Almost every kid has stood in his backyard, bat clenched, ball in hand, providing narration, bases loaded, two out, here comes the pitch. . . .
This is a dream sequence, a pinch-me experience that ends with “and the crowd goes wild.” Those who actually live it are the few and fortunate. As baseball creeps toward its Fall Classic on Wednesday, pitting the Phillies and Yankees, it’s fair to wonder whose career will be forever changed by baseball’s greatest moment: the walkoff hit.
“There’s no better feeling,” Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said after his wall-scraping home run toppled the Twins in Game 2 of a division series.
Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins provided the most dramatic walkoff this postseason, however, hammering a double to erase a 4-3 deficit against the Dodgers with two out in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. The Phillies’ dugout emptied into a frenzied dog pile on the field.
“Baseball has changed. You probably didn’t have celebrations like that in the past, but today guys show their emotion a lot differently,” Rollins said.
The walkoff hit is special because it’s unique. No sport consistently offers such dramatic theater. Football has the game-winning field goal, but that’s an obvious play concluding a march toward the winning points. Hockey and soccer offer game-winning shots, but the score is always tied. The only comparable moment is basketball’s jumper at the buzzer to erase a lead.
Arizona’s Luis Gonzalez fought the enormity of the moment in 2001. He stood on deck at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, watching the events unfold like a Hollywood script. As he stepped to the plate, the bases were full and his heart was racing.
“He told me later that was like an out-of-body experience,” former Diamondbacks GM Joe Garagiola Jr. said. “It was just like he dreamed as a little boy in Tampa. Except he was supposed to be winning the game for the Yankees.”
Gonzalez muscled a jam shot over the drawn-in infield, scoring the winning run to secure the Diamondbacks’ only title. It was the greatest moment in Arizona sports history. Other than that, no big deal.
“People still ask me about it,” Gonzalez said during one of his frequent visits to Coors Field this past summer.
There have been nine walkoff hits to win a Series, five of them in the past 50 years: Pittsburgh’s Bill Mazeroski (1960), Minnesota’s Gene Larkin (1991), Toronto’s Joe Carter (1993), Florida’s Edgar Renteria (1997) and Gonzalez.
History shows that Carter rounded the bases — but he doesn’t remember. He can’t recall touching a single one. Colorado’s Ryan Spilborghs, on a smaller stage, can relate. He blasted a walkoff grand slam to vanquish San Francisco on Aug. 24, nearly breaking a speed record as he dived into his teammates at home plate.
“I just was trying to get to them as fast as I could,” Spilborghs said. “It’s hard to explain the emotion.”
The walkoff celebrations have become more and more elaborate, beginning in earnest with David Ortiz’s helmet-toss in 2004 as he came down the third-base line. In the Boston slugger’s defense, he delivered three walkoff postseason hits that year, so he was ripe to try something different.
The Yankees have taken their walkoff celebrations to a new level this season. They won three consecutive May games over Minnesota with walkoffs. Soon after, the players were gathering around home plate, catching the tossed batting helmet like a wedding bouquet. A pie in the face from A.J. Burnett follows.
“It has helped keep guys loose around here,” Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said.
Which brings us back to the Rockies. They had plenty of practice in plate lumber parties, registering eight walkoff wins this past season. Not once have they done something premeditated, however, although shortstop Troy Tulowitzki did tell his teammates that they would have to catch him before his walkoff single against the Dodgers a night after Spil- borghs’ dramatic ending.
“They were going to mob me, so I figured if they had to chase me, some of them would give up,” said Tulowitzki, who ran toward the outfield. “It’s pure excitement. You feel like a little kid again.”
Not convinced? Consider the scene that unfolded in the Rockies’ clubhouse as Chris Iannetta belted a walkoff home run on Sept. 30. Huston Street, Rafael Betancourt and Matt Daley, all out of the game, were watching the TV broadcast. When Iannetta struck the full-count fastball, they jumped up and ran toward the screen. When the ball cleared the fence, they went “Entourage” and hugged it out.
“I have to believe it looks pretty silly to see three grown men celebrating like that,” Street said. “But it’s the bond we share as a team. It’s what makes sports so unique. That moment of exhilaration where you win. You can’t replicate that feeling anywhere else in life, so that’s why you see guys going crazy.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Kings of the comeback
Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins became the 10th player in postseason play to log a walkoff hit with his team trailing. A look:
1947, World Series, Game 4: Dodgers’ Cookie Lavagetto doubles off Yankees’ Bill Bevens.
1972, ALCS, Game 1: A’s Gonzalo Marquez singles off Tigers’ Chuck Seelbach.
1985, World Series, Game 6: Royals’ Dane Iorg singles off Cardinals’ Todd Worrell.
1986, NLCS, Game 3: Mets’ Lenny Dykstra homers off Astros’ Dave Smith.
1988, World Series, Game 1: Dodgers’ Kirk Gibson homers off A’s Dennis Eckersley.
1992, NLCS, Game 7: Braves’ Francisco Cabrera singles off Pirates’ Stan Belinda.
1993, World Series, Game 6: Blue Jays’ Joe Carter homers off Phillies’ Mitch Williams.
1995, ALDS, Game 5: Mariners’ Edgar Martinez doubles off Yankees’ Jack McDowell.
2003, NLDS, Game 3: Marlins’ Ivan Rodriguez singles off Giants’ Tim Worrell.
2009, NLCS, Game 4: Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins doubles off Dodgers’ Jonathan Broxton.
Source: MLB.com
World Series
(Best-of-seven; times Mountain; KDVR-31)
YANKEES VS. PHILLIES
Wednesday: Phila. (Lee 7-4) at N.Y. (Sabathia (19-8), 5:57 p.m.
Thur.: Phila. at N.Y., 5:57 p.m.
Sat.: N.Y. at Phila., 5:57 p.m.
Sunday: N.Y. at Phila., 6:20 p.m.
*Mon.: N.Y. at Phila., 5:57 p.m.
*Nov. 4: Phila. at N.Y., 5:57 p.m.
*Nov. 5: Phila. at N.Y., 5:57 p.m.
*if necessary
