Remembering 25 years of memorable Phillies homers

Inspired by the Reading Eagle's recent list, Beerleaguer's own RSB recalls 25 wacky, thrilling and clutch home runs from the last 25 years.

June 11, 1985: Von Hayes hits grand slam for second homer of 1st inning to give Phils a 7-0 lead en route to a historic 26-7 thrashing of Mets.

April 18, 1987: Mike Schmidt hits his 500th career homer to give the Phillies a comeback victory over the Pirates.

September 30, 1987: Luis Aguayo homers off Jesse Orosco in the bottom of the 10th to give the Phils a 5-4 win over New York. Although Terry Pendleton's homer off Roger McDowell earlier in that month is more remembered as a crucial blow to the Mets' divisional hopes, this one came on the eve of the season's final weekend and truly sealed the Mets' fate, much to the delight of this young and vengeful fan.

May 15, 1989: Bob Dernier (who hit .171 that season) pulls off a 3-run inside-the-park HR in the 12th to beat the Giants, 3-2.

June 8, 1989: Steve Jeltz hits homers from both sides of the plate as Phillies rally from 10-0 deficit and beat the Pirates, 15-11, on a night where probability was turned on its ear.

July 23, 1990: Dickie Thon breaks up Frank Viola's no-hitter with a sixth-inning grand slam; Phils go on to beat the Mets, 7-4. This one is especially memorable due to Rich Ashburn's call.

May 20, 1991: Thon hits 2-strike, 2-out homer in bottom of ninth off Stan Belinda to beat the then-mighty Pirates, 6-5.

May 9, 1993: Mariano Duncan hits a grand slam off Lee Smith with 2 out in the 8th to erase a 5-2 deficit and send Phillies to a 22-7 record wth a sweep of the Cardinals.

September 28, 1993: A second slam by Duncan puts the Phils ahead of Pittsburgh in the 7th inning in the game that clinched the NL East.

October 11, 1993: Lenny Dykstra hits an emphatic 10th inning homerun off Mark Wohlers after Braves had scored 3 to tie in the ninth; Phillies go up 3-2 in an NLCS which they were nearly unanimously disfavored to win.

June 15, 1995: Tony Longmire pinch-hits a 2-out, 3-run HR off Houston's John Hudek following two scratch singles, beating Astros, 4-2.

May 10, 1997: In the midst of the team's abominable first half, old hero (and right fielder) Darren Daulton offers a final great moment in his Phillies career, a 2-run, game-winning homer in the bottom of the 10th to beat Colorado, 5-4.

June 16, 1998: Mike Lieberthal pinch-hits a 3-run homer in bottom of the ninth to beat Pirates at the Vet, 8-7.

July 8, 2001: Travis Lee hits a 2-out, 3-run, game-winning homer at Camden Yards to preserve the Phillies' divisional lead at the All-Star Break - slightly outshining the 3-run game-winner he hit on 5/25 off Ugie Urbina of the Expos. (For all the flak Lee got as a Phil, he had some big moments.)

September 23, 2001: Johnny Estrada hits game-winning homer in 10th inning to beat Florida, 5-4, and move the Phillies to within a half-game of the division lead.

June 21, 2003: Todd Pratt hits a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 13th to cap an astounding comeback against Boston. One of my all-time favorite games, as Jim Thome earlier homered twice with the Phils down to their last out (in the 9th and 11th) in order to keep the game preserved.

June 20, 2006: Ryan Howard connects for a tape-measure, 3-run shot off the facing of the third deck at CBP off the Yankees' Mike Mussina in the first inning; Howard would collect 7 RBI in the Phils' eventual 9-7 loss. Though he had won the ROY a year earlier and had been having a good season to that point, this performance and homerun in particular seemed to really put Howard on baseball's radar as a superstar.

September 16, 2007: Greg Dobbs unloads a pinch-grand slam off Jorge Sosa to put the Phillies ahead for good en route to a 10-6 victory, a 3-game weekend sweep of the Mets, and the finishing touch on a seven-game blitz of New York that keyed the Phils' September comeback.

May 2, 2008: Pat Burrell beats the Giants' Brian Wilson, culminating a long and hard-fought AB with a 2-strike, 2-out, 2-run homer in the 10th, 6-5.

October 2, 2008: Shane Victorino delivers the knockout blow to C. C. Sabathia, opening a 5-1 lead over the Brewers in the second inning and deciding Game 2 of the Decision Series with a thrilling grand slam into the left-field bleachers.

October 9, 2008: In the first game of the NLCS, Chase Utley hits a 2-run, game-tying homer in the sixth inning off Derek Lowe, who had completely shut the Phils down to that point. It was a key moment in the Phillies getting a leg up in the series, and it was a particlar boost coming from Utley, whose power had been largely MIA for the past four months.

October 13, 2008: Victorino shocks the Dodgers by tying Game 4 of the NLCS in the eighth inning with a two-run homer down the right-field line, in a game that had looked squandered by all rights.

October 13, 2008: Two batters after Victorino's clutch homer, Matt Stairs permanently alters the tone of the NLCS by clubbing a 2-run, pinch-hit bomb off LA's Jonathan Broxton.

October 26, 2008: Ryan Howard hits a vintage, opposite-field homer off Any Sonnanstine that opened a 5-1 lead and put the Phillies firmly in command of not only Game 4, but the World Series as a whole. The instant Howard dropped his bat, all of Philadelphia knew the series was theirs.

April 24, 2009: After trying to lean into a pitch earlier in the AB, Victorino comes through with another incredibly well-timed grand slam, with two outs in the ninth off Matt Lindstrom and the Marlins to highlight a seven-run inning which erased a 3-0 deficit.

April 24, 2009: Raul Ibanez hits an electric grand slam off Joel Hanrahan to give Phils a 13-11 lead over Washington. This somehow outdoes the 2-run homer Ibanez had hit days earlier to reverse a ninth-inning deficit and beat the Padres.

Comments

[R.Billingsly]

Nice work, RSB. Really brought back some memories.

[JPB705]

Nice list. Also, I believe it's Joel Hanrahan, not John.

[Kevin]

Excellent list! Definitely need to save this one for later reading, perhaps in the off season.

[RSB]

You know I was objective if I didn't include any homers hit by Rick Schu. (oops on Hanrahan.)

I forgot Robert Person's grand slam & 3-run homers in June 2002 against the Expos. That should be in there somewhere.

[The Theory]

Yeah, I was about to mention the Person game. Way to catch it in hindsight.

[RSB]

Not incidentally, thanks for printing the list, Jason. It was fun to put together.

[HBGPhan]

Excellent list RSB. I fondly remember many of these. I have a bottle opener that plays Scott Graham's call of Pratt's homer in 2003. I enjoy it everytime I open a cold adult beverage.

[Tony D]

Does anyone remmeber Burrell's bomb off Wagner at Shea a couple years ago? It was either to tie or take the lead. I think it was the game where Wags said Burrell has a one path swing and he threw it in the path.

By the way the Yanks look unbeatable right now. Gotta win today because I can only see us winning 1 of 3 in NY. A 7-3 road trip would be great.

[Andy]

Thanks, RSB.

Incidentally, I'm kinda disappointed (but not surprised) that you couldn't find at least one by your name's sake.

Special mention category perhaps?

[The Truth Injection]

Really good list RSB:

One I would have mentioned would have been a home run Wes Chamberlain hit into the upper deck of the Vet against the Pirates, I believe. It was notable to me because Bonds was in left and never came out of his ready stance. He just turned with his hands still on his knees to watch the ball sail out of the park.

[Andy]

Here you go. Honorable mention:
August 9, 1987 With his last HR as a Phillie, in the bottom of the sixth, Rick Schu hits a 3 run dinger (knocking in legends Lance Parrish and Glenn Wilson) to tie the score against the Cardinals in a game the Phils win in the 14th inning on a Steve Jeltz triple. Schu's mostly meaningless HR, highlights a mostly meaningless win, during a mostly meaningless season, in which the greatest accomplishments are Glenn Wilson's 20 assists and the mostly meaningless firing of John Felske.

[michael]

@tony d: burrell hit at least one walk-off homer off of wagner - i can remember the back page of the DN saying "take that, rat!"

[Klaus]

"May 9, 1993: Mariano Duncan hits a grand slam off Lee Smith with 2 out in the 8th to erase a 5-2 deficit and send Phillies to a 22-7 record wth a sweep of the Cardinals."

I still have what you might call a living memory of this, as though I was actually there. But in fact I was in the back seat of the station wagon being driven home from one of the many dreadful Sunday afternoon nature hikes my parents would drag me through.

I remember it so well, not merely for the inherent excitement of the thing, but because it so magnificently redeemed an otherwise miserable afternoon.

[ThicketDan]

Lucky to be at three of those games: Travis Lee and Estrada in 2001 and Ibanez last month.

[denny b.]

I think Country Joe's blast in the World Series, needed to be in there as well.

Wasn't a "game-winner", but it was basically a final nail in the Tampa coffin and was something, that happens about once every 40 years or so, in the WS.

[MCS]

T Lee also hit a game tying HR the inning before Estrada hit his HR in 2001. I was at the game and could not believe that Lee could rope a bomb to LC. Was also at the Tood Pratt game. One of my favorite Phillies regular season games I've ever attended. I would also think about adding Utley's first career hit being a grand slam. Pretty much a harbinger of things to come.

[RSB]

MCS: that's right, Lee hit a solo shot with 2 out in the ninth off ol' Pulpo Alfonseco that day.

Andy: strangely, I cannot recall with any clarity a single Rick Schu homerun.

Truth Injection: the game Thon homered off Belinda is the same one where Chamberlain hit his upper-deck shot. I know because I recorded the replay of that game on the VCR and would pop it in during the middle of winter when I was suffering from baseball withdrawal. Still have it somewhere...

[Reverend]

I do not remember the date but what about Howardw's 3 HR game against the Braves and Hudson. It was a Sunday game thats all I know.

[Klaus]

Peavey to the White Sox, contingent on his approval.

[RSB]

Utley's 1st HR off Aaron Cook and Howard's 3-homer game were top candidates. I'm thinking that 3-homer game probably should've ranked ahead of the Yankee game because one of them was Howard's 50th of the season.

If that's true about Peavy, it has to sting up on the north side. The Cubs had been after him for months.

[Chazbot]

Great article, RSB. Very enjoyable.

[timr]

Tony D--that Burrell homer off of Wagner would be on my list too.

[MG]

Impressive recall RSB. I especially remember the Dernier HR call on the radio and associating the Duncan HR in May with the smell of basil/sauce watching the game while eating Sunday dinner at my grandmother's. Also appreciated the nods to Dickie Thon - one of my favorites from those bad late 80s/early 90s teams.

[G-Town Dave]

RSB: Great list! As a youth I had the misfortune of going to the game *after* the Dernier HR game. As I recall, the Phils lost & there was a protracted rain delay. I ended up listening to the last inning or so in the car on the way home. :-(

I *did* attend the Estrada game, & being disgusted w/ both the umpiring & the way the Phils were playing, left after the bottom of the 8th. For some reason I sat in the car for awhile listening to the game, & upon hearing Lee's HR, ran back inside (the Vet was great that way) to watch the top of the 10th &, eventually, Estrada's HR sailing into the bullpen. I'll never forget the Phils relievers throwing those little, white lawn chairs they sat on up into the air in celebration.

Anyway, I would definitely add Person's 2 HR game (& he came *this close* to a 3rd!) to the list, as well as offer these for consideration:

08/27/00 - Bobby Abreu's game-winning inside-the-park HR in the 10th leads the Phils past the Giants, 2-1.

08/28/07 - Ryan Howard's 2-run game-winning HR in the 10th caps another improbable Phils comeback win vs. the Mets (I believe this was also the game w/ the dribbler down the 3rd base line that defied all odds & died in fair territory, helping the Phils to tie the game).

[MG]

Peavy to the White Sox? Wow. Say what you want to about Kenny Williams but the man hasn't been afraid to wheel and deal or fire back when challenged.

[NEPP]

~NEPP dreams of the day he has his own thread on BL...~

Great memories (of the ones I remember that is.)

Peavy to the White Sox shows that Kenny Williams is going all in this year to win a very winnable AL Central. They won't have much of a farm system left if this goes through. It also shows just how bad Gavin Floyd (their supposed emerging Ace) has been...peripherals are a beyotch, eh Gavin?

[G-Town Dave]

NEPP: Is it wrong that I'm experiencing a hefty dose of schadenfreude w/ regard to Floyd's struggles this season? I don't have anything against the guy, but it was really burning my a** that he had such a good '08 for the White Sox after sucking so thoroughly in a Phils uniform.

[MG]

Favorite moment though on this list was either the Dykstra homer or the Stairs blast. Stairs HR was probably my favorite because I was at a bar in SF that absolutely erupted and it seemed like I was back in Philly somewhere because people were asking for "WAT-TER" and everybody was originally from SE PA or South Jersey.

[MG]

I highly doubt the Phils would be willing to take on the salary or that Peavy would be willing to come to Philly (or pitch in CBP) but this team is basically one solid starter short right now from really potentially opening up a decent lead over the next month or so.

[MyersAtTheBat]

GTownDave- if your schadenfreude over Floyd's struggles this season is criminal, then consider me guilty as well... very very guilty.

[Willard Preacher]

What about JRoll's inside the park shot against the Marlins in 2007, when it looked like the game was over. I can't recall the exact situation, but it was a big win when it looked like the Phils were cooked. It just seems to stick out in my mind for some reason.

[MyersAtTheBat]

MG- agreed.
what would you think of picking Fausto Carmona out of Cleveland's doghouse? he's been wretched so far this season, but it seems like he could use a change of scenery. i don't watch a lot of Indians baseball, but his mechanics look alright on MLBN. he'd be cheaper than Lee or Harang or any other frontline option and he'd fit well in CBP as a groundball pitcher... might also help to stop the HR hemorrhage. sneaking pitching help through the backdoor, ahem Blanton, worked last year. thoughts?

[RSB]

Preacher - I think that was against Washington? And there was an error involved, I'm pretty sure. Very memorable, all the same. One of the big moments from that season.

Glad so many liked the list, thanks for the comments.

[Dan]

Criminey, what an awesome list. Know what would be awesomer? If we could get the audio of each HR's call.

[mark goldentyer]

how about Ryan howard's pinch hit Grand slam off the D-Backs in 2007; he had some sort of leg injury and didn't start. It was Randy johnson vs Jamie moyer. Day Game-roof closed. Manuel brought in howard with the sacks drunk in the sixth. Brandon Medders was the pitcher and the ball is still orbiting the Phoenix area.

[sh]

great list! brings back many memories.

another from the '03 season was J-Mike's 3-run blast off Omar Daal (BAL) in the top of the 17th.

that '03 season was one of my recent favorites as they closed out the Vet, Millwood pitched a nohitter, it was Thome's first year with the club...

also (not to be a jerk) but that Pratt game-- his homer was a 2-run shot that came right after a David Bell RBI double. and Thome's homers were in the 8th & the 12th.