2000 American League Championship Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season New York Yankees (4) Joe Torre 87–74, .540, GA:2+1⁄2 Seattle Mariners (2) Lou Piniella 91–71, .562, GB:1⁄2
Dates	October 10–17
MVP	David Justice (New York)
Umpires	John Hirschbeck,Angel Hernandez, Wally Bell,Mark Hirschbeck,Gerry Davis,Randy Marsh (Games 1–2), Fieldin Culbreth (Games 3–6)
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	Seattle Mariners overChicago White Sox (3–0) New York Yankees overOakland Athletics (3–2)
← 1999 ALCS 2001 →

The2000American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a semifinal matchup inMajor League Baseball's2000 postseason between the East Division champion and third-seededNew York Yankees and the Wild CardSeattle Mariners. The Yankees had advanced to the Series after beating the West Division championOakland Athletics in theALDS three games to two and the Mariners advanced by beating the Central Division championChicago White Sox three games to none. The Yankees won the Series four games to two and went on to defeat theNew York Mets in theWorld Series to win theirthird consecutive World Series championship, 26th overall.

New York won the series, 4–2.

The opener atYankee Stadium on a cool night was a pitchers' duel betweenFreddy García andDenny Neagle, and the game was scoreless through four innings. In the top of the fifth,Mark McLemore got Seattle's first hit, a two-out ground-rule double lined down the left field line, then scored on aRickey Henderson single slapped to right field.Alex Rodriguez led off the sixth inning with a home run high off the left field foul pole's screen to give the Mariners another. In the bottom half,Chuck Knoblauch led off with a double andDerek Jeter walked;Paul O'Neill andBernie Williams struck out, thenDavid Justice flew out deep to center to end the threat. The Yankees outhit the Mariners by one, but could not score off García (6+2⁄3 innings) and relieversJosé Paniagua,Arthur Rhodes, andKazuhiro Sasaki; Seattle took the opener with a 2–0 shutout.^[7]

Game 2 started just after 4 pmEDT, and the sun was difficult in the outfield for the first three innings. The Yankees' offense was again dead silent, this time against Mariners starterJohn Halama and relieverJosé Paniagua. In the first, New York loaded the bases (without a hit) and no outs, but could not score.Bernie Williams' ground ball went just inches and Mariners catcherDan Wilson grabbed it, stepped on home, and threw to first for the double play;Tino Martinez then grounded out to second. In the top of the second, Seattle threatened with a leadoff walk byEdgar Martínez followed by a lunging single to center byJohn Olerud.Al Martin flew out to deep right center and the two advanced.David Bell lined the ball back toOrlando Hernández, who doubled up Olerud at second to end the inning. Halama pitched six innings, and Paniagua pitched the seventh.

Hernández pitched eight innings and gave up just one run, aStan Javier single in the third that scoredMike Cameron, who had walked with two outs and stole second, after nearly being picked off at first. Hernández gave up six hits, but was set to get the loss until the Yankees' offense exploded in the eighth againstArthur Rhodes andJosé Mesa.David Justice led off with a double and scored on a single by Williams to tie the game, New York's first run in 21 innings. Back-to-back singles by Martinez andJorge Posada then gave New York a 2–1 lead.Paul O'Neill then hit a sacrifice fly to score another. Mesa replaced Rhodes for Seattle and gave up a single toLuis Sojo. Posada was caught diving back to third for the second out on a safety squeeze;José Vizcaíno then doubled to left center to score Sojo from first to make it 4–1 Yankees. Vizcaíno went to third on a passed ball, scored on aChuck Knoblauch single up the middle, andDerek Jeter sliced a homer to right to make it 7–1. Up again, Justice fouled off several and flew out to center to end the lengthy inning. CloserMariano Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth: Olerud sliced a ground-rule double to lead off, but three ground balls ended the game; the series was tied at 1–1 and headed to Seattle.^{[8][9][10][11]}

The Mariners struck first in Game 3 on three consecutive singles in the first, the last of which byEdgar Martínez offAndy Pettitte scoredMike Cameron from second. The Yankees responded with back-to-back home runs fromBernie Williams andTino Martinez to lead off the second offAaron Sele. The M's threatened with two on and no outs, but could not score. New York extended their lead to 3–1 in the third whenDerek Jeter, who reached on a fielder's choice to avoid an inning-ending double play, scored on a double to left-center byDavid Justice.^[12][13]

Seattle closed the deficit to one in the fifth whenRickey Henderson doubled to right-center and scored on a jammed single over shortstop from Cameron, butAlex Rodriguez flew high to left and Martínez grounded to shortstop (fielder's choice) to end the inning. The Yankees got that run right back in the sixth as Williams singled up the middle with one out and Martinez dribbled an infield single.Jorge Posada flew out deep to right and Williams advanced to third, then scored onPaul O'Neill's single to right;Luis Sojo flew to right for the third out. In the bottom of the eighth, Rodriguez singled and stole second, but Martínez struck out, and closerMariano Rivera relievedJeff Nelson. Pinch hitterStan Javier grounded to third andJohn Olerud went to a full count then flew out to left.^[12][13]

New York broke the game open with four runs in the ninth. O'Neill grounded out to first and Sojo singled up the middle;José Vizcaino entered as a pinch runner and stole second.Scott Brosius walked, and Vizcaino advanced to third on a wild pitch.Chuck Knoblauch hit an RBI single up the middle off ofBrett Tomko, who then walked Jeter (after a lengthy at-bat) to load the bases. LefthanderRobert Ramsay relieved Tomko and allowed a two-run single to right by Justice and a sacrifice fly to left by Williams to make it 8–2. Rivera retired the Mariners in order for a five-out save as the Yankees went up 2−1 in the series.^[12][13]

In one of the most dominant pitching performances in postseason history, Yankees starterRoger Clemens struck out 15 batters in a complete game one-hit shutout of the Mariners.^[14] Clemens carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning whenAl Martin lined a leadoff double off first basemanTino Martinez's glove for the Mariners' only hit of the game. Clemens got offensive support whenDerek Jeter hit a three-run home run offPaul Abbott in the fifth andDavid Justice hit a two-run home run offJosé Mesa in the eighth after a leadoff walk to Jeter. The Yankees won 5–0 and were just one win away from theWorld Series.

Clemens' 15 strikeouts matched the ALCS record set byMike Mussina in Game 3 in 1997.^[15] Fifteen strikeouts in a postseason game did not happen again until the2019 ALDS, byGerrit Cole of theHouston Astros.^[16]

Facing elimination, the Mariners struck first in Game 5 on Sunday. AfterRickey Henderson was caught looking, Yankee starterDenny Neagle walked three straight to load the bases in the bottom of the first;Mike Cameron scored on a sacrifice fly to right fromJohn Olerud, thenJay Buhner struck out. The Yankees responded in the fourth whenTino Martinez doubled to right-center,Jorge Posada singled to left, andPaul O'Neill walked to load the bases with no outs.Luis Sojo hit a double to left-center offFreddy García that scored Martinez and Posada. Seattle escaped further damage asScott Brosius flew out to third,Chuck Knoblauch struck out, andDerek Jeter grounded to shortstop.

Bernie Williams robbed Olerud of a home run in the bottom of the fourth, then hit a double to the wall in right center, where he stayed, as Martinez grounded to short, Posada walked, and O'Neill swung at a 3–0 pitch away and grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth,Mark McLemore led off with a bunt single halfway to third, Henderson walked, and Cameron advanced them with a bunt down the first base line. Neagle was replaced withJeff Nelson, who gave up a single toAlex Rodriguez through the hole to left that scored both runners for a 3–2 lead. With Rodriguez threatening to run at first,Edgar Martínez drove a 2–0 pitch over the center field wall and Olerud made it back-to-back on the next pitch with his own to right-center. With the Mariners up 6–2, Nelson was relieved byJason Grimsley. Buhner singled down the first base line,David Bell popped out to center, and consecutive walks toDan Wilson and McLemore loaded the bases;Dwight Gooden induced a soft infield fly from Henderson to end the inning.

Neither team scored afterwards, but in the seventh, Jeter led off with a walk and relieverJosé Paniagua was replaced byArthur Rhodes.David Justice struck out, but Williams and Martinez walked to load the bases. With the tying run at the plate, Posada fanned and pinch hitterGlenallen Hill was caught looking. In the bottom of the inning, Olerud led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a ground ball, but was stranded. Rhodes struck out Sojo in the top of the eighth, but walked Brosius and was replaced by closerKazuhiro Sasaki: Knoblauch fouled out to Olerud, Jeter lined a single to left, and Justice struck out. New York'sDavid Cone retired the Mariners in order: McLemore andRaúl Ibañez both grounded out to second, while Cameron fouled out to Brosius. In the ninth, Sasaki hit Williams on an 0–2 count, who advanced to second on a wild pitch, then to third when Martinez grounded to second. Posada walked, pinch hitterLuis Polonia struck out, and Sojo flew to center, ending the game.

Neagle accounted for both New York losses in the series, as García defeated him twice. The Yankees left 15 runners on base in Game 5 and were 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position.^[17][18] The Seattle win forced a sixth game atYankee Stadium on Tuesday.

With the New York Metsclinching the National League pennant the night before with a 7-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Yankees now had an opportunity to guarantee the firstSubway Series since1956. A capacity crowd would fill Yankee Stadium in anticipation.

The Mariners again struck first in Game 6, taking a 2–0 lead in the first when Yankees starterOrlando Hernández walkedAl Martin, then gave up back-to-back doubles toAlex Rodriguez andEdgar Martínez. Seattle made it 4–0 whenCarlos Guillén hit a two-run home run in the fourth. The Yankees responded in the bottom of the inning when they loaded the bases beforeJorge Posada hit a double offJohn Halama that scoredDavid Justice andBernie Williams. Posada then scored on aPaul O'Neill single to make it a one-run game. That ended Halama's night, andBrett Tomko then pitched the next 2 2/3 innings without any further scoring.

The score stayed 4–3 until the bottom of the seventh, when New York put runners on first and third with one out offJosé Paniagua, who was replaced withArthur Rhodes. Rhodes gave up a three-run home run toDavid Justice to give the Yankees a 6–4 lead. The bases were then loaded up with a single, double, and intentional walk before O'Neill's single scored two.José Mesa relieved Rhodes and walkedLuis Sojo to reload the bases andJosé Vizcaíno's sacrifice fly made it 9–4 Yankees. Alex Rodriguez led off the top of the eighth with a home run off Hernández. After walking Edgar Martínez, Hernández was replaced withMariano Rivera, who gave up a double toJohn Olerud, then two outs later, another double toMark McLemore that scored both Martinez and Olerud before striking outJay Buhner to end the inning. Rivera then pitched a scoreless ninth as New York won 9–7 and advance to theWorld Series against the cross-town Mets.^[19]

2000 ALCS(4–2):New York Yankees overSeattle Mariners

On September 26, 2000,NBC declined to renew its broadcast agreement with Major League Baseball. After 50 seasons —1947–1989 and1994–2000 — Game 6 was the last Major League Baseball game thatNBC would televise for the next 22 years. Major League Baseball coverage would eventually return toNBC Sports in2022 via adeal with theirstreaming servicePeacock to broadcast games onSunday afternoons. InHouston, due to the coverage of the2000 Presidential Debate,KPRC-TV elected to carryNBC News' coverage of the debate whileKNWS-TV carried NBC's final baseball game. In addition, NBC would not carry Major League Baseball postseason games until the2026 season.^[20]

Alex Rodriguez left the Mariners for theTexas Rangers after this series for a ten-year, $252 million deal. Three seasons later, Rodriguez was traded to theYankees, where he remained until2016.

The Yankees went on to beat theNew York Mets in five games in the firstSubway Series since1956.

After a subpar performance in the 2000 ALCS from the bullpen, the Mariners signed the Yankees' set-up manJeff Nelson in the off-season. With a league-best bullpen in 2001 and the addition of Japanese rookieIchiro Suzuki, the Mariners returned to the ALCSthe following season, after they broke the Yankees' American League record and tied the Major League record for regular season wins with 116. However, they fared worse in a rematch with the Yankees and were dispatched in five games.

• 2000 ALCS at Baseball-Reference

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