Interview: The Man Who Made it Happen
JERRY COLANGELO STANDS at the side of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ clubhouse Sunday night, choosing not to be in the heart of the drama, but wanting to be a spectator, enjoying the immensity of it all.
It still is so hard to fathom. Four years ago this franchise didn’t have any players. Three years ago they lost 97 games. Last year they finished in third place. And this past winter they spent only $8 million on free agents and didn’t make a single trade.
And here they are, clobbering the New York Yankees for the second consecutive night, and taking a two-games-to-none lead to Yankee Stadium.
“I’m flying so high right now,” Colangelo was saying, “I won’t need a plane to New York.”
Colangelo, 61, has been in sports far too long not to realize that anything can still happen. Yet, he also grasps the reality of the situation. The Yankees now have to win four of the next five games, and with the inevitable task of facing Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson for possibly three of the games, Colangelo better make room for a few cases of champagne in the overhead compartment.