Sometimes, doing a deed once forever marks you for life.
It doesn't matter if you never do it again.
You hit a game-winning home run, sink a game-winning shot, score a game-winning goal, you are remembered forever.
That is, if it's a memorable game.
You're Mr. Clutch for life.
But there are some like Micheal Jordan in basketball, who make it a habit. And yes, I am well aware of this commercial:
But are any of you buying that MJ wasn't the guy you wanted with the game on the line?
25 years ago, Kirk Gibson swatted that memorable 2-run home run off Dennis Eckersley (who was the best relief pitcher in the game at the time) to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 Dodgers win.
Now, was that the only time he hit a home run to just say, put the Dodgers (or any team he played for) ahead?
No way!
Coming into the 1988 World Series, Gibson had 62 home runs that put his team ahead. Of these, 5 were walk-offs. And by the time his career came to an end in the 1995 season, Kirk had hit 92 go-ahead home runs, 27 game-tying home runs, and 7 walk-off home runs.
That, of course, is just the regular season!
But for those wondering, the only other home run Gibby hit off Eckersley was 6 years before their historic meeting.
The Red Sox, Eckersley's team that day, took this one easily. But in the top of the 8th inning, with the Red Sox up 9-3, Kirk Gibson led off.
And slammed Eck's pitch for a solo shot! A flyball out and a double by Larry Herndon finished off Eckersley.
A bit of a sidenote here: Eckersley was once a starter
And a pretty good one at that, winning 149 games there. This was one of those 149 wins, of course.
Gibson's Tigers are a story in themselves two seasons later.
See, the Tigers in 1984 (the season, not the novel) were one awesome team. And it seemed as though they thrived off Kirk! It was somehow better then the novel, if you asked me.
How's this for a stat: Tigers' record when leading after 8 innings (including postseason), 100-0!
But I've given you the false sense that it all came easy. It didn't.
Now, as it was, the Tigers were 104-58. Only two teams, Baltimore and Boston were above .500 against Detroit that season. Seattle went 6-6 against them, if it matters.
But how about 1-run games? The Tigers were 25-11. So 36 games were nail-biting close.
Gibson had 2 hits in the opener of the ALCS against Kansas. The Tigers ended up sweeping them. But this was a KC team that won it all the next year. And while game 1 was a rout, 8-1, the next two games were anything but.
In game 2, Gibson's home run in the top of the 3rd made it 3-0. But Kansas fought back to tie it before the Tigers pulled it off in the 11th.
In game 3, we almost had a double no-hitter. Each team managed just 3 hits. The Tigers managed to score the game's only run.
So it was on to the World Series, but that ALCS was anything but easy. The last two games could have gone to KC. And then you're down 2-1, in a best of 5 Series. Odds not looking good for Detroit.
Gibson, I should tell you, ended up getting the MVP of that short Series. Short, but tough!
The San Diego Padres would face the Tigers in the World Series of 1984.
San Die-Go. Not exactly a fitting name, for the Padres did anything but, "Go Die."
The Tigers might have told them to do that. But it was obvious from the first game that the Padres weren't about to listen.
The Tigers were behind 2-1, when a 2-run home run by Herndon made it 3-2 Tigers. They held on to win this one. But San Diego won game 2, despite Gibson's 2 hits, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.
In game 3, now in Detroit, the Padres out-hit the Tigers 10-7. But somehow lost 5-2! Gibby didn't get a hit, but walked twice and got another RBI.
In game 4, the Tigers won 4-2, but again they only got 7 hits. Gibby got one and stole a base. No RBIs or runs scored, though.
Something had to Gib in game 5.
Did it ever!
Gibson swatted a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 1st to put the Tigers up 2-0.
By the top of the 4th, the Tigers had watched their 3-0 lead become a 3-3 tie. Gibson was needed.
So in the bottom of the 5th, Gibson singled and scored (on short fly ball) to put the Tigers ahead again. A Lance Parrish later hit a home run of Goose Gossage to made it 5-3 Detroit. Game in the bag?
Not quite.
The stubborn Padres got a home run of their own in the top of the 8th, by Kurt Bevacqua. We need a laugh now! Remember what Tommy Lasorda had to say about Kurt? Oh, wait! I don't want to lose 99 percent of my readers!
Seriously though, if you have not seen it, make it a point to.
As long as you don't mind some colourful words!
Anyways, where was I?
Oh, the bottom of the 8th. Tigers holding on for dear life.
Yep, it's only 5-4, and there were runners on 2nd and 3rd and only one out. Gossage still on the mound.
Gossage was in the middle of a conference on the mound. He begged his manager, Dick Williams, to allow him to pitch to Gibson.
Yes, first base is open.
But we need to look at the head-to-head stats, don't we?
Gibson was 1-9, lifetime in the regular season vs. Gossage.
And 0-1, lifetime in the World Series vs. Gossage.
Yep, we got a case of a .100 hitter vs. pitcher!
So, the decision was made to pitch to Kirk. Would it work?
Well, not quite! Gibson would swat a 1-0 pitch to deep right. This sewed up The Detroit Tigers' World Championship!
Alan Trammell got the MVP of the World Series that year, but man, did Gibby ever help!
So, let's get to '88, right?
Quick stop in 1987, though. Tigers trail the Jays 3 1/2 with 7 games to play. Done deal right?
Top of the 9th, Jays looking for the 4 game sweep. Looking to go up 4 1/2 games with only 6 to play.
Up 1-0, too! That is, until Kirk Gibson saved the day!
3 outs away from victory, Gibson snatched it away from Toronto by belting a home run off Tom Henke (another great relief specialist, another 300 + saves).
Then in the 13th, it was Kirk's single that put the Tigers ahead for good!
A few days later, October 1st, the Tigers were facing the Baltimore Orioles. They were holding on to a slim 7-5 lead.
Here comes that man again!
Another dinger, another game blown wide open. The Tigers were down only 1 game to the Jays with 3 to play. 3 to play against the Jays.
And the Tigers won all 3 games. In fact the Jays ended the season on a 7-game losing streak. That Gibson home run off Henke made the difference. His single later started the Jays down the loss road!
So it is now on to 1988. And a new league and team for Gibson: Los Angeles Dodgers
Kirk Gibson was MVP that season.
Odd, isn't it? He didn't hit 30 home runs, he didn't drive in 100 runs. He didn't even bat .300.
But was he ever needed in the NLCS of that year.
The Mets were too good it seemed.
Poor Gibby had just 1 RBI in the first three games, and the Dodgers were down 2 games to 1.
The Mets were 3 outs away from being down 3-1, but a clutch home run by Mike Scioscia scored 2. It was on to extra innings!
The Dodgers seemed to lose steam here. They couldn't do a thing in the 10th or 11th. Then there were 2 outs in the top of the 12th.
That's when our boy came through, again!
Gibson hit a home run and the Dodgers survived a bases loaded jam. Series tied at 2!
In game 5, the Dodgers were up 3-0. But this was a Met team that was known to come back with run after run. More offence was needed. Gibson would provide it.
Gibson hit a 3-run shot in the top of the 5th. The Dodgers really did need it. The Mets came back and scored 4 times, but the Dodgers held on to win, 7-4.
The Dodgers lost game 6, however. It was down to a winner-take-all game 7.
In the bottom of the 1st, Gibson hit a sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. That's all pitcher Orel Hershiser (who had a knack for throwing shutouts that year, believe me!) would need. But buoyed by Kirk, the Dodgers scored 5 more times in the second!
It was Hershiser who got the MVP, but I think Gibson really provided the spark. Games 4 and 5 would not have been won without him!
And then, of course, the World Series.
And Kirk Gibson's home run off Eckersley. At this point I have one question for everyone:
What did you expect?
References
Brenner, Richard J. "A Team Of Destiny." The World Series: The Great Contests. East End Publishing, 1989. Print. pp. 95-120.
Toronto Blue Jays Souvenir Program. Spring Training, 1988.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.
Retrosheet. Web. 15 Aug. 2013. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Youtube. Web. 15 Aug. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com>.
It doesn't matter if you never do it again.
You hit a game-winning home run, sink a game-winning shot, score a game-winning goal, you are remembered forever.
That is, if it's a memorable game.
You're Mr. Clutch for life.
But there are some like Micheal Jordan in basketball, who make it a habit. And yes, I am well aware of this commercial:
But are any of you buying that MJ wasn't the guy you wanted with the game on the line?
25 years ago, Kirk Gibson swatted that memorable 2-run home run off Dennis Eckersley (who was the best relief pitcher in the game at the time) to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 Dodgers win.
Now, was that the only time he hit a home run to just say, put the Dodgers (or any team he played for) ahead?
No way!
Coming into the 1988 World Series, Gibson had 62 home runs that put his team ahead. Of these, 5 were walk-offs. And by the time his career came to an end in the 1995 season, Kirk had hit 92 go-ahead home runs, 27 game-tying home runs, and 7 walk-off home runs.
That, of course, is just the regular season!
But for those wondering, the only other home run Gibby hit off Eckersley was 6 years before their historic meeting.
The Red Sox, Eckersley's team that day, took this one easily. But in the top of the 8th inning, with the Red Sox up 9-3, Kirk Gibson led off.
And slammed Eck's pitch for a solo shot! A flyball out and a double by Larry Herndon finished off Eckersley.
A bit of a sidenote here: Eckersley was once a starter
And a pretty good one at that, winning 149 games there. This was one of those 149 wins, of course.
Gibson's Tigers are a story in themselves two seasons later.
See, the Tigers in 1984 (the season, not the novel) were one awesome team. And it seemed as though they thrived off Kirk! It was somehow better then the novel, if you asked me.
How's this for a stat: Tigers' record when leading after 8 innings (including postseason), 100-0!
But I've given you the false sense that it all came easy. It didn't.
Now, as it was, the Tigers were 104-58. Only two teams, Baltimore and Boston were above .500 against Detroit that season. Seattle went 6-6 against them, if it matters.
But how about 1-run games? The Tigers were 25-11. So 36 games were nail-biting close.
Gibson had 2 hits in the opener of the ALCS against Kansas. The Tigers ended up sweeping them. But this was a KC team that won it all the next year. And while game 1 was a rout, 8-1, the next two games were anything but.
In game 2, Gibson's home run in the top of the 3rd made it 3-0. But Kansas fought back to tie it before the Tigers pulled it off in the 11th.
In game 3, we almost had a double no-hitter. Each team managed just 3 hits. The Tigers managed to score the game's only run.
So it was on to the World Series, but that ALCS was anything but easy. The last two games could have gone to KC. And then you're down 2-1, in a best of 5 Series. Odds not looking good for Detroit.
Gibson, I should tell you, ended up getting the MVP of that short Series. Short, but tough!
The San Diego Padres would face the Tigers in the World Series of 1984.
San Die-Go. Not exactly a fitting name, for the Padres did anything but, "Go Die."
The Tigers might have told them to do that. But it was obvious from the first game that the Padres weren't about to listen.
The Tigers were behind 2-1, when a 2-run home run by Herndon made it 3-2 Tigers. They held on to win this one. But San Diego won game 2, despite Gibson's 2 hits, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.
In game 3, now in Detroit, the Padres out-hit the Tigers 10-7. But somehow lost 5-2! Gibby didn't get a hit, but walked twice and got another RBI.
In game 4, the Tigers won 4-2, but again they only got 7 hits. Gibby got one and stole a base. No RBIs or runs scored, though.
Something had to Gib in game 5.
Did it ever!
Gibson swatted a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 1st to put the Tigers up 2-0.
By the top of the 4th, the Tigers had watched their 3-0 lead become a 3-3 tie. Gibson was needed.
So in the bottom of the 5th, Gibson singled and scored (on short fly ball) to put the Tigers ahead again. A Lance Parrish later hit a home run of Goose Gossage to made it 5-3 Detroit. Game in the bag?
Not quite.
The stubborn Padres got a home run of their own in the top of the 8th, by Kurt Bevacqua. We need a laugh now! Remember what Tommy Lasorda had to say about Kurt? Oh, wait! I don't want to lose 99 percent of my readers!
Seriously though, if you have not seen it, make it a point to.
As long as you don't mind some colourful words!
Anyways, where was I?
Oh, the bottom of the 8th. Tigers holding on for dear life.
Yep, it's only 5-4, and there were runners on 2nd and 3rd and only one out. Gossage still on the mound.
Gossage was in the middle of a conference on the mound. He begged his manager, Dick Williams, to allow him to pitch to Gibson.
Yes, first base is open.
But we need to look at the head-to-head stats, don't we?
Gibson was 1-9, lifetime in the regular season vs. Gossage.
And 0-1, lifetime in the World Series vs. Gossage.
Yep, we got a case of a .100 hitter vs. pitcher!
So, the decision was made to pitch to Kirk. Would it work?
Well, not quite! Gibson would swat a 1-0 pitch to deep right. This sewed up The Detroit Tigers' World Championship!
Alan Trammell got the MVP of the World Series that year, but man, did Gibby ever help!
So, let's get to '88, right?
Quick stop in 1987, though. Tigers trail the Jays 3 1/2 with 7 games to play. Done deal right?
Top of the 9th, Jays looking for the 4 game sweep. Looking to go up 4 1/2 games with only 6 to play.
Up 1-0, too! That is, until Kirk Gibson saved the day!
3 outs away from victory, Gibson snatched it away from Toronto by belting a home run off Tom Henke (another great relief specialist, another 300 + saves).
Then in the 13th, it was Kirk's single that put the Tigers ahead for good!
A few days later, October 1st, the Tigers were facing the Baltimore Orioles. They were holding on to a slim 7-5 lead.
Here comes that man again!
Another dinger, another game blown wide open. The Tigers were down only 1 game to the Jays with 3 to play. 3 to play against the Jays.
And the Tigers won all 3 games. In fact the Jays ended the season on a 7-game losing streak. That Gibson home run off Henke made the difference. His single later started the Jays down the loss road!
So it is now on to 1988. And a new league and team for Gibson: Los Angeles Dodgers
Kirk Gibson was MVP that season.
Odd, isn't it? He didn't hit 30 home runs, he didn't drive in 100 runs. He didn't even bat .300.
But was he ever needed in the NLCS of that year.
The Mets were too good it seemed.
Poor Gibby had just 1 RBI in the first three games, and the Dodgers were down 2 games to 1.
The Mets were 3 outs away from being down 3-1, but a clutch home run by Mike Scioscia scored 2. It was on to extra innings!
The Dodgers seemed to lose steam here. They couldn't do a thing in the 10th or 11th. Then there were 2 outs in the top of the 12th.
That's when our boy came through, again!
Gibson hit a home run and the Dodgers survived a bases loaded jam. Series tied at 2!
In game 5, the Dodgers were up 3-0. But this was a Met team that was known to come back with run after run. More offence was needed. Gibson would provide it.
Gibson hit a 3-run shot in the top of the 5th. The Dodgers really did need it. The Mets came back and scored 4 times, but the Dodgers held on to win, 7-4.
The Dodgers lost game 6, however. It was down to a winner-take-all game 7.
In the bottom of the 1st, Gibson hit a sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. That's all pitcher Orel Hershiser (who had a knack for throwing shutouts that year, believe me!) would need. But buoyed by Kirk, the Dodgers scored 5 more times in the second!
It was Hershiser who got the MVP, but I think Gibson really provided the spark. Games 4 and 5 would not have been won without him!
And then, of course, the World Series.
And Kirk Gibson's home run off Eckersley. At this point I have one question for everyone:
What did you expect?
References
Brenner, Richard J. "A Team Of Destiny." The World Series: The Great Contests. East End Publishing, 1989. Print. pp. 95-120.
Toronto Blue Jays Souvenir Program. Spring Training, 1988.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.
Retrosheet. Web. 15 Aug. 2013. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Youtube. Web. 15 Aug. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com>.
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