York Yankees overCleveland Indians

• 1998 ALCS at Baseball-Reference

• 1998 Major League Baseball season
• New York Yankees postseason
• Cleveland Guardians postseason
• American League Championship Series
• 1998 in sports in New York City
• 1998 in sports in Ohio
• 1990s in Cleveland
• October 1998 sports events in the United States
• 1990s in the Bronx

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