10 Great Chicago Cubs walk off homers
By: Alex Patt
Hard to argue that there is nothing more exciting than a walk-off home run, and the Chicago Cubs have hit plenty of them over the years. After the unbelievable game-ending grand slam from rookie David Bote on August 12th, we had to look at some of the great game-ending home runs in team history.
Here is a top-10 list of Cubs walk-off home runs in the regular season:
10: Billy Williams on Opening Day, 1971
It was a cool but sunny day at the Friendly Confines to open the 1971 MLB season. The Cubs took on the rival St. Louis Cardinals, with a pitching match up of two Hall of Famers in Bob Gibson and Fergie Jenkins. It was indeed a pitcher’s duel as the game went into 10 innings. Both Jennkis and Gibson pitched the entire time (You’ll NEVER see that today!), and Billy Williams stepped to the plate with one out in the bottom of the 10th. Williams smashed the ball into the left-center bleachers to win it 2–1. The 1971 Cubs finished 83–79 that season.
9: Moises Alou, 4/16/04
There was a lot of disappointment in 2004, but this was a bright spot on that season. The first place Cincinnati Reds were in town to participate in a slugfest with the Cubs in a late afternoon game at Wrigley. Cubs fell behind 9–4 in the sixth, but they fought back with a few runs and eventually the score would be 10–9 Reds in the bottom of the ninth.
Sammy Sosa tied the game with a home run right-center to lead off the inning. It was his 512th home run as a Cubs uniform, which tied him with Ernie Banks in most home runs by a Cub. The crowd went nuts and was still standing and cheering when Moises Alou sent a 1–0 pitch onto Waiveland Avenue to win the game.
8: Javier Baez, Mother’s Day 2K16
Just one of millions of great memories of 2016, the Javier Baez walk-off home run on Mother’s Day was just a great feel-good moment. In a game vs. the Nationals, the Cubs erased a 3–1 deficit late to force extras. Each teams had their opportunities to score, but they were still knotted at three heading into the 13th inning.
With one out, Baez swung his pink bat at a 2–2 pitch and lined a walk-off shot into the left-center bleachers. Was it a crazy comeback? No, a 3–1 deficit was not a big deficit (in a game or series for that team). It also was not in a tight race late in the year, the Cubs won the division by 17.5 games and it was only May, but it was still a very memorable moment people still talk about.
7: Ron Santo grand slam, 9/25/68
Ron Santo hit a number of walk-off home runs in his career, one that stands out was his walk-off grand slam in September of 1968. It was not a season where the Cubs were contending and Wrigley Field had less than 3,000 spectators in attendance, but Santo still gave the people who did watch a grand finish.
Down 1–0 in the ninth, Santo came up with the bases loaded and deposited a walk-off home run into the bleachers to win 4–1. Grand slams to win games by Hall of Fame players are always memorable.
6: Mark Grace, 9/13/98
It was one of the most exciting games in Wrigley Field history and a crucial win in a postseason race. Sammy Sosa hit home runs #61 and #62 that afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Cubs were still down in the slugfest in the ninth inning. This game took place after an epic Orlando Merced walk-off home run the day before and the Cubs looked to have another big comeback victory.
Cubs tied it in the ninth to force extra innings. After holding the Brewers scoreless in the top of the 10th, Mark Grace came up in the bottom of the inning. One pitch, one swing and Grace won the game for the Cubs on a home run to the old right field family section. The 1998 Cubs went on to win the Wild Card in 163 games.
5: Jason Heyward slam, 6/6/18
Just a few months ago, Jason Heyward recorded arguably the biggest hit in his career. After blowing a 3–0 lead to the Phillies, the Cubs trailed 5–3 in the bottom of the ninth. Seranthony Dominguez started the innings for Philly and let Kyle Scharber and Albert Almora reach before Adam Morgan relieved him. Morgan walked Ian Happ and got Ben Zobrist to ground into a forceout. Bases loaded, two outs for Jason Heyward.
Up to that point, Heyward was still struggling offensively with very little power in his swing. None of that mattered when he swung and belted a walk-off grand slam into the right field bleachers. Wrigley Field went crazy as Heyward rounded the bases and continued to stay and cheer when his teammates drenched him in Gatorade.
4: Kris Bryant, 7/27/15
This particular home run is seen by many as the defining moment of the 2015 regular season, and the moment this team showed they were for real. The Cubs came into this game losing four of five to the Phillies and Reds, one of those losses being the same game they got no-hit by Cole Hamels at home.
It appeared that they were going to easily best the Rockies going into the ninth with the 7–4 lead. However in shocking fashion the Rockies came up with four runs, including a Carlos Gonzalez go-ahead home run off Rafael Soriano. It was 8–7 Rockies going to the bottom of the ninth.
With one on and two out, up stepped rookie Kris Bryant to face veteran John Axford. On a 1–0 pitch, Bryant sent the ball into the left-center bleachers. The future had officially arrived.
3: David Bote’s grand slam, 8/12/18
Cubs fans are still going crazy of what happened the other night at Wrigley Field. Rookie David Bote, a 25-year old prospect who was not on any notable lists has been nothing short of a hero in his brief time as an MLB player.
His two out, two strike pinch-hit grand slam to win it for the Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball is historic in a number of ways. According to Christopher Kamka, Bote’s grand slam was the first walk-off grand slam to turn a 3–0 deficit into a 4–3 win since 1936. It was also the first time a Cubs team had seen two walk-off grand slams in one season since 1980.
This will never be forgotten by Cubs fans who witnessed it. Just an incredible moment in an incredible story for a once unknown player in the Cubs system.
2: Aramis Ramirez vs. Brewers, 2007
Who could forget this legendary moment at Wrigley Field in 2007? One of the greatest regular season wins in Cubs history.
The Cubs and Brewers were battling for the NL Central crown all season in 2007, and every game between the two was critical. On June 29th, the Brewers had a 7.5 game lead in the division and looked to go up another game as they played the Cubs on a sunny afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Milwaukee jumped on Rich Hill in the first inning as they put up five runs on the board. Cubs chipped away a little and held the Brewers scoreless the rest of the way, but still trailed 5–3 in the bottom of the ninth. Francisco Cordero was the Brewers hurler, looking to seal the victory. Two singles and a sac fly made it 5–4 with two outs and a man on….enter Aramis Ramirez.
“There’s a drive! DEEP LEFT-CENTER!!! CUBS WIN! THEY WIN IT! RAMIREZ! TWO RUN SHOT! Oh BABYYYYY! Can you believe it?! Unbelievable!” — Cubs play-by-play man, Len Kasper
1: Gabby Hartnett’s Homer in the Gloamin’
The greatest walk-off home run in Chicago Cubs history goes to Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett and his “Homer in the Gloamin’.
It was 1938. Cubs and Pirates were in a tight race for the National League pennant, with Pittsburgh leading by just half a game. In game two of a three-game set between the two teams on September 28th, the sun was going down in the ninth inning with the score tied at five. Either the Cubs would score and win the game, or the game would be suspended. Remember, there were no lights at Wrigley Field in 1938.
Gabby Hartnett came up and slugged a shot into the dark sky that would eventually land somewhere in the left field bleachers. The crowed went nuts, stormed the field and newspaper photographers flashed their camera bulbs in the dark sky. Cubs went on to win the pennant before getting crushed by the New York Yankees in the World Series.
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