Kirk Gibson's home run

[ledzepp8]

Absolutely not.

You don't think so? I admit I don't know much about him, but looking at his bio he was a 8X gold glove winner and a 7X All Star and seemed to be considered one of the best 2b in the game.

[RShack]

I little off topic, if Mazerowski strikes out in that game does he still get in the HOF?

Absolutely not.

Huh?

If not, it's only because of where he played.

If he played for a NY team, he would've been a shoo-in.

[Why Not?]

I know what I'm about to say is absolutely sacreligious but...I don't get the hype.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...he was hobbling on one leg. Don't get me wrong, the feat itself was damn impressive.

But...it was Game 1. If we're talking Game 6 or Game 7, then it's a different story. But it was Game 1 and the Dodgers went on to beat the A's in 5 games. I suppose I'll get beat down with the argument of "But it set the tone for the series!!!" And maybe it did...but I still think the Dodgers would have won even if the A's took that first game and Eckersley beat Gibson.

Again, not taking anything away from the feat itself...but I don't see it ranking up there with Bobby Thompson, Joe Carter, Bill Mazerowski and Carlton Fisk.

I think it was the context of the two teams. The A's had run roughshod over the AL. They were brash, dominant. 104 wins, Canseco had his 40-40 year and was considered the best player in baseball. They had just swept Boston in the ALCS.

The Dodgers had great pitching but were overshadowed in the NL by the Mets. The lineup was really weak, nobody had more than 82 RBI, a couple of regulars hit under .200.

Many people thought the Dodgers would be lucky to win a game in the series.

[beaner]

Huh?

If not, it's only because of where he played.

If he played for a NY team, he would've been a shoo-in.

ESPN hates the Pirates.

[Alphonse]

I saw it. I was nine years old.

I know what I'm about to say is absolutely sacreligious but...I don't get the hype.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...he was hobbling on one leg. Don't get me wrong, the feat itself was damn impressive.

But...it was Game 1. If we're talking Game 6 or Game 7, then it's a different story. But it was Game 1 and the Dodgers went on to beat the A's in 5 games. I suppose I'll get beat down with the argument of "But it set the tone for the series!!!" And maybe it did...but I still think the Dodgers would have won even if the A's took that first game and Eckersley beat Gibson.

Again, not taking anything away from the feat itself...but I don't see it ranking up there with Bobby Thompson, Joe Carter, Bill Mazerowski and Carlton Fisk.

I feel this way too, on occassion. I find myself wavering on just how impressive it was, for the same reasons, Moose.

IMO, it's mainly famous because of what happened after he hit it... Gibson's limping and fist-pumping, and Lasorda running around like a maniac. It makes people think it was like Bobby Thompson or Bill Mazeroski, even though it wasn't the same thing at all.

If you took a poll about its significance, and if people didn't cheat, I betcha most people would think it won the WS, not Game 1, just based on the post-dinger reaction on the video clip. It's not the dinger, it's the post-dinger emote-a-thon, combined with walking-wounded lore...

I think part of that lore is Vin's call. It's what I imagine foremost when remembering that HR. Does anyone else feel this way?

And I was at the front of the exit getting ready to try and beat the traffic...after the foul balls..I expected a strikeout. My girl friend who would later become my wife said" You cant leave now..this is baseball...you dont know ". The next pitch Gibson hit over the right field pavillion. I never left a ball game early again. Ever. It was the most amazing thing to see in person.

Y'know, I was at a Reds game a couple of years back, where Adam Dunn hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to win a game over the Tribe. And that gave me goose bumps. A "meaningless" regular season win for the Reds. So I can completely understand how Gibson's HR would elicit the kind of emotion Roy's describing.

[TGO]

I saw it. I was nine years old.

I feel this way too, on occassion. I find myself wavering on just how impressive it was, for the same reasons, Moose.

I think part of that lore is Vin's call. It's what I imagine foremost when remembering that HR. Does anyone else feel this way?

Y'know, I was at a Reds game a couple of years back, where Adam Dunn hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to win a game over the Tribe. And that gave me goose bumps. A "meaningless" regular season win for the Reds. So I can completely understand how Gibson's HR would elicit the kind of emotion Roy's describing.

Of course, a lot of people mix up and misremember Scully's call (on TV) and Buck's call (on radio). But they are both very famous.

[RShack]

And I was at the front of the exit getting ready to try and beat the traffic...after the foul balls..I expected a strikeout.

What?!?!??

Say it ain't so, Joe!

Holy crap... good little batboy... then he makes good and moves to L.A.... and look what happens.

My girl friend who would later become my wife said" You cant leave now..this is baseball...you dont know ".

Well, good for her. You're lucky she didn't can you right there.

What other things has she "repaired" you about? ;-)

[oriole_way]

I admit that I was shocked/surprised when Gibby hit that hr.

But I had also thought that the A's back then were overrated a tad bit and I thought that Gibson's hr might just dent that A's mystique/swagger. And with Orel Hershiser set to pitch in game 2, I thought that the A's were now in legitmate trouble. And that turned out to be true.

Canseco and Mcgwire generated a lot of fanfare because they were big, young and could hit hr but I didn't think that they were complete baseball players. Players like Dave Parker added cache but were past their prime. The one positional player that they had that I thought was underrated was Dave Henderson, although 1988 turned out to be his best year. Walt Weiss, Terry Steinbach, Carney Lansford...ehh, decent players but nothing special IMO.

Dave Stewart was a nice pitcher but he was not an ace IMO. At least I didn't think he was the type to match up with the Doc Goodens, Orel Hershisers, Jack Morrises, and Roger Clemens etc that you might see in the postseasons back then. And then Bob Welch and Storm Davis were their 2nd and 3rd best SPs. Anyone who remembers Storm from his days as an Oriole should know that he wasn't that great. Eckersley had had a lot of success as a closer, but his stuff was merely good IMO, not great.

Yet the A's steamrolled over the AL that year, winning 104 games. They then swept Clemens and the BoSox in 4. By the time they met the Dodgers (instead of the better and more balanced Mets) in the World Series, I didn't think the Dodgers had much of a chance, despite the run that Orel Hershiser was on.

However, I did think that the addition of Rickey Henderson (and to a lesser extent Harold Baines in 1990) in 1989 made them a legitimate powerhouse the next two years. Rickey gave them the ability to generate runs when the hr power went out, as it often does in the postseason against very good pitching. And while Baines the slugger that Mcqwire and Canseco were, he was a very professional hitter, as we know from seeing him in Baltimore.

So even though those 88 A's won the most regular season games during their 3 year run from 88-90, I thought the 89 and 90 A's were actually better equipped to win in the postseason, although they did flame out against the Reds in the 90 World Series.

[RShack]

I think part of that lore is Vin's call. It's what I imagine foremost when remembering that HR.

Good point ...