Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series historic home run-bottom of the 9th 

People hate on Joe Buck but he would do the exact same thing. Believe me, Joe Buck is no Vin Scully by any means, but he knows what he's doing.

Joe Buck has the excitement of a dung beetle when he calls a game. His old man was so much better.

Joe Buck is a monotone. Among the top 100 sports broadcasters that ever announced the game, he ranks at #101. There ya go!

I will NEVER defend Joe Buck. His dad was good. Joe is average. Scott, thanks for not drawing a comparison between Joe Buck and Vin Scully. However, I have to give credit to Joe Buck. When the Cubs won Game 5 of the World Series, at least Joe Buck was quiet so the TV audience could hear "Go Cubs Go" after the game. I also can't totally fault Joe Buck for his non stop talking. In our "Instant Gratification" society, if there were 68 seconds of "dead air" now, people would be replacing batteries in their remotes, checking their twitter feeds, or complaining to their TV Provider that something was wrong. So, shame on all of us for not being able to sit quietly and enjoy the magic. The sport that takes away our troubles for a few hours. The thing that brings us all together.

He always said he would rather let the moment do the talking. Perfect call

I agree

His voice reminds me of the robotic, digitized voice from Sports Talk Baseball for the Sega Genesis.

No disrespect to Vin Scully, who is the hands-down GOAT among sports broadcasters, but Jack Buck's "I don't believe what I just saw!" is just as good a call, if not better.

@@johnhunter2294 lol Vin scully never made a Misake EVER and I hate the dodgers

@@beyondalpha1072 I'm not a Dodger fan either, especially after whet they've done to my Mets the last couple days, but you have to give Scully his due. He was the best of them all, and it's not close.

No, Mazeroski 1960, 7th game walk off against mighty Yankees.

@@mcconlogue1898 agreed, much much bigger spot

So true crazy.

That really is a perfect description of what he did.

Increible el poder de Kirson yo vi el homrum

Not me I watch Cricket

Big-time . Takes me back but those were the good days.

I watch game 5 of the 84 series at least once a year

Make that 35

He waited almost a minute to speak again...brilliant, brilliant call! Scully is the boss...

@@rr44yd8 Scully is definitely the boss. He did the same when our Hank Aaron hit 715 and let us the fans enjoy the moment. What a national treasure he is.

unlike now when they ramble on endlessly without taking a breath the entire game.

Pat summerall calling nfc games was great at that. Staubach comes to the line. Drops back , co.plete to pearson at redskins 43. Huddle 20 seconds later hill split left peason right. Skins vs cowboys 70s at RFK were always fun.

Mr. Leete I am wondering if you are old enough to remember 60s and 70s when NBC had Saturdays Game of the Week. First 2 months was only one game. Then in june july august they would have doubleheaders. 69 went from 10 teams in each al and nl to 24 teams. Every team had a hall of fame pitcher or a topline #1 Starter. You could watch Seaver pitch vs Gibson in first game. Then Marichal vs Drysdale in game 2. Scully would do west coast unless Dodgers were in east playing. Many of those pitchers could go on 3 days rest. Most teams had a 4 man rotation. I remember 1 game that i cant recall if it was game of week. Fergie Jenkins of Cubs. Who won 20 games or more for 6 years in a row from 67 to 72. Pitch against Bob Gibson. Game took 1: 52. Thats pitching with rythme. Dont see that anymore.

We Dodger fans hated McCovey because he killed us. I was at Dodger Stadium for his final at bat before retiring. He hit a sac fly. Dodger fans gave him a 10-minute standing O. True fans can get over the rivalry and recognize greatness.

AMEN! 😪

He was wildly racist though.

Was always a fringe baseball fan. But I would watch games he would call just to listen to him. There was something so professional, yet calming and common about his call. It just made me feel so good to be at the ol' ball game. RIP good sir!

@@mikesaccoia5748 Supposedly Hitler could lull an audience too. Sorry to ruin your childhood but this guy was racist and soon black people will own half the wealth in this country so can enjoy true equality and equity.

​@@FREEDOM_OR_DEATH_ lololol

I hated this moment but yet so great

My coffee table flipped. Went airborne.

I leapt off my sofa screaming at the top of my lungs. I’m an old lady and that’s the only time in my life that’s ever happened.

I watched it on TV too and went wild! But the next season I went to Dodger stadium and sat in the left field bleachers, Gibson's field. He happen to be slumping at the time, and some were booing him. But I applauded all the more after THIS moment. He appreciated it as he looked right at me and smiled, kind of a sad closed lip smile. After the greatest moment in dodger history the year before, how can you boo him?

My dad said he was holding me in his hands and accidentally dropped me out of excitement lol

A true pro

Something tells me that Vin was celebrating during that 68 seconds. Vin bled Blue that's for sure. Go Dodgers!!!

68 seconds of silence --- only the great ones do that

When American Pharoah won the Triple Crown they did the same thing. Did not speak for a few minutes

@@rhondablack8079 They asked him if he had something to say and he said: Neeeeiiighhh!

it was cheating. That bat was corked.

@@matthewburris769: GFY, liar.

​@@matthewburris769Corked or not, that ball was gone.

that one felt like a movie scene LOL not gonna lie; when life imitates art

When they broadcasted the '84 series at Tiger Stadium, when Detroit won it, close to the last out, he said he would be silent to hear the roar of the crowd.

Vin was the broadcaster's GOAT. He could have made a grocery list sound exciting.

@@ed056 absolutely the GOAT. Not just the voice of the Dodgers, he was the face of the team. We will always remember and cherish Vin. 😥

@@ed056 Ha-ha! He DID - and you'll find it here on RU-vid. Vin Scullly reeading a grocery list!

awesome story!

I wasn't there, but I watched it and it was one of the best moments of my lifetime as well. I'm not even that much of a baseball fan but I know greatness when I see it.

@Lindsey Hunt, SAME!! The day before one of the vendors for the company I worked for said they were going to comp us tickets before the end of the day, one of their employees would come by and drop them off. All day nobody shows up, we're waiting and waiting. 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 literally around 10 minutes to 5 when we'd be going home the guy walks in with the tickets. We were about halfway between third and the Dodgers bullpen in the middle section. I will never forget how loud it was and also all the cars in the parking lot that left early and the brake lights when it happened.

What a great moment to witness. I'm so glad you had such a cool experience!

I was there too! Right behind you!! I remember you!!

Geneforson It will never be duplicated, and the limp just sends it over the top.

Kurt Gibson was a real man. Take notes.

What pain?! He’s on Cloud 9. Never felt better in his life. He’s on top of the world. King of LA

So many kids were doing that at little league practice or playing Wiffle ball in the backyard with their friends. What a time to be alive.

Still makes me emotional watching him round second base

She was their angel that year!!

oh I'm so sorry, she was there no doubt about it.

she had a front row seat!!!

Rip Auntie

That was the Real Angel uhh I mean Dodger In the Outfield.

One armed. Couldn't even run the bases.

@@sammencia7945 he just put the barrel square on the ball. The pitcher supplied the power. Clutch

It sure did seem like magic.... Who would have thought Gibson as bad as he was beat up.

I believe there were Angels in the outfield hitting with him.

84 tigers against Gossage and Padres was better for me but I was a Tiger fan. Thanks Gibby

For sure but nothing can beat the Orioles losing 33 straight games to start the season one year.

It was Casey at the Bat only Casey didn't strike out.

No doubt!

I was watching with my daughter 😊

Amen, from a born & raised L.A. Dodger fan. Nobody did, does, or ever will do it better than Vin. He's enjoying perfect freedom in Heaven, calling the plays with all the greats that have gone before.😥

+Lettermen Fan Then he says, "And now the only question was, could he make it around the basepaths unassisted?" Love it!!!!

I need to remember that quote in case the Rangers win the World Series this year. 😅😅😅😅

@Lettermen, if you're going to quote him, need to get the quote exactly right. He was a master of every word: "In a year that was SO improbable, the IMPOSSIBLE has happened!" -- Scully was a master of the punctuation for every magical moment.

@@davidseider6132 indeed he was, da best baseball announcer there ever was and ever will be.

Except when the Phillies were in the World Series. Garagiola despised the Phillies and you could hear his tone on audio.

Garagiola was the voice of my childhood on NBC, in the 60s when I played little league and youth football. I learned a lot from his calling baseball and football.

Seriously... Miss them both. Always knew it was an important ballgame if either one or both were in the booth.

This brings to mind Kurt Schilling's epic victory for Boston in their World Series. The photo taken of his ankle at the end of that game gave new meaning to "Boston Red Sox"!

you're probably referring 2 Game 6 2004 ALCS when his sock was seeped in blood yet he still pitched seven remarkable innings, 2 me 2004 ALCS was Boston's real world Series since they came back from a 3-0 deficient against the Yankees, may never ever happen again.

In the NBC introduction to Game 2, they ACTUALLY put in footage from THE NATURAL and mixed it with images from Kirk Gibson's epic homer, with that stirring music from the movie. AWESOME!

I

There was a reference to that in the locker room, a banner inside with the name "Roy Hobbs".

Oakland won the next year!

thanks for sharing 👍

He was wildly racist though.

That was probably the most excited Tommy Lasorda ever was in the MLB

Such an epic camera shot. Whomever directed this game should be recognized. Amazing work in the broadcast truck.

Such a disappointing series. I'll forever hate Gibson for this.

No Kidding Eck should have gone after Mike Davis.

why he hit an amazing home run that will probably never happen again

Eck walking Davis was inexcusable considering that Davis hit less then .200 during the season and Eck never walked anybody. That was his downfall. Oakland never recovered after this.

Thank God Mike Davis wasn't picked off at first.

Vin Scully! Nothing more to add. steve

I agree. I'm not a dodger fan but it brings tears to my eyes because of Scully and Gibson's fortitude is what sports is all about

> When he hit the home run I jumped up and ran outside screaming. Same!

If it was impossible then how did it happen? duuuuh

@@drats1279 I know what you mean. Those words of Vin Scully. It isn't what he said that counts. It is how he said it and under what circumstances. Moreover, impossible could be possible. If someone was told about internet 200 years ago. It would have been impossible for them to accept it. Now, it is possible. Go figure LoL Same with cars , airplanes. Etc 😂

schmaltzy overly sentimental bore.

@@matthewburris769 my God but aren't you the hater. Trying to bring everyone down that's up in every comment you make.

I miss him too! I’ve been a Dodger fan since I was 13

@@matthewburris769 are you a Twitter bot?

Yes Gregg he was the GOAT. Baseball fans (not just Dodger fans) will always remember Vin. 😥

athefumen ✅ ✅ ✅

Michael Kay (yankees announcer) doesn't know when to shut the hell UP. Overall he's very good, but you can tell that hes from the radio school of broadcasting and not the TV school, cuz he NEVER allows big moments to breathe.

That man has no peers.

Maybe Phillies TV announcer Tom McCarthy should take a page from Vin's book. He never stops talking and worse yet, it is a lot of innocuous blather.

@@josephpasquarello7191 sounds like him and Michael Kay went to the same play by play school lol

yes indeed and also because of his loyalty 2 his Dodgers even if they had a bad season he stayed, he truly bled Dodger blue.

@@bizzy24100 Absolutely. Through and through. When he was a coach, he refused several offers for managerial positions with the hope of someday becoming manager of the Dodgers when Alston retired. And his loyalty -- and talent -- paid off.

Made even more perfect by the amazing perfection of Scully and Garagiola to keep their mouths shut for over a minute. You think Joe Buck would have done that? ( from a Yankee fan)

@@nicholasiadevaio3854, you would’ve had to tape Joe Buck’s mouth shut. Lol

From the big A....I agree. Although we got our moment a few years later.

Second it by this Giants fan. 'nuff said

@@rh5563 Seriously

Are you still married to her?

Roger Angell wrote of it very much as you do here, talking about it in mythic language. He started that column with a parody of a cynical producer reading this as if it were a script for a movie, saying it was unrealistic and nothing ever really happens this way. But it does! "Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit two-run homer, struck against the flamboyantly successful Oakland reliever Dennis Eckersley, won the opening game in melodramatic fashion…. Gibson, who was suffering from damaged ligaments in his right knee and a strained left hamstring (he looked like Grandpa Joad on the base paths after his homer), did not appear again in the games, but the Lasorda Strolling Players did not lack for substitute heroes."

And the catcher almost picked off the runner after ball 1 pitch. Crazy suspense

Man, spot on. The players deliver the moment, the crowd and the reaction provide the atmosphere. No need to say a word. Announcer today don't get this in the slightest. This gives me chills, and I'm a Mets fan.

For whatever reason, Eckersly threw over to first 4 times during the at bat, and the catcher threw to first behind Gibson, then the runner (Mike Davis) stole second without a play. Once he was on second Gibson didn't need an extra base hit to tie the game. Gibson's swing was off his front foot, kind of a contact first swing, but is was a fat hanging slider. Eckersly had Gibson 0-2. He threw to first twice between the second and third pitches. He never should have thrown over the second time.

Not to even mention the pressure on Gibby, it being the bottom of the 9th, they're one run down and it's a full 3 - 2 count. I couldn't even begin to comprehend that kind of pressure let alone delivering while under it.

Exactly, well said & Mel was my mentor . God Bless him & his wife Elena & family . A wonderful gentleman & respected baseball scout & inspiration to many baseball players & staff. He will never be forgotten, a life well lived . God Speed . We miss you dearly Mel . ⚾️🙏

FIXED GAME !

@@ssbeebs More like inside info with this amount of information. Fixed might mean Eckersley knew, but that look of genuine surprise on his face seems like it was unexpected to him. After reading Brian Tuohy book "The Fix is In" I've always wondered about this moment, and have carefully observed the reactions of all involved, and everything looks so natural and unscripted. But who knows for certain.

Wow. That's amazing Intel. That one bit of information could have won or lost the series. Thanks for sharing.

@@ssbeebs 🤡

Mark Copfer Awesome! Thanks for sharing your story. I love hearing the experience of people who were there. I was only 3-5 miles away, but at 2 years old... I didn't experience much.

+Mark Copfer What kind of fans leave a World Series in the 9th when you're down only a couple runs? Cmon seriously.

+Armando Espinoza I was a kid of only 43 at the time ;-) but one of my favorite baseball moments of all time.

At 12:04 someone was leaving.

Awesome Everyone during this time know where they were when this happened at least if you lived in SoCal Dodgers had really No chance to Win the Power House of the Oakland A's that year I still remember this awesome moment in time --- I was just out of high school partying with my friends and watching the game not expecting much from the Dodgers and then for me the greatest moment in baseball history to me happened and then I thought at least they won one from the A's but then again the Dodgers won the World Series! Now I tell my kids about this greatest moment in Dodger history

Exactly! I've had this problem with football, and UFC fights. They seem to have to fill every second with non sense.

+Dennis Cassley EXACTLY!!! Joe Buck & crew are 100 times inferior.

+snag66 Joe Buck would've had some rehearsed call that would've RUINED the moment, instead of laying out line Vin & Joe did to let the moment marinate.

+Dennis Cassley I was going to point this out. Sometimes the best stories have no words at all.

+Joseph Mostarda Paul Page's call of the last seven laps of the 1989 Indianapolis 500 was like this. As the two-man-duel for the lead, laps out in front of third place, kept on developing, Page kept dialing DOWN his call, to more and more terse descriptions, until, for two whole laps, inside four laps to go, Page said nothing other than the simple line, "The race tells its own score." Probably the best television call of all time to a motor racing event...and very much in line with this event here, less than a year before.

Incredible

He made him bring IT..... !

Remember to Carlton Fisk ! World series of 1975

@@user-xb4pu5kc5n That one, too!

😃 Me too Brother! I witnessed it live, and I'll always say it was the most awesome Home Run I ever saw! 🥶 Oh, here comes those chills! LOL !

FIXED !! WAKE UP

@Paul Whitcomb that was also an amazing WS moment to be sure. I think Gibson's was more incredible because he could barely walk, it was his only at bat in the Series, and it completely deflated the heavily favored A's while reminding the Dodgers that they were a team of destiny! Gibson was the catalyst for that entire magical season the Dodgers had that year.

@Paul Whitcomb I couldn't find an answer specifically on The World Series, however, the team that wins the first game of a best of 7 series goes on to win that series 76.4% of the time. Specifically in WS play, teams that lost the first 2 games have only come back to win 14x vs. 74 loses. And only the 1979 Pirates won after falling behind 3-0.

@Paul Whitcomb it's truly remarkable that he was strong enough to muscle that out with just his arms.

These are the moments we watch sports for years and years for just to get this moment or one like it.

So glad this part of the story has been shared.... scouts toil in anonymity..Gibson listened, remembered and gave credit.

Nope. And any arguments would be silly anyway.

willard2729 what?! have you never heard him? *some people*

+MrLuxInATux what an idiot

Kevin Thomas shhh...

+MrLuxInATux Chuck Thompson was just as good, if not better.

Hi Greg. Vin had a unique voice, made for announcing. And he had an unparalleled way with words. We will always remember Vin.

Jack was calling it on the radio, Joe was 19 years old at the time.

Great point Dennis! This is a moment to be savored.

Thank you!! Yes, I agree it's a wonderful moment, especially growing up in Detroit and seeing "Gibby " (as George Kell called him!) help secure the Detroit Tigers World Series win in '84 with an awesome home run in the last game!!

Dennis Cassley So true! Even showing Davis getting on base added to the moment. I had actually forgotten what an amazing total at bat that was from Gibson and Scully is simply the greatest that will ever be. There is a great story Bob Costas tells in the Ken Burns Baseball doc about being in the clubhouse with Gibson while he is taking warm up cuts in the cage during Davis' at bat. Costas said when Lasorda called and asked if he could go, Gibson said something like "tell him I got one more good swing in me...."

Steve Goldschmidt Remembered the home run. Totally forgot how much drama was in that at bat! If this HR had been in a Game 7 it would be remembered as the most clutch HR of ALL TIME! Still incredible tho!

Dennis Cassley I am a Detroit fan too, and I was watching this game for Gibby like most Tiger fans. I was only about 9 years old at the time, but still was old enough to watch in '84. We loved us some Gibby and we did support our guys back then even after they left quite well. :) Was a different time then still. Free agents weren't' as common and you supported your guys for longer when they left. The World Series was a HUGE deal in America still back then on the level of the Super Bowl I think. Up until the strike and then the Roid scandals baseball playoffs were big time. The drama of the World Series can't be matched imo. If you understand baseball you love it. There is so much to it that you can smell it and feel it in the air. :)

scully talking about how davis only had 2 homers and he saves the dodgers with a huge walk - October baseball kicks ass

Michael Molash looks like he kind of threw the bat at it. Amazed that it cleared the fence.

Louis Reed Couldn't believe Eck tried to get Davis to chase 3 in a row and instead lost him. And then stupid pitch choice on a full count. The perfect set up for Gibby to smash a walk-off, or perhaps more like a limp-off.

One of the greatest moments in WS history !! !

Michael Molash I'm not trying to sound funny or disrespectful about this, but Kirk Gibson was basically paralyzed when he hit that home run. I say paralyzed based on everything you said.

Gameshowboy 92 Does EVERYONE hate Joe Buck? Sure seems that way. And yet, he's re-hired by FOX every year!

+Gameshowboy 92 BTW the radio call of Gibson's HR by Joe Buck's father, Jack Buck, is fantastic.

Rich Wright Better than Joe would have done?

+Gameshowboy 92 And he would be biting his tongue to avoid saying 'No flags".

+Richard Gerlach Pretty much so, I think. I'm glad my team is in the AFC; I skip any NFC game he and Aikman are calling.

I didn't look like he hit it hard . Just barley swung at it but God damn it took off amazing history by this 1 at bat .

Man the person who got that ball money time this is on of the best world series moments