Hey, it’s the offseason and the first day back to the grind after a major holiday. The perfect time for one of those impossibly lazy sexy list posts. Consider it fodder for discussion while you choke down your fifteenth dry turkey sammich.
1. The final out of the 2004 World Series. I still remember holding my breath, dropping to my knees, and the massive amount of empties I cashed in the next day.
2. Johnny Damon’s grand slam in the second inning of game seven of the 2004 ALCS. Go ahead and admit it; even though you were born to anticipate unfathomable collapse, going up 6-0 in the second inning must have made you say, “Holy crap, I think we’re gonna take this.”
3. Dave Henderson’s home run in game 5 of the 1986 ALCS. I’m man enough to say I’d given up on the game. I was in the shower when I heard my dad and sisters screaming like an axe murderer had just taken down the back door. Light years before Sox teams of the twenty-first century perfected the art of coming back from the dead, Henderson single-handedly re-animated the ’86 postseason.
4. Pedro Martinez coming in from the bullpen in game five of the 1999 ALDS. Over the first three innings, against Saberhagen and Lowe, the Injuns scored eight runs on seven hits, including three home runs. After Pedro entered in the fourth, they scored zero runs, got zero hits and struck out eight times.
5. The Steal. Okay, if you want to get technical, it only helped us win one game. But if Roberts was out, we’d be talking about a miserable sweep at the hands of the Yankees instead of the greatest comeback ever.
Honorable mention: Lester’s no-hitter. And, to get even more specific, Terry’s teary-eyed post-game embrace of JL, mumbling, “I’m so proud of you.” Stuff like that usually happens only in the movies.
Yours?
