1. Bill Mazeroski, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1960 World Series, Game 7
The only walk-off home run to ever crown a World Series winner is also the No. 1 item on our list. In the 1960 World Series, the New York Yankees were overwhelming favorites against the NL champion Pittsburgh Pirates. In truth, statistically speaking, the Yankees did dominate the Pirates, outscoring them 55-27 and outhitting them 91-60.
However, the two clubs had each won three of the first six games, with the Bucs grabbing a pair at Yankee Stadium. In Game 7, Pittsburgh surged out to an early 4-1 lead, only to squander the advantage following a four-run 6th inning. The Yankees were leading 7-4 at the start of the 8th, but the Pirates made a comeback of their own, scoring five runs and grabbing a 9-7 lead. New York would tie the game in the top of the ninth, setting the scene for Mazeroski’s heroics in the bottom half of the inning.
The Pittsburgh second baseman was the first hitter to walk into the box for the Pirates in the 9th, and wasted no time hitting Ralph Terry’s second pitch into the left field bleachers. Somehow, after being trounced statistically throughout the series, the Pittsburgh Pirates had knocked off the powerful American League winners and had themselves become World Series champions, and it was Bill Mazeroski who had given the decisive finishing blow.
2. Joe Carter, Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 World Series, Game 6
The Toronto Blue Jays were the reigning World Series winners into their 1993 showdown against the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The two clubs had split the first two games before Toronto won Games 3 and 4 to seize leadership of the series. The Phillies came back, though, winning Game 5 and taking a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the 9th in Game 6. Momentum was solidly in their camp, and the Blue Jays understood that if the series extended to a seventh game, they might be in danger.
Phillies closer Mitch Williams took the mound, walking Rickey Henderson and subsequently giving a single to Paul Molitor. With one out, Joe Carter stepped to the plate. Carter pushed the count to 2-2 before hitting a three-run homer of against Williams to win the game and the World Series. It was only the second World Series in Major League Baseball history to finish on a walk-off homer. What was the first, you ask?
3. Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers, 1988 World Series, Game 1
Most observers felt the Dodgers had little chance to beat the favored Oakland Athletics in the 1988 World Series, particularly since their greatest hitter, Kirk Gibson, was ailing. But when L.A. trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth in the series opener, with a runner on first base, Gibson staggered to the plate to face Eckersley.
Gibson and Eckersley battled head-to-head, with the count rising to 3-and-2 that saw Gibson foul off multiple pitches. Finally, Gibson caught a slider and blasted it into right field. Like Fisk’s home run, the image of Gibson staggering around the bases, raising his fist, has become one of the most famous sights in baseball history. Gibson’s heroics provided the Dodgers the confidence they needed, as L.A. finally took off the powerful Athletics in five games.
4. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox, 2004 ALCS, Game 4
Like Puckett’s shot in 1991, the one hit by David Ortiz in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS did not end the series (although Big Papi had done exactly that against the Angels in the divisional playoffs two days earlier). Yet there was no more critical moment in all of Boston’s 2004 championship season than this one. With the Red Sox facing elimination at the hands of the rival Yankees, Boston managed to tie the game in the 9th and force extra innings. The game lasted until the 12th inning, when Ortiz launched a two-run homer to right to keep his club alive. Boston would not lose again the whole playoffs, culminating one of the greatest comebacks in sports history by downing the Yankees in seven games and sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals to earn their first World Series victory since 1918.