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When Toronto arrived in Detroit for a season-ending three game series, it had a one-game lead. The Tigers needed to win all three to secure the division title or win two out of three to force a tie-breaker. After George Kell was retired on a foul pop-up, Vic Wertz doubled to center field. Hoot Evers drilled a 1-and-1 pitch to left center field. Yankees center fielder Joe DiMaggio chased the ball as it caromed off the 415-mark. DiMaggio fielded the ball and threw the relay to Yankees second baseman Billy Martin, but the throw was a bit off-target.
Am I the only one who is utterly shocked every time ESPN shows Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run without including a clip of his 1984 Fall Classic classic off Goose Gossage? I may be a little biased, but I swear the 1984 shot was just as dramatic and memorable. It seems to me that Gibson’s post-season highlight film isn’t quite long enough. Detroit added a run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 5-3, but San Diego got one back in the top of the eighth to cut the Tigers’ lead to one run. This were still tense in Tiger Stadium when Gibson came to bat with runners on second and third and one out.
Kirk Gibson Autographed 16x20 Photo Framed & Matted Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 World Series Home Run
To his credit, Eckersley fielded every reporters' question after the game, mostly blaming himself. Thirty-two years ago today, a very special moment occurred not only in Tigers history, but in our namesake here at Bless You Boys. Kirk Gibson hit his famed game winning home run against the San Diego Padres that would win game 5 of the 1984 World Series and clinch the Tigers first World Series title in 16 years. This would go down in Detroit sports as one of the biggest moments ever.
Instead of sending Anderson to the plate, Lasorda inserted Gibson as his pinch hitter. Gibson hobbled up to the plate with Scully commenting, "And look who's coming up!" Gibson quickly fouled off two pitches, getting behind in the count, 0–2. He then swung clumsily and dribbled the ensuing pitch foul down the first base line, which seemed to confirm his inability to swing with any authority. Gibson took an outside pitch, called a ball by home plate umpire Doug Harvey, fouled off a pitch, and then took another outside pitch to work to a 2–2 count. On the second pitch Kirk Gibson crushed it out to deep right field and the rest is simply history.
Kirk Gibson Walk Off Shirt
However I just came across the complete unedited version of the isolated camera on Anderson in the dugout that shows much more. It is amazing to see and hear Anderson while Gibson is at the plate. I suspect most people have never seen this full version.
They’d really known it since April, but the World Series was the final chapter. He would never get another hit off the Goose, but it didn’t matter. With two outs, Lasorda sent former Oakland outfielder Mike Davis to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Davis had been a near All-Star with Oakland in 1987 but had struggled in Los Angeles , collecting only 55 hits and 24 walks on the season. The pitcher was Rich Gossage, who struck out Gibson years earlier and believed he could do it again.
VIDEO: Gossage Tells The Story of Gibson’s 1984 World Series Homer
They also had an outstanding bullpen that included Jay Howell, Jesse Orosco and Alejandro Peña. "And look who's coming up," Scully said on the NBC broadcast. "All year long, they looked to him to light the fire, and all year long, he answered the demands until he was unable to start tonight with two bad legs. ... With two outs, you talk about a roll of the dice, this is it." "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." Kirk Gibson signed with the Dodgers on Jan. 29, 1988, under unusual circumstances. Exactly one week earlier, Gibson and six other players were granted "new look" free agency when an arbitrator ruled that owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement by acting in concert to restrict free agent movement.
The gum-chewing Tiger manager was amazed that Williams was swayed by Gossage. “No sonofabitch is going to tell me what to do, I can guarantee you that,” Sparky said to coach Roger Craig as he witnessed Williams go to the mound to debate with Gossage. According to Gibson, a woman sent him a picture of the bruise on her leg where the ball hit her, although no one has yet come forward with the ball.
One of them was Kirk Gibson's famous home run from the 1988 World Championship run of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The young boy acting out this moment could be seen running the bases, doing the same fist pump motion that Gibson was seen doing during his famous run around the bases. Gossage had faced Gibson late in Game Four the day before, coaxing Gibby into a harmless popout.
I’m sure the viewers on ESPN would enjoy seeing both home runs back-to-back. To do less is to take away from the remarkable post season career of one of baseball’s most exciting players. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Robert Fick, a rookie whose only time in the big leagues was a callup in September of 1998 and a callup in September of 1999, came to the plate with the bases loaded. A left-handed hitter, Fick drilled the first pitch from reliever Jeff Montgomery off the roof in right field for a grand slam and the final home run at Tiger Stadium.
The game stayed that way through nine innings, and Willie Hernandez and Aurelio Lopez teamed to shut out the Blue Jays in the top of the 10th inning. The ballpark erupted and flashbulbs were popping all around the stadium as Fick circled the bases. He might have been one of the most unlikely Tigers to do it, but Fick actually was the most fitting player to hit the final home run. With eight games left in the 1987 season, the Tigers were in second place and three and a half games behind the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays.
Many sellers on Etsy offer personalized, made-to-order items. Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox. Rather than walking Gibson, the Padres decided to roll the dice by pitching to the Tigers slugger. Below is video footage taken in February 2007 after Gossage’s acceptance into the National Baseball Hall of Fame had been formally announced.
During the interview, Gossage tells his side of the story about the famous showdown with Gibson. Twenty-five years later, Eckersley regrets that slider but seems to think that Gibson's moment comes down to destiny rather than his decision. It explains that Gibson had been stymied by Gossage for years, dating back to his first big league at-bat. The fact that Goose had enjoyed such success against Gibson is why he argued to face Gibby.
This is the story of that game through the eyes and ears of those who were on and off the field at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 15, 1988. But Gossage did persuade Williams and he was allowed to pitch to Gibson. Pitch one was deposited into the right field upper deck by a powerful swing from Gibson’s bat. It was the first home run Gibson hit off Gossage, the pitcher who had welcomed him to the big leagues by striking him out in his first at-bat, and who had manhandled the Detroit hitter for so long. In many ways, Gossage and Gibson were mirror images of each other. Both were rugged men who loved the outdoors, hunting, and “manly” pursuits.
