Adrian Garrett--1976
Through the fogginess of a Saturday
morning lounging in bed I heard the ESPN
announcer mention Adrian Garrett’s
name. The rare mention of my friend
aroused me from my near slumber to hear
that A-Rod hit a dramatic 2-run homer off
Boston’s Junichi Tazawa in the 15th inning
the previous night to turn a scoreless game
into a Yankee victory.
The Rodriguez shot brought to light the four
other occasions in baseball history when a
game-ending home run closed out a
scoreless contest that lasted to the 15th
inning or beyond. Thus, Adrian “Smokey”
Garrett received a curtain call from his past,
as he was the most recent of the four to hit
the unique long ball.
Below is the list of the unique home runs as
compiled by ESPN and the MLB Network:
Extra special Walk-off homers in the 15th
inning or later in a scoreless game
Player, Team, Date, Inning
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, 8/7/2009,15th
Adrian Garrett, Angels, 9/22/1975, 16th
Willie Mays, Giants, 7/2/1963, 16th
Earl Averill, Indians, 8/24/1935, 15th
Old Hoss Radbourn, Grays, 8/17/1882,18th
It was September 22, 1975 when the lefty
swinger deposited the ball over the right-
center field fence in Anaheim off of White
Sox reliever and future Hall of Famer,
Goose Gossage.
Having known Smokey from our days of
working together with the Florida Marlins, I
was fortunate to exchange instant
messages with him that morning about his
blast:
It was a pinch hit, I was the last position
player on the bench, Dick Williams was
going to choose between me and a pitcher
to hit, and he picked me. I was looking for
a get ahead fast ball from Gossage and got
it and didn't miss it.
For Garrett it would be one of a handful of
highlights from his 8-year big league career
and the last of his 11 major league home
runs.
(8/13/09)
morning lounging in bed I heard the ESPN
announcer mention Adrian Garrett’s
name. The rare mention of my friend
aroused me from my near slumber to hear
that A-Rod hit a dramatic 2-run homer off
Boston’s Junichi Tazawa in the 15th inning
the previous night to turn a scoreless game
into a Yankee victory.
The Rodriguez shot brought to light the four
other occasions in baseball history when a
game-ending home run closed out a
scoreless contest that lasted to the 15th
inning or beyond. Thus, Adrian “Smokey”
Garrett received a curtain call from his past,
as he was the most recent of the four to hit
the unique long ball.
Below is the list of the unique home runs as
compiled by ESPN and the MLB Network:
Extra special Walk-off homers in the 15th
inning or later in a scoreless game
Player, Team, Date, Inning
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, 8/7/2009,15th
Adrian Garrett, Angels, 9/22/1975, 16th
Willie Mays, Giants, 7/2/1963, 16th
Earl Averill, Indians, 8/24/1935, 15th
Old Hoss Radbourn, Grays, 8/17/1882,18th
It was September 22, 1975 when the lefty
swinger deposited the ball over the right-
center field fence in Anaheim off of White
Sox reliever and future Hall of Famer,
Goose Gossage.
Having known Smokey from our days of
working together with the Florida Marlins, I
was fortunate to exchange instant
messages with him that morning about his
blast:
It was a pinch hit, I was the last position
player on the bench, Dick Williams was
going to choose between me and a pitcher
to hit, and he picked me. I was looking for
a get ahead fast ball from Gossage and got
it and didn't miss it.
For Garrett it would be one of a handful of
highlights from his 8-year big league career
and the last of his 11 major league home
runs.
(8/13/09)