Walk off hits are awesome. When your team collects a walk off winner, you get dragged from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs in pretty quick fashion. Imagine a game looking hopeless, and all of a sudden, you string together a rally and win in quick fashion. Maybe your bullpen blows a lead, only to be bailed out by the offense. Sometimes, neither team will really take much initiative before finally breaking through.
Every Tuesday, we’re going to bring you the most exciting walk offs from the week that was. If you’re a fan on the wrong end of some of these, we apologize – but I’m sure you’ll end up at the bottom of a dogpile sooner rather than later.
March 31st, Cubs vs Pirates – Neil Walker’s blast.
It’s been a rough 20 years for Pirates fans, and as a local kid, Neil Walker feels your pain. So when he launched a homer over the Roberto Clemente wall on the first Opening Day following a Pirates playoff game since 1993, it must have been a real special moment for him, and for the nearly 40,000 in attendance at PNC Park.
April 2nd, Twins vs White Sox: wild times.
It might be a long year in Minnesota. They turned in a terrible late game performance against the White Sox here, blowing a two-run ninth inning lead and imploding in the eleventh inning to lose the game. The White Sox won without even hitting a ball out of the infield – Leury Garcia reached on an infield single, advanced to second on a balk, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a second wild pitch. That’s just some terrible fate for the Twins.
April 2nd, Phillies vs Rangers: shrimp in Texas.
You know how Shin-Soo Choo won this game for the Rangers? He just stood there. After falling behind an erratic Jonathan Papelbon 1-2, Choo took three straight balls with the bases loaded, forcing in the game-winning run to cap a three run ninth. The pain…oh god, the pain.
April 3rd, Mariners vs Athletics: please don’t overturn this.
In the bottom of the 12th, Coco Crisp launched a game-winning home run over the scoreboard in right field at O.co Coliseum. Well, it looked like he did – umpires reviewed the play and tensions were high after the A’s already celebrated their walkoff win. After deliberating the hit, the umpires ruled it a home run, and Crisp was subject to a pie in the face.
April 5th, Reds vs Mets: we like Ike.
Ike Davis has been a maligned figure throughout his career in Flushing. But it was hard for him to fail in this situation on Sunday – bases loaded, none out, and a pitcher that couldn’t find the strike zone. Davis succeeded in the most extreme way possible against J.J. Hoover, launching a grand slam to right field to give the Mets a 6-3 win.
