Rank Russell's homer in Blue Jay history

[Skin Blues]

I think I remember that catch from Super Duper Baseball Bloopers. It was on rotation when I was a kid, along with Sky High.

[J-Roc]

And yes, I remember that Kirk Gibson home run, too. Looking back at it now, I still think it was amazing, but as a kid, that was the definitive play of baseball for me. Even the Alomar and Carter home runs, when I was older, didn't live up to the mystique of Gibson.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U157X0jy5iw[/youtube]



I also remember a barehanded catch of less significance by Mitchell on the Giants as just being plain amazing, even though it wasn't in a pressure situation or anything, but it stands out to me as one where I was just amazed. Excuse the grainy graphics.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u0MzrYPm4w[/youtube]

Oh man, thanks for that Gibson clip. For those that don't know, Gibson was a former Tiger who used to hurt the Jays. In that LA series, he was hobbling worse than Adrian Beltre. You can see it. And he just barely gets his bat on the ball, but powers it out. haha Along with Orel Hershiser, it seemed that's all they needed to win the World Series.

I remember the Kevin Mitchell play, but was never a fan. Cocky SOB. Did he really need to catch that barehanded? haha

[I_Like_Dirt]

Yeah, I remember there were people questioning why they even brought Gibson into the game. There was no way he could play in the field so he was good for one hit and that was it. You can find the entire at bat, too. Easily one of baseball's greatest moments. Still gives me goosebumps. His Speed Stick commercials went on for way longer and were just as funny as Alomar's McCain ones.

I hear you on Mitchell. It's just an example of a play that, when I was younger, had a more significant impact than it probably should have. That said, he probably did have to catch that barehanded. He was so round with stubby arms that getting his glove hand across to make the catch wasn't a sure thing.

[The_Hater]

Flip Carter and Alomar there and I'd agree for now but it could surpass Alomar's and Sprague's if they go on to win the World Series.

As great as it was It does not surpass Alomars. Anyone who was around for the Alomar HR knows the magnitude of it. It just doesn't look that exciting on film because it was a road game.

Edit: Jroc used the correct word for this. Stress level. The Alomar HR was hit when we were losing and the series was on the line against the top closer in MLB. It looked like the season was over. The Jays were actually losing the game 6-1 at one point and Alomar tied it. Both the Carter and Jose HRs were hit during tie games making them less urgent. The reason I rank the Carter HR 2nd is because the Jays weren't even facing elimination.

It was 6-5 Phillies in the bottom of the 9th in Game 6 when Carter hit his 3-run shot.

Walk-off home runs are rare (kind of like a straight flush), and walk-off home runs to end the world series are even rarer (the equivalent of a royal flush).

Now don't get me wrong, the Alomar home run was enormous -- was the indicator that the Jays had broken out of pergatory, and certainly gets my vote for #2. But the rareness and absolute finality of Carter's home run (that was the last swing of the season) gives it the #1 spot in my books.

Thx. Not sure why I thought it was tied.

I have no problem with your argument, only 2 WS walk offs in league history is a pretty compelling argument. I just lean towards the importance of alomars HR for the franchise. I'm actually surprised how often I've given this opinion the past few months and had people agree with me, it's a minority opinion but not by a huge amount.

[Sherlock]

As great as it was It does not surpass Alomars. Anyone who was around for the Alomar HR knows the magnitude of it. It just doesn't look that exciting on film because it was a road game.

Edit: Jroc used the correct word for this. Stress level. The Alomar HR was hit when we were losing and the series was on the line against the top closer in MLB. It looked like the season was over. The Jays were actually losing the game 6-1 at one point and Alomar tied it. Both the Carter and Jose HRs were hit during tie games making them less urgent. The reason I rank the Carter HR 2nd is because the Jays weren't even facing elimination.

It was 6-5 Phillies in the bottom of the 9th in Game 6 when Carter hit his 3-run shot.

Walk-off home runs are rare (kind of like a straight flush), and walk-off home runs to end the world series are even rarer (the equivalent of a royal flush).

Now don't get me wrong, the Alomar home run was enormous -- was the indicator that the Jays had broken out of pergatory, and certainly gets my vote for #2. But the rareness and absolute finality of Carter's home run (that was the last swing of the season) gives it the #1 spot in my books.

Thx. Not sure why I thought it was tied.

I have no problem with your argument, only 2 WS walk offs in league history is a pretty compelling argument. I just lean towards the importance of alomars HR for the franchise. I'm actually surprised how often I've given this opinion the past few months and had people agree with me, it's a minority opinion but not by a huge amount.

Fair enough.

Hypothetical question though -- if the Carter homer happened under the same circumstances in 1992 (i.e., to help them win their first world series instead of their second) would it be fair to say you'd rank it #1?

[The_Hater]

It was 6-5 Phillies in the bottom of the 9th in Game 6 when Carter hit his 3-run shot.

Walk-off home runs are rare (kind of like a straight flush), and walk-off home runs to end the world series are even rarer (the equivalent of a royal flush).

Now don't get me wrong, the Alomar home run was enormous -- was the indicator that the Jays had broken out of pergatory, and certainly gets my vote for #2. But the rareness and absolute finality of Carter's home run (that was the last swing of the season) gives it the #1 spot in my books.

Thx. Not sure why I thought it was tied.

I have no problem with your argument, only 2 WS walk offs in league history is a pretty compelling argument. I just lean towards the importance of alomars HR for the franchise. I'm actually surprised how often I've given this opinion the past few months and had people agree with me, it's a minority opinion but not by a huge amount.

Fair enough.

Hypothetical question though -- if the Carter homer happened under the same circumstances in 1992 (i.e., to help them win their first world series instead of their second) would it be fair to say you'd rank it #1?

Great question. And the answer is probably yes. It certainly would make it even greater than it already is.

[Randle McMurphy]

Bautista's is #2, second only to Carter's. That will go down as one of the most remembered games not only in franchise history, but baseball history. The 7th inning was that ridiculous.

[hyper316]

Bautista's is #2, second only to Carter's. That will go down as one of the most remembered games not only in franchise history, but baseball history. The 7th inning was that ridiculous.

alomar off eckersley - should be #2, ALCS, game tying HR against MVP pitcher

baustista off dyson - jays were tied in 7th when he hit his HR. it was more dramatic because they played at home.

[LLJ]

Bautista's is #2, second only to Carter's. That will go down as one of the most remembered games not only in franchise history, but baseball history. The 7th inning was that ridiculous.

alomar off eckersley - should be #2, ALCS, game tying HR against MVP pitcher

baustista off dyson - jays were tied in 7th when he hit his HR. it was more dramatic because they played at home.

But Alomar HR was in a Game 4 where we were leading the series 2-1. Losing the game wouldn't have been total disaster. It was important because we finally looked as if we were breaking the A's (who owned us up to that point) but from an objective, isolated standpoint it was just another game to put us up 3-1 in the series.

Jays lose Game 5 yesterday, and it's over. Toronto glass ceiling still in place.

I definitely see an argument for Jose at 2. I have it 3 because we won the WS in 1992 so now we see the significance, but if we achieve the same this year, it would unquestionably be Jose at 2. But 3 is still nice.

[Scott Hall]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/WutTheChuck/status/654669589461139456[/tweet]

[Fairview4Life]

Blue Jays playoff hits sorted by Win Probability Added.

[s e n s i]

imagine if jays went on to win G6 and G7 after bautista's shot off madson? two of the biggest jacks in franchise history in consecutive series is nothing short of legendary. essentially advancing his team to the ALCS (58.8 to 93.5% series WE) with one swing and then dig same team out of the grave and give them a coin-flip shot at a WS berth (13 to 45% WE) with another one six days later. if only donaldson somehow walked to load the bases, it unthinkably would not have surprised me if he went bridge for a grand slam there and forcing a G7 on his own, as thoroughly mind-blasting as that sounds.