Wednesday, October 31, 2001

Bush throws first pitch in Game 3 of World Series
Yankees use strong pitching in win over Diamondbacks
Associated Press

NEW YORK — Roger Clemens and Mariano Rivera showed the Arizona Diamondbacks they know a little bit about pitching in the World Series, too.

The Rocket won when the New York Yankees couldn’t afford lose, shutting down the Diamondbacks over seven innings for a 2-1 win Tuesday night that cut Arizona's lead to two games-to-one.

Pumped and psyched, Clemens allowed only three hits and struck out nine. Mariano Rivera threw two perfect innings in relief, and that was it for Game 3 where President Bush threw out the opening pitch of the game, aiming to project an air of normalcy even after the government warned of possible new terror attacks.

Bush received a thunderous cheer as he strode to the mound from the Yankees’ dugout, wearing a windbreaker emblazoned with “FDNY,” a tribute to the New York City Fire Department.

Bush became the first sitting president in 18 years to attend a World Series game and watched fellow Texan Clemens start for the Yankees.

Clemens, winless in three previous postseason starts while he battled a hamstring injury, struck out five in the first three innings, allowing just one hit.

Posada connected off Brian Anderson leading off the second inning, a drive over the left-field wall. It was the first homer of the Series for the Yankees, who lost the first two games in Phoenix 9-1 and 4-0.

Bush stood on the pitcher’s mound and scanned the upper reaches of a sellout crowd of more than 57,000, then gave a thumbs-up sign. With flashbulbs popping and dozens of flags waving, Bush lingered on the mound for a moment, seeming to relish the moment.

Then, with a quick windup, he threw the ball just off the center of the plate — a strike to Yankees backup catcher Todd Greene, and walked off the mound to chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A.”

Bush posed for photos with Yankees manager Joe Torre and Arizona Diamondbacks skipper Bob Brenly before disappearing back into the dugout. Bush, his wife, Laura; his mother, Barbara Bush; and several of his top aides watched the game from the box of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, an ardent Yankees fan, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sat in a box next to the dugout. Bush’s appearance “shows we’re not afraid, we’re undeterred and that life is moving on the way it should,” Giuliani told a reporter.

“I’m sure he’s pretty busy right now, and for him to show up here, it’s great it adds a little more excitement here,” said Diamondbacks reliever Troy Brohawn, standing on the edge of the third base dugout.

In his third visit to New York City since the attacks on Sept. 11, Bush indulged his passion for baseball and was “helping to do what all Americans are doing now, which is keeping the country doing what it typically does at this time of year,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. “It helps to keep the fabric of our country strong.”

The game was crucial for the defending champion Yankees, who lost the first two games of the best-of-seven series to the Diamondbacks.

After landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Bush flew by helicopter to Yankee Stadium, skirting the eastern edge of Manhattan and flying close to the Empire State Building, now the tallest building in the city and illuminated in red, white and blue. The helicopter landed on a baseball field adjacent to stadium.

As he left the White House with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and other Series-bound aides, Bush sidestepped a question about his favorite, saying only: “I’d like to see the series go seven games.”

Later, before boarding Air Force One for the trip, he playfully threw mock warmup pitches to reporters and photographers, bending over as if studying a catcher’s signals.

Yankee Stadium opened more than three hours before game time to allow heightened security checks, and 1,200 police officers were assigned to the game.

The government announced that only pilots who file flight plans with the Federal Aviation Administration could fly private planes within 34 miles of Kennedy Airport on the nights of Series games in the city.

Bush threw out first pitches at the Milwaukee Brewers’ home opener in April, the College World Series in June and the Little League World Series in August.