100 YEARS OF THE WORLD SERIES

THE HOME RUNS

A selection of the most memorable home runs in World Series history:

* Babe Ruth’s called shot, Game 3, 1932 (New York Yankees vs. Chicago Cubs)

The 1932 Series was marked by animosity between the teams from the beginning, and when Ruth came up in the fifth inning of Game 3, he was greeted by catcalls from the Chicago dugout. After taking two strikes, he responded with a gesture -- exactly toward whom or what, no one knows for sure -- and then drove a Charlie Root pitch over the wall in center field. This would forever after be known as Ruth’s “Called Shot.” Lou Gehrig followed with his second homer of the game, and the Yankees were well on their way to a 7-5 win.

* Bill Mazeroski wins Game 7, 1960 (Pittsburgh vs. New York Yankees)

Game 7 was a back-and-forth contest; the Pirates led, 4-0, then trailed, 5-4 and 7-4. Pittsburgh scored five in the bottom of the eighth for a 9-7 lead, but the Yankees scored twice in the top of the ninth to tie. That set the stage for Mazeroski. More famous for his fielding prowess at second base, Mazeroski led off the bottom of the ninth and drove Ralph Terry’s second pitch, a slider, over the left-field wall to give the Pirates their first World Series championship since 1925.

* Mickey Mantle wins Game 3 and passes Ruth on all-time Series home run list (1964, New York Yankees vs. St. Louis)

In Yankee Stadium for Game 3, the teams battled to a 1-1 tie through 8 1/2 innings. Knuckleballer Barney Schultz came in to pitch the ninth for St. Louis. Leading off, Mantle hammered the first pitch deep into the right-field stands for a game-winning homer. It was his 16th World Series homer, breaking the record held by Ruth.

* Bernie Carbo’s pinch-hit, three-run homer in eighth inning, Game 6, 1975 (Boston vs. Cincinnati)

Fred Lynn’s three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning gave Boston a 3-0 lead, but Cincinnati took a 6-3 lead with three runs in the fifth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth. Carbo erased that deficit with a three-run homer, which was later overshadowed by Carlton Fisk’s memorable clout.

* Carlton Fisk wins Game 6, 1975 (Boston vs. Cincinnati)

The score was tied, 6-6, in the bottom of the 12th. Red Sox catcher Fisk led off and, in a moment immortalized by television, hit a drive down the left-field line. With Fisk waving both arms, apparently willing the ball fair, it hit the foul pole for a game-winning homer.

* Reggie Jackson, third home run in Game 6, 1977 (New York Yankees vs. Dodgers)

The Dodgers led, 3-2, after three innings, but then Jackson got to work. First came a two-run homer off Burt Hooton in the fourth. An inning later, Jackson blasted a two-run shot off Elias Sosa. He finished off his power display with a solo homer off Charlie Hough in the eighth, propelling the Yankees to an 8-4, Series-clinching victory. Thus was born “Mr. October.”

* Kirk Gibson wins Game 1, 1988 (Dodgers vs. Oakland)

The Dodgers were classic underdogs, with many experts saying they didn’t even belong on the same field with the Athletics. And the experts seemed to be right when Jose Canseco blasted a grand slam to center off Dodger starter Tim Belcher in the second inning, erasing a 2-0 Dodger lead. The Dodger bullpen pitched brilliantly, however, and when the Dodgers came up in the bottom of the ninth they trailed by only one run, 4-3. But if they were to come back, they’d have to do it against baseball’s top closer, Dennis Eckersley. Eckersley retired the first two Dodgers, then walked pinch-hitter Mike Davis. With the pitcher due up next, Manager Tom Lasorda called on Gibson, who could barely walk, let alone run. After fouling off several two-strike pitches, and appearing to be in agony on each swing, Gibson hit a full-count, backdoor slider over the right-field wall, winning the game.

* Kirby Puckett wins Game 6, 1991 (Minnesota vs. Atlanta)

With the score tied, 3-3, Puckett led off the bottom of the 11th inning and hit Charlie Leibrandt’s fourth pitch over the left-field fence to extend the Series to a seventh game the Twins would win.

* Joe Carter wins 1993 World Series, Game 6 (Toronto vs. Philadelphia)

Trailing, 5-1, in Game 6, the Phillies broke through with five runs in the seventh. That 6-5 lead would not be enough. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Jays got two men on base, bringing Joe Carter up to face Mitch Williams. Carter blasted a 2-and-2 pitch over the left-field fence, and the Blue Jays were World Series champions for the second year in a row. Carter’s homer marked only the second time in 531 Series games that a contest was ended by a come-from-behind homer.

* Scott Brosius, 2001 World Series, Game 5, second consecutive ninth-inning, score-tying homer (New York Yankees vs. Arizona)

For the second straight night, the Diamondbacks were one out away from a win. And for the second consecutive night, closer Byung-Hyun Kim blew it. Brosius hit a tying, two-run homer with two out in the ninth to bring the Yankees to a 2-2 tie. Rookie Alfonso Soriano hit a game-winning RBI single in the 12th to lift the Yankees to a 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

-- Houston Mitchell