Going Deep
The Five Greatest Baseball Moments in October History
They made some jump for joy and others sit and sulk.They made some parade the streets in drunken excitement and others toss TVs off third-story windows in sheer anger.
They made some love life and others wish they had never been born.
For more than a century, the boys of October have provided some of baseball’s most cherished moments. Unlike any other month, October brings out the true mystique of the game because every hit, slide, catch, throw and error matters — something that cannot be said about the long summer months of a 162-game season.
The New York Yankees didn’t become sports’ greatest franchise by racking up wins in April and June. They got it done in October — 26 times to be exact. Derek Jeter was not nicknamed “Captain Clutch” for having a good August, but because he hit over .300 with more than 100 hits in October.
And Joe Carter’s walkoff home run to beat Philadelphia is not considered the greatest thing to ever happen in Canada because it came in July, but because — that’s right — it happened in October.
This hallowed 10th month of the year has made dunces out of stars, stars out of average Joes and curse-consumed, live-and-die-with-every-pitch diehards out of casual fans. With that in mind, here is my list of the five greatest baseball moments in October history.
5. Stay down, Buckner!
In 1986, the Boston Red Sox led the New York Mets three games to two in the best-of-seven World Series. In a tied Game Six in the tenth inning at Shea Stadium, Mookie Wilson hit a lazy ground ball that went right under first baseman Bill Buckner’s legs, allowing the runner to score from second base and the Mets to win the game.
The Mets would take the Series by winning game seven, and Buckner’s error was proof to the Red Sox Nation that “The Curse of the Bambino” was true.
4. Reggie crowned Mr. October
Reggie Jackson’s first season in New York wasn’t easy, but it sure ended sweet. After constant fights with manager Billy Martin, distrust from teammates and the pressure of having one of the biggest salaries at the time, 1976 was looking like a gloomy year for the eventual Hall of Fame right fielder.
But Reggie became king of the month with his performance in Game Six of the Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting three home runs — each on the very first pitch — off three different pitchers to seal a championship for the Yankees.
3. Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard 'Round the World”
On Oct. 3, 1951, Bobby Thomson hit the greatest home run in Giants’ history. In Game Three of the National League pennant game between the Giants – who played in New York at the time — and the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Dodgers had a comfortable 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
But the Giants rallied to cut it close and with men on second and third and two outs in a 4-2 game, Thomson yanked a breaking ball towards the left field line and into the stands to send the Giants to the World Series with a 5-4 win.
2. Gibson’s heroic home run
After severely injuring both legs in the League Championship Series, Dodgers outfielder Kirk Gibson was not even supposed to play in Game One of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics. But with the Dodgers trailing 4-3 with two outs and a runner on first, manager Tommy Lasorda called a hobbled Gibson — who had spent all game in the trainers’ room — to face Dennis Eckersley, the most feared closer at the time.
After fighting off several pitches, Gibson got a pitch out over the plate and muscled it over the right field fence. Afterwards, he dragged himself around the bases, pumping his fist in the midst of an overzealous Dodger Stadium. The home run seemed to be a launching pad for the Dodgers, as they took the Series in five games.
1. The Babe calls his shot
During the fifth inning of Game Three of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs, George Herman Ruth appeared to do the single most miraculous thing ever on a baseball field: He pointed at where he was going to hit the ball — straightaway center field — and did so on the very next pitch.
Some say he was just pointing at the pitcher because the Cubs’ dugout was heckling him throughout the game, but it became one of the most timeless moments in baseball history, and it secured Ruth’s godlike status among the game’s greatest players.
The beauty of October is we don’t know if this is the year we will see a moment that can top all of these. Moments like those happen like a Bucky Dent home run — when we least expect them.
So let’s watch.
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