Mr. October's Three-Peat
Louis Requena / MLB Photos / Getty
1977, GAME 6
By 1977, Yankees fans had gotten a little tired of not winning a World Series. It had been 15 years and three Series losses since their last title. Enter Mr. October. Already a three-time champ and MVP of the 1973 Series, Jackson came to New York with a flair for the dramatic and an ego matched only by team owner George Steinbrenner and manager Billy Martin, with whom he clashed famously. With three swings against three different pitchers, Jackson clinched the World Series for the Yanks with one of the greatest one-man shows in baseball history, made even more spectacular by a theatrical curtain call and a couple of thunderous shoulder blocks he delivered to fans who’d run onto the field after the final out.
Next: Bill Buckner's Error
Bill Buckner's Error
1986, GAME 6
Game 6 of the ’86 World Series, and the New York Mets — trailing the Boston Red Sox three games to two — are done. It’s 5-3 in the bottom of the tenth, two outs, nobody on. Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez, who made the second out, was back in the clubhouse, cursing and smoking a cigarette. Utilityman Kevin Mitchell, pants off in the locker room, was on the phone with a travel agent, making plans to fly home to San Diego. A 108-win regular season for the Mets, down the drain. Then, for Mets fans, the following is not just a series of events in a baseball game. It’s the most beautiful poem ever written: Gary Carter singles. Kevin Mitchell puts his pants back on, and singles. Ray Knight singles, Carter scores, Mitchell to third. Bob Stanley wild pitch, Mitchell scores, tie game! Mookie Wilson dribbler to first — “Gets by Buckner!” yelled NBC announcer Vin Scully. The ball rolled through Buckner’s legs, Knight trampled home, holding his head in utter disbelief. Mets win, the hysteria almost crumples Shea Stadium into the ground. Two nights later, the Mets are champions.
Next: Kirk Gibson's One-Legged Heroics
