Most were there to honor the World Series champion Diamondbacks of 2001.
Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and nearly all of the rest of that team gathered to the wild appreciation of the fans to mark the 10th anniversary of that triumph over the New York Yankees in what is widely acknowledged as one of the best World Series.
The crowd stood and cheered when the big screen showed Luis Gonzalez’s bloop single off Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning of Game 7 that brought home Jay Bell with the winning run.
Some of the loudest cheers were for Jerry Colangelo, who brought major league baseball to Arizona and oversaw the construction of a team that won the state’s only professional sports championship, and did it in the franchise’s fourth season.
Johnson marveled at how quickly time had passed.
“I had a few of the guys over to the house last night for a little cookout with their families,” he said, “and we were thinking about how fast 10 years had gone by.”
The series was postponed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the return to baseball was seen as a way to get back to some sort of normalcy. With the remains of the World Trade Center still smoldering, there was no normal in New York, and the Yankees became the country’s sentimental favorites.
Arizona won the first two games at home, then lost three heartbreakers in New York before returning to take Game 6 in a rout and set the stage for the Game 7 thriller.
SHORT HOPS
It’s been wait ’till next year for some time for the Mets. The same now applies to left-hander Johan Santana. Manager Terry Collins ended about the only bit of suspense left in the Mets’ season by acknowledging there are no plans for their ace to pitch in the majors before 2012. … Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been shut down for at least three days because of a troublesome left thumb that has been hindering him for the past three weeks.. … Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks pinch hit Saturday, and manager Ron Roenicke says the All-Star could return to the starting lineup as early as today as he continues to recover from a severely sprained left ankle suffered running the bases on July 27. … Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is symptom-free and cleared to exercise following a concussion sustained Wednesday when he was hit in the head by a pitch. … Boston infielder Kevin Youkilis will be out until at least Tuesday because of bursitis in his left hip. … Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar left the Toronto Blue Jays’ game against the Baltimore Orioles after he was struck on the left elbow by a pitch from Rick VandenHurk in the second inning. X-rays were negative; Escobar is day to day.
