The Yankees Twenty-Five Most Memorable Home Runs

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#21 Grand Slam Caps A Game 1 WS Rally

It was a close call on a 2-2 pitch by the umpire, Rich Garcia that forced Mark Langston to throw one more fateful pitch to Tino Martinez with the bases full of Yankees in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series.

It was a fastball on the outside part of the plate that Martinez saw all the way from Langston’s hand. And despite having a miserable postseason up to this point, Martinez launched a rocket into the upper deck at Yankee Stadium, causing the crowd to erupt in a frenzy that few can recall being louder.

Later, Martinez would tell the New York Times:

"”I haven’t done much,” Martinez said. ”We’ve been winning. We got to the World Series. I knew eventually I’d come up in a big situation and get a big hit to help the team win.
”It’s definitely a big relief to get a hit in a situation like today.”"

Manager Joe Torre added, ”It’s a great deal of relief,” Manager Joe Torre said. ”I think it relieved everyone’s pressure in the dugout.”

Indeed, the pressure was on the Yankees in that World Series, as they had demolished the American League during the regular season winning well more than 100 games. Only the San Diego Padres stood in their way.

But after the shot by Martinez, you could see the wind taken from the Padres, and the Yankees soared to sweep the Series on the back of one of the “loudest” home runs ever hit at Yankee Stadium.