Biggest Victories/Moments in Enemy Territory

Al Zarilla

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MLBN had a thing on biggest events in an enemy baseball park, apparently triggered by Eckersley mentioning his, the A's 1989 sweep of the Giants at Candlestick Park after the earthquake. I forgot that they reversed venues and started the series in Oakland as the Stick was getting repaired, so the sweep was completed in SF. Among the top 10 and my impetus in starting a thread were the Schilling bloody sock game at #3 (Maroon Mitch Williams said he still thinks it was ketchup). One of the other guys said #3 should be game 7 as they showed Embree get the final out. And, they had #1 as the Red Sox completing the sweep in St. Louis in 2004, showing the famous comebacker to Foulke. 86 years going down was the obvious impetus for that one. Another one of the ten was the the absolute bomb Pujols hit in Houston in the NLCS in 2005, the one in which Pettitte was captured on film saying Oh My God. Pujols 3 HRs in Texas in game 3 in 2011 was another, Ruth's called shot in 1933 in Chicago another. I suppose the BFD game in 1978 was there as I looked away. 
 
Any other favorite memorable, in enemy territory conquests?
 

curly2

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I would put the 1968 Tigers winning Games 6 and 7 in St. Louis, beating Bob Gibson in Game 7 (with the help of a Curt Flood misplay).
 
The 1979 Pirates also won Games 6 and 7 in Baltimore (and Game 7 in 1971 there).
 

trekfan55

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Al Zarilla said:
MLBN had a thing on biggest events in an enemy baseball park, apparently triggered by Eckersley mentioning his, the A's 1989 sweep of the Giants at Candlestick Park after the earthquake. I forgot that they reversed venues and started the series in Oakland as the Stick was getting repaired, so the sweep was completed in SF. Among the top 10 and my impetus in starting a thread were the Schilling bloody sock game at #3 (Maroon Mitch Williams said he still thinks it was ketchup). One of the other guys said #3 should be game 7 as they showed Embree get the final out. And, they had #1 as the Red Sox completing the sweep in St. Louis in 2004, showing the famous comebacker to Foulke. 86 years going down was the obvious impetus for that one. Another one of the ten was the the absolute bomb Pujols hit in Houston in the NLCS in 2005, the one in which Pettitte was captured on film saying Oh My God. Pujols 3 HRs in Texas in game 3 in 2011 was another, Ruth's called shot in 1933 in Chicago another. I suppose the BFD game in 1978 was there as I looked away. 
 
Any other favorite memorable, in enemy territory conquests?
I cannot bold a section of your post on my ipad, but Games 1 and 2 took place as scheduled in Oakland before the earthquake. Game 3 was about to start when the earthquake hit (the broadcast team already doing the pregame). Game 3 was postponed for a total of 10 days.
 

Al Zarilla

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trekfan55 said:
I cannot bold a section of your post on my ipad, but Games 1 and 2 took place as scheduled in Oakland before the earthquake. Game 3 was about to start when the earthquake hit (the broadcast team already doing the pregame). Game 3 was postponed for a total of 10 days.
You're right. My bad. Damn, the earthquake game sure feels like the very first game of the series to me.
 

Dehere

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Bit of a threadjack here as this is an NFL story but I remember this one fondly.
 
A good friend of mine grew up in Tampa. I took him to the 2003 Bucs-Eagles NFC Championship Game, the last game ever played at the Vet.
 
To his credit he had the stones to wear a Bucs hat to the game. He took some serious shit from Eagles fans on the way in and a couple guys actually pulled me aside and asked for our own safety if we were sitting downstairs or upstairs. We had great seats and once we got to our row he took minimal abuse.
 
The favored Eagles took an early lead and it looked pretty bad for my pal but as you will recall the Bucs came back to win the game. By the end of the game my friend was standing on a chair in the front row behind the Bucs bench leading a group of a few dozen Bucs fans in cheers in what was by then a nearly empty stadium.
 
After the game we went to a bar near the Vet and an incredibly drunk and very cute Eagles fan just threw herself at this guy about as aggressively as I have ever seen a girl come on to a guy, and while my friend is not bad looking I know for a fact that nothing that blatant ever happened to him before or since.
 
So that's my favorite enemy territory story: come into town day of game, come from behind to beat the home team and win a trip to the Super Bowl in the last game ever in their building, lead a group of fans in cheers from the front row behind your teams's bench, and then effortlessly take home one of the other team's fans to boot just for added kicks. Tour de force.
 

cannonball 1729

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Al Zarilla said:
 Another one of the ten was the the absolute bomb Pujols hit in Houston in the NLCS in 2005, the one in which Pettitte was captured on film saying Oh My God. 
 
It's funny how overlooked the 2005 postseason is.  The White Sox were the only AL team with a longer WS drought than the Red Sox; if they'd won their World Series in any year besides 2005 (i.e. the one right after Boston won theirs), FOX would have spent the whole postseason cramming The Curse of Shoeless Joe down our throats.  By any reasonable standard, Chicago sweeping Houston in Houston and ending an 88-year drought certainly fits the criteria for this thread, but no one really seems to remember it.
 
Speaking of White Sox, how about the final game (Game 8) of the 1919 World Series?  It was one of the greatest upsets of all time, and the whole series unfolded in such a weird way......
 
Also, if we're including great moments (like the Called Shot) and not just great games, Jackie Robinson stealing home in Game 1 of the '55 World Series warrants a mention.
 

Shawn O'Leary

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In addition to being a complete bobbleheaded moron (watch his head bob around as he tries to make a point on MLB network), Williams simply hates Schilling. Probably because when they were both Phillies and Williams would close Schilling would often hide his face in a towel. As stupid as Williams is, I think the bloody sock comment is just a naked attempt to get a dig in on his infinitely more talented former teammate. Just wait for him to be asked about Schilling's HOF chances.
 

Al Zarilla

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cannonball 1729 said:
 
It's funny how overlooked the 2005 postseason is.  The White Sox were the only AL team with a longer WS drought than the Red Sox; if they'd won their World Series in any year besides 2005 (i.e. the one right after Boston won theirs), FOX would have spent the whole postseason cramming The Curse of Shoeless Joe down our throats.  By any reasonable standard, Chicago sweeping Houston in Houston and ending an 88-year drought certainly fits the criteria for this thread, but no one really seems to remember it.
 
Speaking of White Sox, how about the final game (Game 8) of the 1919 World Series?  It was one of the greatest upsets of all time, and the whole series unfolded in such a weird way......
 
Also, if we're including great moments (like the Called Shot) and not just great games, Jackie Robinson stealing home in Game 1 of the '55 World Series warrants a mention.
It should be by sheer years, but the White Sox drought just never got anywhere near the fame, or infamy that the Red Sox one did. A play was even made about ours, and the name of both the play and the curse, Curse of the Bambino put it over the top. The Cubs drought, OTOH, might get attention approaching our now distant past one, if they get close again. White Sox just don't get no respect, to quote Dangerfield. 
 

StuckOnYouk

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tims4wins said:
Beckett's game 6 masterpiece in the 2003 WS comes to mind
 
That's a good one. Weren't the Marlins one of the great underdogs of recent memory in that WS?
 
A very young Beckett going into the former YS and ramming it down the Yankees throats is still so stunning to me.
 

Al Zarilla

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Red Sox lost a one game playoff to the Indians at Fenway at the end of the 1948 season, 8 - 3. Joe McCarthy started probably his fifth best guy, Denny Galehouse, when he had a normal rest Ellis Kinder or Mel Parnell on 3 days rest available. Embedded Yankee McCarthy? Oh, could have been an all Boston world series because the Braves won the pennant that year. 
 
Sox lost the 7th game to the Cardinals at Fenway in 1967, Gibson over a gassed Lonborg. 
 
Reds over Sox at Fenway in game 7 in 1975. 
 
1978.
 
Lost in postseason at  home in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2009.
 
Not that great when you lay it out, but 2004 had 2 series clinching  games at home, 2007 had one and 2013 had two.
 
Things are good great lately, goddammit!
 
 

Average Reds

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Shawn O'Leary said:
In addition to being a complete bobbleheaded moron (watch his head bob around as he tries to make a point on MLB network), Williams simply hates Schilling. Probably because when they were both Phillies and Williams would close Schilling would often hide his face in a towel. As stupid as Williams is, I think the bloody sock comment is just a naked attempt to get a dig in on his infinitely more talented former teammate. Just wait for him to be asked about Schilling's HOF chances.
 
You are correct on all fronts.  (Including the bobblehead analogy.)
 
If press reports are to be believed, the "hide his face in the towel" bit was a source of significant friction between the two.   Williams thought it was a calculated move on Schilling's part to draw attention to himself while being extremely disrespectful towards him and the team. (Note:   Williams is an idiot, but he has a point.) 
 
There is no way that you'll convince me that Williams actually believes that Schilling faked the bloody sock, but it's  pretty clear that Williams believes that the blood was used as a prop by Schilling to call attention to him.  And again, he has a point. (Schilling has stated that he put "K ALS" on his shoe right below the sock because once he saw the blood, he knew the cameras would focus on it.)  The fact that he pitched and won with his ankle held together by a thread and that he has been celebrated for it appears to be more than Williams can bear and he jabs at Schilling whenever he can.
 

OttoC

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How about the NY Giants routing the the 111-43 Cleveland Indians four games to none (including the last two in Cleveland) in the 1954 World Series?
 

steveluck7

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Dave Henderson going deep against Donnie Moore in '86 comes to my mind.
 
Also, along the lines of the Pujols bomb, Barry Bonds HR against Percival in Anaheim in 2002 when Tim Salmon exclaimed "that's the longest ball i've ever seen" (even though the Giants lost, so it really doesn't fit this)
 

Dollar

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Pedro coming into Jacobs Field and shutting the door on Cleveland in 1999 Game 5 certainly deserves mention as well.
 

Koufax

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Looking at that 1955 Dodgers - Yankees box score brings two questions to mind.  Why was Jackie Robinson not in the game? Why was Mickey Mantle not a starter?  Injuries, I suppose, it's just surprising to see them both missing in action (although Mantle did pinch hit).
 

Monbo Jumbo

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Jesse Owens four good medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
 
(posted from my phone - didn't see this is in the MLB thread - pardon the off-topic hijack)
 

Spacemans Bong

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Koufax said:
Looking at that 1955 Dodgers - Yankees box score brings two questions to mind.  Why was Jackie Robinson not in the game? Why was Mickey Mantle not a starter?  Injuries, I suppose, it's just surprising to see them both missing in action (although Mantle did pinch hit).
 
I think Robinson had a bad back, which is why Don Hoak started.
 
By the way, I have the last inning of the 1955 World Series on radio. That would be great, except Al Helfer couldn't sound more bored announcing it. This momentous moment, even at the time given the Dodgers' national fanbase, and the lead radio guy totally flubs it. 
 

Spacemans Bong

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The 1908 one-game playoff (actually a makeup game) between the Cubs and the Giants, played due to the NL ruling Fred Merkle was indeed forced out on his Boner play. They closed the gates two hours before game time because they couldn't shove more people into the Polo Grounds. Thousands clambered onto the roof to watch the game. Tens of thousands watched on Coogan's Bluff. Guys fighting their way onto the field, and then Three Finger Brown shuts down the Giant offense to preserve a 4-2 win., 
 

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tims4wins said:
Beckett's game 6 masterpiece in the 2003 WS comes to mind
 
Seconded. Especially for those of us also living in the enemy territory of NYC and walking around dazed and nauseated for a week after the alcs.
 
M

MentalDisabldLst

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Came into this thread thinking about two moments.  One was Game 7 of the 1991 WS, which I misremembered as being in ATL - Jack Morris beat John Smoltz 1-0 in 10 innings but it was in Minneapolis.  I suppose I have to second the 1975 Reds in Game 7 as the most impressive visiting team victory at Fenway, possibly ever.
 
I'll contribute Game 5 of the 1960 WS, where exhausted reliever Roy Face closed it out for Harvey Haddix for a 3-inning no-hit save for the 2nd day in a row.  Was a pretty star-studded day: Mazeroski doubled in 2 runs, Clemente 1, despite 3 walks from Mantle and an RBI from Maris.  After getting knocked around by the MFY in games 2 (16-3) and 3 (10-0) and about to get it again in game 6 (12-0), that was some white-knuckle pitching by PIT.
 
But I also have to second this one:
 
Dollar said:
Pedro coming into Jacobs Field and shutting the door on Cleveland in 1999 Game 5 certainly deserves mention as well.
 
The looks of complete hopelessness and despair in the stands on the NESN broadcast were amazing - and they were there in the 6th and 7th innings!  Everyone in that building knew that they were toast as soon as Pedro entered the game with the lead.  They never had a chance, and knew it.
 

Spacemans Bong

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sfip said:
 
 
I was there. The atmosphere was absolutely poisonous, as the Raider criminal element came out for a game for a sport they don't watch 99% of the year. Add to that enough pissed off A's fans who just knew they were going to blow it for the 4th year in a row and I look back and think I was an idiot for wearing a Red Sox jersey to the game. The seats I had were safe, though, underneath the 2nd deck and the only people behind us were Cubs fans, and they weren't going to give anybody crap. The tix my dad bought that morning, which tells you how shallow the A's fanbase was by then. 
 
Best game I ever attended, though. I was so emotionally wrung out by that series that I couldn't get too excited/scared for the Yankees.