Top ten walk-off homers in American League Championship Series history - Part 1
Since Major League Baseball came into existence, many home-runs have been posted. However, the importance of the home-runs launched in the Championship Series, which started in 1969, cannot be neglected.
A homer, if it comes as a walk-off can never be down played. There were nine home runs since 1969 and the teams whose player launched a hit, has clinched the ALCS all nine times and three of these closed down the series.
Each one has its significance and is regarded higher than the other, as all have written histories. Categorising these into the ten greatest walk-off homers in ALCS, will be a difficult task, but let’s see who leads the chart.
New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox opened Game 1 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium on October 13, 1999 and after an electrifying competition, the game entered into the tenth inning with 3-all on the board. Centre-fielder Bernie Williams landed the bottom of
the inning, for his fifth at-bat to face Rod Beck and launched a walk-off homer to beat the Red Sox 4-3. Yankees snatched the series 4-1 and also the World Series against the Atlanta Braves.
With 3-all on board and the ball in the hands of John Montague of California Angels, two on, two out and all eyes on one place, John Lowenstein of the Baltimore Orioles’ launched a three run homer to give his club a 6-3 triumph in Game 1 of the ALCS against
the California Angels on October 3, 1979. The club clinched the ALCS 3-1, but dropped the World Series to Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Series was tied at 1-all, pivotal competition was hitless and was in the bottom of the eleventh inning, when right-handed short-stop of Oakland Athletics, Bert Campaneris entered for his fifth and final at-bat, without any hit he blistered a solo home-run
off Mike Cuellar to take the club to a 2-1 win. After clinching Game 3 on October 9, 1973 the A’s grabbed the ALCS 3-2 and defeated the New York Mets to become the 1973 World Series Champions.
Alfonso Soriano of New York Yankees launched an unmatched two-run homer off the Seattle Mariners’ solid closer Kazuhiro Sasaki in the bottom of the ninth inning, to take the Yankees into a dramatic 3-1 win in Game 4 of the 2001 ALCS played at Yankee Stadium.
Seattle shattered a scoreless tie in the top of the eighth inning to seal a 1-0 lead, when Bernie Williams levelled the outing at 1-all, setting the stage for Soriano. The game-winning hit came on October 21 and it was the only hit of the right-hander in the
game. Yankees confirmed a 4-1 dominating win in the ALCS, but lost to Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series.
Another home-run which Bernie Williams launched was in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS against the Baltimore Orioles. This can be included as one of the greatest walk-off homers. After Boggs shortened the 4-2 deficit in the bottom of the seventh and Derek Jeter
launched a homer to tie it at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth, the game was dragged to the bottom of the eleventh, when Williams launched a 1-1 pitch for a 5-4 walk off win. The Yankees won the Series 4-1 and then overpowered the Braves in the World Series.
Continue in Part 2
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