The similarities between Freeman’s 10th inning grand slam and Kirk Gibson’s 9th inning home run in 1988 were uncanny.
Both were slugged out by injured batters who were essentially playing on one foot. In both games, the team lost with one out in the first game of the World Series. Both slowed down the other’s momentum and the series effectively ended on the spot.
“Everything was the same except for the fist pump,” Roberts said.
Actually, there was one big difference, and that was the quality of the opponent. Gibson hit a home run against future Hall of Fame reliever Dennis Eckersley and the highly anticipated Oakland Athletics, while Freeman hit a home run against demoted starting pitcher Nestor Cortez and the underdog New York Yankees.
This kind of comparison sparks a debate over whose home run was bigger, with lifelong Dodgers fan Bryan Cranston demanding at a SiriusXM town hall event, “Can’t they live next to each other?” reached.
As someone who has personally witnessed both, I am satisfied with that. Gibson’s moment, to quote Vin Scully, was the most improbable, impossible thing I’ve ever seen on a baseball field. But I still get chills from Freeman’s moments, I still remember the sound of Hit’s firecrackers bursting, I still remember the memorable way he waved his bat in the air like a walking stick.
After watching this video many times, what I liked most was that before Freeman reached first base, the soundtrack “I Love LA” suddenly blared from the speakers, and his home run trot was forever made into a great music video. That has changed.
The ball from Gibson’s home run was never found, but Freeman’s outburst was captured by 10-year-old Zachary Ruderman, and his family sold it at auction for $1.56 million, a fraction of its intrinsic value. It was.
Freeman’s miracle was truly the most treasured moment in Los Angeles sports in 2024.
Maybe by now.
