Comments on: The most memorable home runs in each team’s history

By: cdboss

cdboss — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:34:33 +0000

How about Tony Womacks inside the park grand slam.

By: ladivinadivavzla

ladivinadivavzla — Sun, 22 May 2011 16:06:08 +0000

In the list Must be the Willir Mays four HR day with San Francisco

By: 1historian

1historian — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:13:48 +0000

I’ll go along with Fisk’s HR in the 1975 series as the #1 for the Red Sox, but methinks mention should have been made of Ted Williams’ last at bat being a homer.

By: nightman13

nightman13 — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:08:57 +0000

I’d have to say Pedro Cerrano’s 2 run shot against the Yankees in the bottom of the 7th on an 0-2 count to tie the game. That led to Jake Taylor’s bunt single that scored Willie Mays Hayes and gave the Tribe the win that kept Rachel Phelps from moving them to Miami.

By: davemmm

davemmm — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:00:15 +0000

As an Orioles fan the most memorable Pirates homer is Stargell in game 7. I was sure we had the series won.

By: umrguy42

umrguy42 — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:21:12 +0000

Nah, I think Craig’s got it here with Ozzie’s shot – admittedly, besides the sheer WTF-ness (as he put it), there’s the great call by Jack Buck (we miss you, Jack!) which cemented the memorableness (just as it did with Gibby’s in ’88).

By: royhobbs39

royhobbs39 — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:54:23 +0000

As a Nationals fan, I would have to go with the first game at Nationals Park. Opening Night baseball. President throws out the first pitch. HR wins the game. Local (sort of – VA) hero. Well worth the money laid down for the tickets. Unfortunately the crowds and the team have not come close to that level since. (Except for the Strasburg games.) Hopefully that HR will be replaced by many Harper moonshots.

By: Detroit Michael

Detroit Michael — Fri, 20 May 2011 10:39:47 +0000

Craig got it right: it’s the Gibson homer for the Tigers.

By: thereekshow

thereekshow — Fri, 20 May 2011 08:12:08 +0000

As for White Sox homers, Konerko’s Game 2 grand slam had a much bigger impact than Blum’s walk off. I was at Game 2 and you cannot imagine the energy and feeling inside US Cellular. It was our way of saying we are finally back, and we are here to win it. Can you say SWEEP?

By: mgflolox

mgflolox — Fri, 20 May 2011 06:47:40 +0000

Still think Jack Clark’s bomb in game 6 of the ’85 NLCS belongs in there.

By: mgflolox

mgflolox — Fri, 20 May 2011 06:37:38 +0000

As an A’s fin this hurts, but Gibson’s bomb in “88 is definitely the winner for the Dodgers. I think 2nd place, however, was struck by a former Athletic, Rick Monday against the ‘Spos to put LA in the “81 series. For the Cards, I would go with Jack “The Ripper” Clark’s HR that effectively ended the ’85 NLCS in game 6. For the A’s you probably have to go back to 1912 when Frank “home Run” Baker got his nickname.

By: capsboy

capsboy — Fri, 20 May 2011 05:26:15 +0000

Diamondbacks:

1999, Jay Bell’s grand slam won a fan a million bucks because she correctly guessed the inning and player when it would happen.

My personal favorite; in 2001Tony Womack hit a home run on Father’s Day, his dad had died in April that year, I remember he became so emotional he almost broke down on the base paths. He was one of my all time favorites.

By: raysfan1

raysfan1 — Fri, 20 May 2011 04:12:54 +0000

That’s certainly the most significant HR for the Rays, but the most memorable HR has to be Wade Boggs’ 3000th hit. It was practically the only highlight for what was then a craptacular team.

By: cur68

cur68 — Fri, 20 May 2011 04:09:06 +0000

eeeew, awkward. Sorry about curr68. He’s not quite housebroke around the decent folks yet. I fear he never shall be. The extra ‘r’ in his name makes him a bit of a fiend, the wee scamp.

As to slider/fast ball, I’m sure Mitch felt he was throwing a FB and I’m sure Daulton (who, if memory serves, was catching) called FB, but what Joe saw was slider. Frankly I have difficulty distinguishing a mediocre cutter from an excellent slider, so who knows what that pitch was? With William’s off-balance-washing-machine delivery he might be just wishful thinking that was a FB. It was moment I’m sure he’d like to forget, bless his little cotton socks.

In any case he pitched a something and Joe CLOBBERED a something. The greatest home run by any Blue Jay ever, including any hit by curr68′s awkward man crush, Jose Bautista.

mini-curr you complete me…

By: Chris Fiorentino

Chris Fiorentino — Fri, 20 May 2011 01:24:55 +0000

For me, the Phillies most memorable HR was Mike Schmidt’s 500th. Those were the days when 500 meant something and the way he reacted after hitting it was pure joy for me and my dad. Probably why I remember it so well. Thy and Harry the K’s call of it. Good times.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:58:38 +0000

Hey, thanks. While it was hardly noteworthy as far as team success goes, it still has its place in the “should be mentioned” category. Updike’s piece, which I try to read as Spring Training starts every year encapsulates the episode perfectly. No more poetic justice homer in MLB history.

By: curr68

curr68 — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:42:15 +0000

Also, I would like nothing more than to drink Jose Bautista’s bath water.

By: mercyflush

mercyflush — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:39:50 +0000

trying to reply cur but for some reason it doesnt let me reply to your reply.

maybe i am wrong but they just had the 2 of them on mlb’s 20 greatest games and mitch was talking about the pitch and how it was supposed to be a fastball high and away (to induce a popout) and he ended up throwing a meatball

By: akismet-e6748cca3a16ea6e8283008d25583adc

akismet-e6748cca3a16ea6e8283008d25583adc — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:23:53 +0000

Completely agree, speaking as Nats fan. Can’t think of any better. Rauch blew the save and a large part of the crowd was groaning at the thought of a sunday night game, late start, in very cold weather going extras. Then Zimmerman steps up and crushed a ball out against the tough reliever Moylan. I’ve never heard that stadium louder.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS200803300.shtml

By: schmedley69

schmedley69 — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:24:24 +0000

As a Phillies fan who started watching in the late ’70′s, my 3 most memorable homers are Mike Schmidt’s division clincher against the Expos in 1980, Dykstra’s homer off of Mark Wohler’s in game 5 of the ’93 NLCS (came immediately after another Mitch Williams blown save; turned the whole series around), and of course, Stairs’ moonshot against the Dodgers in the ’08 NLCS.

As far as Ripken’s HR on the night he broke the record: it’s a well known fact that former teammate Shawn Boskie threw him a meatball and told him what pitch was coming. Doesn’t count.

By: cup0pizza

cup0pizza — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:15:31 +0000

Second place for the Dodgers is Rick Monday in game 5 of the nlcs in Montreal on 10.19.81

By: gostros19

gostros19 — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:04:11 +0000

The most memorable Astro home run has to be Chris Burke’s 18th inning home run against the braves in the 2005 NLDS. Yes, only a Division Series game. But come on. Everybody remembers that AND it was en route to the World Series…gotta go with that.

By: natstowngreg

natstowngreg — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:02:51 +0000

Agree on Zimmerman’s homer. He also hit a walk-off against the Yankees at RFK (think it was in 2006). But then, he’s hit several walk-offs.

There are a few white seats in the upper deck at RFK, for Frank Howard moon shots, but the most memorable homer hit in Washington was most likely by Josh Gibson, as a member of the Homestead Grays (who played part of their schedule here). It wasn’t memorable because hardly anyone was paying attention.

By: purdueman

purdueman — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:38:10 +0000

scatter… to understand my obvious delight in recalling the infamous Bartman moment in Cub history, you’d have to have been a lifetime baseball fan who grew up in Chicago. As I’m sure it’s apparent, I grew up on Chicago’s south side, but was a big fan of both the Cubs and White Sox until syndicated columnist Mike Royko wrote his asinine and polarizing column during the 1984 NLCS.

That column more than anything else turned many of us White Sox fans off on the Cubs, and it started the turnover of Cub fans from mostly life long true Cub fans to the johnny come lately’s who started to climb on the bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong though; I loved Royko, but Royko’s column set off a feud between Cub and White Sox fans that’s simply grown and grown bigger every year since.

When the Cubs finally put lights up at Wrigley Field (1988), all of a sudden the “yuppie night creatures from the affluent north shore” suddenly overwhelmed the Cubbie bandwagon, and then the Cubbie gasbag grew and grew to epic proportions until that fateful night at the NLCS in 2003 when it burst like the Hindenburg going down on that Bartman foul ball.

What’s really funny though is that the Cub bandwagoners all to this day still blame Bartman for the Cubs failure to get to the World Series in 2003, yet it was a routine ground ball to that their shortstop muffed that opened the floodgates for the Marline to win.

The whole thing is just so, well, so Cubbie!!! (LOL!)

By: uuddlrlrbastart

uuddlrlrbastart — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:15:25 +0000

Between the three listed by Craig and three others listed in the comments for the Mets (Todd Pratt and two Piazza homers), I’m having trouble deciding which was most memorable. Mostly because, in the end, they weren’t *that* epic. It’s kind of like having a rotation full of a bunch of number 3-4 starters.

By: kountryking

kountryking — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:14:58 +0000

Yeah, Gibson’s was the greatest home run for the Dodgers. Second place in my book goes to ought-to-be Hall of Famer Gil Hodges’ fourth home run against the Boston Braves ‘way back in history.

By: marshmallowsnake

marshmallowsnake — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:13:08 +0000

You may be right about that Ortiz homer…but people tend to remember the steal more than that homer.

By: marshmallowsnake

marshmallowsnake — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:11:42 +0000

This may be true…I watched that game and do not remember that homer though.

By: scatterbrian

scatterbrian — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:59:51 +0000

“LOL! ROFLMAO!!”

Wow, I guess it doesn’t take much these days, does it?

By: scatterbrian

scatterbrian — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:55:22 +0000

McGwire walk-off in Game 3 of the ’88 Series. After Eck coughed up that homer to gimpy Gibson in Game 1, and getting shutout on a three-hit gem by Hershiser in Game 2, this homer gave A’s fans some hope the series could be salvaged.