I believe this moment will only grow with time. Derek Jeter is still making memories, but when we reflect on his career, this play will resonate even further. When his career does end, we’ll go back and think, “Why was Jeter there?”
Jeter should’ve, by all means, been on the other side of the field, but was there to pick up two cutoff men on an overthrow to the plate and, in one stride, flip the ball from his position on the first base line to Jorge Posada at the plate to nab Jeremy Giambi at the plate. Of course it’s a fantastic, unbelievable play, but even more so in a one-run playoff like it was.
It’s one of those plays Jeter made that’s what made him the Hall of Famer he will be. Though he has more hits than any Yankee in history and has multiple World Series rings, it’s a play like this that separates him into another level. It’s also a moment that reminds all players to pay attention to what’s going on at all times.
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It’s special anytime you can end a World Series with a walk-off home run, and Joe Carter did just that in the 1993 World Series. Carter’s blast off Mitch Williams to give the Blue Jays back-to-back championships is one of the greatest endings one can ask for.
As Carter joyously skips around the bases with his arms held high, broadcaster Tom Cheek makes his famous “Touch ‘em all Joe, you’ll never hit a bigger home run” call on the radio. It’s a moment that’s fit for a Hollywood script ending.
Much like Joe Carter, Bill Mazeroski ended the World Series with one swing of the bat. Unlike Carter, Mazeroski’s was in the decisive Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. In one of the wildest postseason games in history, the Pittsburgh Pirates trailed the New York Yankees 7-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, when the Pirates scored five runs to take a 9-7 lead into the final inning. However, the Yankees scored two in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 9.
Mazeroski then led off the bottom of the ninth with his walk-off shot to win the World Series for the Pirates. In doing so, he became the first player in baseball history to end a World Series with a walk-off home run. (Carter being the only other to do so).
When Carlton Fisk hit this, Boston was still in the middle of its championship curse. So when the ball was headed for foul territory, Fisk was willing to do anything for the ball to land in fair territory. It did, although it wasn’t enough to snap the curse. However, it did create a moment so iconic that every baseball fan knows this moment.
When Cal Ripken played his 2,131st consecutive game, baseball seemed to stop to take notice. The B & O Warehouse, a building behind Camden Yards, was lit with 2,131.
He, of course, did what he also did best that day, he hit a home run. Who knows if Ripken’s streak will ever be broken.
It’s not often you get to see a murder up close, but I once watched Francisco Cabrera murder an entire franchise on national television.The strangest part of this game’s legacy is that Barry Bonds somehow emerged the goat. True, his throw from left field was slightly off-line and not particularly strong; letting Sid Bream score from second base was not only devastating but humiliating. But somehow time has stretched the truth of the play — the story now is that Bonds fielded Cabrera’s line drive, pulled a Sharpie out of his back pocket, autographed the ball, refused to toss it to two adorable cancer-stricken children in the front row, and then threw it to the plate underhand.
It was a poor throw. It wasn’t remotely the worst thing the Pirates did in that inning. Somehow, Bonds is remembered more than starter Doug Drabek, who came into the ninth with a 2-0 lead and allowed a leadoff double and then a walk before he was pulled. Bonds is remembered more than closer Stan Belinda, who inherited a bases-loaded, no-outs situation and almost pulled it out, sandwiching a pair of outs around a walk before surrendering the fateful hit. Most egregiously, Bonds is remembered more than second baseman Jose Lind, who booted a routine ground ball with a man on second and no one out, allowing Cabrera to bat in the first place.
That’s not to take anything away from Cabrera, who amassed just 92 hits in his brief career — Baseball-Reference lists his primary position as “Pinch Hitter” — yet delivered the biggest pinch-hit ever. This was the biggest play in history that wasn’t in Game 7 of the World Series, let alone the World Series itself. Unfortunately for Cabrera, it was also the biggest play in history that didn’t result in a team winning a championship.
The Oakland Athletics' 2002 season was the team's 35th in Oakland, California. It was also the 102nd season in franchise history. The Athletics finished first in the American League West with a record of 103-59.
The Athletics' 2002 campaign ranks among the most famous in franchise history. Following the 2001 season, Oakland saw the departure of three key players. Billy Beane, the team's general manager, responded with a series of under-the-radar free agent signings. The new-look Athletics, despite a comparative lack of star power, surprised the baseball world by besting the 2001 team's regular season record. The team is most famous, however, for winning 20 consecutive games between August 13 and September 4, 2002.[1] The Athletics' season was the subject of Michael Lewis' 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (as Lewis was given the opportunity to follow the team around throughout that season); A film adaptation of the book, also titled Moneyball, was released in 2011.
The Chicago Cubs have won Major League Baseball's World Series, ending the longest title drought in the game. Manager Joe Maddon's team beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings to scoop the top prize in world baseball. The Cubs, who had been 3-1 down in the best-of-seven series, blew a three-run lead in the final game but came back after a rain delay to clinch the title. The last time they were crowned champions was in 1908, 108 years ago, when they beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1.