Edgar Renteria and the Most Unlikely World Series Heroes Ever
The most unlikely World Series heroes are unlikely for a variety of reasons.
They can be rookies who have yet to make their mark, veterans who are presumed to be way past their prime, players who never had a prime or players who've been hampered by injuries.
Edgar Renteria was a stunning World Series MVP, but should it have been so surprising? He had the game-winning hit in 1997, played on the 2004 pennant-winning Cardinals, and had 225 postseason at-bats coming into the 2010 World Series.
Still, what he did was amazing. But not more amazing than these 10 unlikely World Series heroes.
Honorable Mention: Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers
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1988 World Series: 1 at-bat, 1 home run, 2 RBI
For that season's league MVP to make this list, something extraordinary must happen.
And you all know the story of Kirk Gibson—barely able to walk because of his messed-up knees—hitting the game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth off of Dennis Eckersley.
You can say that because it came so early in the series it shouldn't be considered a great story of unlikely heroes. And you'd be wrong.
But because it was just one at-bat, we'll keep him as just an honorable mention.
No. 10: Scott Spiezio, Anaheim Angels
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2002 World Series: 23 AB, 6 hits, 3 extra-base hits, 1 HR, 8 RBI
The Angels' Scott Spiezio wasn't exactly a journeyman heading into the 2002 postseason. That year, he posted career highs in doubles, hits, RBI and batting average.
He certainly wasn't, however, the most fearsome bat in the Angels lineup; he usually hit seventh.
But in the 2002 World Series against the Giants, Spiezio had a handful of clutch, run-scoring hits. In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Angels behind 3-2 in the series and 5-0 in Game 6, Spiezio hit a three-run homer off Felix Rodriguez. Anaheim won Game 6, then won Game 7 the next day.
It wasn't quite as dramatic as the 1991 Kirby Puckett Game 6 home run that propelled the Twins to the title, but for a 29-year-old guy who never again hit better than .270 and whose career best was 17 home runs, it was a pretty surprising moment.
No. 9: Howard Ehmke, Philadelphia A's
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1929 World Series: 1 start, 1-0, 9 innings, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 K
During the 1920s, and in his late twenties, Ehmke was a very good finesse pitcher, mostly with the Red Sox and Tigers. But by his early thirties he was somewhat of a spot starter on Connie Mack's budding and youthful Philadelphia A's teams of the late 1920s.
By his third season with the A's, he only started eight games. So in 1929, when the A's reached their first World Series in 15 years, he was a surprise starter in Game 1.
After all, Mack had the league's most dominant pitcher, Lefty Grove, 24-game winner George Earnshaw and a very capable third option in 18-game winner Rube Walberg.
Still, in the Series opener, the 35-year-old submariner dominated a very powerful Chicago Cubs lineup, one that featured future Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby, Hack Wilson, Gabby Hartnett and Kiki Cuyler.
Thanks to Ehmke's great start, the A's overwhelmed the Cubs, winning the World Series, 4-1.
No. 8: Scott Brosius, New York Yankees
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1998 World Series: 17 at bats, 8 hits, 2 home runs, 6 RBI, .471 average (4 games)
During the mid-1990s, Brosius was a good third baseman for the Oakland A's, and when he joined the Yankees in 1998, he was actually named to the All-Star team.
But in the stacked 1998 Yankee lineup—which featured 10 players to hit double-digit home runs—Brosius was not one of the most feared bats in the lineup.
By the end of the 1998 World Series—at least to the San Diego Padres pitching staff—he was.
With New York up 2-0, the series headed to San Diego, where the Padres took a 3-0 lead into the seventh. Brosius led off the inning with a solo homer to cut into the lead. An inning later, against the league's best closer, Trevor Hoffman, Brosius hit a three-run home run to give the Yanks a 5-3 lead.
New York won Game 3 5-4, then completed the sweep a day later, thanks in part to Brosius RBI single off Padres ace Kevin Brown that gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the eighth.
No. 7: Ralph Terry, New York Yankees
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1962 World Series: 3 starts, 2-1 W-L, 2 complete games, 16 K, 1.80 ERA
It's hard to argue that a pitcher who won 23 games would be a surprise World Series hero. But when it's a pitcher who just two years earlier surrendered the most famous home run in World Series history, he qualifies.
Terry was the man who Bill Mazeroski hit his bottom-of-the-ninth, World Series-winning home run off of in 1960. Terry recovered from that to have great regular seasons in 1961 and 1962.
But he did not pitch well in the 1961 World Series, so his past certainly had to be an issue heading into the 1962 Fall Classic against the Giants. Nevertheless, he pitched excellent in Game 2 and Game 5 starts.
And in Game 7, he again was lights out, shutting out the Giants through eight innings. In the bottom of the ninth, he allowed two hits, however.
Although they held just a 1-0 lead with two runners on and his starter still on the mound in the bottom of the ninth, for whatever reason, manager Ralph Houk left Terry in.
But this time, there was no repeat of a bottom-of-the-ninth, Game 7 win for the home team. Terry retired future Hall of Famer Willie McCovey (thanks to a great catch by Bobby Richardson) and the Yankees won a second World Series.
No. 6: Billy Hatcher, Cincinnati Reds
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1990 World Series: 12 AB, 9 hits, 6 runs, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 RBI, .750 average (4 games)
Hatcher was a great doubles hitter in the late 1980s and had pretty good seasons for the Astros in 1987 and 1988. But he had a terrible 1989 and was shipped midseason to the Pirates, where he didn't stay long.
In 1990, now with the Reds, Hatcher rebounded with a decent year, hitting .276 and starting most of the season in left field. He even hit a big home run in the NLCS victory over the Pirates.
But no one could have expected him to hit safely in three-fourths of his at-bats in the World Series. From the two-spot, he knocked in three hits and scored three times in Game 1, went 4-4 the next day, and grabbed two more hits in Game 3.
His records of seven consecutive hits and four doubles in a four-game series still stand.
He made a great case for World Series MVP...except teammate Jose Rijo made a slightly better case, winning both starts and allowing just one run in the process.
No. 5: Bernie Carbo, Boston Red Sox
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1975 World Series: 7 at-bats, 3 hits, 3 runs, 1 double, 2 HR, 4 RBI
In the early- to mid-1970s, Carbo was a good bat to have on your team. And he had World Series experience before joining the Red Sox in 1974, having played for the champion 1970 Cincinnati Reds.
Still, with the incredible Boston outfield (Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Dwight Evans) and Carl Yastrzemski and Cecil Cooper the DH/first base combination, there wasn't much room for Carbo to crack the lineup.
He only had one at-bat in the first two games, then knocked a pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning of Game 3 to cut the Reds lead to 5-3.
But he didn't get another at-bat until the eighth inning of Game 6. He took advantage of the opportunity, though. Behind 6-3 in the eighth innning, Carbo hit a full-count, three-run home run off of Reds star reliever Rawly Eastwick.
That earned him a start the next day, when he led off Game 7 with a double.
No. 4: Grover Cleveland Alexander, St. Louis Cardinals
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1926 World Series: 2-0, 20 1/3 innings, 12 hits, 3 ER, 2 complete games, 17 K, 1.33 ERA
"Ol' Pete," as he was known, was already one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history when he joined the St. Louis Cardinals midway through the 1926 season. But at age 39, he was well past his prime. (And considering the life he led, he was certainly "an old" 39.)
But Alexander won his only two starts against Babe Ruth, a young Lou Gehrig and the vaunted New York Yankees, allowing just four runs in two complete games.
And in Game 7, with the Cardinals ahead by one run and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Alexander relieved starter Jesse Haines, who had just loaded the bases.
Alexander struck out RBI machine Tony Lazzeri (as a rookie that year, he drove in 116 runs), then faced the minimum in the eighth and ninth innings to lead the Cardinals to a stunning upset.
Alexander wasn't quite as washed up as everyone believed: he won 21 games a year later in 1927.
No. 3: Pat Borders, Toronto Blue Jays
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1992 World Series: 9 hits, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .450 average (six games)
The Blue Jays 29-year-old catcher had a decent season in 1992: 13 home runs and a career-best 53 RBI. But he only hit .242 that season. His main contribution was handling the Jays pieced-together starting rotation of Jimmy Key, Jack Morris and the very young Juan Guzman.
But in the World Series against the Atlanta Braves, Borders' bat exploded. From the seventh spot, he grabbed at least one hit each day as the Blue Jays split the first two games and headed back to Toronto. .
His solo home run in Game 3 gave Toronto a lead 1-0 lead, which they barely hung on to, winning 2-1. The next day, he drove in the Jays' only runs in a 7-2 loss at SkyDome.
And in the series-clinching Game 6 win at Fulton County Stadium, Borders had two more hits, as the Jays won 4-3 to claim their first world title.
No. 2: Dusty Rhodes, New York Giants
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1954 World Series: 6 at-bats, 4 hits, 2 home runs, 7 RBI, .667 average
The game better remembered for Willie Mays' famous over-the-shoulder catch didn't actually end until James "Dusty" Rhodes came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning.
With the score tied 2-2 (thanks in large part to Mays' catch in the eighth inning) Rhodes, who pinch hit for Hall of Famer Monte Irvin in the sixth, hit a three-run, walk-off homer off Bob Lemon to give the Giants a shocking Game 1 victory.
But one clutch World Series hit wasn't enough for Rhodes. The next day, with the Giants behind 1-0 in the fifth inning, Rhodes again pinch hit for 35-year-old Irvin and laced a single off of Hall of Famer Early Wynn that plated Willie Mays and evened the score. The Giants won Game 2, 2-1.
When the series shifted to Cleveland, Rhodes had another huge pinch hit. In the top of the third, his two run single gave the Giants a 3-0 lead, which they never relinquished on their way to taking a 3-0 lead in the series.
The next day, the Giants completed arguably the most stunning sweep in World Series history.
No. 1: Don Larsen, New York Yankees
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1956 World Series: Game 5, Perfect Game
The only man to throw a no-hit, perfect game in the World Series did so just two years after posting a 3-21 record in 1954. Of course, he led the league in losses that year playing for the St. Louis Browns, so moving to the Yankees should naturally have helped out his run support.
Larsen had a pretty decent year in 1956, winning 11 of 20 starts and keeping his ERA under 3.50. Still, no one could have possibly expected him to throw a perfect game in the World Series, against the defending world champion Brooklyn Dodgers.
A year earlier, against the same Dodgers team, Larsen started Game 3, allowing two home runs and five runs overall before being chased out of the game after just four innings.
Furthermore, in the 11 seasons that followed his perfect game, Larsen won just 51 games.
