Freddie Freeman immortalized himself in Los Angeles Dodgers postseason history with his electrifying walk-off grand slam against the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series.
The game-winning blast was eerily similar to Kirk Gibson’s walk-off homer against the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series as both players were battling leg injuries and crushed a ball into the right field pavilion at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis, who announced World Series games for Fox, made the moment even more special when he echoed Vin Scully’s “She is gone!” call.
Davis revealed he wanted to honor the Hall of Fame broadcaster with his call of Freeman’s grand slam, via Noah Furtado of The Athletic:
“I’d always thought that it would be neat to someday be able to pay homage to Vin somehow,” Davis said.
“I wasn’t thinking about Vin or thinking about Vin’s call, but I think the fact that I’ve seen that ball hit a million times — we all have … that’s just the first thing that popped into my head. We’ve seen and heard that call a million times and it was like, ‘Well, yeah, that’s exactly what this is.’”
Davis finished his call by saying “Gibby, meet Freddie!” but isn’t sure if he should’ve saved it until after Freeman touched home plate:
“I don’t know if I maybe should have saved the ‘Gibby, meet Freddie line,’ until after he rounded the bases and after the layout,” Davis said. “I don’t know if it was maybe a little too much right after the, ‘She is gone,’ and I should have just laid out and let the crowd go from there. … So I’ve definitely gone back and picked it apart, probably more than is healthy.”
Freeman’s grand slam was just the third walk-off home run in postseason history from a team that was trailing, joining Gibson in 1988 and Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.
“It felt like nothing, just kind of floating,” Freeman said at the time. “Those are the kind of things, when you’re 5 years old with your two older brothers and you’re playing wiffle ball in the backyard, those are the scenarios you dream about. Two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game.
“For it to actually happen and get a home run and walk it off to give us a 1-0 lead, that’s as good as it gets right there.”
Freddie Freeman makes World Series history
Freeman’s walk-off grand slam represented the first in World Series history.
“Oh, really? That’s pretty cool,” Freeman said when informed of being in a category of his own. “Obviously it’s kind of amazing.
“It’s been a lot these last few months, been a grind, but things have been going so well at home. Max is doing great. Obviously the ankle is the ankle. It’s a sprained ankle. It’s as good as it’s going to get. But when you get told you do something like that in this game that’s been around a very long time — I love the history of this game — to be a part of it, it’s special.
“I’ve been playing this game a long time, and to come up in those moments, you dream about those moments even when you’re 35 and been in the league for 15 years, you want to be a part of those. It’s the kind of energy the crowd brought tonight. Game 1 of the World Series. Everyone’s been talking about this all week. For us to get that first win, especially like that, that’s pretty good, but we’ve got three more to go.”
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