The 15 Most Memorable Home Runs in MLB History

Yeah, baseball may not be the most entertaining of major pro sports, but when it comes to the most electrifying athletic plays, the home run remains near the top. Tonight, All-Star sluggers will battle one another in the 2011 MLB Home Run Derby at Chase Field in Phoenix (8 p.m. EST). Our money is on league-leading home run hitter (and 'Plex homie), Jose Bautista, but before you get ready for the competition, we'd like to bring you a few of the biggest home runs in baseball history. From Kirk Gibson's walk-off homer in the 1988 World Series to the Shot Heard 'Round the World, here are the 15 Most Memorable Home Runs in MLB History...

DATE: 10/1/1932
GAME: New York Yankees @ Chicago Cubs (Game 3, 1932 World Series)
PLAYER: Babe Ruth, New York Yankees
COMPLEX SAYS: Did the Babe truly "call" this shot? We may never really know, but his gesture prior to this home run blast just added to Ruth's long list of badass moments. From Little League to the majors, many imitate the GOAT, but their chances of living up to the legend are the same as the Cubbies winning a title anytime soon. #ainthappening

DATE: 7/9/2011
GAME: Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees
PLAYER: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
COMPLEX SAYS: Whether it's on the field or in pop culture, the Captain is always clutch. So, when it came time to join the exclusive hit club (only 28 members, son!), was it any surprise that D.J. would homer on hit number 3,000 and go 5 for 5 during the game? Nope, that's just Jeter being Jeter. Sidebar: Does this dude ever lose?

DATE: 10/5/2001
GAME: Los Angeles Dodgers @ San Francisco Giants
PLAYER: Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants
COMPLEX SAYS: So, by the time Barry Bonds hit homer No. 71 to pass Mark McGwire's for the single-season home run record, rumors of steroids being used by MLB sluggers were already beginning to spread. But this was one of the MLB's last big moments before damn near everyone, (we see you, A-Rod, Manny, McGwire, Palmeiro, Clemens...must we go on?) started getting exposed. Needles in butts and ball shrinkage (II)? Yeah, the steroid era was ugly but after the strike in '94, it was kind of needed.

DATE: 10/2/1978
GAME: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox (Regular Season Tie-Breaker)
PLAYER: Bucky Dent, New York Yankees
COMPLEX SAYS: Before young'n Red Sox fans knew about Aaron Boone, their elders were cursing Bucky Dent. The undersized shortstop only batted .247 and belted 40 home runs in his 12-season career, but this launch over the Green Monster put the Yankees on track to their second title in as many years and Dent's name among the Yankee legends. Soundtrack, please!

DATE: 10/14/1985
GAME: Los Angeles Dodgers @ St. Louis Cardinals (Game 5, 1985 NLCS)
PLAYER: Ozzie Smith, St. Louis Cardinals
COMPLEX SAYS: The Wizard was well-known for his defensive skills, but when the time called for a big hit, Ozzie Smith came though. This walk-off homer gave the Cardinals the upper-hand going into Game 6, where they clinched the National League title. Only Ozzie could get a St. Louis crowd this hyped. Sorry, Nelly.

DATE: 10/23/1996
GAME: New York Yankees @ Atlanta Braves (Game 4, 1996 World Series)
PLAYER: Jim Leyrtiz, New York Yankees
COMPLEX SAYS: Throughout his career, Jim Leyritz had a thing for postseason dramatics. However, out of all his pennant race heroics, none of them come close to his homer against the Atlanta Braves during Game 4 of the 1996 World Series. Down 6-3 in the eighth inning, Leyritz came through in the clutch with a three-run homer to tie the game, which led to a Yankees' victory in extra innings. It wasn't until later on that announcer Bob Costas best summed Leyritz's postseason career saying: "You could send this guy to a resort in the spring and summer, as long as he comes back for October."

DATE: 10/21/1975
GAME: Cincinnati Reds @ Boston Red Sox (Game 6. 1975 World Series)
PLAYER: Carton Fisk, Boston Red Sox
COMPLEX SAYS: See, it wasn't all bad for Sox fans during that 86-year drought. In the 12th inning of a 6-6 tie during Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, Carlton Fisk hit a fly ball down the left field that got dangerously close to going foul, but as Fisk stared at the ball's flight into the sky, he waved his arms in hopes that the ball would stay fair. Fortunately, Fisk's shot did stay fair and as any native Bostonian would say, "the ball left the ballpahhhk."

DATE: 10/18/1977
GAME: Los Angeles Dodgers @ New York Yankees (Game 6, 1977 World Series)
PLAYER: Reggie Jackson, New York Yankees
COMPLEX SAYS: Nobody had his World Series game on lock quite like Reginald Jackson. Reggie was so dominating during the Game 6 of the 1977 World Series that he was given the nickname, "Mr. October," which still sticks with him today. We don't know what it is but when someone dons the pinstripes, they become postseason legends. Word to Aaron Boone.

DATE: 9/8/1998
GAME: Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals
PLAYER: Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals
COMPLEX SAYS: The home run race during the 1998 MLB season was becoming must-see TV. With both Sosa and McGwire attempting to break Roger Maris' single-season record, many fans became enthralled with finding out who would hold the distinct honor. The wait ended as McGwire hit homer number 62 barely over the left-field wall. Yeah, dude will be forever remembered as one of the most well-known steroid users, but you think he would've landed a job as the St. Louis hitting coach with out 'em? Us neither.

DATE: 10/1/1961
GAME: Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees
PLAYER: Roger Maris, New York Yankees
COMPLEX SAYS: While playing in the shadow of Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris made his own lane and name in the record books by bashing 61 homers in a single season. As one of the last truly clean power hitters to play the game, Roger Maris' 61st still stands—in our eyes—as the real home run record. No debate—or asterisk— necessary.

DATE: 10/15/1988
GAME: Oakland A's @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Game 1, 1988 World Series)
PLAYER: Kirk Gibson, Los Angels Dodgers
COMPLEX SAYS: OK, so it's not like he came back from a gunshot wound, but does it get more dramatic than a 9th inning pinch hit homer on one-leg? That's like something straight out of Hollywood...oh wait. #thinkblue

DATE: 4/8/1974
GAME: Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves
PLAYER: Hank Aaron, Atlanta Braves
COMPLEX SAYS: Pressure? How's this for pressure? In the run-up to his eclipsing Babe Ruth's career home run record, Hank Aaron endured hate mail and death threats from across the country. So when those two hippie-looking dudes ran up on him as he rounded the bases after breaking the record, Aaron thought they were there to kill him. Where was security like this back in the '70s?

DATE: 10/23/1993
GAME: Philadelphia Phillies @ Toronto Blue Jays (Game 6, 1993 World Series)
PLAYER: Joe Carter, Toronto Blue Jays
COMPLEX SAYS: Every American boy dreams of growing up and hitting a World Series-winning home run...for a Canadian team? OK, so maybe this wasn't the exact script Joe Carter had in mind, but it's pretty damn cool anyway.

DATE: 10/13/1960
GAME: New York Yankees @ Pittsburgh Pirates (Game 7, 1960 World Series)
PLAYER: Bill Mazeroski, Pittsburgh Pirates
COMPLEX SAYS: The Pirates beat the Yankees. On a walk-off homer. In Game 7 of the World Series. If that's not memorable, we don't know what is.

DATE: 10/3/1951
GAME: Brooklyn Dodgers @ New York Giants (Regular Season Tie-Breaker)
PLAYER: Bobby Thomson, New York Giants
COMPLEX SAYS: Yes, this is the obvious choice for the most memorable home run in major league baseball history, but what you (probably) don't know about it makes it even cooler for us. To wit: This most famous of games, New York vs. New York, Harlem vs. Brooklyn wasn't even sold out! And, Thomson's Shot was the product of a season-long effort by the Giants to steal signs using a telescope in the centerfield clubhouse. Keep it classy baseball!