The most iconic home runs in baseball history will continue to stand the test of time for their significant mark on the game.
While we will see huge home runs in the future, it will be difficult for them to surpass these memorable blasts.
Hey Babe, Nice Shot
Unfortunately, everyone in Wrigley Field didn’t have a handheld camera in 1932, so we could know for sure if Babe Ruth did call his shot in the World Series.
There is a debate about whether Ruth told Cubs pitcher Charlie Root he was going to deposit one in the bleachers, but it was clear from one video that Ruth did something that would indicate his intentions.
If the “Colossus of Clout” did indeed inform Root that he would crush a ball further with his 38-ounce bat, there isn’t a more “I’m him” moment in sports.
Carlton, Good To See You
We have all tried to direct a ball’s path while playing sports. Whether it’s a putt flirting with the lip or a field goal veering wide right, we’ve seen athletes contort their bodies, hoping their movements will get the ball back on track.
There’s no better example than when Carlton Fisk sent Fenway into a frenzy with his game-winning home run to break a 6-6 tie in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.
Fisk yanked the pitch from Pat Darcy down the left field line and vigorously waved his arms to keep the ball fair to send it to a Game 7.
Ultimately, Boston lost the series to the “Big Red Machine,” but the dinger gave all Red Sox fans hopes of capturing their first World Series since 1918.
Other prominent World Series taters include Bill Mazeroski and Joe Carter’s series clinchers and Kirk Gibson’s hobble around the bases against Dennis Eckersley.
Hammerin’ Hank
As evident by his famed called shot, Babe Ruth is as close to a folk hero as there has ever been in American sports.
It’s hard to believe that a player could be an elite pitcher before switching to the field full-time, which saw him outhomer entire teams during his heyday.
So, when Hank Aaron was on the precipice of surpassing Ruth as the all-time home run king, there was plenty of good and bad fanfare.
Aaron was the villain to many ignorant baseball fans because a Black man would overtake Ruth. Nevertheless, Aaron bravely pushed forward, eventually hitting number 715 early in 1974 off Dodgers hurler Al Downing.
The Shot Heard Around the World
The Dodgers-Giants rivalry may not get the coverage of the Yankees and Red Sox, but it has spanned decades and multiple cities.
Before the two teams headed west for Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Brooklyn Dodgers squared off against the New York Giants to see who would represent the National League in the World Series from a three-game playoff.
With the two teams splitting the first two contests, it came down to the third and final game. What made this game special—other than the events that followed—was that this was the first nationally televised game in baseball history.
Hence, the “entire world” watched when Bobby Thompson took his shot off Ralph Branca to send the Giants to the World Series. As with most World Series during that period, the Giants fell to the Bronx Bombers four games to two.
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We still love reminiscing about the most iconic home runs in baseball history, even though most happened decades ago.
We can only hope that in the next 100 years, fans of a new generation will have home runs to remember forever.
