Bobby Thomson died Monday. A day later, Jim Thome blasted his record-tying 12th career walk-off home run. Fitting, actually, since Thomson’s “Shot Heard ’Round The World” is one of the most iconic walk-offs in baseball history. But is it the best?:
10. Magglio Ordonez, 2006 ALCS
The Detroit Tigers were up 3 games to 0 against the Oakland A’s, so the series wasn’t really on the line when Ordonez came to the plate in the ninth inning of Game 4. But his three-run homer not only catapulted the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984, it capped a three-year resurrection from the franchise’s 119-loss season in 2003.
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9. Ozzie Smith, 1985 NLCS
The magnitude of the home run (Smith’s blast broke a 2-2 series tie) and the memorable call from Jack Buck (“Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!”) overshadow how improbable the Wizard’s solo shot actually was. Smith had never hit a home run in his previous 3,009 left-handed major league at-bats before he pulled an inside fastball down the right-field line to win Game 5.
8. Chris Chambliss, 1976 ALCS
Chambliss’ walk-off against the Kansas City Royals propelled the New York Yankees to the Fall Classic and capped a franchise resurgence (it was New York’s first World Series appearance in 12 years). But this moment is best remembered for Chambliss carrying his helmet like a football and fighting through a mob of people as he circled the bases. He never made it to home plate.
7. Kirby Puckett, 1991 World Series
Puckett owned Game 6 of this series, tripling home a run to give the Minnesota Twins an early lead and robbing Atlanta Braves slugger Ron Gant of an extra-base hit with a leaping catch against the wall. The game went into extra innings, where Puckett — leading off the bottom of the 11th inning — crushed a circle change from Charlie Leibrandt to force Game 7.
6. Aaron Boone, 2003 ALCS
A seesaw series between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox already was one for the ages when Boone came up to bat in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 7. “You’re my sleeper pick,” New York coach Willie Randolph told Boone before the series began. Boone made Randolph a prophet by hammering Tim Wakefield’s first offering into the left field seats.
5. Carlton Fisk, 1975 World Series
Another tie game in extra innings. And — like Puckett and Boone — Fisk sent the tired fans home happy. In what became the defining moment of his Hall of Fame career, the Boston catcher hammered a 12th-inning home run off the left-field foul pole to force Game 7. The lasting image of Fisk jumping and waving the ball fair is one of the most memorable in baseball history.
4. Joe Carter, 1993 World Series
Carter blasted 396 career home runs, but none were bigger than his three-run shot off Philadelphia Phillies closer Mitch Williams to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to their second consecutive world championship. Carter’s Game 6 shot marked only the second time in MLB history that a player ended a Fall Classic with a home run.
3. Kirk Gibson, 1988 World Series
The Dodgers first baseman, hobbled by leg injuries, batted only once in the ’88 Fall Classic. With the Dodgers trailing 4-3 in the ninth inning of Game 1 and Mike Davis on first base, Gibson dragged himself to the plate against Oakland A’s closer Dennis Eckersley. Gibson worked the count full and then flicked a homer into the right-field seats. L.A. won the series in five games.
2. Bill Mazeroski, 1960 World Series
More than three decades before Carter became the second man to end a World Series with a home run, Mazeroski became the first. A future Hall of Famer known more for his glove than for his bat, the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman slammed a tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning of Game 7 to lift the Pirates to an improbable series win over the heavily favored Yankees.
1. Bobby Thomson, 1951 NL Playoff
Thomson’s game-winning homer off Ralph Branca not only sent the New York Giants to the World Series at the expense of the rival Brooklyn Dodgers, it also capped a four-run ninth-inning rally — and closed the book on an improbable comeback in the NL pennant race. Russ Hodges’ radio call (“The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!”) is one of the best in sports history.
