Favorite Homeruns?
Since I have nothing better to do aside from wait for the Third Coming of Pedro, I got to thinking about something: homeruns. I'm not sure there's anything quite like them in all of sports. They come out of nowhere: one second a pitch is just another pitch and the next the course of a game is changed completely. What are some of your favorite homeruns? The ones you've seen in person or on TV, doesn't matter. Giants or otherwise.
For me, a couple stand out in my memory. The best, most exciting homerun I've ever seen was on Barry's birthday a few years back. The original Timmeh (Worrell) is in against the D-Backs in the top of the 9th inning, with the game tied. A liner is hit to Bonds on a hop. Counsell rounds third and heads for home. Bonds throws a perfect one-hop seed to Torrealba to gun him down at the plate. Inning over. Bonds is leading off the bottom of the night. Mike Myers (or Austin Powers?) is brought in to face him. First pitch, he sends it into deep left-center to end it. I was going nuts. Almost as great was Kuiper's line when Barry came out for a current call: "And Barry's coming out to say 'Folks, thanks for coming to my party.'"
Otherwise, let me think...The Ball that Never Landed (Lidge vs. Pujols). I told my roommate that he would send it out right when he stepped up the plate. JT vs. the Mets, too, of course. How about the rest of you?
This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.
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Re: Favorite Homeruns?
D
by sunnyd100 on Jan 13, 2008 9:28 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 13, 2008 9:48 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by MidKnight on Jan 13, 2008 9:55 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by ArmaGideon on Jan 14, 2008 12:20 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by ArmaGideon on Jan 14, 2008 12:33 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by jasomack on Jan 13, 2008 10:44 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Brian Johnson, of course.
and Santiago in the NLCS
by nick on Jan 13, 2008 10:48 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by nick on Jan 13, 2008 10:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
I've been to dozens of Giants games but had never seen Bonds hit a home run in person. It was also the second time, and maybe the last, I've ever been able to take my dad to Pac Bell Park (or whatever the hell phone company it is now.)
My dad has been sick four a couple of years and we've thought we'd lost him twice, but last May he felt good enough to take the trip over the mountain from Reno to San Francisco. His joy just at being there made the day one of the three best in my life, but watching my dad slowly get out of his seat in the sixth inning when Bonds sent a towering shot to center field was one of the most powerful, emotional moments of my life.
by Voodoo Chile on Jan 13, 2008 10:54 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
He never hit another one.
by trapper9 on Jan 13, 2008 10:55 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by Steve on Jan 13, 2008 11:01 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by GameSix on Jan 15, 2008 7:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by Takimoto on Jan 16, 2008 3:31 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by MidKnight on Jan 13, 2008 11:14 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
-D
by dw4848 on Jan 13, 2008 11:29 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 14, 2008 9:32 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by Tchli on Jan 14, 2008 2:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Barry's two walkoff home runs in three games as the Giants swept the Braves to briefly become the best record in the NL in August, 2003. The first one doubly so, because of Kuip's perfectly timed call: "He hits it hiiiigh....he hits it DEEEEEP.....We...are...going...home....OUTTA HERE!"
The second one because of the look on Bobby Cox's face afterwards, like he knew he could never win in those situations (the Giants won Game 2 of the series in extras after the Braves intentionally walked Bonds).
Bonds' home run to be the only run of Game 1 of the fabled 1997 2-game series against the Dodgers.
756, since I was there with my father.
Bonds' birthday in 2003.
Bonds' two home runs in July 2001 off of Curt Schilling. It was part of a three home run day, and a four game sweep by the Giants to get back in the race against the eventual champs. The Sporting News cover the following week showed Bonds trotting the bases and perhaps their best headline ever, "RAZING ARIZONA".
J.T.'s home run in Game 2 of the 2000 NLDS. The silence in the crowd as they waited for fair or foul was one of the great moments of anticipation in my life.
Dallimore's grand slam. 'Nuff Said.
by BruteSentiment on Jan 14, 2008 2:55 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by One Flap Down on Jan 14, 2008 10:17 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200308190.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200308210.shtml
LOVED those games.
by redhornet78 on Jan 14, 2008 1:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
May 19th, the second of a 3-game series in Atlanta. My son was in attendance, as a birthday gift from his then-girlfriend, and I really hoped he'd have a enjoyable day. Bonds hit a HR in the 3rd off Odalis Perez, but then there was a long rain delay, and I thought his trip might be ruined. After the rain delay, Barry hit another HR in the 7th off Jose Cabrera, and he hit a third HR in the 8th off Jason Marquis. Barry had hit one HR the day before off Mike Remlinger, and he hit two more the next day. Three games against Atlanta, six home runs. Not bad work.
I was especially pleased that my son, despite the rain delay, got to see 3 of Barry's home runs in that magical season.
by Lyle on Jan 14, 2008 6:27 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
To give some context, imagine it's 2012 or so and everything between now and then has been as bleak as you fear it will be. Then imagine that the team comes out of nowhere to snatch first place. Then imagine that there's some ridiculous give-away at the park so there's suddenly 56,000 people there instead of the usual 5600. Then imagine that the Giants have picked up a young retread who had tons of potential whom they're trying to rehabilitate (ok, I know I'm stretching credulity here). Then imagine the Grand Slam.
Oh, yeah. And you're a 12-year-old uber-fanatic at the time.
by senorvegas on Jan 14, 2008 7:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by VidaWantsYourCar on Jan 14, 2008 1:48 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Second has to be JT's against the Mets. The ball landed just a few seats over from where I was sitting.
715 was cool.
I was also at the game when Bonds hit career #300 at Candlestick. He hit #301 in his next AB, and was ejected by Mark Hirshbeck in the AB following that.
by marklar on Jan 14, 2008 8:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
My favorite Giants home run that I have seen was the one Willie Mays hit in the tenth inning against Turk Farrell to put the Giants in position where a Dodger loss would set up a best-of-three playoff for the pennant. It was Fan Appreciation Day, and most of the fans hoped to win a car and listened to the Dodger broadcast until the Dodgers did indeed lose.
Willie came up three times that year with the season on the line. In game #162 he homered to left; in game #165 he lined a single up the middle; in game Seven of the World Series, he doubled to right, with only the wet grounds and a great fielding play by Roger Maris preventing the Giants from tying the game before Willie McCovey lined out to Bobby Richardson.
Mays was renowned for his extra-inning home runs and holds the record for same. He also is the only player in major league history who has hit at least one homer in innings one through 16.
His 16th-inning homer allowed Juan Marichal to beat Warren Spahn, 1-0, in 16 innings, in what likely was the best game of Marichal's career.
Spahn,who wound up his Hall of Fame career with the Giants, was never the same after that (1963?) season -- which probably wasn't unexpected for a guy who at age 42 pitched into the 16th inning of what was probably the best pitching matchup of all time, 16 innings between two future Hall of Famers.
A couple of years earlier Spahn had spun a ho-hitter against the Giants, even fielding a ninth-inning drag bunt by the speedy Matty Alou himself. Just two days after Spahn's no-no Mays hit four home runs.
by sharksrog on Jan 14, 2008 8:41 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Long story short, Armando Rios hits a walkoff HR, my buddy ends up with the ball after a scrum, then sells it for $40 cash to another fan. That cash gave us enough money to hit up Subway after the game, and more beer of course.
by oooreebay on Jan 14, 2008 9:09 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by ACgiant87 on Jan 14, 2008 11:23 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Noah Lowry hit a home run against the Dodgers, what was it, last year? That was hilarious. As was Matt Cain's short-lived power hitting display.
When Bonds tied Aaron at 755. I didn't see it live, but I lost my shit completely when I saw the replays where Barry picks up Nikolai (not a small kid anymore) in the bear hug after he crossed the plate. Words just cannot express how moving that was for me.
So many people have said Brian Johnson's home run. I'll remember that one for the rest of my life even though I wasn't at the ballpark for it.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jan 14, 2008 9:37 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Armando Rios had a walk-off (I think against the Pirates) that hit the top of the foul pole. The homer was nothing special, but I really enjoyed the post-game interview. All he needed was a routine fly ball to win the game and you would have expected him to say he was just trying to find a pitch up and elevate it, blah, blah, blah. Instead Armando says, "yeah, I was trying to hit a bomb." Classic.
by W8ingForATitle on Jan 14, 2008 10:06 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by One Flap Down on Jan 14, 2008 10:18 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by MidKnight on Jan 14, 2008 11:17 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Not quite my fave, but beyond classic.
by oooreebay on Jan 14, 2008 10:57 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by Billytell on Jan 14, 2008 11:26 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by sharksrog on Jan 15, 2008 2:05 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
For some reason Bruce Sutter hadn't started the 9th, but St. Louis summoned him for a showdown with Clark and on the very first pitch Jack launched a moonshot that actually hit off the base of the Marlboro sign behind the pavillion in left-centerfield.
That game started a 19-6 run down the stretch that put the Giants within 1.0 game of 1st before faltering the final weekend.
It was one of the very few walkoff HRs I've ever seen, certainly among the most majestic HRs I've ever witnessed, and coming after a decade of pretty depressing Giants baseball, it remains one of my favorite games I've ever attended.
by Roger on Jan 14, 2008 11:41 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Jack is second in history behind only Willie Mays in extra-inning home runs. One could easily have guessed that Willie would be at the top, but to find Clark right behind him was quite a surprise to me.
by sharksrog on Jan 15, 2008 2:07 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Back-to-Back HR's
Candy ties it
The Thrill wins it
The Giants would not fall out of first place the rest of the season.
by BuffyLaCoss on Jan 14, 2008 12:08 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by AndYourBirdCanSing on Jan 14, 2008 12:40 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
Bad game. Good homerun. Great company. It was essentially my good bye game to Barry Bonds, and most everything about it was damn special.
In second place for humor was another Barry homerun. I don't remember the day or the #, but those aren't important. I went with two friends to a Cal/Giants doubleheader (well, Cal played and then the Giants played about 2 hours later) at AT&T. One friend is a Giants fan and the other friend is a Doder fan. The Doderhead ends up feeling pretty sick when the Giants game starts, but he sticks out the first inning ecause he doesn't want to miss Barry's at bat in case he hits a homerun. Needless to say, since we're talking the Giants, we go down 1-2-3 in the first and my friend cuts out right then instead of buckling down despite the stomach issues. Second inning. Barry leads off. Homerun. It was awesome.
by howtheyscored on Jan 14, 2008 1:22 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
I'll never forget Kruk yelling..."ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? WHO'S WRITING THIS SCRIPT!?"
by KCE on Jan 14, 2008 1:33 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by MidKnight on Jan 14, 2008 2:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by VidaWantsYourCar on Jan 14, 2008 1:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by Natto on Jan 14, 2008 2:55 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200307250.shtml
by fleasridden on Jan 14, 2008 3:03 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
I also remember Glenallen Hill sending out a blast that made Ted Robinson, in a legitimately shocked voice, scream "Whoa that ball is WAY outta here!" No idea when that game happened. Maybe the same game? heh..
But all time favorite blast from any player ever? The one that just makes me go "Wow, that was awesome!"? Please, how could any Giants fan not say Brian Johnson? That was like the Stanford-Cal of homers. Who the hell would have expected that?

I will never, ever forget that moment. Well, unless I get Alzheimer's. But then I'll forget what the word Giants means. Hell, I'd be lucky if I knew what "word" means.
by Gabafnerhagen on Jan 14, 2008 8:30 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by Gabafnerhagen on Jan 14, 2008 8:33 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
As I recall, Hennessey started and didn't finish the fifth inning.
by groug on Jan 14, 2008 9:19 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
by Mike Benjamin Hit King on Jan 14, 2008 11:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Re: Favorite Homeruns?
What true Giants fan truly cares which team wins if it isn't the Giants? If the Giants' winning is an A thrill, any other team's winning MIGHT be an X or Y thrill.
by sharksrog on Jan 15, 2008 2:09 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

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