Falls from Grace

Unlikely World Series Heroes

Click here to see 15 athletes who once were on top of the mountain only to come crashing down.

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Unlikely World S... One year ago, Mike Napoli was a .238 hitter for the Anaheim Angels, known by few people outside of LA. Now he is a World Series hero, enjoying an incredible best-of-seven series for the Texas Rangers. He is hardly the first unlikely hero in World Series history, however. Part of the fun of the World Series is that relative unknowns can become heroes almost overnight. Here are 10 players who won't be getting a call from the Hall of Fame, but who are baseball immortals because they saved their best for October (Interestingly, three of them, like Napoli, are catchers.)—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Al Weis A utility infielder for the New York Mets, Weis hit .215 in 1969 with 3 home runs and 23 RBIs. But after only coming to the plate once in the 1969 NLCS, Mets manager Gil Hodges decided to use him more in the World Series, and boy did it pay off. He drove in the winning run in the ninth inning of Game 2. In Game 5, he tied the score with a home run in the seventh, the first one the light-hitting infielder ever hit at Shea Stadium. The Mets scored another in the eighth and won the World Series. Weis finished the series batting .455 with a homer and 3 RBIs. He was cut by the Mets in 1971 and never played in the majors again. But he's still a legend in Queens. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Harry Harris)

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Edgar Renteria A journeyman shortstop, he has played for seven teams in his 16-year career. Renteria has stayed in the league thanks to his glove, but he has come up huge with the stick in his hand not once but twice in the World Series. In 1997, he batted .290 for the Marlins in their seven game series win over the Cleveland Indians, knocking in the winning run with a walk-off single in the 11th inning of Game 7. In 2010, he was again a World Series hero, batting .412 with 2 homers and 6 RBIs for the Giants. Not bad for a guy who had hit 3 home runs all season long. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)

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Don Larsen In 1954, Don Larsen had one of the worst pitching years in baseball history, going 3-21 with a 4.37 ERA for the St. Louis Browns. He was traded to the Yankees, where he pitched better, but was still being overlooked by All-Star voters. He had started Game 2 of the 1956 World Series against the Dodgers and had gotten bombed, being pulled after pitching two innings and giving up four runs. But in Game 5, his control was impeccable, and he mowed down the Dodgers vaunted lineup. Not a single Dodger reached base the entire game, as Larsen pitched the first (and only) no-hitter in World Series history. He would finish his career with an 81-91 record, but few people remember that. They just remember October 8th, 1956, the day Don Larsen was perfect. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/File)

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Billy Hatcher A career .263 hitter who played for seven teams in 12 years, Hatcher picked the perfect time to hit the hottest streak of his career, the 1990 postseason. He batted .333 in the NLCS against the Pirates and topped that with an incredible .750 batting average against the A's in the 1990 World Series. It broke Babe Ruth's previous record for highest batting average in a World Series.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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Bernie Carbo Carbo was traded seven times in his 12-year career. His first stop was Cincinnati. In 1970, the Reds went to the World Series, where they lost in five games to the Orioles. Carbo had a dreadful postseason that year, going 0-14 in two rounds of playoffs. In 1974, he was traded to Boston, where he was a platoon player in the outfield. He didn't play in the 1975 ALCS, and in the 1975 World Series, he only reached the plate seven times. But he made the most of those at-bats, going 3-7 with a home run and two doubles. One of those home runs was in the 8th inning of Game 6, and tied the game at six apiece. Four innings later, Carlton Fisk would hit one of the most famous homers in World Series history, and the Red Sox would force a Game 7. They lost, but Bernie Carbo is still a legend in New England for his timely hitting. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo)

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Pat Borders Pat Borders was a catcher who played for nine different teams, batting .253 with 63 career homers. But after hitting .318 in the 1992 ALCS as a member of the Blue Jays, he went wild in the 1992 World Series, batting .450 and winning the MVP award. A year later, he would prove that it was no fluke, batting .304 and leading the Jays to back-to-back World Series wins. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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Johnny Podres The year was 1955, and the Brooklyn Dodgers were facing the prospect of losing yet another World Series to the hated New York Yankees. Four times in the past eight seasons they had won the NL pennant and then lost to the Yanks in the World Series. And on the hill they had third-year pitcher Johnny Podres facing the vaunted Yankees lineup. The lefty had gone 9-10 that season, but had won Game 3 of the series. Still, it was a big game for a 23-year-old pitcher. Podres was superlative, pitching a complete game shutout, and the Dodgers finally knocked off New York. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/FILE)

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Gene Tenace Gene Tenace had been a backup catcher for the Oakland A's since 1969, but manager Dick Williams decided to start him in the 1972 World Series. He responded with one of the finest World Series performances the Fall Classic has ever seen. He batted .348 with 4 homers and 9 RBIs, including 2 hits and 2 RBIs in a deciding Game 7. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo)

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Bucky Dent Bucky Dent is hated in New England for his timely home run in the 1978 one-game playoff against the Red Sox. But he's not thought of too kindly in Los Angeles either, where the career .243 hitter scorched the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series, going 10-24 with 7 RBIs and earning himself a World Series MVP. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo)

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Jim Leyritz The Yankees were down 2-1 in the 1996 World Series and down 6-3 in Game 4. Leyritz had not started the game and came in as a defensive replacement in the sixth inning. In the eighth, the Braves held a three-run lead, but the Yankees had two runners on. Leyritz came to the plate and cracked one to left field, tying the game at 6 and turning the momentum of the entire series. The Yankees would win Game 4 in extra innings and win Games 5 and 6 as well. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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Falls from Grace Click here to see 15 athletes who once were on top of the mountain only to come crashing down.