The most clutch performances in World Series history

Millions of children have dreamed of hitting a walk-off home run or pitching a shutout in the World Series, but only a select few have lived the dream. We've gone through hundreds of hours of tape and thousands of box scores to find the five most clutch performances in World Series history.

5. Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run (Game 1, 1988)

One of the indelible images in baseball history is Kirk Gibson pumping his fist as he hobbled around the bases, following his walk-off home run that won the Dodgers Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

 

Due to hamstring and knee injuries, it was the eventual NL MVP’s only at-bat in that fall classic. L.A. went on to win in five games over the A’s.

4. Luis Gonzalez’s game-winning single (Game 7, 2001)

The Yankees took a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning of Game 7 and brought in Mariano Rivera—one of the most clutch postseason performers in baseball history—to shut the door on the upstart Diamondbacks, who were in just their fourth year of existence. He took care of business in the eighth before Arizona began a last-gasp rally.

Rivera surrendered a single and committed a throwing error to quickly put two runners on in the ninth. One out later he allowed a game-tying double to Tony Womack, then hit Craig Counsell to load the bases. Luis Gonzalez came up and delivered a game-winning bloop single over shortstop Derek Jeter to give the Diamondbacks their only World Series title to date.