Derek Jeter Becomes Mr. November

On October 31, 2001, the New York Yankees were three outs from falling behind three games to one in the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The clock struck midnight, the calendar flipped to November, and Derek Jeter hit a walk-off home run. He became the first player in baseball history to earn the nickname "Mr. November."

The Diamondbacks led 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. Arizona closer Byung-Hyun Kim, a 22-year-old sidearm reliever, needed three outs to put New York on the brink of elimination. Paul O'Neill singled. Then, with two outs and the tying run on first, Tino Martinez crushed the first pitch from Kim into the right-center field bleachers to tie the game 3-3. The stadium shook.

Kim stayed in the game. In the bottom of the tenth, Jeter worked a nine-pitch at-bat, fouling off several pitches before pulling a ball down the right field line. It barely cleared the wall. Jeter thrust his fist into the air as he rounded first base, and the Bronx erupted.

Because the game had started on Halloween night and extended past midnight, Jeter's home run technically landed in November. The nickname stuck instantly. For a franchise defined by October heroes, from Reggie Jackson to Bucky Dent, Jeter had pushed the calendar into a new month.

The night before, the Yankees had won Game 3 the same way. Kim had been on the mound for that collapse too, surrendering a ninth-inning game-tying home run to Scott Brosius. Arizona eventually won the Series in seven games on Luis Gonzalez's walk-off single off Mariano Rivera, but Games 4 and 5 at Yankee Stadium in the fall of 2001 remain two of the most emotionally charged games in baseball history.