Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk-Offs in Movies, TV, and Other Places

Note: I'm leaving this post up through the end of the week, a) because I don't have time to pump out something new and b)because I was hoping to build a really good list of entertainment industry walk-offs...so if you're looking for something new, check back on Monday or so... Of course, if there's a major trade or move, I'll adjust and try to post something... In the meantime, click on the "Table of Contents" link as well. It has been updated. SPOILER ALERT: Read at your own risk Caught the ending of "A League of Their Own" on one of the movie channels the other day and it got me to thinking that it would be fun to compile a list of walk-offs from movies, television, and other forms of entertainment. Here's the start, and only the start, as I spent about 30 minutes or so thinking it over Help me fill in the blanks by filling out the comments section. "A League of Their Own"-- Racine beats Rockford for the All-American Girls Profess...
10 comments
Read more

The 'Duca of Earl (and walk-offs)

If I told you that the Mets had just obtained a guy who is a career .316 hitter with runners in scoring position? How about if I told you that the Mets just traded for a hitter who has consistently ranked among the toughest in baseball to strike out? Or if I mentioned that the Mets just dealt for a player who was selected to the NL All-Star team the last three seasons, with the last honor coming via a vote by his peers? So, although he's on the down side age wise, his throwing arm isn't as good as it used to be, and he doesn't provide much power, there are a lot of good things that Paul Lo Duca brings to the New York Mets. For example: He'll sacrifice his body for the good of the team The Dodgers and Braves squared off on August 23, 2002 and Lo Duca made an impact both on the start and finish of this game. Three pitches after being dusted by Greg Maddux, Lo Duca made him pay with a first-inning home run. The Braves rallied to tie the game, 3-3 in the ninth, but their bu...
8 comments
Read more

The best Mets ejections I know

When you think of the Mets and famous ejections, I'm guessing you first think of the famous Bobby Valentine mustache game, when after Valentine got tossed, he returned to the dugout in disguise. You know it. You love it. I remember being amused when I asked Bobby V about it while we were working on Baseball Tonight, how he simply said "It worked. We won the game." (true) But the Bobby V mustache game of June 9, 1999 is one of many, many memorable Mets ejection stories. And now thanks to Retrosheet and the magic of Newspapers.com , we have a convenient means for being able to share them. Ever since Retrosheet's David Smith recently announced that the Retrosheet ejection database was posted online , I've been a kid in a candy store. I've organized the data and done some lookups of media coverage around the games that interested me post. Those newspaper accounts fill in a lot of blanks. Without further ado (and with more work to do), here are some of my findings ...
Post a Comment
Read more