Non-World Series Post-Season Series Winning Hits
Posted by Steve Lombardi on January 27, 2011
I believe this is the list in question:
| Cr# | Gm# | Date 5 | Series | Gm# | Batter | Tm | Opp | Pitcher | Score | Inn | RoB | Out | Pit(cnt) | RBI | WPA | RE24 | Play Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 1976-10-12 | NLCS | 3 | Ken Griffey | CIN | PHI | Tom Underwood | tied 6-6 | 1B | b9 | 123 | 1 | 1 | 0.17 | 5.84 | *ENDED GAME*:Single to 1B; Concepcion Scores; Geronimo to 3B; Rose to 2B | ||
| 7 | 1 | 1976-10-14 | ALCS | 5 | Chris Chambliss | NYY | KCR | Mark Littell | tied 6-6 | HR | b9 | --- | 0 | 1 | 0.37 | 2.20 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (CF-RF) | ||
| 8 | 1 | 1978-10-07 | NLCS | 4 | Bill Russell | LAD | PHI | Tug McGraw | tied 3-3 | 1B | b10 | 12- | 2 | 2 (1-0) | 1 | 0.39 | 4.28 | *ENDED GAME*:Single to CF; Cey Scores/unER; Baker to 2B | |
| 10 | 1 | 1992-10-14 | NLCS | 7 | Francisco Cabrera | ATL | PIT | Stan Belinda | down 2-1 | 1B | b9 | 123 | 2 | 4 (2-1) | 2 | 0.74 | 10.75 | *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF (Line Drive to Short LF); Justice Scores/unER; Bream Scores/unER; Berryhill to 2B | |
| 12 | 1 | 1995-10-08 | ALDS | 5 | Edgar Martinez | SEA | NYY | Jack McDowell | down 5-4 | 2B | b11 | 1-3 | 0 | 2 (0-1) | 2 | 0.32 | 4.22 | *ENDED GAME*:Double to LF (Line Drive); Cora Scores; Griffey Scores | |
| 14 | 1 | 1999-10-09 | NLDS | 4 | Todd Pratt | NYM | ARI | Matt Mantei | tied 3-3 | HR | b10 | --- | 1 | 1 | 0.41 | 1.87 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run | ||
| 15 | 1 | 2000-10-06 | ALDS | 3 | Carlos Guillen | SEA | CHW | Keith Foulke | tied 1-1 | 1B | b9 | 1-3 | 1 | 2 (0-1) | 1 | 0.17 | 4.97 | *ENDED GAME*:Single (Bunt); Henderson Scores/unER; Bell to 2B | |
| 16 | 1 | 2001-10-14 | NLDS | 5 | Tony Womack | ARI | STL | Steve Kline | tied 1-1 | 1B | b9 | -2- | 2 | 7 (2-2) | 1 | 0.39 | 3.89 | *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF; Bautista Scores | |
| 18 | 1 | 2002-10-14 | NLCS | 5 | Kenny Lofton | SFG | STL | Steve Kline | tied 1-1 | 1B | b9 | 12- | 2 | 1 (0-0) | 1 | 0.39 | 4.32 | *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF; Bell Scores; Dunston to 2B | |
| 19 | 1 | 2003-10-04 | NLDS | 4 | Jeffrey Hammonds | SFG | @FLA | Ugueth Urbina | down 7-6 | 1B | t9 | 12- | 2 | 1 (0-0) | 0 | -0.14 | -0.44 | 5.47 | *ENDED GAME*:Single to LF (Line Drive); Snow out at Hm/LF-C; Durham to 2B |
| 20 | 1 | 2003-10-16 | ALCS | 7 | Aaron Boone | NYY | BOS | Tim Wakefield | tied 5-5 | HR | b11 | --- | 0 | 1 (0-0) | 1 | 0.36 | 2.29 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball) | |
| 21 | 1 | 2004-10-08 | ALDS | 3 | David Ortiz | BOS | ANA | Jarrod Washburn | tied 6-6 | HR | b10 | 1-- | 2 | 1 (0-0) | 2 | 0.43 | 2.44 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball); Reese Scores | |
| 22 | 1 | 2005-10-09 | NLDS | 4 | Chris Burke | HOU | ATL | Joey Devine | tied 6-6 | HR | b18 | --- | 1 | 3 (2-0) | 1 | 0.42 | 1.82 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball) | |
| 23 | 1 | 2006-10-14 | ALCS | 4 | Magglio Ordonez | DET | OAK | Huston Street | tied 3-3 | HR | b9 | 12- | 2 | 2 (1-0) | 3 | 0.38 | 4.44 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball); Monroe Scores; Polanco Scores | |
| 24 | 1 | 2008-10-06 | ALDS | 4 | Jed Lowrie | BOS | LAA | Scot Shields | tied 2-2 | 1B | b9 | -2- | 2 | 1 (0-0) | 1 | 0.39 | 3.90 | *ENDED GAME*:Single to RF (Ground Ball thru 2B-1B); Bay Scores |
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Is it just me, or, are the '76 Reds, '01 D-backs and '04 Bosox the only teams to have such a type hit and then actually go on to win the World Series?
January 27th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
The Marlins won the World Series in '03, so that hit couldn't have beaten them in the series vs. the Giants.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
My fault--looked it up and that hit did win the series for the Marlins because the runner was thrown out at home. Never mind.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
I wonder if Steve Kline just stays indoors with the blinds drawn on Oct. 14 these days.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
Nice that Ken Griffeys Sr and Jr were each involved in a series-winning play...in Junior's case it was scoring the winning run.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Tony Womack must have had one huge WPA for the 2001 post season. I think his 2b off Rivera in Game 7 in the WS was even more valuable than his series ending hit listed here.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
I had never realized that Womack in 2001 had two postseason series-ending base hits. Wow!
The Cabrera and Martinez entries tell me that the Division and Championship Series are still waiting for their first series-ending home run that converts a deficit into a victory, à la Joe Carter in 1993 WS Game 6. Something to look forward to.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
@6, Kahuna -- FYI, Womack's big hit in the 2001 WS was not a game-winner. It tied the game and set up Luis Gonzalez to win it.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:20 pm
Yes, Luis G's infeld in pop up to SS; it still hurts me to this day. 🙂
As far as Womack (who hurt the Yankees twice; (a) with this hit and then (b) when he played for them in 2005): A hit that brings a team from behind to tie is very often more "valuable" than a hit that breaks a tie and gives a team a win.
Of course a hit that brings a team from behind to a win (e.g., a 2-run single) is even better.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
The Jeffrey Hammonds one is the only one on the road. Interesting - partly interesting because it seems a home lead in the 9th in the playoffs is safe, and partly because, as an avid Brewers fan, I have an unhealthy loathing for Jeffrey Hammonds, who was once the highest-paid Brewer in history.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
[*smacks self in forehead with fin*] We of the family Scombridae often mix up critical historical events with events that led up to them. Please carry on.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Damn you Steve Kline! Then again, how could I stay mad at someone who told the following joke at a recent roast for Tony Larussa: "You said that real men love cats. Well, you must be a macho man because the only pussy you hated was JD Drew!".
Which begs the question, whose idea was it to roast the most thin-skinned man to ever live?
January 27th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
And Steve Kline's 2004 October 14 wasn't anything to write home about, either: no outs and two hits on three pitches for a -0.148 WPA. Cardinals did eventually win, though. Too bad he didn't get to stick with the Cards for the 2006 reversal of fortune, and he didn't pitch in the Series in 2004. So all three of his postseasons ended for him on October 14. . . .
January 27th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Dr. Doom, that's because games very rarely end with the road team getting a hit, for obvious reasons.
January 27th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
So in what sense was the Hammonds hit a "series winning hit"? More like a "series losing hit," if that even makes sense. The only series losing hit in postseason history?
January 27th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
The only series losing hit in postseason history?
Yes, Hammonds’ hit in 2003 was the only one by a player from the losing team that ended a postseason series. It was also the only postseason game-ending hit for a team that lost that game by one run. Two other postseason games have ended with a runner from the losing team being thrown out on the bases after a base hit.
1. With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth of game 4 of the 1953 World Series and the Yankees losing 7-2, Mickey Mantle singled to left off the Dodgers’ Clem Labine, scoring Gene Woodling, but on the play Billy Martin was thrown out at home by Don Thompson, who had replaced Jackie Robinson in left to begin the ninth inning.
2. With two outs and no runners on in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 2007 NLCS, Arizona pinch hitter Miguel Montero was thrown out by Colorado left fielder Matt Holliday trying to stretch a single into a double. The Rockies won the game 5-1.
January 27th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
@15, Kahuna Tuna: "Two other postseason games have ended with a runner from the losing team being thrown out on the bases after a base hit."
Ah, but what about the postseason series that ended with a runner from the losing team being thrown out on the bases after a walk?
🙂
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA192610100.shtml
January 27th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
I'm surprised the Bill Russell HR in '78 gets so little attention. I don't really remember seeing it highlight reels that often.
January 27th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
@ John Q, #17: Russell didn't hit a HR. It was a single.
January 28th, 2011 at 1:28 am
@ 16 John Autin
The game you mention:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA192610100.shtml
When Babe Ruth was caught stealing in the 7th game of the 1926 World Series and the Yankees down 3-2 with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th..
I wonder if Ruth was going on his own?
Was it a busted hit & run?.
Looks like it was on the first pitch to Yankee clean up hitter Bob Meusel.
In the game Ruth was 1 for 1 (a homer) and 4 walks!!!
On the regular season Ruth had 11 steals and was caught 9 times.
His most stolen bases in a season was 1923 when he stole 17 and was caught 21 times.
Meusel hit .315 on the regular (1926) season but had only 12 homers.
He only played in 108 games after playing 156 games the previous year in 1925 when he had a career high 33 homers and 138 RBI's.
1925 I believe Ruth was out much of the year with the bad stomach.
Maybe the Babe was hungry for that 1926 WS game to be over so he could get to the spread in the club house which was featuring hot dogs. <;-}...
January 28th, 2011 at 2:27 am
Fondest memory in baseball is that walk off by Ordonez to send the tigers to the WS. I called it in the 7th inning, even if none of you believe me 🙂
January 28th, 2011 at 11:43 am
@18 Mike S.
Good catch, my bad on that one, maybe that's why I don't remember seeing it on highlight reels.
I don't remember seeing his game winning hit on highlight reels which is kind of odd because it ended the series. You think they would replay that hit more often.
January 28th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Ugh. 1995 Edgar martinez.
The most devastating (for me) base hit I ever saw. I am sure Mariner fans feel otherwise.
January 28th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
It really should called "Non-World Series Post-Season Series-Ending Hits."