I don't believe what I just saw!

March 29, 2010 12:00 PM

Major League Baseball's opening day is less than a week away, so here are some videos to whet your appetite:
The shot heard 'round the world/The Giants Win the Pennant!
Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run, 1960 World Series
Hank Aaron hits home run number 715
Carlton Fisk waves it fair
Willie Mays: "The Catch."

Don Larsen's perfect World Series game
George Brett's pine tar bat
Roger Clemens strikes out 20
1986 World Series: ball through Buckner's legs
1988 World Series: Kirk Gibson's pinch hit home run
Mark McGwire passes Roger Maris in season home runs
Nolan Ryan's 7th no-hitter
Kirby Pucket's 1991 World Series walk-off home run to force game 7
and Jack Morris' 10-inning shutout in game 7 of the same series
Joe Carter's walk-off home run to win 1993 World Series
Cal Ripken: Baseball's Iron Man
Aaron Boone's walk-off home run, 2003 ALCS
Chase Utley's heads-up play, 2008 World Series
Derek Jeter, "The Flip," 2001 ALDS
Josh Hamilton socks 28 dingers in first round of 2008 home run derby
Reggie Jackson's third home run, 1977 World Series game 6
Johnny Damon's double steal, 2009 World Series
Brunlett's triple play ends game
Devon White's great catch, 1992 World Series
Bo Jackson being Bo Jackson
Jayson Werth steals four bases in one game, including home
Ozzie Smith: Hall of Famer
Bucky Dent smashes it over the Green Monster, 1978 division playoff game
Harvey Haddix's perfect 12 innings, loses in 13th

posted by starman (63 comments total)

This post is a real "home run."
posted by cirripede at 12:03 PM on March 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

1986 World Series - Game 6 - NES RBI Baseball
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:03 PM on March 29, 2010 [3 favorites]

I'm sort of hot/cold about Don Delillo, but hos fictionalized account of the first video in Underworld is absolutely awesome.
posted by codacorolla at 12:05 PM on March 29, 2010

Don't you know who I am? I'm Kenny Powers and I can throw a ball fast as fuck!
posted by fuq at 12:07 PM on March 29, 2010

With Target Field opening up, doesn’t that leave the Rays as the only indoor MLB team? HAH, suck on that Tampa.

Signed . . . A twins Fan*. Awesome post starman

*a fair-weather fan at that!
posted by Think_Long at 12:10 PM on March 29, 2010

Izzy Alcantara's Kung Fu
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:15 PM on March 29, 2010

I heard Kirk Gibson's home run on the radio and Jack Buck was announcing. He screamed "I can't believe it; I can't believe what I just saw" over and over and over, must have been 10X. Cannot imagine what it must have been like to actually be at the game.
posted by bukvich at 12:16 PM on March 29, 2010

"I can't don't believe what I just saw!"

/Jack Buck 4 Life

Videos not working for anybody else?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:16 PM on March 29, 2010

What an atrocious post.

Final out, Game 4, 2004 World Series.
With a bloody sock, Curt Schilling pitched an epic Game 6 in the 2004 ALCS to continue the miraculous story for the 2004 Boston Red Sox.
Final out, Game 4, 2007 World Series.

There. You're welcome.
posted by ibmcginty at 12:20 PM on March 29, 2010 [7 favorites]

Doc Ellis and the LSD No-No?
posted by Pragmatica at 12:25 PM on March 29, 2010 [5 favorites]

Dock, dammit. DOCK.
posted by Pragmatica at 12:25 PM on March 29, 2010

Two entries from the '91 World Series, which is as it should be.
posted by Ber at 12:34 PM on March 29, 2010

Some of these are awesome. Some of these hurt me deeply (like McGuire passing Maris), enough to put off any sort of excitement for the coming World Series.

I miss the old days.

Now I know I'm old.</small)
posted by jabberjaw at 12:35 PM on March 29, 2010

I'll never, ever forget watching Joe Carter hit that home run. And I never, ever want to see it again. <>

Fantastic post!
posted by gnutron at 12:37 PM on March 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

Edgar doubles home Griffey to win the 1995 ALDS
Ichiro's 258th hit to break Sisler's 80+ year old record
Felix Hernandez's first pitch grand slam vs. the Mets
The best Ichiro catch I've ever seen
posted by dw at 12:40 PM on March 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

No list of great moments in baseball is complete without The Steal.
posted by COD at 12:41 PM on March 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

GODDAMN I love me some baseball clips.

Baseball is beginning. I am complete again.
posted by ORthey at 12:43 PM on March 29, 2010

Randy Johnson Hits a Bird With 95mph Fastball
posted by Glibpaxman at 12:44 PM on March 29, 2010

With Target Field opening up, doesn’t that leave the Rays as the only indoor MLB team? HAH, suck on that Tampa.

Signed . . . A twins Fan*. Awesome post starman

*a fair-weather fan at that!
posted by Think_Long

I don't really like baseball a ton, but I'm trying to rouse Twins interest inside myself this year on the theory that, if I helped to buy them a new stadium, I damn well ought to try to get some enjoyment out of it.
posted by COBRA! at 12:47 PM on March 29, 2010

Nice post. I'm all a-twitter with baseball anticipation, so this feeds my beast very well. It probably says something that my dear boy and I have been so vexed with ourselves because, like fools, we're going to be flying back from our dumb wedding on Opening Day instead of perched reverently in front of our TV, beer in hand and Sox caps on, as tradition requires. Also, many thanks to ibmcginty for correcting that unfortunately egregious oversight (as well as giving me the kind of necessary antidote I require every time I see, or think about seeing, that particular Jeter clip for something like the 4,638,435 time).
posted by mostlymartha at 12:55 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Nice post! I wasn't really feeling the baseball fever until watching all these. Lemme just say this one last thing to kick off the season: RED SOX SUCK! :D
posted by Mach5 at 12:56 PM on March 29, 2010

There's a generation of New England kids who grew up thinking Bucky Dent's middle name is "Friggin."

Gawd, I love baseball.
posted by pentagoet at 12:57 PM on March 29, 2010

Cobra, just stand out in the right-field plaza when Morneau takes BP. Sooner or later they'll have to put up a net to stop injuries to pedestrians.
posted by Ber at 1:00 PM on March 29, 2010

This post makes me happy. Very, very happy. Thanks.
posted by makabampow at 1:01 PM on March 29, 2010

Yo Red Sox fans I'm really happy for you and I'mma let you finish, but the 1991 World Series was the greatest of all time. OF ALL TIME.

Jack Morris was great in game 7, but Kirby Puckett was completely otherworldly in game 6. He had the walkoff homer, but he also had a leaping catch in the top of the third that rivals any catch Torii Hunter could ever pull off. I mean seriously, the man wasn't even six feet tall and he basically climbed up a thirteen foot wall and caught what was surely to be at least a run-scoring double. To this day, I cite the fact that Kirby was forced to retire at 35, and died at age 45, as proof that there cannot possibly be an all-powerful god up in the sky, because nobody, and I mean nobody, would have this man stop playing baseball.
posted by mark242 at 1:13 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Earl Weaver gets thrown out of a game NSFW. So very very NSFW.

This post, with ibmcginty's emendations, makes me very happy that spring is coming.
posted by .kobayashi. at 1:15 PM on March 29, 2010

Growing up a Cubs fan pretty much ruined baseball for me.
posted by Sailormom at 1:15 PM on March 29, 2010

None of these highlights are as good as this one.
posted by jackflaps at 1:17 PM on March 29, 2010

Imma just leave this here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOAP8p7ux_Y
posted by humboldt32 at 1:19 PM on March 29, 2010

clicky
posted by humboldt32 at 1:20 PM on March 29, 2010

Awesome post...rewatching the Clemen's Kíng 20. That motherfucker makes me SO MAD he could have played the game honest and still have been a lights out pitcher but just had to cheat. Cocksucker.
posted by vito90 at 1:24 PM on March 29, 2010

In 2006, I got to see this; we nearly shook the place apart.

But then I saw this; after some scattered booing, you could have heard a pin drop. I have never, under any circumstances, seen an entire stadium so silent.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:28 PM on March 29, 2010

What I'm saying is that I'm gearing up for another season of disappointment and heavy drinking.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:29 PM on March 29, 2010

uncleozzy, I was just linking to the last time we enjoyed baseball. That was the peak of my interest in baseball… it's been torture since.
posted by mhz at 1:32 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

I should add my favorite moment of the 2009 season: Ichiro hits walk-off HR against Mariano Rivera. Ichiro had never had a walk off hit in his M's career until 2009, when had three. The third one was this homer to beat the Yankees. And all was right in the world.
posted by dw at 1:35 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

[...] doesn’t that leave the Rays as the only indoor MLB team? HAH, suck on that Tampa.

Hey! I (kind of) like our indoor field! Yeah it's less authentic and it would be nice to have real grass and blah blah etc., but it rains basically every afternoon for 3 months in the summer. Not to mention that it gets pretty fricking hot, obviously, and I'm just happy I can go to the occasional game without the top of my (balding) head peeling for a week afterwards.
posted by penduluum at 1:36 PM on March 29, 2010

That was the peak of my interest in baseball… it's been torture since.

I have gone to a lot of games the last few seasons. And I'll be at opening day next week. I'm a glutton for punishment.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:39 PM on March 29, 2010

I'm a Pirates fan, so approach baseball season each year with a mixture of excitement and pure dread.

But anyway...LET'S GO BUCS!
posted by elder18 at 2:04 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

"I can't don't believe what I just saw!"

How embarrasing. I have been remembering that wrong for 22 years?

I must have had too much too drink that night.
posted by bukvich at 2:23 PM on March 29, 2010

With Target Field opening up, doesn’t that leave the Rays as the only indoor MLB team? HAH, suck on that Tampa.

This is where a Rays fan would point out the two Florida teams have played in 3 World Series since they came into existence ('93 for the Marlins, '98 for the Rays), during that time the Rays played in as many ALCSes as the Twins have (1).

But since there are no Rays fans, I guess it's up to an M's fan to point it out. I'll also point out my favorite catch of last year was against the Twins in the Homerdome. Gutierrez comes from way over in RF to make that catch.
posted by dw at 2:26 PM on March 29, 2010

mark242: This Sox fan misses Kirby as well. A helluva player and a helluva guy. He brought such joy to the game. The few times I saw him play, I felt he had the Babe's enthusiasm for the game and life in general.
posted by pentagoet at 2:27 PM on March 29, 2010

Craig Biggio's 3000th hit. I love the fact he tried to stretch it into a double.
posted by IanMorr at 2:34 PM on March 29, 2010

The first year of the Heyward era, some are proclaiming it...
posted by sonic meat machine at 2:55 PM on March 29, 2010

Joe Blanton's Game 4 HR in the 2008 World Series.

I put this in more because I know Joe than because it was a series-changing play, but come on, a freaking pitcher hitting a home run in the world series?
posted by rhythim at 3:04 PM on March 29, 2010

Oh sure, that 1988 Kirk Gibson home run in Game 1 of the World Series is cool but I prefer his homer in the 1984 World Series that sealed the deal for the Tigers.
posted by zzazazz at 3:46 PM on March 29, 2010

DON'T TELL ME WHAT THE RED SOX CAN AND CAN'T DO
posted by Rhaomi at 3:47 PM on March 29, 2010

Then there's Sidd Finch, the fastest pitcher in baseball history.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:04 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

This post reminds me of one of my dumbest MeFi moments.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:07 PM on March 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

doesn’t that leave the Rays as the only indoor MLB team

Houston has a retractable roof, and it's probably closed 75% of the time, due to heat or rain. I can't even imagine what their air-conditioning bill must look like.
posted by chrisamiller at 4:25 PM on March 29, 2010

World Fucking Champions.
posted by sixpack at 5:48 PM on March 29, 2010

Houston has a retractable roof, and it's probably closed 75% of the time, due to heat or rain. I can't even imagine what their air-conditioning bill must look like.

I've still not been to the new stadium in Houston, because I'm still upset that they moved from the Astrodome. The Astrodome now just hosts the rodeo and the Summit is a goddamn church. That's not right.
posted by DecemberBoy at 5:49 PM on March 29, 2010

I know it's not a play, but allow me to present Robin Ventura, the only man to get seven hits off Nolan Ryan in a single game. :)
posted by fireoyster at 6:35 PM on March 29, 2010

Oh, and: GO RANGERS!
posted by fireoyster at 6:35 PM on March 29, 2010

There's a generation of New England kids who grew up thinking Bucky Dent's middle name is "Friggin."


Funny, that's also Yadier Molina's middle name.
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 6:46 PM on March 29, 2010

I just went and watched the Nolan Ryan no-no clip, and it reminded me: That game was not scheduled to be broadcast in north Texas that night. Back when that game happened, KTVT (channel 11, and their other station, KTXT 39) and Home Sports Entertainment (now Fox Sports Southwest) carried the Rangers games, with KTVT showing the majority of the games over the air. KTVT didn't have many Wednesday night games on their schedule, and Ryan wasn't expected to pitch that night because he'd gone over 130 pitches in his last outing.

The video clip has the point when those of us in DFW but not at Arlington Stadium got to join in the fun: half an inning before the on-screen graphic comes up showing 8 innings pitched, and the Canadian announcer--yes, the Blue Jays had away coverage and we didn't have home coverage--says "the eyes of north Texas, the eyes of North America, are all on Nolan Ryan." Both KTVT and KXAS (channel 5) had dropped their regular programming and picked up the game with one out in the bottom of the 8th. KTVT showed the entire game, complete with Canadian commercials, the following night.
posted by fireoyster at 6:57 PM on March 29, 2010

Dear Twins,
Thanks for Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza. Have fun with whatever we sent you.

Sincerely,
nulledge.
posted by nulledge at 8:58 PM on March 29, 2010

COD posted mine; Dave Roberts 4EVA
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:22 PM on March 29, 2010

I want some more Ozzie Smith videos! Man I miss the game as it was played back then. Viva La Whitey Ball!
posted by DigDoug at 5:32 AM on March 30, 2010

I know it's not a play, but allow me to present Robin Ventura, the only man to get seven hits off Nolan Ryan in a single game. :)

A classic, but my favorite has to be George Bell charging the mound after two inside pitches from Aaron Sele. Bell throws a punch, which Sele easily avoids, and all of a sudden, Mo Vaughn comes thundering from first base and absolutely demolishes Bell. Can't track down a video, sadly.
posted by SpiffyRob at 6:55 AM on March 30, 2010

Yeah, there are so many classic clips that aren't online. If the MLB dumped everything online (it's a ton of stuff, I know, but hey C-SPAN did it!) and charged a subscription I think they'd be on to something.
posted by starman at 7:54 AM on March 30, 2010

Possibly the greatest moment in human history:
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200808043251567&c_id=atl

And a little Braves, for the haters:
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=3251606
posted by steambadger at 8:04 AM on March 30, 2010

I can't believe MLB doesn't have a video of when Pujols broke Lidge in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS. This is the closest thing I could find.
posted by bjork24 at 8:42 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

The Pirates clinch becoming the losing-est team ever, in any professional American sport.
posted by talldean at 9:31 AM on April 4, 2010