Yankees fall in the ninth

No comeback was more unlikely and perhaps no World Series more dramatic.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, trailing 2-1, were heading for another one-run defeat that would have given New York Yankees their fourth consecutive championship when they staged a ninth-inning rally of their own.

Their 3-2 victory in game seven in Phoenix last night topped anything the Yankees managed last week in New York because no one expected it, not against the pitching of Mariano Rivera.

"This has to be one of the classic World Series because of the ebbs and the flows and the great games and plays," said Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo.

Luis Gonzalez struck the hit to send Jay Bell home for the winning run from third base.

It gave the Diamondbacks the World Series in only their fourth season of existence, the fastest team to do so. The Florida Marlins won the World Series in 1997 in their fifth year.

It's a dream come true," said Gonzalez. "This is probably going to go down as one of the best World Series ever."

"It's unbelievable," said Bell, who was a free agent when he signed for the Diamondbacks and was playing in his first World Series.

Pitchers Randy Johnson, who retired four Yankees in succession, and the masterful Curt Schilling were the other Diamondbacks heroes.