ANAHEIM – When Derek Jeter thinks about Garret Anderson’s running catch in the left-field corner at Angel Stadium four years ago, he shakes his head.
The final vision of the 2002 ALDS we had was Jeter, arms on the dugout rail, watching the Angels celebrate ousting the Yankees in four games.
It happened again last year, this time in five games, and the memory that won’t go away is Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield colliding while trying in vain to catch Adam Kennedy’s two-out fly to right-center. Nor can we forget Alex Rodriguez hitting into a ninth-inning double play with the Yankees down two runs and Jeter on first with no outs.
Add Team USA getting eliminated from the World Baseball Classic last month at Angel Stadium with Jeter, Rodriguez and Johnny Damon on the team.
The Yankees say the beautiful ballpark hasn’t become a house of horrors, but in the past four seasons Jeter and his teammates have endured bitter memories of the place.
“I enjoy playing there; it’s a nice stadium and the fans are great,” said Jeter, whose career average of .344 (65-for-189) at the park is not far off his .367 (73-for-198) at Oakland, his best road mark in parks where he has at least 50 at-bats. “We have been eliminated a lot … we definitely have had some bad memories.”
Like Anderson grabbing Jeter’s drive on the run in Game 4 of the 2002 ALDS. The Angels usually shade Jeter toward right field, so when Jeter smoked a liner to left with two runners on and the Yankees trailing, it figured to be two RBIs and a tie score. Yet, there was Anderson gliding to the wall and making the grab.
“He wasn’t supposed to be there,” Jeter said. “He didn’t move. He just didn’t move when [Alfonso Soriano] was up.”
In Jeter’s 10 years, the Yankees have won four World Series and lost two others. So Angel Stadium isn’t the only place for heartbreak.
“We have lost in Arizona, lost in Cleveland and Anaheim a couple of times, but you have to forget about those things,” Jeter said.
For Rodriguez, Angel Stadium doesn’t mean gloom and doom.
“Everybody was frustrated about what happened last year, but there is nothing you can do about it now,” said Rodriguez, who hit .133 (2-for-15) in the ALDS. “I have always hit well here and I got a game-winning hit in the WBC here.”
Rodriguez’s .347 (93-for-268) mark at Angel Stadium is second to his .351 (80-for-228) mark in Toronto.
“I love playing in Anaheim, look at my career numbers,” Rodriguez said.
Jason Giambi joined the Yankees in 2002, months after they played in the last of four straight World Series. Yet his first season ended in Orange County, where he grew up. Last year’s stirring second-half comeback by Giambi was overshadowed by a five-game ALDS in the same park.
“You would like to say no,” Giambi said when asked if Angel Stadium has become a house of horrors for the Yankees. “As a team [the Angels] have always matched up well with us. I haven’t heard anybody mention anything [about Angel Stadium].”
Mike Mussina, who was the victim when Kennedy’s fly ball was not caught last year, said Angel Stadium doesn’t compare to Chase Field, where the Diamondbacks won Game 7 of the 2001 World Series on Luis Gonzalez’s two-out, bottom-of-the-ninth bloop single to center off Mariano Rivera.
“Arizona is tougher for me because of the situation,” Mussina said.