Game 6

:"This article is about various Game 6 situations in professional baseball. For information on the movie "Game 6", see the article Game 6 (film)."

Game 6 can refer to one of many particularly famous (rather, one famous and one infamous) World Series games in Major League Baseball history. Game 6 is the second to last of a best-of-seven series and is usually highly dramatic, as one of the two teams enters the game on the verge of elimination. Game 6 is generally the most memorable when the team which comes into it facing elimination can win the game and force Game 7.

The most widely remembered occurrences were:
* Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, October 25, with the New York Mets facing elimination, wherein Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner allowed a dribbling ground ball from Mets batter Mookie Wilson to pass between his legs into right field. The Mets would go on to win the World Series four games to three.
* Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, October 21, an exciting twelve-inning game which the Boston Red Sox defeated the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 on Carlton Fisk's walk-off home run, which hit the left-field foul pole in Fenway Park as Fisk waved his arms, willing the ball to stay fair. Though the Red Sox escaped elimination with this win, they were defeated in Game 7 by the Reds.

Other dramatic occurrences include:
* Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, October 26, the Kansas City Royals were facing elimination at home. The St. Louis Cardinals were up 1-0 going into the bottom of the 9th inning. The left-hander Jorge Orta hit a grounder towards first baseman Jack Clark who fielded the ball and tossed it to pitcher Todd Worrell. Umpire Don Denkinger called Orta safe. St. Louis Manager, Whitey Herzog argued the call and replays showed Orta out by a step, but the officials did not overturn the call. After a single by Steve Balboni on a dropped ball by Clark, a forceout at third, a passed ball by St. Louis catcher Darrell Porter, Hal McRae was given an intentional walk loading the bases. Pinch-hitter Dane Iorg hit a single into right field, driving home Onix Concepcion and Jim Sundberg, who slid safe into home base winning Game 6 for the Royals, 2-1. The Royals went on to win the 1985 World Series with an 11-0 win in Game 7.
*Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS, where the Mets in sixteen innings defeated the Houston Astros to clinch the NL pennant. Had they lost, they would have faced Mike Scott in Game 7, a pitcher that dominated them in his Game 1 and 4 starts.
* Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, October 26, with the Minnesota Twins facing elimination. During this Game 6, Twin and future Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett would put together one of the finest individual single-game performances of modern times, virtually single-handedly defeating the Atlanta Braves in an 11-inning 4-3 contest. The night was capped off in the bottom of the 11th, when Puckett came to the plate and launched a walk-off blast off a weak hanging changeup from Braves pitcher Charlie Leibrandt (pitching as a reliever in extra innings due to Braves manager Bobby Cox running out of relief pitchers). The Twins would go on to win the World Series on a masterful ten-inning complete-game shutout by Jack Morris the following night.
* Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, October 23, where the Toronto Blue Jays were facing the Philadelphia Phillies. The Blue Jays were one game away from winning the series, but were also trailing the Phillies 6-5. Closer Mitch Williams in the bottom of the ninth was two outs away from a game 7, but with two men on base, Joe Carter stepped to the plate with a chance to win it all for the Blue Jays. Carter would hit a home run into deep left field that would win the game, 8-6, and the world championship for the Blue Jays.
* Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, October 26, with the Anaheim Angels facing elimination. The San Francisco Giants took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the 7th inning. With two on and one out in the inning, Dusty Baker pulled Giant pitcher Russ Ortiz in favor of Félix Rodríguez to pitch to Scott Spiezio. After a historic 8 pitch at-bat, Spiezio hit a long fly ball that just got past right-fielder Reggie Sanders for a home run into the third row. Leading off the bottom of the 8th, Darin Erstad smoked a line drive home run over the high scoreboard in right. Tim Salmon (pinch-ran for by Chone Figgins) and Garret Anderson followed with singles. Giants left-fielder Barry Bonds misplayed Anderson's single and the runners advanced to second and third. With no outs and the go-ahead runs in scoring position, Baker brought in Robb Nen to pitch to Troy Glaus. Glaus responded with a ringing double over Bonds in left off the wall. The Angels took the lead, 6-5 and won the game. They would win Game 7 4-1 to take the series.
* Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS featured the Chicago Cubs vs the Florida Marlins. The Cubs were playing for a trip to the World Series, where they hadn't been in nearly 60 years. Up 3-0 in the 8th inning, they were 5 defensive outs away from winning the game when things started to unravel. Shortstop Alex Gonzales committed a rare error that started off an 8-run Marlin 8th inning. Eventually, the Cubs ended up losing the game and eventually the series in 7 games, and the Marlins went on to win the World Series.