So much for my theory that this 25 game stretch would knock Oakland out of playoff contention.
13 games into the 25 game stretch from hell, the A’s have won 10 games and dropped only 3. And my other observation is true: No team puts on a better show.
And now here we sit going into the last day of July with the A’s in position for one of the Wild Card slots and a mere four games back in the loss column of Texas.
The A’s will win with a flair for the dramatic. 12 out of 51 home games have ended with a walk off win. 23.5% of all home games end with the A’s sending the winning run across the plate.
9 of their last 17 home games (or 52.9%) ended with walk off hits.
You can easily say “They can’t keep up that pace.”
But did you expect them to still be in it at this point?
Going into the last day of July, the Oakland A’s are the third best team in the American League, and probably the most exciting.
In my latest series of entries, I want to record how each and every post season series ended. I am doing a blog post for each and every team, listing which pitchers clinched the final out.
And I did a post on some of the more unusual endings, such as a series being clinched with a wild pitch or a runner caught stealing.
I felt it was necessary to list all of the series winning hits. Sure every baseball fan has thought about how cool it would be to get the hit to win the World Series or close out a playoff series. These 24 are the only ones who can claim to have done it.
To be fair, only 23 are walk off hits. One was a sacrifice fly, but I included that as well. There are a few massive home runs and one bunt.
So here they are. I list the batter, the game, the pitcher, who scored and what the final score was.
Every Post Season series that ended with a walk off hit
Most of the players listed are solid big leaguers but not superstars. Only Bill Mazeroski and Goose Goslin were Hall of Famers (and Mazeroski’s inclusion in Cooperstown is one of the most controversial votes ever.)
Rickey Henderson crossed the plate twice on a series ending hit, but never as a member of the A’s. Surely when you think of Rickey, you think of him as a Toronto Blue Jay or a Seattle Mariner.
So why did I do this list? Well in case anyone out there in the vast internet land happens to wonder out loud “I wonder who got a walk off hit to end a post season series” they would land on this post from your pal Sully.
And I will update it the next time there is a walk off hit to end a post season series.
As of now, Nyjer Morgan’s hit against the Diamondbacks is the last one.
It sure seems that way, doesn’t it? Another day and another frenzy at AT&T Park.
It seems like they win their games on the ROAD in walk off fashion. It’s amazing that they are only one game over .500 with all the wild celebrations that they’ve had.
I can’t help but think the fact that the Giants are 4-1 against Colorado will help them down the road.
I bet another walk off is in store for tomorrow… even if they lose.
Sully Baseball 
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