It happened in October: 31 of MLB's most memorable moments
— -- From Babe Ruth's called shot to Bill Buckner's error to the Pete Rose-Bud Harrelson brawl, no month has featured greater thrills -- and agony -- throughout major league history than this one. We're chronicling 31 epic October moments.
Oct. 21, 1975: Fisk waves it fair
If not for an iconic -- and accidental -- image of Carlton Fisk waving the ball fair, we might never have seen Jose Bautista's bat flip, or countless other celebratory gestures. With the Red Sox on the brink of elimination in the bottom of the 12th inning of Game 6 of the World Series, Fisk hit Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pat Darcy's second offering down the left-field line. It appeared to be heading into foul territory, but the catcher jumped and waved his way down the first-base line, willing the ball fair. It landed just barely inside the left-field foul pole, ending the four-hour marathon of a game at 12:33 a.m, giving the Red Sox a 7-6 win and forcing a seventh and deciding game of the Fall Classic.
That enduring image of Fisk finessing his ball fair changed the way baseball was televised. Camera operators typically followed the flight of the ball, but NBC cameraman Lou Gerard, distracted by a nearby rat and unable to turn his camera toward the ball, fixed it on Fisk instead. And celebration shots have been a staple of TV coverage ever since.
Oct. 20, 1996: Andruw Jones goes deep twice
I was sitting in a makeshift press box in the grandstand of Yankee Stadium on the night the Legend of Andruw Jones erupted on America's stage. I'll never forget it. In the first at-bat of the first World Series game this 19-year-old kid from Curacao had ever seen, let alone played in, the phenom pounded a home run halfway to White Plains. One inning after that, he creamed World Series home run No. 2. That one landed in Monument Park, right in front of Mickey Mantle's No. 7.
Jones had just become the youngest player in history to hit a World Series home run, wiping someone named Mickey Mantle out of the record book. Counting his final swing of the National League Championship Series, Jones had just joined Reggie Jackson as the only men to hit October home runs in three consecutive at-bats. He was still a teenager. And this part of his game -- offense -- wasn't even the part he was best at. Phew. Did Andruw Jones know how to make an entrance, or what? -Jayson Stark
Oct. 19, 2004: Curt Schilling's bloody sock
Oct. 18, 1977: Reggie Jackson homers on three consecutive pitches
Jackson cemented his "Mr. October" legacy in Game Six of the 1977 World Series. He smacked a two-run homer in the fourth inning on the first pitch he saw from Dodgers starter Burt Hooton to give the Yankees the lead. When Jackson came up again in the fifh with a man on, he connected on the first pitch off Elias Sosa to make the score 7-3. In the eighth inning, Jackson strode to the plate -- accompanied by chants of "REG-GIE, REG-GIE, REG-GIE!" -- and drove a Charlie Hough knuckleball 475 feet into the center field stands. Jackson's home-run streak helped the Yankees win the game and the series, bringing the Yankees their first championship since 1962.
Oct. 17, 1989: Earthquake rocks Candlestick Park
As a handful of players stretched or played catch on the field and fans in the stands waited for pregame introductions, a 6.9 earthquake shook the Bay Area -- and Candlestick Park -- 25 minutes before the start of the first World Series game at The Stick in 27 years. A fierce jolt shook the stadium, cutting off power, causing concrete to fall from some sections of the upper deck and generating shrieks of alarm and fear from the crowd of 63,000. When the rumbling finally stopped, commissioner Fay Vincent decided that he had no alternative but to postpone the game.
Sixty-seven people died across the city because of the quake, which caused widespread damage -- but everyone at the ballpark was safe. And the World Series actually saved hundreds of lives. For at 5:04 p.m., under normal rush-hour conditions, the Nimitz Freeway -- which collapsed during the quake -- would have been bumper-to-bumper traffic. But because of the Series, most people left work early, either to go to Candlestick or to watch the game on television. Ten days later, the World Series resumed, but players for both Bay Area teams played with heavy hearts.
Oct. 16, 2003: Aaron Boone's blast sends Yankees to World Series
ESPN analyst Aaron Boone on the walk-off home run he hit to beat the Boston Red Sox and end the 2003 ALCS, 12 years ago today:
"I was not having a very good series, and, didn't even start Game 7. That night started out kind of rough for us as a team. Pedro (Martinez) was shutting us down, they got out to a quick lead off of us. It was looking like they were gonna finally 'Reverse the Curse.'
I remember Mo ( Mariano Rivera) getting out of the eleventh inning, pitching his third scoreless inning. Running off of the field that inning, I had a feeling like I was gonna do something.
As I walked up to the plate, initially I was thinking about taking a pitch. And on my way up there, I kind of changed my thought and said, 'Forget that. You've been thinking too much this series. Just go up there and get a good pitch to hit.' The first pitch was a good pitch to hit.
When I made contact I knew almost instantly that it was gonna be a home run. I knew I got a really good piece of it. Just wanted to make sure initially that it was gonna be fair and once I knew it was gonna be fair ... I stuck my arms out, and just tried to embrace as much as I could.
All of us who played ball when we were little kids, who lived out that moment in our backyard -- Two outs, bottom of the 9th, 3-2 count, Aaron Boone at bat .... To get to actually live that out on a major league field in Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox? I felt really blessed to just be in that situation."
Oct. 15, 1988: Gimpy Kirk Gibson gets the better of the Eck
In the bottom of the eighth inning, TV cameras panned the Los Angeles dugout. Gibson was back in the Dodgers' training room with bags of ice on both legs watching the game and listening to Vin Scully's call. "There is no Gibson," Scully said. "The man who was the spearhead of the Dodgers' offense throughout the year, who saved them in the league championship series, will not see any action tonight, for sure. He is not even in the dugout." That spurred Gibson t o stand up and say, 'My a--!' and return to the batting cage in the clubhouse to take practice swings.
With the Dodgers trailing the A's 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning and down to their last out, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda summoned Gibson from the tunnel to pinch-hit for teammate Alejandro Pena. In a scene straight out of "The Natural," Gibson limped up to the plate and hit a walk-off homer off of dominant A's closer Dennis Eckersley. As the ball sailed over the fence and the stadium exploded in celebration of the Dodgers' 5-4 victory, Gibson began his slow march around the bases, pumping his fist as he hobbled toward home.
Oct. 14, 2003: Steve Bartman's foul play curses Cubs
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