NEW YORK -- Tuesday was a memorably dramatic sports night in New York. The greatest basketball player in history returned to the court at Madison Square Garden, one of the greatest pitchers in history took the mound in Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium and the leader of the free world showed the form that makes him the most famous ex-Little Leaguer not named Danny Almonte.

	Damian Miller and Mark Grace better work on their communication skills before Game 4.

So, naturally, the most exciting play of the night was not a Michael Jordan reverse slam, nor a Roger Clemens fastball at the chin, nor even a George W. Bush ceremonial pitch to the cheers of a sellout crowd. None of those could compare to the thrills, drama and excitement of simply watching Arizona catcher Damian Miller settle under a foul popup.

Not many people have heard of Miller, but he is one of the best defensive catchers in the National League. The Diamondbacks even mailed out highlight videos to enhance his chances for a gold glove. So, of course, when he finally stepped onto the world stage, he dropped three foul popups in his team's 2-1 loss Tuesday.

Think about it. You devote most of your life to playing the sport as well you can. And then when you finally step into the spotlight, you have the roughest game of your career in the World Series, with the whole world watching on TV (or so Fox hopes) and the President of the United States in the stands.

"I'm not the first guy it's happened to and I won't be the last. I just happened to have it happen in the World Series," Miller said. "In February, I guess I'll have to work on popups.

"When we had the meeting on the mound in the sixth during the pitching change, I told (manager Bob Brenly) that I've had better games defensively. He didn't disagree with me."

While entertaining, none of Miller's drops led to a run (nor did any of the game's four errors), so we'll get to their details later. First, however, let's discuss two plays that were much more important.

Come October, when teams are evenly matched and superb pitching shuts down offenses, solid defense often is the crucial difference in who wins and loses. Such was the case Tuesday in the sixth inning, with two fly balls to left field and the approaches the outfielders took toward them.

	“	When I don't say anything you look at me, and when I call for it, you don't hear me. ”
		— Mark Grace to Damian Miller

In the top of the sixth inning with two outs, runners at the corners and the game tied 1-1, Arizona's Matt Williams smashed a sinking line drive to left off Clemens that had go-ahead hit written on it as boldly as Rawlings. Except Shane Spencer made a brilliant diving catch to end the inning and keep the game tied.

Next, with two out and runners at first and second in the bottom of the inning, New York's Scott Brosius hit a floater down the left field line that many left fielders would have caught. Arizona's Luis Gonzalez did not, instead circling the ball with all the care of a bio-hazard worker investigating a contamination report. Rather than dive for the ball, he fielded it on one hop, allowing Bernie Williams to score from second with what proved to be the game's deciding run.

"He took a chance and made a great play and that changed the whole complexion of the game," Gonzalez said. "If the ball gets by him, Matty ends up on second or third and two runs score. It was the same thing on Brosius's ball. I'm going for the ball and I have a split-second to make a decision and I fielded it on a hop. I wasn't sure whether I could get it.

"As an outfielder, you have a 50-50 chance. If I dive and miss it, two runs score. Same with Shane. He took the chance and made the play."

The Yankees actually made two outstanding plays that inning. Just before Spencer's play, second baseman Alfonzo Soriano made a diving stop on Erubiel Durazo's hard-hit grounder to second. Soriano was unable to throw him out, but he kept Reggie Sanders from scoring from second base -- and Spencer kept him from scoring again with his catch.

But now back to our man, Damian, and his excellent adventure behind the plate. His first drop was a tough play on Spencer's fourth inning foul pop to the backstop with the wind swirling and the ball dancing in the air. The ball dropped behind him for a foul ball, and he did not receive an error due to the conditions.

Spencer wound up walking and Brosius reached on shortstop Tony Womack's bobble, putting runners at first and second with two out. Soriano then popped a ball up in front of the plate. Miller, pitcher Brian Anderson and first baseman Mark Grace all circled the ball, but just as Miller was about to catch the ball, he thought he heard Grace call for it, took his eye off the ball and let it drop in for an apparent run-scoring error. Umpire Dale Scott noticed, however, that the ball never touched Miller's glove and bounced foul where Miller picked it up for a foul ball. Soriano finally flew out after a 13-pitch at-bat.

Two innings later, Tino Martinez hit yet another foul popup. Miller finally had himself in perfect position, glove up, legs balanced, ready to make the catch as the ball dropped into his glove. That’s when Grace crashed into him, knocking the ball out of his glove. The scorer correctly charged the error to Grace.

Grace grinned and told Miller, "When I don't say anything you look at me, and when I call for it, you don't hear me."

"He's an ex-football player and he ran some good pass patterns," Grace said. "The wind was tough but we're big leaguers. We should catch those balls."

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.