Walk-off home run

In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the 9th inning or the bottom of any extra inning. It is called a "walk-off" home run because the teams walk off the field immediately afterward. Sportscasters will also use the term "walk-off double" or other such terms if such a hit drives in the winning run to end the game. Although the concept is as old as baseball, the term itself has come into use only in the last several decades.

Related Topics:
Baseball - Home run

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According to Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe, the term was first introduced by pitcher Dennis Eckersley who coined it after giving up a "walkoff piece" to Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series (see below). Although the term originally was coined with a negative connotation, in reference to the pitcher (who must walk off the field with his head hung in shame), it has come to mean a more celebratory term for the batter (who walks off with pride and adulation).

Related Topics:
Dan Shaughnessy - The Boston Globe - Dennis Eckersley

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Walk-off home runs are uncommon enough to be dramatic when they occur, especially during the post-season. The subject of the most famous walk-off home run in the history of the Major Leagues is one that creates a lot of argument: some argue for Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard Round the World" that gave the New York Giants an NL pennant-clinching victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951; others say it was the home run hit by Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates, clinching the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees. Other notable post-season walk-off home runs include the one hit by Chris Chambliss of the New York Yankees in 1976 that clinched the American League pennant.

Related Topics:
Major Leagues - Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard Round the World" - New York Giants - Brooklyn Dodgers - Pittsburgh Pirates - 1960 World Series - Chris Chambliss - New York Yankees - 1976 - American League

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There have been only 13 walk-off home-runs in the history of the World Series, two of which have won the World Series. They include:

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• 1960, Game 7 - Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates becomes the first person to win the World Series with a walk-off home run, defeating the New York Yankees. The section of the outfield wall in Forbes Field in Pittsburgh where the ball crossed to become a home run has been preserved after demolition of the rest of the field.
• 1975, Game 6 - Carlton Fisk of the Boston Red Sox hits a solo homer in the bottom of the 12th inning to end a game against the Cincinnati Reds considered by many the greatest ever played. This homer arguably changed the very way televised sports are covered. Because camera operators missed a cue from the producer, the camera lingered on Fisk trying to "wave his home run fair" (it hit the left-field foul pole above the Green Monster at Fenway Park). This image of Fisk proved so dramatic that "reaction shots" became standard fare in sports broadcasting. (The Reds would go on to win the next game and the Series.)
• 1988, Game 1 - In one of the most enduring moments in the history of televised baseball, an injured and hobbling Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers comes off the bench to hit a walk-off home run against the Oakland Athletics. The Dodgers, heavy underdogs, go on to take the series in five games.
• 1991, Game 6 - Minnesota Twins star Kirby Puckett, who had made a game-saving defensive play earlier in this game, hits a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Atlanta Braves to tie the Series. The following night, the Twins would triumph 1-0 over the Braves to win what is generally regarded as the greatest World Series of all time.
• 1993, Game 6 - Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays becomes the second person to win the World Series with a walk-off home run, against the Philadelphia Phillies. This was the first come-from-behind homer to end a World Series; Mazeroski's blast came with the score tied.
• 2001, Game 4 - In the first-ever World Series at-bat by any player in the month of November (just after midnight on November 1), Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees hits a walk-off home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks (the series had been delayed because of the September 11, 2001 attacks). However, the Diamondbacks go on to win the series in 7 games.

A technicality of the walk-off home run is that the game is not officially over until the winning run crosses home plate (in the case of a solo walk-off home run, the batter must round all the bases). This fact almost caused a serious problem in the 1976 American League Championship when jubilant fans running onto the field at Yankee Stadium nearly prevented Chris Chambliss from rounding the bases (the Yankees had not won the pennant in 12 years). Chambliss had to negotiate a sea of fans in order to place his foot on home plate.

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Another example is Robin Ventura's "grand slam single" in the 1999 National League Championship Series. In the bottom of the 15th inning, the New York Mets tied the score against the Atlanta Braves at 3-3. Ventura came to bat with the bases loaded, and hit a walk-off grand slam to deep right. Roger Cedeno scored from third and John Olerud scored from second, but Todd Pratt, on first when Ventura hit the home run, went to second, then turned around and hugged Ventura, as the rest of the team piled onto the field. The official ruling was that since Ventura never rounded the bases, it was not a home run, and thus only Cedeno's run counted, making the official final score 4-3. Ventura was not credited with a home run, but a game-ending single.

Related Topics:
Robin Ventura - New York Mets - Atlanta Braves - Roger Cedeno - John Olerud - Todd Pratt

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