The thing about this, is coming back....coming back again, and again...on the road...to win. We imposed our will on them. 80 and 86, but we were on the wrong side of history...not this time. The way we won, portends a WS title .....and it WAS off the hook. This is it SO FAR.
the bats woke up at the right time. Yahoo has this cool video of the emotions from fans at the stadium from every play. I wanted to embed but it looks like they took it down,
I think he was yelling "one more game"... because they were now up 3-2. The drama of winning all 3 of those games... against what was a superior opponent... juxtaposed with a walk-off to get it done, set up the perfect set of events for that to be as meaningful a moment as it was. All the other games on the list were better overall games... with many memorable moments within.... but this still stands out as a singular moment for me. And because it happened in 2004, the same year the Astros finally won their first playoff series... it carried a little more weight than the Burke shot the following year, after they'd already had a modicum of playoff success.
Don't know what thread it was in, but someone had asked about a win probability chart throughout the game. Found one in a CBS Sports article about the game. Pretty crazy to look at.
The thing about the 18-inning game against the Braves is that it was boring. We had two huge moments -- Berkman's grand slam in the eighth and Ausmus's home run. But then there were 9 innings where nothing happened. When Burke finally hit the game ender, it was a feeling of relief more than amazement. Most of the other big games were like that. The two huge exceptions were last night and '86 game 6. Those are the only playoff games where it felt like at any moment anything could happen, and then everything did.
While extra innings was mostly boring, the pitching was clutch as pitcher after pitcher came in and pitched much more than usual and got the job done. Then Clemens came in and I was at the game near the bullpen watching Clemens warm up and all the fans in the outfield were going nuts. The Ausmus home run to tie it was so unexpected that all the fans at the game or watching knew there is no way we can waste this game after Ausmus gave us such a clutch and unexpected home run. It was definitely the feeling of relief but also the way they did it was so improbable which made it so much more special.
True. It was also not a must-win in the NLDS featuring a (mostly) forgettable team. (Sorry, @sealclubber1016) I mean......... Chris Burke hit the game-winning home run. Jose Altuve/Carlos Correa/George Springer >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (several thousand more >'s) Chris Burke. Frankly, just in terms of the '05 postseason, I'd rank game 6 ahead of it, given that most of us were SURE the Astros were going to blow it. In fact, in terms of individual performances, I'd slot Oswalt's start right behind Mike Scott's no-hitter. Here's the other thing........ drawing the Red Sox and Yankees and Dodgers................ I mean, that '05 team played the freaking White Sox. We have the potential to slay baseball immortals. It's just soooooooooooooooo much cooler. (Yeah, the 2005 team has NOT aged well with me........ my apologies to all the Wily Taveras fans out there. Both of you.)
My dad and grandfather were at that game and stayed all 24 innings. My dad said there weren't too many people left by the end...looks like most that stayed have a connection to this thread!
In way the biggest win, not the greatest game. Game 6 in 86 against the mets. Mike Scott's no-hitter to clinch a playoff birth were both greater games. But it was the biggest win, and one of the greatest games in history.
baseball post season when your team is in it is simply amazing. I haven't even made one single post in the D&D since our run began. Believe me, I don't even know who's president right now.
Today is the anniversary of the 2nd greatest World Series game in Astros history (should it matter we weren't playing?)
