Jim Leyritz Says Advice From Pete Rose Helped Him Become Clutch Player

Jim Leyritz, hero of the 1996 World Series, is aware of just a little one thing about hitting below force within the playoffs … and now the catcher/infielder/outfield (Jim mainly performed each and every place) is telling TMZ Sports his secret.

“I always was taught that at a very young age from Pete Rose is if I treated every at-bat from day one til the end of the season, it didn’t matter where it was, or what was going on around me, but that at-bat was the most important one, so I never got caught up in the moment, and that’s what I would tell young players,” Jim says.

“Don’t get caught up in the moment. It’s you against him. It’s no different than your first at-bat at spring training or your last at-bat of the season. Concentrate on that at-bat and don’t get caught up on everything going on around you.”

“It’s easier said than done, but that was my mindset.”

You realized that from Pete, we requested.

“I have to thank Pete Rose, as a 14-year-old kid, as a batboy for the Reds, and he gave me that advice, and its helped me through my entire life in everything I’ve done under pressure, that I was able to perform under pressure.”

Of path, Leyritz’s is maximum identified for his 3-run house run all the way through Game 4 of the ’96 World Series … between the Yankees and Braves. Atlanta led the collection, 2 video games to one, and held a commanding 6-0 lead thru 5 innings within the pivotal sport.

But, the Yanks scratched a couple of runs throughout … after which within the eighth inning, Leyritz got here to the plate, down 3, with 1 out and a couple of runners aboard.

Then, with one crack of the bat, Leyritz blasted a 3-run dinger to left, tying the sport at 6. The sport went to further innings prior to the Yankees in the end gained 8-6 within the tenth, night the collection at 2 video games apiece.

NY went directly to win Game 5 in the back of a dominant efficiency by way of Andy Pettitte … prior to hanging the Braves down as soon as and for all in Game 6. It was once the NYY first championship since 1978.

It was once Jim’s maximum memorable second … however no longer his just one. Just twelve months previous, all the way through the 1995 MLB playoffs, Leyritz blasted a walk-off, 2-run house run within the fifteenth inning of the 2d sport of the ALDS, hanging the Yanks up 2-0 within the collection.

Now, the Yankees will face their hated competitors, the Houston Astros within the American League Championship Series … with 4 wins the one factor keeping apart the squad from a World Series berth.

We talked to Jim about a lot more when it comes to the Yanks-Stros … and Jim even tells us who he thinks might be the breakout superstar of the collection (as he as soon as was once).

The Yankees may not get any relaxation … Game 1 begins lately in H-Town.