KANSAS CITY — Joe Lee remembers feeling confident.
The Yankees only led the Diamondbacks by one run in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, but Mariano Rivera was on the mound with three outs to go. Surely the greatest closer of all time wouldn’t blow the game, Lee thought.
So the Yankees’ longtime clubhouse assistant prepped for a championship celebration.
Sheets of protective plastic were stapled throughout the Yankees’ clubhouse at Bank One Ballpark. Dozens of champagne bottles and cases of beer were carted in. World Series-winning merch was ready to be worn.
Then Luis Gonzalez blooped a walk-off single for Arizona. As he and the Diamondbacks celebrated, Lee and other stunned staffers raced to undo all the work they had done.
“It’s a scramble because it’s instantaneous that you just lost,” Lee recently told the Daily News.
Fortunately, it only took about 20 seconds to rip everything down. Lee doesn’t recall another instance that demanded so much hustle.
As for setting up celebrations, Lee said 15-20 minutes are typically required. That’s what he and other clubhouse staffers needed on Thursday when the Yankees beat the Royals, 3-1, in Game 4 of the ALDS at Kauffman Stadium.
The win sent the Yankees to the ALCS — and called for their third party of the past month after the team clinched a playoff berth and won the American League East.
In addition to putting drinks on ice and lining the room with plastic like a scene out of Dexter, celebrations can also call for the removal of furniture. Many clubhouses include large couches and sofas, so some heavy lifting is required so that players have space to rage. That wasn’t an issue in Kansas City, as the visiting clubhouse is among the league’s biggest.
Budweiser signs also have to be hung from the plastic, as the beer sponsors MLB’s postseason parties.
Lee added that Pete Bodo, Yankee Stadium’s head carpenter, precuts all the plastic to fit the dimensions of the Yankees’ home clubhouse, which speeds up the process.
While set-up takes less than half an hour, Lee said that having a big lead certainly helps. The Yankees provided that when they won their division with a 10-1 victory over the Orioles on Sept. 26.
“When you have a nice enough lead, then you can take your time and there’s no pressure on whether or not to put it up,” Lee said. “’Should we wait one more inning? How long is it going to take the grounds crew to do it?’
“Once it’s 9-0, then you feel more comfortable putting the plastic up.”
Of course, someone always has to keep an eye on the game in case a score change threatens a potential celebration. Communication is required among the clubbies, as those prepping the clubhouse can’t watch the TVs inside once they’re covered in plastic.
“Fortunately, we’ve had the experience of doing it a number of times, so we got it down,” Lee said, but he added that staffers have occasionally had to buy themselves more time for close games and walk-off situations.
In such instances, on-field celebrations will keep players from rushing into the clubhouse. Such was the case Thursday, as the Yankees celebrated the extension of their season in front of disappointed Royals fans.
Lee and staffers can stall further by handing out the various merch that comes with clinchers, such as shirts and hats that say “AL East Champs.”
In not-so-close games, those items are typically waiting in players’ lockers.
Once the Yankees are inside, all hell breaks loose. Players and coaches, wearing protective goggles, shower each other in champagne and beer. Reporters and TV crews, wearing rain jackets and ponchos, also get sprayed as they try their best to work through puddles of alcohol and eye-burning spritzes.
Players drink some of the booze, but most of it ends up on the floor, which is also covered in caps, corks and more plastic.
When the party comes to an end, staffers will then grab a corner of the plastic, wrap it up and throw it out. Still, clubhouse carpets require shampoo treatment overnight. Furniture is put back in place the following morning.
According to Lee, bigger occasions call for bigger celebrations. That usually means more — and pricier – alcohol as the Yankees advance in the playoffs.
For example, Lee said the Yankees’ AL East clinching party featured several cases of beer, 15 cases of Luc Belaire Luxe champagne, and 30 gold bottles of Ace of Spades champagne – the good stuff.
When the Yankees last won it all in 2009, Lee said all the bottles were Ace of Spades. He assumes history will repeat itself if the Yankees can end their championship drought later this month.
“As you go further, you keep escalating it,” Lee said. “And then the goal would be to have the premium stuff at the end of the World Series.”
