Kirk Gibson Limps to the Plate and Hits the Impossible Home Run

On October 15, 1988, Kirk Gibson hit a two-run, walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the World Series. Gibson could barely walk. Both his legs were injured. He had not been in the starting lineup and was not expected to play at all.

Gibson had strained ligaments in his left knee and pulled his right hamstring during the National League Championship Series against the Mets. He spent Game 1 in the clubhouse, icing his legs and watching on television. When the Dodgers trailed 4-3 in the ninth with two outs and a runner on first, manager Tommy Lasorda sent Gibson to the plate as a pinch hitter.

He fouled off several pitches, limping visibly between swings. The at-bat stretched to a full count. Gibson had received advance scouting that suggested Eckersley would throw a backdoor slider in this situation. On the 3-2 pitch, that is exactly what Eckersley threw. Gibson reached out and pulled it into the right-field pavilion.

Broadcaster Vin Scully let the crowd noise carry for more than a minute before speaking. On CBS Radio, Jack Buck said, "I don't believe what I just saw." Gibson pumped his fist as he rounded the bases with a hobbling, staggering trot that became the enduring image of the moment. He never batted again in the Series. The Dodgers won in five games, and the home run was later voted the greatest moment in Los Angeles sports history by a 1995 poll. It endures as proof that a single swing, from the right person at the right time, can rewrite the expected outcome of an entire October.