In one fell swing Friday night, Mike Brosseau didn't merely catapult himself into Tampa Bay Rays lore, he struck one of the most breathtaking blows in franchise history.
But is it the biggest? For an organization that has existed less than a quarter-century, it already has produced a sizable share of heart-palpitating home runs. Here are the ones we deem the most significant.
6. A real Lou-Lou
Overshadowed in Rays annals by the magical late-season and postseason homers is the one that got the otherwise forgettable Lou Piniella era off with a bang on March 31, 2003. The Devils Rays (as they were known then) trailed the Red Sox by three entering the bottom of the ninth before mounting an improbable five-run rally. The clincher came from 21-year-old outfielder Carl Crawford, who had gone 0-for-4 to that point. Crawford fouled off four Chad Fox pitches and took one ball before sending a high outside fastball into the right-centerfield seats for a 6-4 Devil Rays triumph.
5. A Hall of Fame homer
We'd be awfully remiss if we didn't include the mesmerizing August evening in 1999 when Plant High alumnus Wade Boggs entered the 3,000-hit club. Hardly renowned for his power during his 18 big-league seasons, Boggs achieved immortality and irony on the same Saturday night, entering that elite fraternity by sending a 2-2 pitch from Indians left-hander Chris Haney into the right field seats of Tropicana Field. Boggs became the 22nd member of the 3,000-hit group, and first to enter it via homer.
4. The legend of Dan Bleeping Johnson is born
The Rays had lost six of seven entering this Sept. 9, 2008, contest, and were in danger of losing their lead in the AL East to the Red Sox. Johnson had been recalled earlier in the day from the Rays' Triple-A affiliate in Durham (of course he had) and arrived at Fenway Park only minutes before first pitch due to flight delays. He was 0-for-15 in his big-league career as a pinch-hitter when Joe Maddon summoned him in the ninth _ with Tampa Bay down by a run _ to go against Sox closer extraordinaire Jonathan Papelbon, who had faced 119 batters since allowing his last homer. After working Papelbon to a 3-0 count, Johnson sent a fastball over the Fenway bullpen to tie the score. The Rays added another run in the inning, won 5-4, and ultimately reached their only World Series to date.
3. Dan Bleeping Johnson, Part Deux
No self-respecting Rays fan should be in any way stunned that two homers on this list occurred in the same game. Johnson, who did very little in his big-league career aside from hitting clutch dingers, smacked the biggest one of his life three innings before Evan Longoria's 12th-inning game winner on Sept. 28, 2011. In May of that season, Johnson had been designated for assignment by the Rays, only to be recalled Sept. 14. He had gone 0-for-6 since his return, and had to scurry from the batting cage when Maddon summoned him to pinch-hit against the Yankees with two out and the Rays trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth of this critical regular-season finale. With two strikes, Johnson turned on a Cory Wade fastball that snuck inside the right field foul pole to tie the score and set up Longoria's 12th-inning walk-off. More on this game a little later in our list.
2. The Brosseau blast
This nearly topped our list, based simply on the stakes, juncture of the game and dramatic tension of the at-bat (10 pitches). Toss in the Brosseau backstory, and we gave serious thought to making it No. 1. As if this homer needed more compelling context: It came 39 days after Brosseau nearly took a 101-mph Aroldis Chapman to the helmet, an incident that really got the bad blood percolating between the Rays and Yankees.
1. Game 162
Barring a World Series walk-off, we doubt Evan Longoria's Game 162 homer in 2011 will ever be supplanted as the biggest in franchise history. While Brosseau's shot clinched a playoff series win, Longo's late-night blast got Tampa Bay into the playoffs. The Rays trailed the Yankees 7-0 at home entering the eighth inning, but cut their deficit to 7-6 with a rally in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by Longoria's three-run blast. They tied the score in the ninth on Johnson's pinch-hit homer (see No. 3) before things really got crazy. Shortly thereafter, the Red Sox _ tied with the Rays for the American League's final wild card spot entering the night _ fell to the Orioles. Shortly after that, with the score still tied in the in the bottom of the 12th, Longoria hit a missile that cleared the short fence in left field near the foul pole. They've written oral histories on this night, arguably the wildest in big league regular season history. In the end, Longoria owned that night.
