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The similarities between Freeman’s 10th-inning grand slam and Kirk Gibson’s ninth-inning home run in 1988 were striking.
Both were slugged by injured hitters essentially playing on one leg. Both were smashed with their team one out from defeat in Game 1 of the World Series. Both deflated the opposition such that the series essentially ended on the spot.
“Everything was the same outside of the fist pumps,” Roberts said.
Actually, there was one major difference, that being the quality of the opposition. Gibson hit his homer off future Hall of Fame reliever Dennis Eckersley and the heavily favored Oakland Athletics while Freeman hit his homer off demoted starter Nestor Cortes and the underdog New York Yankees.
This sort of comparison has sparked a debate about which homer was greater, leading to the request by lifelong Dodgers fan Bryan Cranston during a SiriusXM Town Hall event in which he said, “Can’t they live side by side?”
As one who personally witnessed both, I’m good with that. The Gibson moment was — to paraphrase Vin Scully — the most improbable, impossible thing I’ve ever seen on a baseball field. But I still get chills from the Freeman moment, still remember the bursting firecracker sound of the hit, still remember his memorable waving of the bat in the air like a wand.
Watching the video for the umpteenth time, what I have come to love most is the sudden soundtrack “I Love L.A.” blasting through the speakers before Freeman had reached first base, forever turning his home-run trot into a wondrous music video.
While the ball from Gibson’s home run was never found, Freeman’s blast was corralled by 10-year-old Zachary Ruderman, whose family sold it at auction for $1.56 million, a shred of its intrinsic value.
Freeman’s miracle was truly the most priceless Los Angeles sports moment of 2024.
Maybe ever.
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