CLEVELAND – David was 5-foot-9, a diminutive utility infielder from Mississippi. Goliath was perhaps the most prolific reliever in major-league history.

Fifteen years ago, Bill Selby lived out that dream every kid acts out in the backyard.

Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Bases loaded.

And Selby yanked the Mariano Rivera's offering just a bit too far to the right.

He had his chance. He came close. But he misfired.

Better luck next time, man.

What unfolded next -- a whirlwind of a trip back to the batter's box, an extreme positioning of his hands on the lumber and a swing that sent Jacobs Field into a frenzy -- hasn't escaped Selby's mind after all this time. He can recall every detail, vivid as can be and never growing tired.

Selby has coached baseball in Mississippi since his professional career ended in 2005. He was inducted into the state's Community College Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.

He took some time from his busy schedule to reflect upon that unforgettable afternoon of July 14, 2002.

Fifteen years ago, you socked a walk-off grand slam against Mariano Rivera to complete a 10-7 victory after the Indians trailed, 7-0. 
"In my neck of the woods, a lot of people talk about it. I looked in the mirror the other day and I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh. Fifteen years.' I'm getting old. It's crazy that that much time has passed."
 
You had been around the game for a long time by then. You broke into the majors in 1996. Did you know at the time that this would be one of those moments that would stick with you the rest of your life?
"Yeah, I'll be honest with you. When you come from a small area, some of the things I accomplished, you're not supposed to. I was a little guy. Just the fact that I got to play any amount of time was an accomplishment coming from where I was from. Any kind of moment like that, it's David vs. Goliath. Guys like me weren't supposed to do those kinds of things, so when it does happen, and I was in the last third of my career, I said, 'This is going to be something I remember forever, regardless of how the rest of my career pans out.' Whether you're Jim Thome or Bill Selby, it doesn't matter. It's something you'll always remember."

Do you remember every part of the at-bat?
"I do. That's why, when I was looking in the mirror, it's like, 'It's been 15 years and yet I can remember events that led up to that week and how it all transpired.' I can remember it, pitch by pitch. I can remember my at-bat before, in the eighth inning, off Mike Stanton (a single to right field). 

I remember sitting in the dugout, watching things transpire, thinking, 'I'm going to hit again. This thing is going to come all the way back around to me again."

Earlier in the at-bat, you pulled one down the line that, had it stayed fair, probably would've won the game.
"That would've been a game-winner. It didn't go over the fence, but it would've been a double. It was the very pitch before. When they talk about somebody dying or coming close to death, they talk about how your whole life flashes before your eyes. I can remember by the time I got halfway to first and realized it went foul, on the walk back, so many things went through my mind.

I remember going, 'Most people get one shot.' I try to teach my hitters that you might get one pitch in an at-bat. You can't miss. Everyone always wants to hear about what it was like facing Pedro Martinez or Curt Schilling or Mariano Rivera. Well, they don't make a lot of mistakes, and when they do, you can't miss. That's what makes the best hitters the best hitters. They don't miss as often.

Years later, I'm teaching this stuff and I'm thinking, 'I got the pitch. He made a mistake. It was down in the zone.' Mariano didn't have to sugarcoat anything. He could tell you what was coming and where he was throwing it, and you still were at a disadvantage trying to hit it.

He missed his spot. I got a pitch I could handle and it went foul. I remember walking back, going, 'That was my pitch. No, no, no. Clear your thoughts. Just relax. You've proven to yourself now you can get to the ball. Stay relaxed and breathe a little bit.' A lot of emotions and thoughts came through my head in those five or six or seven seconds before I had to get back in the box for the next pitch."
 
Tom Hamilton fondly remembers his call of that at-bat. He shrieked when you hit the ball foul; he thought it was fair. He told me once he didn't expect much after that, just because it seems like guys never deliver after coming so close on a previous chance.
"That's just the nature of the sport. Especially against someone of his caliber -- he didn't make a lot of mistakes throughout his career, and I honestly don't think the pitch I hit [was a mistake]. According to him, he threw the pitch where he wanted and I just hit it."

It almost looked like you got jammed.
"I didn't get jammed. I mis-hit it, though. That's what's crazy about it. Eddie Murray was the hitting coach at the time. I faced him in spring training and I grounded out. I faced him [two] nights before and I grounded out to first. I remember I got jammed a little bit off the barrel.

I try to explain to people how his ball cut. It was almost like a roller-coaster ride. It doesn't cut like a natural cutter. I prided myself on being able to hit a ball in. So I talked to Eddie after the game and he said, 'You get inside the ball well, Bill. Why don't you try choking up more than you normally do?'

So, I did. I choked up two inches on the bat, so I knew I could get a barrel to it. I did on both pitches. But I got underneath that ball a little bit. I was kind of surprised it carried so far.

You hit 11 home runs in your major-league career and 164 in the minors. Did you ever have a faster trot around the bases than on this one?
"I'll tell you what -- I was probably 195 pounds. It's probably the lightest I felt running around the bases. I'm fortunate. Some people say, well, I only played parts of five seasons and I should've gotten more of an opportunity. Every day mattered to me. Every day was the coolest day ever.

I've always been a baseball fan. Everything about the experience of playing baseball is wonderful to me. My son's team played in a tournament in Atlanta at the new stadium. Just the experience of batting practice or watching guys warm up or throw in between innings, the fans interacting -- it's all cool.

I played at Jacobs Field with the Red Sox back when they were in the middle of their sellout streak. The first [big-league] game I ever played was with Boston at Jacobs Field. [Two days later], I can remember standing at third base and trying to speak with an umpire who was 15 feet away from me, after Carlos Baerga hit a bases-loaded double. I couldn't hear. I remember thinking, 'Wow, this is so loud here.'

So, when 25,000 or however many were left in the stands -- that moment was so loud, that when I was running around the bases, I was carried by energy. I saw Derek Jeter look back at me and acknowledge me. I ran around and high-fived the third-base coach and then looked at everyone at home plate. You forget about the home run trot. You're like, 'I can't wait to celebrate with everybody.'

That was the first grand slam Rivera allowed in seven years, and the last for another eight years.
"I remember coming to the park the next day against Chicago. For several days that homestand, they kept playing it over and over on the videoboard, so I relived it every time. I never knew or understood the magnitude beyond it, that it was a big moment in my career in relation to what it was in Mariano's career.

From that point on, if anybody hit a home run off Mariano, I'd get a text from somebody. 'Hey, somebody went deep off Mariano.' 'Hey, I saw your name on ESPN tonight.' Somebody told me this week at a golf course, 'Yeah, I saw your name on SportsCenter the other day.' I'm like, 'For what? He's not playing. I'm not playing.' It's not until you get later in life that you really understand the gravity of it. At the time, it was just really cool for anything good to happen for a guy off the bench who just wants to contribute in any way he can.

Is it something you use as a teaching point, that even when you feel like the odds are against you, you're never out of it?
"I try to use my experience to help me coach, whether I'm teaching hitting and I try to invoke memories or experiences from my own past and how I dealt with this or that, what I did in this situation, how I adjusted here, how I feel philosophically or mechanically about an approach. What it all boils down to is baseball is a difficult game. To play at a high level is very difficult and very few can do it successfully. But a lot of these situations that come about, a lot of people aren't prepared mentally to handle them. It would've been just as easy for me to watch that ball go foul and strike out or pop up.

I spent nine different seasons at Triple-A, on the cusp. There was a lot that built up to get me to a point where one moment doesn't necessarily define my career, but it has lasting meaning. Those moments are exactly what people dream about when they're little. I can't tell you how many times I threw a ball against a wall and I was Nolan Ryan in the bottom of the ninth and had to strike this guy out, or I was up at the plate in the bottom of the ninth and hit a home run to win it. You dream about those moments when you're little and it was beyond playing professional baseball for 14 years. It was a dream come true within a dream.

So, absolutely, I use it. People say, 'I'm not 6-foot-4, 230 pounds and run a 6.4 60.' 'I can't hit it like Aaron Judge hits.' 'I can't throw it like [Carlos] Martinez from St. Louis.' 'I can't play shortstop like Francisco Lindor.' I say it doesn't matter. You put yourself in a position to be successful and if it happens, then be thankful and keep on trucking. Not everyone can do what those guys do. I certainly use that as motivation and to help people understand that you don't have to be 'the guy' to have a 'the guy' moment.
 
You came back last year and threw out a ceremonial first pitch. How did it feel to return to the ballpark?
"The guys I played with, they understand my whole career was not a home run off Mariano. I spent a lot of time at Triple-A. There was a lot of frustration, futility, some great moments and a lot of being thankful for any opportunity that I got. Being part of that was outstanding. I was excited about doing that. Then, they asked if I wanted to come to their annual golf outing. (He did.) I'm going to come back in August and hopefully I can play in that every year.

You're a humble guy. How'd it make you feel to see the signs that read 'Selby is God'?
"The day I got my first call-up with the Red Sox, I was in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and we were playing in Columbus, which was the Yankees' Triple-A team at the time. There was some crazy promotion that night, like a dime for a hot dog, so there were a lot of fans there. When we were walking off the field, you had to walk down the third-base line to go to the clubhouse. I remember walking down there and I stopped to sign autographs. A lot of people hurried off the field because it was a long night and we had to get on a bus and fly the next day. It was late.

I stopped and signed a few things. These guys were there. They didn't have a 'Selby is God' poster at the time, but I said something to them, signed some things, maybe gave them a bat. That night, I got called up to Boston and I met the team in Cleveland. And those guys had tickets to the Cleveland game.

The second day I was in Cleveland, I see the sign: 'Selby is God.' I was like, 'What is this?' It turned out to be those guys. I ended up talking to them after the game. They were like, 'Look, we don't want anything from you. We just think it's cool that somebody humble would stop and sign some autographs.' Ever since then, every once in a while, they'd show up to where I was and we'd talk and take pictures. It was really neat. They never asked for anything.

A couple years ago, I got a package in the mail and it had three Cleveland jerseys [with] my name. Someone was getting married and they wanted to give them away as gifts. I said, 'Absolutely I would do that for you.' It was really cool. Other guys would sign the poster for them. They kept the same poster. That's what was impressive. They kept the same one over and over and over. That was a neat little thing. There are people who are friends with me who remember that as much as they do my playing days.