Don't Be - Memory

Paul has a great post today about memorable/wacky/interesting things he's seen at baseball games. His recall is much better than mine, but here are the top three things that I can remember (interestingly, they all involve Sammy Sosa):

1. Sosa hitting the tying two-run HR with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth in Game 1 of the 2003 NLCS. I say this with no exaggeration: The crack of the bat when he hit that ball was the single loudest such instance I've ever heard. And I've never seen a crowd more exited. I still get chills when I think about it. (FYI, it's a Chills song that provides today's headline. Wow, what synergy.)

2. Sosa hitting the longest HR I've ever seen, that same year vs. Milwaukee. It was incredibly high, and it went way down Kenmore Street. I think the estimated distance was something like 560 feet, and that seemed to shortchange it. Was it because of steriods and/or cork? Don't care.

3. In 2001, in the first Cubs home game post-9/11, Sosa dropped a cheapie HR into the right-field basket and then carried a mini American flag around the bases. It was pure, orchestrated Sosa, but given the circumstances, it was pretty damn inspiring.

I've been racking what's left of my brain trying to come up with other stuff, but nothing of note stands out. However, one that just did was an amazing Bo Jackson bomb in Kansas City in 1988, which cleared the fountains in right center by about 100 feet.

Oh, here's another: I was at the game in 1976 when Mike Schmidt hit four HRs in an 18-16 win over the Cubs. The Phillies got down 13-2 early, and the Phillies fan I was with forced me to leave. (Hey, I was 10, I needed a ride.) I got home in time to see the historic fourth HR on TV.