Major League Baseball
10 greatest home runs in baseball history

ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1998 St. Louis' Mark McGwire celebrates his record-breaking 62nd home run.

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1. Bobby Thomson, New York Giants, Oct. 3, 1951, Polo Grounds, N.Y., vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, off Ralph Branca: "The Shot Heard Round the World," with this electrifying result: "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!"

2. Bill Mazeroski, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oct. 13, 1960, Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, vs. New York Yankees, off Ralph Terry: Only homer to ever end a World Series in the seventh game.

3. Hank Aaron, Atlanta Braves, April 8, 1974, Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, off Al Downing: He never got to fully savor the moment, but Aaron replaced Babe Ruth as the Home-Run King, and holds the title still.

4. Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oct. 15, 1988, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, vs. Oakland A's, off Dennis Eckersley: As Jack Buck so eloquently put it, "I can't believe what I just saw."

5. Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals, Sept. 8, 1998, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, vs. Chicago Cubs, off Steve Trachsel: His 62nd homer was, at 341 feet, his shortest of the year, but it capped a furious race to Roger Maris' record between him and Sammy Sosa.

6. Joe Carter, Toronto Blue Jays, Oct. 23, 1993, SkyDome, Toronto, vs. Philadelphia Phillies, off Mitch Williams: This Game 6, three-run shot off Wild Thing gave Toronto its second straight World Series title.

7. Carlton Fisk, Boston Red Sox, Oct. 22, 1975, Fenway Park, Boston, vs. Cincinnati Reds, off Pat Darcy: Fisk's body English, willing the ball fair, is one of baseball's enduring images.

8. Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, Oct. 7, 2001, Pac Bell Park, San Francisco, vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, off Dennis Springer: It took a judge to decide who should own Bonds' 73rd home-run ball, but Bonds might own the home-run record for decades.

9. Bucky Dent, New York Yankees, Oct. 2, 1978, Fenway Park, Boston, vs. Boston Red Sox, off Mike Torrez: Red Sox fans still haven't quite gotten over this body blow. Bucky Bleeping Dent.

10. Roger Maris, New York Yankees, Oct. 1, 1961, Yankee Stadium, N.Y., vs. Boston Red Sox, off Tracy Stallard: He lost his hair and got a mythical asterisk for his troubles, but Maris' 61st homer gave him the single-season title for 37 years.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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