OT: Coolest Home Runs You've Witnessed

[Stonepony]

Can't sleep so started thinking... What are the top 5 coolest/ dramatic home runs you've witnessed either in person or on TV. Radio and replays don't count. There's been a lot... Thompson, Fisk, Gibson... But just list YOUR 5 you saw live. Here are mine: I think....
1) Aaron 715
2) Reggie's monster 1971 All Star blast
3) Brett's Pine tar HR off Gossage
4) McWires 62
5) David Freese Game 6 2011 WS walk off

[the 'stache]

Kirk Gibson's homer for the Dodgers in the '88 World Series. I saw it live on the tv. He could barely walk up to the plate, but somehow he had just enough strength to golf the ball into the right field seats.

I saw Robin Yount hit #200 in person. He and Clemente have long been my favorite players, so seeing one of Robin's milestones was pretty special. He had one of the sweetest swings I've ever seen, and if he hadn't messed up his shoulder in 1983, he'd have ended up with a lot more than 251 homers in his career.

I was at County Stadium and saw Dale Sveum hit 3 home runs in one game on July 17, 1987. And he missed a 4th home run by about 5 feet on a bomb that was just foul down the right field line. I saw that game with both my folks, and my dad and I went nuts when we thought he'd hit #4.

I watched the game on September 25, 2001 when Jeromy Burnitz and Richie Sexson both hit 3 home runs for the Brewers. The Brewers stunk in 2001, but they were a lot of fun to watch, anyways. They hit 209 home runs, but only won 68 games. Burnitz and Sexson combined to hit 79 between them. And they hit some absolute tape measure shots, especially Sexson. It killed me when the Brewers traded him. He played three seasons in Milwaukee, hitting .274 with 119 home runs and 351 RBI in his three seasons there. Between 1999 and 2006, if you take out the 2004 season, when he only played 23 games due to two dislocated shoulder injuries, he hit 253 home runs in 7 seasons, or 26 home runs a season. And he was on a tear in 2004 when he got hurt. He'd only played in 23 games, and had 9 home runs. Sexson was 6'6" 205 pounds, and he had some of the sickest bat speed I've ever seen. The guy was a monster.

Sexson hits #200 off the scoreboard in Arizona

[clydepepper]

During the 1999 Hall-of-Fame Game on Induction Weekend.

[Kawika]

Been to a lot of ballgames at a lot of ballparks in my 64 years and have witnessed a lot of home runs. None have been particularly significant although I value the memories of having seen the likes of Mantle and Williams park one over the fence. Saw Norm Siebern hit an inside-the-park home run at Yankee Stadium on my eighth birthday in 1958. That was pretty cool. More to the topic of this thread I would say the greatest HR's I ever saw were on the old black-and-white, and they would be Mazeroski's walk-off (although that term hadn't been coined yet) against NYY in 1960 and Maris' #60 in 1961. The whole McGwire Bonds Sosa thing didn't have an iota of the drama of Maris' run at Ruth's record. It was like Lindbergh or the four minute mile. Major stuff, not a vaudeville show.

Siebern rounds third

Crosetti waves him home

[GregMitch34]

All live at stadium: Saw Jackie Jensen hit one at Fenway in 1957. Willie Mays' last HR, at Shea, in 1973. Chambliss winning pennant for Yanks in playoffs. Reggie's 3 dingers in the Series. Gary Carter's to win game in first game as Met, opening day '85. Dykstra to win playoff game in '86. Others.

[rjackson44]

Mike piazza right after 911 vs braves to win it ,,i was there,great night.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

Can't sleep so started thinking... What are the top 5 coolest/ dramatic home runs you've witnessed either in person or on TV. Radio and replays don't count. There's been a lot... Thompson, Fisk, Gibson... But just list YOUR 5 you saw live. Here are mine: I think....
1) Aaron 715
2) Reggie's monster 1971 All Star blast
3) Brett's Pine tar HR off Gossage
4) McWires 62
5) David Freese Game 6 2011 WS walk off

your top 3 are some of the greatest I've seen too!!!!

[tedzan]

In my youth, growing up in the 1940's & 1950's, I saw 5 of these tremendous HR's (as identified) in this photo.

* The greatest, though, was Mantle's monster that hit the ornate facade on the RF roof. It was within 12" of clearing Yankee Stadium.
Had it cleared, it was projected that it would have traveled 600+ feet.


........... Mantle .................. DiMaggio ......................................... Mantle ........................................ Mantle * .. Williams




TED Z
.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Watching Chad Johnson homer to beat the Braves in a WS game.


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[Vintagevault13]

In person: I was at the first night baseball game at the University of Georgia in 1984. UGA played Auburn and Bo Jackson hit a homerun to dead center that hit the lights. I swear the ball was still rising when it hit the lights at the top of the pole. I don't care if it was an aluminum bat, it was the most amazing HR I have seen. Would have easily gone 500+ feet if not for the lights. The stunned UGA fans even gave him a standing ovation as he rounded the bases.

On TV: my mom allowed me to stay up late on a school night to watch the 6th game of the 1977 World Series to watch my favorite player, Reggie Jackson. It was a truly magical night for a 12-year-old as I saw Reggie hit 3 homers to clinch the Series. Amazing performance on the biggest stage!


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[ocjack]

A trifecta - 1961 - Sitting in the stands at Wrigley Field - Los Angeles, watching the new Los Angeles Angels playing the New York Yankees and Roger Maris hitting his 50th homer on his way to 61.

Brand new team
Great stadium that closed after the 1961 season
Seeing an historic home run

Life was good.

[bnorth]

I was at the game in Chicago in 2003 when Alfonso Soriano set the record for most leadoff homeruns in a season.

The other was batting practice in St Louis in 1999. It was the last 3 games of the season, Cubs vs Cardinals. Glenallen Hill hit one into the upper deck and smashed a guy in the face(OUCH!!). I was sitting below in the bleachers and seen it close up and personal. The really cool part was the next day fans showed up with signs that they could stick their faces through that read "Hit me in the face Sammy" Some said McGwire but crazily most I seen said Sammy in St Louis.

[Blunder19]

In person at Yankee stadium 2008 all star game home run derby. When Hamilton went crazy hitting like 12 in a row without an out. One of his shots hit the back wall behind the bleachers. I was in upper deck which was shaking everyone was jumping up and down screaming. HAM-IL-TON

That was fun

[z28jd]

In person, my favorite homers were:

A home run by Carlton Fisk when I was 11. My dad took me out to Comiskey and Fisk homered in the second game of a three game series. He was my favorite player, so it was a great childhood moment.

I saw Bonds #713th homer, Sunday night ESPN game in Philadelphia, crowd was giving it to him good and he crushed one that went over my head in right field and hit the facing of the third deck, then landed in my row about 15 people to my right. My favorite part was booing Ryan Franklin(who failed a PED test and was suspended) and then asking everyone around me why they weren't booing him too. He actually got a nice round of applause. I don't think anyone got the irony

I was at the HR Derby in Pittsburgh when Ryan Howard hit the 1000 free trips sign to win it all and someone in the stadium actually got free flights for life.

I was at a playoff game in Boston where the White Sox defeated the Red Sox to eliminate them in 2005. Two homers by Ramirez, one by Ortiz and they still lost 5-3. That was the only playoff game I've been to, so all three homers were cool moments.

Without considering everything else, the coolest homer I saw was at a minor league game last year. I go to a lot of games in Lakewood, so I remember a lot of homers there but I never saw anyone hit one over the batter's eye. It's not a hitter's park at all, so there really isn't many homers hit there. Anyway, Cameron Flynn steps up and crushes a line drive to center field that passes the batter's eye and the ball didn't start it's downward ascent until sometime after it got out of sight. The stadium has a walkway around the whole park and there were people a good 440 feet from home plate that watched the ball fly over their head and didn't even bother to chase it because it ended up so far away from them.

Flynn has nine homers in three season of minor league ball. I'm guessing he never hit a ball like that either before or after that homer and I've never seen a ball hit that far before or since.

[iwantitiwinit]

Game 5 yanks v. Diamondbacks sitting 5 rows behind home plate and Brosous hits that home run in the bottom of the ninth. It was delirium. Everyone going ape $hit. Everyone in the crowd hugging each other remember it followed the previous game that had a similar ending and it was only 2 weeks after 9/11. It was like a dream. Turned into a nightmare though two games later when Mariano gave up the game winner in game 7. I'll never forget it.

[Lgarza99]

Bucky Dents home run in the 1978 AL tie breaker. I talked my dad into picking me up from school as I was "sick". He dropped me off at my grandpas and we watched the game together. My grandpa knew what was up. Lol. I have been a Yankees fan ever since!

[Runscott]

On t.v. I've seen too many to bring up, but Kirk Gibson's was pretty special, as was Carlton Fisk's.

In person I'll go with Griffey Jr.'s last HR, which I suspected was his last. He just whipped it on a line over the rf fence. Looked like he could have kept doing it for years, but then he started sleeping in the dugout during games.

[Tabe]

In-person all I've got are minor league ones by Spokane Indians at Avista Stadium:

- Ruben Sierra Jr hitting a walkoff grand slam on a full don't with two outs to win a pickup for a fan. Incredible night.

- Joey Gallo hitting a monster home run over the light pole in right field. The ball doesn't carry all that well at Avista and this was just a massive bomb. 500 feet, I would bet.

TV:

- Kirk Gibson's big World Series home run. The one off Gossage. You thought I meant something else?

- The Sutter/Sandberg game

- Mark McGwire hitting a home run into the upper deck in dead center field at Tiger Stadium

- McGwire's 62nd

- Aaron F'ing Boons