Fall Classic! Here’s the top postseason moment for each MLB team originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The original version of this story was published on Oct. 24, 2022
Each Major League Baseball team has an iconic October moment.
They may not have a postseason highlight compilation as extensive as the reels belonging to the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers — although there’s been no additions to those reels this year, at least not yet for the Dodgers. But each has at least one moment that produces goosebumps each time it’s re-watched.
That could be a walk-off hit in a play-in game, the final out of the World Series or something in between. Or a moment that will be soon take place with one pitch, diving catch or swing of the bat.
Here is a look back at what is arguably each team’s most memorable postseason moment:
Arizona Diamondbacks – Tony Womack’s RBI double, 2001 World Series, Game 7
Starting off with a curveball. Sure, Luis Gonzalez followed with a walk-off single off Mariano Rivera to win the World Series. But there was a lot more pressure on Tony Womack two batters prior to the walk-off hit when the D-backs were down a run with runners on first and second and one out. Womack lined a double to right to even the score and set the stage for Gonzalez.
Atlanta Braves – Winning the 1995 World Series
The triumvirate of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz probably should have won multiple World Series championships together, making the one they did capture all the more special.
Baltimore Orioles – Brooks Robinson’s backhand play, 1970 World Series, Game 1
It exists only in memory and grainy video, but third baseman Brooks Robinson made one of the greatest defensive plays in Fall Classic history. On a chopper down the line, Robinson made a backhanded play in foul territory and delivered a leaping throw to get the out at first.
Boston Red Sox – 2004 American League Championship Series, Game 7
Sure, the Red Sox vanquishing the “Curse of the Bambino” and winning their first World Series in 86 years is the defining moment in franchise history. But it wouldn’t have happened had the Red Sox not completed what no team in baseball history had ever done: come back from a 3-0 series deficit. And they did it in the Bronx against the Yankees.
Chicago Cubs – Winning the 2016 World Series
Cubs fans had been saying “Wait ‘til next year” for more than a century. “Next year” finally arrived.