October Heroics
It's the best time of year in baseball. Playoffs! A time where the men stand tall and the true champions take their prize. Sometimes the hero of the post season is the person you relied on all season, other times a complete unknown steps up and carries the team. Most guys do it with their bats, some pitch a gem when it matters most, and others save the day with their their leather or their baserunning.
Joe Carter lived the dream we all have as kids in our backyards. One swing of the bat and the World Series is won. Considering how the 1994 post season was cancelled, this was the lasting image of a champion for 2 years, giving baseball a final triumph to enjoy before the strike ruined everything.
I'll go ahead and repost the 1946 Enos Slaughter card with a more proper logo. His "mad-dash" is what allow the Cardinals to walk off in game 7 and beat the Red Sox. I've gone over that play before.
Sparky Lyle was a rare relief pitcher to win the Cy Young in 1977, and in the playoffs he proved how worthy he was. In the ALCS game 4, the Royals were 1 win away from eliminating the Yankees. Entering the bottom of the 4th the Yankees led 5-2 but the Royals rallied, chasing the Yankee starter and reliever and made it a 1 run game. Billy Martin decided that enough was enough and brought in Sparky to "save" the game. Nowadays we marvel when a closer comes in for a 6 out save, Lyle went in for the 16 out save! He shut down Kansas City with 0 runs and just 2 hits in 5.1 innings to walk away with the W and a tied ALCS.
For good measure, he went back out there the following night and picked up another 1.1 innings of shutout relief in a Yankee comeback win to clinch, nabbing back-to-back wins to take the AL flag.
For good measure, he went back out there the following night and picked up another 1.1 innings of shutout relief in a Yankee comeback win to clinch, nabbing back-to-back wins to take the AL flag.
In more recent memory, Bumgarner had his own clutch save performance. After already winning 2 games in the 2014 World Series (also against the Royals. Sorry, KC fans) MadBum entered game 7 in the 5th and proceeded to stifle the Royals to preserve a San Francisco victory and cemented his MVP award and status as a clutch pitcher.
Bucky F#@*ing Dent.
No one should need an introduction to this moment. All you need to know is "Deep to left...Yastrzemski will not get it, it's a home run!"
No one should need an introduction to this moment. All you need to know is "Deep to left...Yastrzemski will not get it, it's a home run!"
Roy Halladay went out against the Reds in the 2010 NLDS and was as good as he's ever been, putting in the 2nd best performance of his career, and the 2nd best postseason pitching performance of all time. Keen eyed observers will notice the PR set logo in the corner. I reserve the right to make a 2nd card (a base set version) for Halladays 2010 since he also pitched a perfect game that season and I want to honor both accomplishments separately.
Now, Halladays no-no was amazing and deserves heaps of praise, but it's quite lacking of an accomplishment when compared to...
Don Larsen. 1956. World Series. Against bitter cross-town rival Brooklyn Dodgers. PERFECT GAME. No more perfect situation. Series MVP was simply a formality. As you can tell from his 5IP and chart, Larsen isn't exactly the most likely candidate to go out and retire 27 in a row, which makes it even all the more special. In baseball, just about anyone can rise up and be a hero.
How about some defensive heroics? 1996 Yankees v Braves. Atlanta were heavy favorites, but the Yankees managed to overcome a 0-2 hole and tie up the series going into game 5. Yankees clung to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 9th. 2 outs, runners on 1st and 2nd. Luis Polonia rips a ball into the right-center gap. If it lands, Braves easily score both runs and win the game. Instead, Paul O'Neill (on a bad hamstring no less) sprints out there, fully extends himself, and snags the ball to seal the victory as he slams into the wall with his fists in celebration. His C speed on his card clearly needs adjusting.
Just gonna repost this card as well. Greatest game in history needs representation. Game 7 walk off shot against a hated rival? Heck yeah!
If you're wondering why there's a disproportionate amount of Yankees in this post, what can I say? You don't win 27 titles without having a disproportionate amount of the October heroics.
Here's one for Red Sox fans. You lost the series to the Reds, but Fisk made sure it went the full 7 games in 1975. On a side note, Red Sox cards are tough to do because their logos are not all available in the bot. It's not as bad as the Pirates, but there's a fair amount of players I can't do because of my self imposed rule about logos being correct for their era.
Did you honestly think I'd do an October hero post without Mr. October himself? Jackson was on another level in 1977, homering in 4 straight at bats (final at bat in game 5, then the famous 3 in game 6) to almost single handedly ruin the Dodgers.
