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Chavez Ravine will still be running on adrenaline and nostalgia by the time the Los Angeles Dodgers take the field for Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday. And they have Freddie Freeman to thank for it.
The veteran first baseman launched one of the most clutch home runs in franchise history to lead his team to a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday. The comparisons were inevitable.
The idea of a Dodgers star player smashing a walk-off blast in the World Series while battling lower-body injuries in the playoffs was incomprehensible when it happened the first time in 1988. The only way lightning could strike twice is if it was powering the DeLorean time machine that one would need to relive such an iconic moment.
Ironically, though, one man who apparently did envision another epic Game 1 conclusion is the very October legend Freeman is being compared to today. Just as the 2021 MVP came up to the plate to face Yankees left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes, Dodgers great Kirk Gibson felt like something magical was about to ensue.
“I just thought, ‘This is going to happen,'” the 1988 World Series hero told Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider. “I could just feel it… I remember; I just had a premonition.”
Kirk Gibson galvanized the Dodgers many years ago
A severely limited Gibson, who was enduring left-hamstring and right-knee injuries, hit a walk-off pinch-hit homer off Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley to lift LA to a comeback win versus the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1988 Fall Classic.
The team won the championship just five days later. That immortalized feat of perseverance occurred more than 36 years ago. It feels like just yesterday, though, following Freddie Freeman's own surreal achievement in Dodger Stadium.
Many thought of Gibson in the immediate aftermath of Freeman's momentous swing. Play-by-play man Joe Davis outright mentioned the former MVP while delivering what could prove to be the defining call of his broadcasting career. Gibson is obviously aware of the connection and is ecstatic that Freeman was able to secure this goosebump-inducing moment.
“What a great guy,” the two-time World Series champion said. “All he’s been through this year, and it’s incredible. And he’s got to feel outstanding today — not just for himself but for his teammates and his organization… I know he really cares about the game and the people that have supported him and his teammates. So it couldn’t happen to a better guy.”
Will history repeat itself?
While Dodgers fans gladly take a trip down memory lane, it is important to note that the two situations are quite different. Freddie Freeman clearly benefited from the long break after the National League Championship Series and even notched a triple in the first inning of Game 1.
He is still battling an ankle sprain, but his mobility looks considerably better than it did less than a week ago. Conversely, Kirk Gibson struggled to put weight on his legs in the 1988 World Series and did not post another at-bat the rest of the year.
There is only one similarity that matters to the Dodgers and their fans, though. Both players won the tone-setting game for their team. And by the time the calendar flips to November, they might have even more in common.
LA battles the Yankees in Game 2 on Saturday night, starting at approximately 8:08 p.m. ET.
