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A Home Run of Great Significance- Part III

You know what else is neat about Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run (the anniversary of which is today)? He turned loss into win with one swing.

I LOVE the come-from-behind walk-off home run. The two best kinds of walk-offs are:

a) the come-from-behind walk-off home run
(when you think of that, you think of Kirk Gibson and Bobby Thomson)

b) the come-from-behind walk-off hit with a close play at the plate
(when you think of that, you think of Francisco Cabrera)

The first walk-off win in Mets history came via come-from-behind walk-off home run. It was hit by Hobie Landrith.

The first Mets walk-off win to come after this blog's existence came via come-from-behind walk-off home run. It was hit by Cliff Floyd.

I speak from the experience of having been there for Floyd's home run. You can't get a more exciting moment in a game than that.

As it turns out, Kirk Gibson was the master of the come-from-behind walk-off home run. In his 17 seasons in the major leagues, he hit 5 of them- 4 in the regular season and 1 in the World Series. I asked David Vincent, an expert on home run history, for a list of players with the most come-from-behind walk-off home runs.

Gibson, with his 5 (including postseason) ties Fred McGriff for the most, in the era of divisional play (since 1969).

There are only three players who have hit a come-from-behind walk-off home run in the postseason: Kirk Gibson, Joe Carter, and '86 Met Lenny Dykstra

In fact, in the 100+ year history of postseason play. Kirk Gibson was the only player to hit a walk-off home run, with his team down to its last out.

I repeat: He's the only one.

That's pretty amazin' if I do say so myself.

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