Most important HRs of our lifetimes

[Brad K]

For the purpose of this discussion, call our lifetimes 75 years. That's probably only ten years or so higher than the average age and 60 or older probably covers 80%.

Anyway, here's an alphabetical list of the contestants.How would you order these players for hitting the most important home run.

Henry Aaron
Bartolo Colon
Scott Hatteberg
Roger Maris
Bill Mazeroski
Hal Smith
Bobby Thomson
Rick Wise


Edit Comment. Note revised list in post 3. Thomson is out.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by Brad K

For the purpose of this discussion, call our lifetimes 75 years. That's probably only ten years or so higher than the average age and 60 or older probably covers 80%.

Anyway, here's an alphabetical list of the contestants.How would you order these players for hitting the most important home run.

Henry Aaron
Bartolo Colon
Scott Hatteberg
Roger Maris
Bill Mazeroski
Hal Smith
Bobby Thomson
Rick Wise

Where's Kirk Gibson's. The one off Gossage and the one off Eck. Pete Alonso hit a rather dramatic one last night. The one David Ortiz hit in which Torii Hunter flipped into the bullpen probably deserves a mention as well. Oh and the 3 hit by Reggie combined might deserve a mention. Carlton Fisk's in 1975.

[Brad K]

Just the ones I thought of. Frankly, I'm not big on HRs that win a single game. I almost omitted Thomson.

In fact, lets alter the choices.

Henry Aaron
Bartolo Colon
Scott Hatteberg
Roger Maris
Bill Mazeroski
Hal Smith
Rick Wise

Thomson is no longer a choice. Having him provides the step to an argument for including Gibson and Fisk.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Just the ones I thought of. Frankly, I'm not big on HRs that win a single game. I almost omitted Thomson.

In fact, lets alter the choices.

Henry Aaron
Bartolo Colon
Scott Hatteberg
Roger Maris
Bill Mazeroski
Hal Smith
Rick Wise

Thomson is no longer choices. Having him provides the step to an argument for including Gibson and Fisk.

I don't even know the significance of Bartolo Colon's or Scott Hatteberg's. What was so important about them?

[Brad K]

If you don't know then put them at the bottom! I'm hoping people rely upon their memory not research.

[Boomcoach]

Wasn't Joe Carter's the first time a WS ended on a HR?

[David Watts]

Aaron
Maris
Bonds
Judge
Ohtani

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by Boomcoach

Wasn't Joe Carter's the first time a WS ended on a HR?

2nd time, Bill Mazeroski did it in 1960 for the Pirates

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by David Watts

Aaron
Maris
Bonds
Judge
Ohtani

Ok, Aaron and Maris. Got it.(In the interest of not ending up with a disorganized mess, votes for write in candidates are welcome but not counted!)

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

2nd time, Bill Mazeroski did it in 1960 for the Pirates

And those are repeatable events. A pitcher hitting a HR while throwing a no hitter is not repeatable. I say that as a life long Pirate fan.

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by Brad K

If you don't know then put them at the bottom! I'm hoping people rely upon their memory not research.

If someone doesn't remember then it's not important to them, and importance to people here is what this is about.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by Brad K

If someone doesn't remember then it's not important to them, and importance to people here is what this is about.

But write in votes won't be counted. So, this is really us trying to rank the home runs Brad deems the most important of his lifetime.

[jcard]

Piazza in first NY sporting event post 09/11/2001.

[David Watts]

Gaylord Perry's first home run coming on the same day of the first moon landing. A few years earlier, Alvin Dark his manager made the comment that a man would land on the moon, before Perry with his flawed swing could hit a home run.

[slic1149]

I was 10 years old when Mazeroski hit his home run to win the 1960 World Series. As a ten year old, midwestern Yankee fan, it was the first time I cried after my team lost a World Series. It also was the home run that got Casey Stengel fired. The loss of Yankees to the Pirates was the most memorable and exciting home run of my lifetime. Oddly enough I was a huge Pirates fan in the 70s and 80s, In my opinion the history of the Pirates is one of the most interesting in MLB.

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by David Watts

But write in votes won't be counted. So, this is really us trying to rank the home runs Brad deems the most important of his lifetime.

If you don't like the choices on the ballot run your own election!

There are no primaries here. This is like the good old days where the party selected the candidates.

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by slic1149

I was 10 years old when Mazeroski hit his home run to win the 1960 World Series. As a ten year old, midwestern Yankee fan, it was the first time I cried after my team lost a World Series. It also was the home run that got Casey Stengel fired. The loss of Yankees to the Pirates was the most memorable and exciting home run of my lifetime. Oddly enough I was a huge Pirates fan in the 70s and 80s, In my opinion the history of the Pirates is one of the most interesting in MLB.

What parts are most memorable to you?

I don't have any contemporaneous experience with the Maz HR but I have seen videos and read accounts of it.

I assume that seeing the HR would be similar to my experience seeing the Immaculate Reception. I hope to be able to visit the Mazeroski Wall and the spot of the reception some day.

[Brad K]

First place votes, one each for Aaron and Maz
Second place vote Maris

slic1149 has a great reason for putting Maz first. He made my question "our lifetimes" into his lifetime which is a great thing. He made it personal.

I could do the same thing with a HR I saw. It was at my first MLB game and it was the last HR of Bill Virdon's career. It scored three and tied the game in the ninth. However my own personal max sports experience is seeing the Immaculate Reception on live TV.

[Amazin69]

Mike Bleeping Scioscia
Conor Bleeping Gillaspie
Alex Bleeping Gordon (I still refuse to believe that one went out…and I was there!)
Yadier Bleeping Molina
Terry Bleeping Pendleton (ONE HR all year before that!)

Alonso (never done before)
Darryl off the clock
The Grand-Slam single
Darryl off the roof
Darryl with the nice slooooooooooooow trot
Mo Vaughn off the Beer sign
Murph's streak
Wilmer's Walkoff (actually, he had a lot of walkoffs, but you know which one)
Asdrubal Cabrera bat-flip (and the Reyes shot that set it up)
Piazza in 2000 (rather the 10-run rally than some over-politicized "event")
HoJo's salami off of Worrell
Frankie in Toronto

[David Watts]

I will always remember the Dave Kingman bomb out of Wrigley that hit the ladies porch down the street.

I also attended a Tiger game back in the day in which Jason Rooftop Thompson hit a home run over the roof. Didn't know he did so until we were driving home from the game and heard them talking about it on the radio. Our seats were far enough back in the lower deck that we couldn't see it go over.