By Jonah Sharf
On October 15, 1988, one of the most legendary moments in Los Angeles sports history occurred. In the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs in Game 1 of the World Series, an injured Kirk Gibson, who was not expected to play at all during the series, came up to pinch hit with a man on base and the Dodgers losing 3-4. Coming up against closer Dennis Eckersley, who was just named ALCS MVP and was the best closer in the game at the time, the hobbled Gibson wasn’t expected to do much damage. After falling behind 0-2 and working the count back to 3-2, Gibson unloaded on a backdoor slider using all upper body strength due to injuries in both legs. He hit it over the wall, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 win in Game 1 and setting the tone for the World Series, which LA won in five games.