Tommy sat in the Braves’ dugout at Yankee Stadium, charting pitches. As the World-Series opening game unraveled, he felt the weight on his shoulders grow by the minute.
The Bronx Bombers had knocked out Ty Barnwell in the fifth, slamming back-to-back homers. That made it 4–1, and the Braves couldn’t get much going against Soshi Igawa, the coveted Japanese pitcher the Yankees signed following a bidding war with the Angels, Red Sox, and the Dodgers.
The Yankees became a meat-grinder as the game wore on, chewing up Braves pitching. Four Atlanta pitchers gave up twelve total hits in an ugly 8–2 loss.
Afterward, the media reminded Showalter that he had a rookie going in Game 2, insinuating that one who started the year in Single-A would crumble before a raucous New York crowd.
“I have full
