Is Carlton Fisk Waving World Series Home Run Fair or Johnny Damon's '04 ALCS Grand Slam a Bigger Boston Sports Moment?

Is Carlton Fisk Waving World Series Home Run Fair or Johnny Damon’s ’04 ALCS Grand Slam a Bigger Boston Sports Moment?

by NESN Staff on Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 10:05AM

Carlton Fisk’s game-winning home run in the 1975 World Series squares off against Johnny Damon’s 2004 ALCS grand slam in the second round of Boston’s Greatest Sports Moment tournament.

2. Carlton Fisk waves home run fairCarlton Fisk knew it. Really, everyone watching knew. Fisk’s shot down the left-field line at Fenway Park in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series had the distance, but would it stay fair? Fisk hopped down the first-base line using both arms to wave the ball fair, and the ball clunked off the foul pole to give the Red Sox a walk-off win and force Game 7 against the Cincinnati Reds. The Sox lost Game 7, but Fisk’s home run lives on as one of the most iconic moments in Boston sports and baseball history. His shot off Pat Darcy changed the way television stations broadcast baseball games. Cameramen at the time were taught to follow the ball, but NBC cameraman Lou Gerard later said he was distracted by a rat so instead kept the camera pointed at Fisk, who was in the midst of his memorable wave. The rest, as they say, is history.

7. Johnny Damon’s 2004 ALCS grand slamRed Sox fans were not comfortable heading into Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, despite three straight wins against the New York Yankees. David Ortiz eased some of the tension with a two-run home run in the first inning to give Derek Lowe some breathing room, but Red Sox fans still sat on the edge of their seats. Then, Johnny Damon stepped into the box with the bases loaded in the second inning. Yankees manager Joe Torre took out starter Kevin Brown and brought in Javier Vazquez to face the lefty. Damon took the first pitch Vazquez threw him and sent it over the right-field wall and into the seats for a grand slam. Damon’s blast gave the Sox a 6-0 lead. Although early in the game, the greatest comeback in Red Sox history not only seemed possible — it seemed inevitable. Seven innings later, the Red Sox were on their way to the World Series.