The 25 biggest home runs hit in New York
Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
25. RAUUUUUUUL -- Oct. 10, 2012
With the ALDS against the Orioles tied at 1-1 and the Orioles leading Game 3 by a run with one out in the ninth, Raul Ibanez was sent in to pinch-hit for the struggling Alex Rodriguez. It was an unprecedented move given Rodriguez's stature as one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history. But Ibanez made manager Joe Girardi look brilliant, hitting a home run to right field to tie the score. In the bottom of the 12th, Ibanez struck again, turning on the first pitch of his next at-bat to win the game. |
Credit: AP
24. STRAWBERRY DERAILS THE RYAN EXPRESS -- Oct. 14, 1986
Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan was literally unhittable seven times during his Hall of Fame career. He gave up just two hits in nine innings during Game 5 of the 1986 NLCS against the Mets. But Darryl Strawberry made one of those hits hurt. With the Mets trailing, 1-0, in the bottom of the fifth, Strawberry launched a home run to deep right field. |
Credit: Paul Bereswill
23. JIMMY LEYRITZ IN THE 15TH -- Oct. 4, 1995
With the score tied in the bottom of the 15th of Game 2, Jim Leyritz -- who was 0-for-5 up to that point -- stepped into the batters box with one out and Pat Kelly on first base. On a 3-1 pitch, Leyritz launched a deep homer to right field to win the game and give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the ALDS, one they would eventually squander in Seattle. |
Credit: AP
22. AL WEIS TIES GAME 5 -- Oct. 16, 1969
The Mets' Weis only hit eight home runs in the big leagues, but he made No. 7 count as tied the score in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the World Series. The Mets would take the lead in the eighth en route to winning their first World Series. |
Credit: AP
21. JOHNNY DAMON SLAMS THE DOOR -- Oct. 20, 2004
Yankees fans would probably rather forget this one. The Red Sox completed their historic comeback from a 3-0 series deficit with a thrashing in Game 7, highlighted by Damon’s first-pitch grand slam off Javier Vazquez into the right-field seats. The Red Sox took a 6-0 lead with the slam and never looked back. |
Credit: AP
20. ROBIN VENTURA’S GRAND SINGLE -- Oct. 17, 1999
When is a home run not a home run? When Robin Ventura hits the ball over the fence in the 15th inning of Game 5 of the NLCS against the Braves. Todd Pratt, on base in front of Ventura, picked Ventura up, and when the rest of the club mobbed the Mets' third baseman he was unable to touch all the bases. Because Ventura only touched first base, the hit was officially ruled a single and Roger Cedeno, who was on third base at the time of the hit, was the only runner ruled to have scored. |
Credit: AP
19. “THE PINE TAR INCIDENT” -- July 24, 1983
With two outs and the Royals trailing by a run in the top of the ninth at Yankee Stadium, George Brett hit a two-run homer. Yankees manager Billy Martin protested, saying Brett's bat had too much pine tar on it. Umpires inspected the bat, ruled it exceeded the allowed amount and called Brett out. Home run canceled, game over, Yankees win. Brett was livid and famously sprinted out of the dugout, furiously yelling and arguing. The ruling was overturned on appeal, the game was restarted from the point of Brett's homer on Aug. 18 and the Royals won, 5-4. |
Credit: AP
18. BABE RUTH CHRISTENS THE “HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT” -- April 18, 1923
During the third inning of the first game at Yankee Stadium, Ruth homered against the Red Sox. Ruth's star power, built largely on his home runs, aided the Yankees' decision to build the immense 60,000-seat cathedral. |
Credit: AP
17. DONN CLENDENON PULLS THE METS CLOSER -- Oct. 16, 1969
With the Orioles leading, 3-0, in the sixth inning, Clendenon’s two-run shot pulled the Mets within one. Cleon Jones was hit on the foot to lead off, setting up Clendenon’s blast. But controversy surrounds the hit-by-pitch, as there's some dispute about whether the ball hit Jones or merely bounced in the dirt. The Mets would go on to win the game and claim their first World Series championship. |
Credit: AP
16. MICKEY MANTLE'S "734-FOOT" HOME RUN -- May 22, 1963
Mantle missed becoming the only person ever to hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium during an MLB game by just a few feet. In the 11th inning of a game against Kansas City, he hit a ball so high and so far it struck the stadium’s facade above the upper deck. Had the flight of the ball not been stopped, the home run would have traveled an estimated 734 feet. |
Credit: AP
15. TINO MARTINEZ BEGINS THE MAGIC -- Oct. 31, 2001
With the Yankees trailing, 3-1, with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, Martinez slammed Arizona closer Byung-Hyun Kim’s first pitch of the at-bat to right-center for a two-run homer. The Yankees won the game with a memorable home run in extra innings before repeating the two-out ninth-inning feat the following night. |
Credit: AP
14. MICKEY MANTLE GAME 3 WORLD SERIES -- Oct. 10, 1964
1964 was the last time Mickey Mantle would play in the postseason, and though the Yankees would lose an epic seven-game series to the Cardinals, Mantle made sure his final playoff run was memorable. The series was tied, 1-1, as was the score in Game 3 when Mantle came to the plate to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Barney Schultz entered the game in relief and Mantle hammered a home run to deep right field to give the Yankees the win and 2-1 series edge. |
Credit: AP
13. DEREK JETER'S 3,000TH HIT -- July 9, 2011
Jeter capped his chase for 3,000 career hits in style, sending a David Price fastball over the seats in left-center field in the third inning. Jeter became the second player to reach 3,000 hits with a home run (Wade Boggs is the other). He finished the game 5-for-5 and also drove in the go-ahead run. |
Credit: AP
12. A NAILS IN THE ASTROS' COFFIN -- Oct. 11, 1986
With the National League Championship Series against the Astros tied at a game apiece, and the Mets trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth, Lenny Dykstra's one-out two-run walkoff shot to right field gave the Mets a 6-5 win and 2-1 series edge. Dykstra entered the game as a pinch-hitter to lead off the seventh but struck out swinging. Astros reliever Dave Smith got ahead of Dykstra, 0-1, in the ninth before Dykstra struck. |
Credit: AP
11. BOBBY MURCER’S HR AFTER THURMAN MUNSON -- Aug. 6, 1979
The same day he gave a moving eulogy at Yankees captain Thurman Munson's funeral, Murcer fought his way into the lineup against the first-place Baltimore Orioles and helped send Munson off with an emotional win. Murcer hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to draw the Yankees within a run and then delivered a walk-off two-run single in the ninth. |
Credit: AP
10. BABE RUTH HITS NO. 60 -- Sept. 30, 1927
Ruth led the league in home runs 12 times during his 22-year career, setting record after record for long balls. But he established a height even he couldn't top in 1927 — 60 home runs. That number has maintained its magic even in the years since Roger Maris, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds eclipsed it. |
Credit: AP
9. DEREK JETER...AND JEFFREY MAIER -- Oct. 9, 1996
With the Yankees trailing, 4-3, in the bottom of the eighth in Game 1 of the ALCS, Jeter hit a fly ball to right field. Orioles right fielder Tony Tarasco leapt to attempt a catch, but Jeter's ball “cleared the wall” and tied the score -- with a little help from 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier, who reached over the wall to grab the ball. The Yankees won the game in the 11th and went on to win their first World Series since 1977. |
Credit: AP
8. DEREK JETER BECOMES "MR. NOVEMBER" -- Nov. 1, 2001
Jeter, in a 1-for-15 World Series slump, hammered a two-out, 3-2 pitch from Arizona closer Byung-Hyun Kim over the right field wall to give the Yankees a walkoff win in the 10th inning of Game 4, evening the series at 2-2. In doing so, he also became the first player to hit a home run in November. The series went late into the fall because of a temporary stoppage after the 9/11 attacks. |
Credit: AP
7. SCOTT BROSIUS DOES IT AGAIN -- Nov. 1, 2001
For the second night in a row, down two runs with two outs in the ninth inning, a Yankee stepped forward with a game-tying jack against Arizona closer Byung-Hyun Kim. This time the hero was Scott Brosius, who prolonged Game 5 of the World Series until the Yankees could win it in the 12th inning, giving the team a 3-2 series lead. |
Credit: AP
6. CHRIS CHAMBLISS' WALKOFF – Oct. 14, 1976
Chambliss' first-pitch walkoff homer in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the ALCS against the Royals sent the Yankees back to the fall classic for the first time since 1964. A throng of ecstatic New Yorkers mobbed Chambliss as he attempted to round the bases, making for a chaotic scene. |
Credit: AP
5. PIAZZA'S POST-9/11 HOME RUN -- Sept. 21, 2001
During the first baseball game played in New York following the 9/11 attacks, Piazza’s two-run homer in the eighth inning against the rival Braves gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. More importantly, it gave New York a reason to cheer again. |
Credit: AP, 1977
REGGIE JACKSON, RF
.281, 144 HR, 461 RBIs
Jackson played for the Yankees from 1977-1981. During his career he won five World Series, two Silver Slugger Awards, two World Series MVP Awards and has his number retired by the Athletics and Yankees. The Hall-of-Famer's heroics in the postseason earned him the nickname "Mr. October."
Credit: AP
3. AARON "BLEEPING" BOONE -- Oct. 17, 2003
The Yankees rallied from a 5-2 deficit with five outs to go in Game 7 of the ALCS against their bitter rival, the Boston Red Sox. Boone turned on Tim Wakefield’s first pitch of the 11th inning to rock the stadium and send the Yankees to the World Series for the sixth time in eight years. |
Credit: AP
2. ROGER MARIS HITS NO. 61 -- Oct. 1, 1961
Maris earned a spot in baseball history by blasting a one-out pitch in the fourth inning from Red Sox hurler Tracy Stallard into the right-field seats. The home run was Maris' 61st of the season, breaking the record set in 1927 by Babe Ruth. It was a record Maris would hold until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa demolished it during the 1998 season. |
Credit: AP
1. THE "SHOT HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD" -- Oct. 3, 1951
Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson's game-winning home run off Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds gave the Giants the National League pennant. The two New York squads needed a playoff to determine the NL champ after finishing the season with the same record. With the series tied at 1, the Dodgers entered the bottom of the ninth of Game 3 with a 4-1 lead. Whitey Lockman doubled home Alvin Dark before Thomson's walkoff three-run shot. |
