Top 5 World Series Game 6's

October is one of my favorite months for many reasons. There is my birthday on the 5th, Halloween, NFL and college football are in full swing and oh yeah, the MLB playoffs! My interest in sports history started with baseball. I recall reading many books when I was a youth that described all the historic players and moments that made baseball the sport it is today.

In this Top 5 article, I am going to be looking at the greatest World Series Game 6's in MLB history. Without further adieu, let us begin!

#5 1975 World Series

The Cincinnati Reds came into Game 6 of the 1975 World Series needing just one more win to claim their first championship in 35 years. On the other side were the Boston Red Sox, who had not won since 1918 after their infamous trade of Babe Ruth to the rival New York Yankees. It would not be easy for the Reds though, as they were on Boston's home turf at Fenway Park.

Up three runs in the eighth inning, it looked like the Reds had the World Series in hand with Boston down to its last six outs. But the Red Sox did not give in and fought back to tie the game at seven. Extra innings would be needed after the Red Sox failed to score with no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning.

In extra innings, things would get wild at Fenway. In the top of the 11th inning, right fielder Dwight Evans leaped at the wall to rob Joe Morgan of a home run and throw out Ken Griffey at first base for an inning-ending double play.

The game continued on into the Boston night and in the bottom of the 12th, Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk dug into the box to lead off the inning. With the count 1-0, he crushed a ball down the left field line. Fisk watched his hit off the bat and leapt out of the box. He was not sure if it was going to be fair or foul. To help guide the ball, Fisk waved his hands to the right as he hopped down the line and then jumped for joy as the ball clanked off the left field foul pole. Red Sox fans rushed the field and mobbed the Game 6 hero at the plate.

Fisk had kept the Red Sox alive for a Game 7 at home, but it was to no avail as the Cincinnati Reds took the final game 4-3 to claim their third World Series title in franchise history.

#4 1977 World Series

The New York Yankees entered the 1977 World Series on a 14-year World Series drought. They had been in the Fall Classic three times since winning it all in 1962 and suffered two sweeps and a Game 7 loss. The opposing Los Angeles Dodgers were in the same boat as they came into this World Series on an 11-year drought.

Interestingly enough, these two teams were very familiar with each other as the Yanks and Dodgers had hooked up seven times in the World Series. The Yankees had LA's number as they had defeated the Dodgers in five of these meetings. However, LA got the last laugh when these two last met in the 1963 World Series as they swept the Yankees.

15 years later, the Yankees were out for revenge as they led the World Series three games to two. Game 6 was set in New York, so the Yankees had the support of the home crowd. In this same year, Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner had added slugging right fielder Reggie Jackson to the team in hopes the six-time All-Star could turn the Yankees back into a championship ball club. Steinbrenner's genius would show in a very big way this game.

In his second at-bat of the game, Reggie came to the plate with a runner on first and the Yankees down 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth. He did not hesitate at all as he hit the first pitch he saw out of the park to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth with the score still the same, Reggie again launched the first pitch he saw out of the yard to push the lead to 5-3. The Yankees would tag on two more runs to set up Reggie's finale. Up 7-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Reggie again did some first pitch swinging as he hit his third home run deep into center field.

The Yankees would go on to win the game 8-4 and win their 21st World Series title in franchise history. Besides the fact that he hit three home runs in a game, what is also spectacular about Reggie's feat is that he did it off of three different Dodger pitchers on just three pitches! This phenomenal Game 6 performance would earn Reggie World Series MVP honors for the second time in his career.

#3 2011 World Series

It was the bottom of the ninth, two outs, and runners on first and second. The Texas Rangers were leading the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5 in Game 6 and needed just one more out to claim the first championship in franchise history. Down to their last out, St. Louis's fate rested in the hands of third baseman David Freese.

Freese went down 0-2 in the count, and now the Cardinals had one strike left in their season. After taking a ball, Freese crushed the fourth pitch of the at-bat into deep right field. Texas's right fielder Nelson Cruz gave chase but could not make the catch as he crashed into the wall. Both Cardinal runners scored and Freese slid into third base with a game-tying triple. It was a completely new ballgame and the Cardinals were still very much alive!

The Rangers regained the lead on a two-run home run by Josh Hamilton in the top of the tenth, and the Cardinals again would need some magic to save their season. The Redbirds were able to cut it to one and had runners on first and second with two outs. Their season was now in the hands of outfielder Lance Berkman. With the count 2-2, St. Louis again was down to its final strike of 2011.

On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Berkman smoked a ball into the right-center gap to tie the game at nine. Once again, the Cardinals had battled back to keep their season alive! In the bottom of the 11th, David Freese stepped to the plate looking to top his game-tying triple. And he did.

Freese hit a 3-2 pitch over the center field wall for a walk-off home run and an exhilarating Game 6 victory. The Cardinals would ride the momentum from this win to a 6-2 Game 7 victory for the 11th World Series title in franchise history.

#2 1986 World Series

12 years after losing the 1975 World Series, the Boston Red Sox were back at it against the New York Mets. Leading three games to two with Game 6 set in New York, the Sox were looking to end a 68-year World Series drought.

Like '75, this Game 6 required extra innings. The Sox put up two in the 10th and took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the inning. Three more outs and the Curse of the Bambino was over! The Mets would not go down without a fight though.

With two outs, the Mets rallied off three straight hits to cut the lead to 5-4 and put the tying and winning run on third base and first base, respectively. The Red Sox went with a pitching change and brought in Bob Stanley to face outfielder Mookie Wilson. With the count 2-2 on Wilson and the Mets down to their final strike, Stanley threw a wild pitch that allowed Kevin Mitchell to score from third to tie the game! In the process, Ray Knight advanced from first to second to get into scoring position.

Now with the count full at 3-2, Wilson hit the ninth pitch of the at-bat down the first base line. It was a slow roller that looked like it would be easily fielded by first baseman Bill Buckner for the third out of the inning. But the Curse reared its ugly head as the ball went underneath Buckner's glove and allowed Knight to score the game-winning run!

The Mets were in complete jubilation after winning a game they had no business winning. The Red Sox, meanwhile, were in pure shock and disbelief. New York's dramatic Game 6 victory would give the Mets the momentum they needed to win Game 7 and claim just the second World Series title in franchise history. For Boston fans, Buckner's error was one of the worst moments in the history of Boston sports. Only after the Red Sox won it all in 2004 and 2007 did Red Sox fans finally forgive poor Buckner.

#1 1993 World Series

Coming in at No.1 is Game 6 of the 1993 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies. Toronto was the defending World Champions and led the series three games to two with Game 6 at their home field known as the SkyDome (now known as the Rogers Centre).

After jumping to an early three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, the Blue Jays would enter the bottom of the ninth trailing 5-3 after giving up five runs in the top of the seventh inning. Philly's sporadic closer, Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, came in to try and force a Game 7. He walked the first batter in the speedy Ricky Henderson, induced a fly out, and then gave up a single to six-time All-Star Paul Molitor to put the World Series winning-run at the plate.

Stepping in to the box in the biggest at-bat of his career was two-time All-Star Joe Carter. After working the count to 2-2, Carter smashed the fifth pitch of his at-bat over the left-field wall for a walk-off three run homer! Carter had just done what every boy playing in his backyard dreams about! He had hit a home run to win the World Series! Carter jumped with glee around the bases like a little kid as his teammates mobbed him at the plate.

The Blue Jays had won back-to-back World Series titles on just the second ever walk-off home run to end a World Series. For Mitch Williams, he would forever be infamously tied to Joe Carter's home run. After the game he received death threats and eternal blame from Philly fans for the loss. His career was never the same.

Honorable Mention:
1985 World Series, 2002 World Series

Conclusion:
I hope you enjoyed this Top 5 article! These were some great World Series Game 6's in baseball's history and games like the ones I mentioned above are the reasons why I enjoy watching the sport so much! Tune in for more of my upcoming articles!

*All stats accredited to Baseball-Reference.com & Wikipedia.com

*All photos accredited to masslive.com, siphotos.com, zimbio.com, wsj.com, & USAToday.com