Honorable Mentions:
8/10/12- Ibanez Singlehandedly Lifts New York Past O’s
With the ALDS tied at one between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, the Bombers looked lifeless in game three as they trailed 2-1 entering the ninth inning.
Slugger Alex Rodriguez was due up, but manager Joe Girardi optioned to go withRaul Ibanez, a questionable move until it paid off for the Yankees as he sent the stadium into a frenzy by shooting a game-tying home run into the seats in right to provide us with some “free baseball.”
That was cool in itself, but when he hit another home run in the 12th to throw the Yankees ahead 2-1 in the series? It was just flat-out insane.
Ibanez put on one of the greatest manifestations of playoff hitting on the biggest stage as the Yankees would go on to win the series 3-2 and keep their quest for title number 28 very much alive.
10/2/1978- Bucky Dent AL East Playoff Game Heroics
While technically not a “playoff game,” Bucky Dent’s heroics in the game to decide the American League East winner in 1978 certainly was a moment that will live forever in Yankees’ history.
In the top of the seventh, with New York down 2-0 with two runners on, Dent shocked Fenway Park by ripping a go-ahead three-run home run over the green monster.
Dent only hit 27 home runs during his six-year Yankees’ career, but I’m sure he’d be fine with having just one if this shot were the only home run he hit.
10/09/09: Alex Rodriguez’s Game Tying Two-Run Bomb
Simply put, the Yankees probably don’t win the 2009 World Series without this bomb. That’s far-fetched. Maybe without Alex Rodriguez, their 27th title isn’t obtained, at least.
Overall, Rodriguez hit .365 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in the 2009 postseason but this game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 2 in the ALDS is the highlight.
It also serves as one of the major highlights of not only the 2009 playoffs, but Rodriguez’s career, as well.
