WATCH: 5 most exciting Walk-Off Home Runs in recent memory
Nothing in baseball matches the adrenaline that goes along with walk-off home runs. They're euphoric. The home team's down by one in the bottom of the ninth or in extra innings. There's a man on first with 2 outs. Full count.
The crowd holds its breath as the pitcher checks, sets, and enters his windup. He delivers the 3-2 pitch, a fastball just inside. The batter kicks and steps into his swing, and then you hear that crack the bat only makes on walk-off home runs. The crowd goes wild. Game over.
Who couldn't love baseball after witnessing that?
Best walk-off home runs in recent years
The MLB has seen some crazy walk-off home runs over the years, but here are the 5 most spectular ones in recent memory.
#5 - Edwin Encarnacion 2016 AL Wild Card game
Of all the walk-off home runs he's seen, Baltimore Orioles' manager Buck Showalter will never forget Encarnacion's legendary one on October 4th, 2016. The game was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 11th inning and Showalter brought starter-turned-relief pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez into the game. After getting an out, Jimenez allowed singles to Josh Donaldson and Devon Travis. That's when Encarnacion stepped into the batter's box.
At this point, everyone watching expected Showalter to bring his prized reliever, Zach Britton, into the game to stop the Toronto Blue Jays from winning. That would've been sensible. Boasting 74 strikeouts and a .836 WHIP over 67 innings pitched, Britton was one of the best relievers in the game.
But, Showalter kept him in the bullpen and Encarnacion did that. Lesson learned.
#4 - Chris Taylor 2021 NL Wild Card game
Having spent his entire career thus far on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chris Taylor deserved to walk-off the 2021 National League Wild Card Game more than anyone else. In the bottom of the 9th inning with a man on 2nd base, St Louis Cardinals' reliever Alex Reyes delivered a juicy breaking ball low in the strike zone.
Taylor wasn't just going for a single to bat the runner in. He stepped into the pitch and knocked one of the greatest walk-off home runs ever out of Dodger Stadium.
#3 - Christian Vasquez 2021 AL East Divisional Series Game 3
Number 3 on the walk-off home runs list has to go to Christian Vasquez ending an epic 13-inning battle between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays on October 10th, 2021. And he couldn't have done it in a more dramatic fashion.
Vasquez didn't even start the game that night. After being pinched into the lineup earlier in the game, Vasquez swung at the first pitch that Luis Patino offered him -- a fastball down the middle. And is there a better ballpark in the MLB to walk it off in? Fenway Park's Green Monster just made this homer that much more special.
#2 - Jose Altuve 2019 AL Championship Game 6
Jose Altuve went down in Houston Astros history with this walk-off home run. It couldn't have come at a better time for the Astros franchise, which was knee-deep in sign-stealing cheating accusations. Everyone wanted to dismiss them, and then Altuve did this.
After New York Yankees' fire-ball thrower Aroldis Chapman walked George Springer with 2 outs, he was ready to put the game away with one of his signature strikeouts. Having struck out 36.2% of the batters he faced in 2019, Chapman was more than capable of doing so.
After going down 2-1 in the count against Altuve, Chapman tried to even things up with an 84 MPH breaking ball on the outside of the strike zone. For a batter the size of Altuve, that's supposed to be out of reach. But Jose Altuve defied the laws of nature before and he did it again on the night of October 19th, 2019.
Chapman's reaction told the rest of the story.
#1 - Max Muncy 2018 World Series Game 3
The best of all the recent walk-off home runs has to go to Max Muncy clinching Game 3 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018's World Series against the Boston Red Sox. And this wasn't any regular World Series game. It was 18-innings long.
After coming up just a few feet short of walking it off in the 15th inning, Dodgers' infielder Muncy returned to the plate a few innings later with a glint in his eye. Every fan in the Stadium was on their feet and holding their breath. On a full count with nobody on base, Red Sox reliever Nathan Eovaldi slowly wound up and delivered a breaking ball outside. Muncy cranked it opposite in a high-flying ball that looked like it might be within reach of a Red Sox outfielder.
But it wasn't and Dodgers Stadium started to party.