World Series Game 6: The 10 most decisive moments in MLB history
By Bill Felber
t-8. Stan Hack, Chicago Cubs, 1945. Game 6 was do or die time for the Chicago Cubs. They trailed the Detroit Tigers three games to two, and had blown a 7-3 lead allowing the Tigers to take the xixth game into extra innings. That left the Tigers one run away from a clinching victory.
In the bottom of the 12th, Cubs star third baseman Stan Hack ensured that his team would have at least one more championship opportunity. With two out and Bill Schuster at first base, Hack sent a double into left field, allowing Schuster to race home with the game-ending run in an 8-7 Cubs victory.
Sadly for Cubs fans, Hack’s winning hit only delayed the outcome. One day later, the Tigers breezed to a 9-3 Series clinching victory. Hack Win Probability Added: 44 percent.
t-8, Bernie Carbo, Boston Red Sox, 1975. Fisk’s iconic Game 6 home run may not have made the top 10 list, but the game itself is represented. Several innings before Fisk became famous in Boston, his teammate, Carbo, delivered another home run that shifted the odds even more than Fisk’s blast.
Facing a must-win situation in Game 6, the Red Sox entered the bottom of the eighth inning tailing 6-3. Two outs and two baseurnners later, Sox manager Darrell Johnson summoned Carbo to pinch hit for pitcher Roger Moret in a situation where a home run was almost the only thing useful to the Sox.
It had already been a magical Series for Carbo, with a pinch hit RBI single in Game 2 and a home run in Game 3. Now Reds reliever Rawly Eastwick worked the count to 2-2 only to see Carbo send a fastball into Fenway’s center field seats for a game-tying three run homer.
His hit tied the game at 6-6 and set the stage for Fisk four innings later. Carbo Win Probability Added: 44 percent.