But it was his at-bat against Turk Wendell in the 12th inning that decided things.

Vizcaino, the latest in a long line of unlikely World Series heroes such as Al Weiss (1969 New York Mets), Gene Larkin (1991 Minnesota) and Chad Curtis (1999 Yankees), singled home the winning run against Wendell with two out in the 12th to give the Yankees a 4-3 win.

It was the final blow of a four-hit night for Vizcaino.

"He had a hell of a night," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He's a good player. Even when he bobbled that ball (in the ninth inning with Mets at second and third), he didn't panic and he threw the runner out at first base. He's been a good player.

"I mean, (general manager) Brian Cashman has made a couple of key deals. You look at (David) Justice as the main one, and (Denny) Neagle. But when you look at the (Luis) Sojos and the Vizcainos and (Luis) Polonia, there's some things that fit really well."

Before his 12th-inning single to left, Vizcaino said the biggest hit of his career probably came in 1993 when he was with the Chicago Cubs.

As far as why he has so much success against Leiter, he clammed up.

"I cannot tell you because I might have to face him one more time," Vizcaino said, smiling. "It's a secret."

Rifleman

Derek Jeter on his relay throw that nailed the Mets' Timo Perez at the plate when he was trying to score from first on Todd Zeile's double: "I saw out of the corner of my eye the he hadn't reached third yet when the ball hit the top of the wall. I thought if I got rid of it quick, I could get him."

Jeter said he was off balance when he threw home. Most of his weight was on one leg.

The recovery

Predictably, the mood was grim in the Mets' clubhouse. Leiter called it a heartbreaking loss and emphasized that the key to this series now is how the club bounces back.

"The assumption could be made after a hard loss like tonight that our ability to dismiss tonight and go on is the only way we'll have a chance," Leiter said.

The experience factor ...

While the Yankees have won three of the past four World Series, the Mets haven't been to a Series since 1986.

Manager Bobby Valentine got a laugh, though, when he referred post-game to using 18 players in Game 1.

"Well, we came in with very little World Series experience, and we got a lot of it in one night," he quipped.

Rosters

The Yankees added Jose Canseco to their postseason roster before Game 1 and de-activated pitcher Randy Choate.

The Mets, meanwhile, pronounced reliever Dennis Cook, who is battling a kidney stone, healthy enough to pitch. And, in fact, he faced two batters in the 10th -- walking both of them.

The first time

The line of the afternoon belonged to Wendell, who uttered this reaction when he stepped out of the dugout before batting practice and spied the media horde on the field: "Where's the Mets' players? There must be some Mets players around here somewhere."

The rematch

Both teams are downplaying the rematch in Game 2 between Yankees starter Roger Clemens and Mets catcher Mike Piazza. The last time they faced each other, Clemens hit Piazza in the head with a pitch and sent him to the hospital with a concussion.

"I think that whatever feelings people have are set aside," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said. "It's only about winning the World Series."

Said Yankees manager Joe Torre: "It's unfortunate what happened to Mike, there's no question. But I don't believe ... other than the fact that he was successful against Roger, the circumstances didn't call for it. We had just beaten them two games in a row."

New York, New York

Commissioner Bud Selig made an on-field appearance before Game 1 and, predictably, said he thinks a Subway Series is great.

"This is the most ticket requests I've had in my 35 years in baseball," he said. "They're calling from all over the country. Conventional wisdom that nobody cares about this Series outside of the Hudson River is absolutely wrong."

New York Minute

The latest example of the frenzy in New York: The New York Times' World Series preview section Saturday contained a story written by a guest writer.

Jerry Seinfeld.

The lead: "You'd think we'd be happy. Here we are in a World Series we can't lose. It's us against ourselves. Hey, how about if the winner of this plays the Knicks? Every sports town is always so desperate to get its team into a championship final. We've got two, why are we all so anxious? I guess for the same reason things got a little testy between the states around 1861. The fact is, you have to consider the Civil War the original Subway Series. Same basic idea, just take a bunch of guys we all like, put them in different uniforms, then stand back and watch the fireworks. And I bet major league pitchers today probably throw about as hard as the little balls that came out of those muskets ..."

Short hops

• The inconveniences of a Subway Series: Mets' general manager Steve Phillips drove himself to Yankee Stadium for Game 1 but was told by security to move it along. "I pulled in right in front of the (Mets') bus and they said, 'Can you get out of the way so the bus can get through?'" Phillips said.
• The Subway Series is bringing out everybody. Among the celebrities at Game 1: Billy Joel (who sang the national anthem), Tom Cruise, Ron Howard, Billy Crystal, Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick, Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal, Nick Turturro of NYPD Blue, tennis star Pete Sampras, NHL star Mark Messier and Kurt Russell.
• So after Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani took a lot of heat for predicting that his team would win the World Series in five games, someone asked him before Game 1 who was going to win Saturday night. "I'm not predicting anymore," Agbayani said, smiling.