October 22 - Clemens Throws a Bat at Piazza - This Day in Baseball - The Daily Rewind

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October 22, 2000 Game Two of the "Subway Series" between the Mets and Yankees brought with it the long awaited matchup of Yankee Pitcher Roger Clemens against Mets Catcher Mike Piazza. Earlier in the year during regular season Interleague play, Clemens beaned Piazza with a fastball giving him a concussion and sending him to the disabled list. Their Game 2 matchup would not disappoint. In the first inning, Clemens quickly dispensed with the first two batters and Piazza's name was announced sending the 56,069 in attendance crazy. Clemens fired two quick strikes, then one out of the strike zone. The fourth pitch came inside and Piazza made contact shattering the bat and sending the ball foul. The pointed barrel of the bat bounced toward Clemens who fielded the wooden shard as if it were a grounder, then turned and threw the fragment sidearm toward Piazza on the first baseline. The barrel of the bat spun and skittered in front of Piazza who stood stunned, staring at Clemens, before stepping across the baseline toward the pitcher. Clemens raised his hand to the ump for a new ball as the two came face to face. The benches emptied but no punches were thrown as the two players were separated. Piazza would later hit a home run off reliever Jeff Nelson, but the Yankees would come away with a 6--5 win. After the game, Clemens would claim he did not see Piazza running and threw the bat because of nervous energy and mistakenly charged the incoming broken bat, believing it to be the ball. This win for the Yankees would extend their World Series winning streak to 14 consecutive games.