Bronx, N.Y., August 15, 2002 — Kansas City, 5-4, going to the ninth. Ho-hum. Don’t get me wrong. I was not simply bored. I was upset too. I really wanted this sweep of the Royals. True, we only took two out of three from them in the Stadium last week (and barely escaped with a .500 homestand). But we finish this road trip with a swing through Seattle. I know that we have had some success over the last few years with the Mariners, and that we have enjoyed playing in Safeco more than we ever did in the Kingdome. Our path to the World Series for two seasons running has taken us through Oakland and Seattle, and we have traversed it well. But you do not have to have been a Yankee fan too long to know that the west coast can be a House of Horrors for us.

We started the day with a five game lead on the Red Sox, and with the fact that we play them five more times (and that the loser of this head-to-head battle would not, currently, make the playoffs), that’s just too close for comfort. So as they struggle before us in Seattle, we need to pick up wins as we can. Our offense has carried us all year, our aging starters are getting healthy, and our pen is showing what a difference Mariano really makes. But the words “Seattle” and “sweep” are not merely alliterative; they have a bit of history to them too. No, boredom was hardly the emotion coursing through me as this ugly game drifted toward the “L” column.

But I was certainly underwhelmed. I dabble in history, and I assure you, August 15 is no run-of-the-mill day. Both Napolean Bonaparte (1769) and Lawrence of Arabia (1888) were born on this day. The ugly way we allowed a 4-2 lead to drift to a 5-4 deficit was just too disappointing for words, and I’m glad that those two icons of history were not here to see it. I had no problem with the fact that KC jumped to their first lead (2-1, in the second inning) on singleton homers from Ibanez and Tucker. I was unhappy to be behind, but not only did we have plenty of time to catch up, we have been beating teams with homers all year. I can respect homers. And we would use a homer to get back to even, when John Vander Wal tied it in the fourth.

I’m not nearly as proud that we took the lead in the fifth on a one-out bases-loaded walk to Raul Mondesi. And Vander Wal, following up when he could have done some damage, bounced into a double play. But the Widger double and Jeter single that produced run No. 4 (and a two-run lead) in the sixth, though not the stuff of history-altering battles won by world-famous generals, was a quality run built by professional hitters in a one-run game.

Still expecting more fireworks from this day just loaded with historical significance, I was doubly distressed both that the Royals tied it promptly, and how. Line single (OK), wild pitch (Ouch!), Line single and run (OK, sort of), wild pitch (are you kidding me?), bloop single! Napoleon and Lawrence could turn their backs in embarrassment; I could only stare in horror. But the horror continued.

South Korea celebrates August 15 as Liberation Day, as it was this day in 1948 that they won their independence from Japan. India and Pakistan join South Korea in having this day serve as their July 4, if you will, but none of the roads to that status were free of pain and obstacles. And the Yankees, having surrendered their lead in such an ugly manner, followed a similar game plan in falling behind. Carlos Beltran lined a clean single in the seventh, but he got to third on a steal of second and a sidearm slider from Widger to second that tailed badly toward right field. Mike Sweeney is too professional a hitter to let such a clear opportunity slip by. He delivered the expected sac fly, and we were in the eighth, not only playing a game considerably less accomplished than the one I expected, but trailing, with only two shots left.

We wasted Jorge’s pinch single leading off the eighth, and went to the ninth still down. Bernie the Brave (pick your adjectve!) reached on a knuckled soft liner on two hops to short for his sixth consecutive hit, and got to second and scoring position on Robin’s hit and run grounder to second (thanks, Joe). And then the August 15 genie jumped out of the bottle. Raul Mondesi tried to take a big hack on the 1-2 pitch from Royal closer and hard thrower Roberto Hernandez, but he popped it softly foul behind the plate. The real-life Scottish king Macbeth (immortalized by the Bard of Avon) was killed by King Duncan’s son Malcolm on this day in 1057, almost a millennium ago. And the fortunes of Hernandez, catcher A.J. Hinch and the Kansas City Royals took a similarly tragic turn on that feeble pop, as it glanced off Hinch’s glove in his diving attempt to snare it.

Given a second life, Raul did not miss again. and hit a lofty shot to left, giving the Yanks the lead. We utilized journeyman prospect (and former and current property of the Boston Red Sox) Michael Coleman’s only Yankee homer in 12 games last year to tie Roberto Hernandez and the Royals in the ninth in an eventual victory, leading to a sweep of the season series. That new Yankee right fielder Mondesi’s bomb has allowed us to take five out of six in the 2002 season series, and move six games in front of Boston, had me dancing in the living room. We scratched another run as I thought of the theatrical opening (at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood) of the classic film, “The Wizard of Oz,” on this day in 1939. And as Mo came in and nailed down the win, the Beatles’ August 15, 1965, visit to Shea Stadium melded in my mind with the glory of what I had just witnessed. History was not to be denied. A stunning win on a day where bigger-than-life people and events dominate the world stage. I’m a Yankee fan, I have seen some great players come and go, but I just love this team too.

Call me Starstruck. Or Stardust. One more biggie for the history books: Woodstock, August 15, 1969.

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!