Best Baseball Memories

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball.  I'll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring."  - Rogers Hornsby

It's baseball season - my favorite season!  In honor of the start of another baseball season, I thought I'd share my top 10 baseball memories/moments/games.  These are the games that have and will always stick with me.  Fortunately, as a Cardinals fan, I've been blessed with a lot of incredible games and memories over the years, so narrowing it down to only 10 was very difficult.  But, after mulling it over for a while, here are my Top 10, with some explanations why.  I'm guessing some of you (those who are Cardinals fans) will agree and possibly disagree with some of these.  Likewise, others of you may be saddened by some of these choices since they came at the expense of your teams.

10.  Game 3, 1982 World Series: This was the game that helped make Willie McGee one of my favorite players of all time.  He hit 2 home runs and then robbed Gorman Thomas of a home run in the 9th inning.

9.  Game 7, 2011 World Series: It wasn't the most suspenseful game after the first few innings, when the Cardinals came back from an early 2-0 deficit.  However, it was the crowning achievement of one of the most remarkable runs in baseball history.  The Cardinals were left for dead, 10.5 games out of a playoff spot in late August, only to catch fire and not just make the playoffs but win the whole thing.  (Besides, #1 on this list loses some of its luster if the Cardinals lose this game.)

8.  Game 5, 1985 NLCS:  Go Crazy, Folks!  Ozzie Smith hits a walk-off homer (his first ever HR left-handed) off Tom Niedenfuer to win it for the Cards and send the series back to LA.  The entire St. Louis area went bonkers, people in rush hour traffic honking car horns and everyone celebrating.

7.  Game 7, 2004 NLCS: Jimmy Edmonds' amazing diving catch in left center, Scott Rolen's 2-run homer off Roger Clemens, and the Cardinals first NL pennant in 17 years cap an incredible 36 hour period (see #3 below).

6.  Game 6, 1985 NLCS: The Cards come back from a 4-1 deficit with 3 runs in the 7th and 3 runs in the 9th on Jack Clark's mammoth home run (once again off Niedenfuer) to win the NL pennant.  I'll always remember Pedro Guerrero throwing down his glove in left field as Clark's homer sailed into the left field bleachers.  My parents, my brother and I were all sitting on the couch together watching the game.  When the ball left Clark's bat, we all jumped up in celebration and accidentally stepped on our poor dog, Max.

5.  Game 5, 2011 NLDS: The Cardinals score a run in the top of the first and that's enough as Chris Carpenter outduels Roy Halladay is a suspense-filled pitcher's duel.  The Phillies were heavily favored coming in the series, but this was the first sign that the 2011 Cardinals were the team of destiny.  (This is the first game on this list to which I'm fairly certain I can attribute some of my gray hair.)

4. Game 5, 2012 NLDS: A crazy, unbelievable comeback win for the Cardinals.  They trailed 6-0 after 3 innings before beginning to chip away with runs in the 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th.  They still trailed 7-5 with 2 outs in the top of the 9th, when the completely improbable duo of Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma (PETE KOZMA!) combine for back-to-back two-run singles.  The 4-run 9th gave the Cards a 9-7 win and a trip to the NLCS.

3. Game 6, 2004 NLCS: The Cardinals trailed in the series 3 games to 2 when the series shifted back to Busch Stadium II.  The game was tied 4-4 in the 12th inning when Jim Edmonds cranked a walk-off 2-run homer to force a Game 7.  I scared the heck out of my son (who was only a year and a half old) when Edmonds hit the homer as I jumped up and down and then ran around the family room yelling in celebration.  (One of his first words, by the way, was "Cardinals".)

2. Game 7, 2006 NLCS:  An absolute, nail-biter that I guarantee gave me gray hair.  After Endy Chavez absolutely robbed Scott Rolen of a home run with an unbelievable catch, Yadier Molina (who hit only .216 during the regular season) hit a 2-run home run off Aaron Heilman in the top of the 9th to give the Cards a 3-1 lead.  In the bottom of the 9th, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs and Cardinal killer (and post-season stud) Carlos Beltran was at the plate.  It looked like perhaps Yadi's heroics weren't going to be enough.  Then, rookie closer Adam Wainwright struck out Beltran on three pitches, freezing him on a called strike three with a knee-buckling curve ball.  I swear that I wore out the carpet in my basement with my pacing during that game, though I remember screaming and jumping around the basement when Waino struck out Beltran.

1. Game 6, 2011 World Series:  I realize this is an obvious choice, but I could live to be 100 and never see another game like this.  The Cardinals trailed 7-4 heading into the bottom of the 8th.  They scored one run in the 8th to make it 7-5.  They still trailed 7-5 and were down to their last strike in the bottom of the 9th before hometown kid David Freese hit an opposite-field, two-run triple off the right field wall to tie it.  In the top of the 10th, the Rangers scored two runs on a home run by Josh Hamilton.  They Cardinals were down to their last strike again in the bottom of the 10th before Lance Berkman singled home Jon Jay to tie it 9-9.  David Freese then won it for the Cardinals with a lead-off, walk-off home run in the 11th.  It was literally a game for the ages, as the Cardinals were the first team to ever come back from deficits in both the 9th and 10th innings of a World Series game and the first team to score in the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th innings.  It was an amazing win and one that eventually led to the Cardinals' 11th world championship.

Honorable Mention:  These are both regular season games, so they don't carry the importance of the aforementioned 10 games.  However, I was physically in the stands at Busch II for both of these games, so I'd be remiss if I didn't mention them.

May 9, 1992 - I skipped my senior prom and instead went to the Cards-Braves game.  The Cardinals trailed 9-0 in the 4th inning but stormed back to win it 12-11.  As we watched the comeback from the left field bleachers, I was so grateful that I'd spent $4 on my ticket (and probably another $10 on food) to go to the game rather than a couple hundred bucks on prom tickets, flowers, a tuxedo, etc.

July 28, 2002 - Cards vs. Cubs.  The Cards trailed 6-0 after 3 innings and it looked bleak.  They still trailed 9-4 going into the bottom of the 9th before scoring 6 runs to win the game, capped off by a walk-off 3-run homer by Edgar Renteria.

I'd love to hear about your greatest baseball memories, too.  Feel free to share them.

Thanks for reading!