It is a baseball player’s dream to be the hero in a World Series game. This is their chance to be part of history forever and propel their team to winning a championship. There have been many great walk-off wins through the years in playoff baseball, especially in the World Series.
Here, we give our 10 greatest walk-off moments of all time during the fall classic.
Bill Mazeroski: Game Seven, 1960
Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski made history in game seven of the 1960 World Series becoming the first player ever to hit a game-winning home run in a game seven that clinched a World Series.
The Pittsburgh Pirates played the New York Yankees in the fall classic that year, and game seven was one of the all-time greatest games played.
History In The Making
With the game tied at nine apiece in the bottom of the ninth, Mazeroski hit a bomb over the center field wall to give the Pirates the walk-off win and clinched the first World Series title in franchise history. Remarkably, that home run ended up being the third game-winning hit from Mazeroski in that series.
Alex Bregman: Game Five, 2017
Game five of the 2017 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros goes down as one of the all-time greatest baseball games anyone has ever seen.
Bregman’s Heroics
It was a back-and-forth battle all night long being tied four different times.
Tied at 12 in the bottom of the tenth and two runners on base, Alex Bregman stepped up to the plate to deliver the game-winning single into left field.
Houston would win game five 13-12 and would win the World Series in seven games.
Related: MLB Standings
Edgar Renteria: Game Seven, 1997
Just four years into their franchise’s existence, the Florida (now Miami) Marlins made the World Series in 1997. They faced the Cleveland Indians, (now Guardians) and the series was everything fans thought it would be.
Edgar Renteria Relishes In Moment
In game seven specifically, the Marlins had to win in comeback fashion. They had trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth but rallied to tie the game on a sacrifice fly.
The game would be sent to extra innings and in the bottom of the 11th, Marlins shortstop Edgar Renteria stepped up.
Having already delivered five game-winning hits for the Marlins during the regular season, he was more than ready for his World Series moment. With runners at first and third and only one out, Renteria hit a floater over the shortstop’s head and drove in the series-winning run.
The Marlins would win the first of two World Series in a six-year span.
Luis Gonzalez: Game Seven, 2001
Like the Marlins, the Arizona Diamondbacks reached the World Series shortly after they became an expansion team. Arizona was the last expansion team in 1998.
Arizona had the daunting task of facing a dynasty: the New York Yankees, the team who had won the last three World Series. The series went the full seven games, but it’s Luis Gonzalez’s moment in the bottom of the ninth of game seven that is remembered.
Gonzalez Game Winner
With the bases loaded and the game tied at two, Gonzalez barely made contact against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. But it was just enough.
The game-winning run came into to score and the Diamondbacks were world champions for the first time in their franchise’s history and became the fastest expansion team to win a championship. It only took three years.
Carlton Fisk: Game Five, 1975
Boston Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk had many great moments during his career. But none were bigger than his game-winning home run in game six of the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in 1975.
Fisk Flourishes
With the game tied at six in the 12th inning, Fisk got a hold of one and did everything possible to keep the ball fair. While the ball was in the air, he was waving for it to keep staying fair over the green monster which it did. Just like that, the Red Sox forced a game seven.
Kirby Puckett: Game Six, 1991
Kirby Puckett’s home run in game six against the Atlanta Braves in game six of the 1991 World Series remains one of the all-time great moments in World Series history.
Puckett Punches Game Seven ticket
With the game tied at one in the bottom of the 11th, Puckett hit the game-winning home run and forced a game seven.
The reaction to it was one of elation and anticipation for game seven. Puckett rounded the bases with his arms raised in triumph. Play-by-play announcer Jack Buck then said, “We’ll see you tomorrow night!” One of the great calls in baseball history.
David Freese: Game Six, 2011
”Freese hits one into center field… We will see you tomorrow night!” Like father, like son. Before the great Joe Buck, his father Jack was synonymous with calling baseball for decades.
“We will see you tomorrow night” originated from Jack in the 1991 World Series with the Kirby Puckett walk-off home run in game six.
Deja Vu, 20 Years Later
Ironically enough, game six of the 2011 World Series ended the exact same way. Cardinals third baseman David Freese hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th in what was a wild game against the Texas Rangers, 9-8 the final score.
Joe paid homage to his late father with the very quote “We will see you tomorrow night”. A better script could not be written.
Freddie Freeman: Game One, 2024
Freddie Freeman has made himself into one of the most clutch postseason hitters of all time. Game one of this year’s World Series was no different. However, like fellow Dodger Kirk Gibson 37 years ago, Freeman was also dealing with a lower leg injury in game one of the World Series. Once again, a Hollywood ending occurred.
Bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and two outs. With the Dodgers trailing 3-2, it took one swing from Freeman to change the entire complexion of the series.
Freddie Freeman: Made For The Postseason
Freeman got a pitch he could hit and launched it into the sky. Taking a page out of Vin Scully’s playbook, Fox play-by-play announcer Joe Davis said this exact sentence: “High fly ball into right field! She is… GONE!!!
Knowing Dodgers history, Davis added a touch of his own: “Gibby, meet Freddie!!!”
Kirk Gibson: Game One, 1988
Before there was Freddie Freeman playing through a bad ankle, Kirk Gibson was the original poster child of gutting out an injury. He had suffered injuries to both legs in the National League Championship Series and was unable to take the field in the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics. But, he was available to pinch-hit.
Gibson’s Gutsy Game Winner
In the bottom of the ninth with the Dodgers trailing 4-3, Gibson emerged from the dugout clearly hobbled. What happened next was like a scene from a Hollywood film. Gibson hit a two-run home run with all the strength he had.
The radio broadcast call from Jack Buck was legendary. “Gibson swings, and a fly ball to deep right field! This is gonna be a home run!! A home run for Gibson! And the Dodgers have won the game, five to four. I don’t believe what I just saw!!”
The TV call from Vin Scully painted an even better picture: “High fly ball into right field, she is GONE!!! In a year that has been improbable, the impossible has happened!! And now the only question is can Gibson make it around the base paths unassisted?”
Joe Carter: Game Six, 1993
To this day, it remains one of the greatest moments in World Series history. This was our top choice for this article. In game six of the 1993 World Series, Toronto Blue Jays star Joe Carter stepped to the plate with the game on the line.
Carter Cashes In
With Toronto trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth and two outs, they were staring game seven right in the face. On a 2-2 count, Carter sent a fastball on a line drive over the fence for a three-run home run. The Blue Jays would repeat as World Series champions.
But what makes this particular home run so iconic is the call delivered by Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheeks: “Touch ‘em all Joe!! You’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life!!”