Five Home Runs To Make a Mark in the World Series

The World Series has always held its fair share of special moments.

From fantastic pitching performance to late-inning heroics, the true legends of baseball are written in October, on baseball's biggest stage, with its biggest prize on the line.

Of those memorable moments, the home run ball has its own special place in the World Series history books. Guys like Jim Leyritz, Bernie Carbo and Joe Carter are forever remembered for their deciding blows in the waning hours of those cold October evenings. Still, even the magic they conjured doesn't qualify as the best of the best.

Those honors belong to the following gentlemen:

Kirby Puckett's Extra-Inning Game Winner - Game 6, 1991 World Series

True players step up and hoist their team on their shoulders when the chips are down, and Kirby Puckett was no exception to that rule. With his team having lost three consecutive games to the favored Braves in Atlanta, Puckett used Game 6 as a showcase of his Hall of Fame credentials in front of the home crowd in Minnesota. Puckett provided everything for the Twins, driving in two and making an outstanding catch to rob Ron Gant. But he made his biggest contribution in the 11th inning. Puckett would lead off the bottom of of the 11th inning with a walkoff home run, setting the stage for Jack Morris' Game 7 gem and another title for the Twins.

Kirk Gibson's Heroic Hobble - Game 1, 1988 World Series

The first of two consecutive All-California World Series, the 1988 edition was supposed to be a breeze for the heavily-favored Oakland Athletics, with the Bash Brothers providing the offense and the solid overall pitching for Oakland led by Dave Stewart. The start of the game didn't do much to dispel that thought, either, as Oakland raced out to a 4-2 lead after a second-inning grand slam off the bat of Jose Canseco.

However, Oakland wasn't able to add anything else the rest of the game, and the Dodgers pulled within one run entering the bottom of the ninth. With venerable closer Dennis Eckersley on the mound for Oakland, most counted this game in the bag. However, the Dodgers put a man on quickly and then sent up hobbled slugger Kirk Gibson up to pinch hit. The rest, as they say, is history, with Gibson taking Eckersley deep for the game-winner, starting the Dodgers on the path to a sweep and burning the image of the limping, fist-pumping home run trot into baseball's eternal memory banks.

Carlton Fisk's Fair-Wave Winner - Game 6, 1975 World Series

For those of us who have ever heard Joe Morgan call a baseball game, it is almost certain that we all remember Morgan proclaiming the 1970s Reds the greatest team to ever play the game. While that is debatable, they certainly were one of the best of the decade, and like the 1988 Oakland A's, winning the 1975 World Series was considered a formality. Unfortunately, the Red Sox thought otherwise, and scrapped and clawed throughout the series.

After Bernie Carbo hit a tying home run in the bottom of the eighth, the stage was set for Fisk's signature moment in the bottom of the 12th. The Red Sox catcher would launch a ball down the left field line that looked like it may go foul. Fisk trotted down the first base line, waving his arms toward right field, willing the ball fair. It eventually would be, hitting the foul pole to send the series to a seventh game. The Red Sox would lose Game 7, but Fisk's moment would be a fond memory to carry them to the next attempt.

Babe Ruth's Called Shot - Game 3, 1932 World Series

It is hard to examine Ruth's career and settle on one moment as a defining moment, but if there was ever one that stood above the rest of his legend, it was "The Called Shot." In the fifth inning, and after numerous taunts from the Cubs' dugout, Ruth appeared to have pointed to at center field. Ruth hit a 2-2 pitch over the center field wall, making good on his prediction. There is still debate to this day about if Ruth truly called his shot. Regardless of whether he pointed to the ball's eventual path or was simply barking back at pitcher Charlie Root, historians have painted this moment as the biggest fish story of all time, and fans still talk about it today as a point of fact.

Bill Mazeroski Series-Ending Winner - Game 7, 1960 World Series

Walkoff home runs are always special, especially in the World Series. Add in the fact that it was a series-winning home run and that it came in a Game 7 situation, and you have a special moment indeed. With guys like Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Yogi Berra, Dick Groat, Roger Maris, and Bill Richardson in the mix, it was a guy like Mazeroski, known for his glove, who would deliver the deciding blow. The Yankees scored twice in the top of the ninth to even the score, but Mazeroski would lead off the bottom of the ninth with a solo shot off of Bill Terry to send everyone home. Images of Maz being mobbed by fans as he rounded the bases harken to a long lost day and remind fans that even little guys play the biggest roles when the team needs them most.

Sources:

• - 1991 World Series Game Six Recap, MLB.com
• - 1988 World Series Game One Recap, MLB.com
• - 1975 World Series Game Six Recap, MLB.com
• - Did Ruth Really Call His Shot, suntimes.com
• - 1960 World Series, MLB.com