Nelson Cruz and multiple extra-inning post-season homers
Posted by Andy on October 13, 2011
Nelson Cruz did it again yesterday, belting a 3-run home in extra innings to help the Rangers win an ALCS game.
Click through for more info.
There have now been 58 extra-inning homers in the playoffs. The full list is right here.
Cruz is now 1 of 4 players to hit 2 extra-inning post-season homers.
| Gm# | Date | Series | Gm# | Batter | Tm | Opp | Pitcher | Score | Inn | RoB | Out | Pit(cnt) | RBI | WPA | RE24 | Play Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995-10-11 | NLCS | 2 | Javy Lopez | ATL | @CIN | Mark Portugal | ahead 2-3 | t10 | -23 | 2 | 1 (0-0) | 3 | 0.14 | 2.49 | 1.49 | Home Run (Line Drive to Deep LF Line); McGriff Scores; Justice Scores |
| 1 | 1996-10-02 | NLDS | 1 | Javy Lopez | ATL | @LAD | Antonio Osuna | tied 1-1 | t10 | --- | 0 | 9 (3-2) | 1 | 0.34 | 1.00 | 2.30 | Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep CF-RF) |
| 1 | 1996-10-09 | ALCS | 1 | Bernie Williams | NYY | BAL | Randy Myers | tied 4-4 | b11 | --- | 0 | 3 (1-1) | 1 | 0.34 | 1.00 | 2.36 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep LF Line) |
| 1 | 1999-10-13 | ALCS | 1 | Bernie Williams | NYY | BOS | Rod Beck | tied 3-3 | b10 | --- | 0 | 1 | 0.35 | 1.00 | 2.33 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run | |
| 1 | 2004-10-08 | ALDS | 3 | David Ortiz | BOS | ANA | Jarrod Washburn | tied 6-6 | b10 | 1-- | 2 | 1 (0-0) | 2 | 0.43 | 1.86 | 2.44 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball); Reese Scores |
| 1 | 2004-10-17 | ALCS | 4 | David Ortiz | BOS | NYY | Paul Quantrill | tied 4-4 | b12 | 1-- | 0 | 4 (2-1) | 2 | 0.27 | 1.60 | 3.10 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball); Ramirez Scores |
| 1 | 2011-10-10 | ALCS | 2 | Nelson Cruz | TEX | DET | Ryan Perry | tied 3-3 | b11 | 123 | 0 | 4 (1-2) | 4 | 0.06 | 2.15 | 2.38 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep LF); Young Scores; Beltre Scores; Napoli Scores |
| 1 | 2011-10-12 | ALCS | 4 | Nelson Cruz | TEX | @DET | Jose Valverde | ahead 3-4 | t11 | 12- | 1 | 1 (0-0) | 3 | 0.12 | 2.35 | 1.34 | Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep LF-CF); Beltre Scores; Napoli Scores |
Of the 58 homers, 25 of them were walk-off game-enders. There have been 4, including Cruz's from yesterday, that happened when the batting team was already ahead. There have been 4 that happened in the bottom of the inning when the home team was behind:
| Gm# | Date | Series | Gm# | Batter | Tm | Opp | Pitcher | Score ▴ | Inn | RoB | Out | Pit(cnt) | RBI | WPA | RE24 | Play Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1914-10-12 | WS | 3 | Hank Gowdy | BSN | PHA | Bullet Joe Bush | down 4-2 | b10 | --- | 0 | 1 | 0.10 | 1.00 | 1.67 | Home Run (Deep CF) | |
| 1 | 2009-10-17 | ALCS | 2 | Alex Rodriguez | NYY | LAA | Brian Fuentes | down 3-2 | b11 | --- | 0 | 3 (0-2) | 1 | 0.43 | 1.00 | 3.63 | Home Run (Line Drive) |
| 2 | 1995-10-03 | ALDS | 1 | Albert Belle | CLE | BOS | Rick Aguilera | down 4-3 | b11 | --- | 0 | 7 (2-2) | 1 | 0.43 | 1.00 | 3.64 | Home Run (Line Drive to Deep LF) |
| 1 | 1986-10-15 | NLCS | 6 | Billy Hatcher | HOU | NYM | Jesse Orosco | down 4-3 | b14 | --- | 1 | 6 (3-2) | 1 | 0.47 | 1.00 | 2.46 | Home Run (Deep LF Line) |
Three pitchers--Rick Aguilera, Keith Foulke, and Dan Miceli, have surrendered 2 post-season extra-inning homers.
Finally, of those 58 homers, here are the top 10 ranked by WPA:
| Gm# | Date | Series | Gm# | Batter | Tm | Opp | Pitcher | Score | Inn | RoB | Out | Pit(cnt) | RBI | WPA ▾ | RE24 | Play Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995-10-13 | ALCS | 3 | Jay Buhner | SEA | @CLE | Eric Plunk | tied 2-2 | t11 | 12- | 2 | 2 (0-1) | 3 | 0.48 | 2.64 | 4.55 | Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep CF-RF); Cora Scores; Martinez Scores |
| 1 | 1986-10-15 | NLCS | 6 | Billy Hatcher | HOU | NYM | Jesse Orosco | down 4-3 | b14 | --- | 1 | 6 (3-2) | 1 | 0.47 | 1.00 | 2.46 | Home Run (Deep LF Line) |
| 3 | 1995-10-03 | ALDS | 1 | Tony Pena | CLE | BOS | Zane Smith | tied 4-4 | b13 | --- | 2 | 4 (3-0) | 1 | 0.46 | 1.00 | 1.51 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep LF) |
| 1 | 2001-10-31 | WS | 4 | Derek Jeter | NYY | ARI | Byung-Hyun Kim | tied 3-3 | b10 | --- | 2 | 9 (3-2) | 1 | 0.46 | 1.00 | 1.49 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run |
| 1 | 1988-10-09 | NLCS | 4 | Kirk Gibson | LAD | @NYM | Roger McDowell | tied 4-4 | t12 | --- | 2 | 2 (0-1) | 1 | 0.43 | 1.00 | 1.17 | Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep CF-RF) |
| 2 | 1995-10-03 | ALDS | 1 | Albert Belle | CLE | BOS | Rick Aguilera | down 4-3 | b11 | --- | 0 | 7 (2-2) | 1 | 0.43 | 1.00 | 3.64 | Home Run (Line Drive to Deep LF) |
| 1 | 2004-10-08 | ALDS | 3 | David Ortiz | BOS | ANA | Jarrod Washburn | tied 6-6 | b10 | 1-- | 2 | 1 (0-0) | 2 | 0.43 | 1.86 | 2.44 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball); Reese Scores |
| 1 | 2009-10-17 | ALCS | 2 | Alex Rodriguez | NYY | LAA | Brian Fuentes | down 3-2 | b11 | --- | 0 | 3 (0-2) | 1 | 0.43 | 1.00 | 3.63 | Home Run (Line Drive) |
| 1 | 1946-10-06 | WS | 1 | Rudy York | BOS | @STL | Howie Pollet | tied 2-2 | t10 | --- | 2 | 1 | 0.42 | 1.00 | 1.26 | Home Run (Deep LF) | |
| 1 | 2005-10-09 | NLDS | 4 | Chris Burke | HOU | ATL | Joey Devine | tied 6-6 | b18 | --- | 1 | 3 (2-0) | 1 | 0.42 | 1.00 | 1.82 | *ENDED GAME*:Home Run (Fly Ball) |
October 13th, 2011 at 11:16 am
This beggars me to ask a pertinant question -- has anyone ever done a "Javy Lopez and the Hall of Fame" post? Among catchers, he is among the four that, I believe, might just make it {the others being Ted Simmons, Mike Piazza and{as a long shot} Tim McCarver}.
October 13th, 2011 at 11:54 am
Ah, the Billy Hatcher homer. What a great game that was. One of the most exciting ever to watch.
October 13th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
For the first list, I was at both Bernie Williams HR games and for the last list, I was at the Derek Jeter ("Mr November") HR game...I've had some good luck!
October 13th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
@1 Javy Lopez has zero chance at the HOF. 1) His stats aren't HOF caliber, not even close. 2) He's widely suspected of being a steroid user (witness his 2003 season).
October 13th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
@1 Frank - I don't think Lopez has a shot to make the HOF either. I noticed Posada wasn't on your list of 4 catches...just curious if you think Lopez has a better shot or is more deserving than Posada?
October 13th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
I find your list in #1 a bit odd, Frank. Piazza is clearly a HOFer. Lopez and McCarver are guys who are worth a look, I guess, if performing due diligence. But I don't think they seem nearly as qualified as guys like Freehan, Howard, Munson, or Posada, who along with Simmons make up the HOF borderline.
(I could include Torre in that borderline area, but he'll make it as a manager, so it's moot.)
October 13th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
I'm shocked that there has never been a come-from-behind walk-off extra inning homer. All of the ones on this list were solo shots when down by 1 or 2. Maybe baseball movies and childhood fantasies made such a feat seem more reasonable to expect than it actually is.
October 13th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Yeah I noticed that too when I researched this...
October 13th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
The Cards scored all of their runs in the 1st last night. It must be pretty rare that a team does this and wins the game. Except when Carp is pitching?! Could you look up post-season games where one,or both, teams scored only in the first, and show the results?
October 13th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
wow i feel sorry for the angels for giving up these cruz and napoli but then again, who knew that they would fulfill their potential.
October 13th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Lopez was an underrated backstop whose teams prosperred under his leadership -- all that needs be said. Comparing him to men like Schalk, Ferrell, et al, strengthens this assertion. And I do stand corrected with regard to Posada.
October 14th, 2011 at 11:07 am
I still don't understand why the Blue Jays aquired Napoli and then just traded him away immediately for not much. I haven't seen it explained anywhere but everyone acts like it was completely normal.
October 14th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
@12, T.O.J. -- The Jays correctly assessed their desperate need for reliable relievers ... but they way overestimated Frank Francisco's ability to fit that description.