Game 1 of the 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees had already met the expectations of the baseball world even before the 8th inning. And then baseball magic happened.

It’s a situation that never happens. Bottom of the ninth…or even better…bottom of the tenth, bases loaded, game tied…or even better…team behind. Visions of Kirk Gibson dancing in our heads. The pitch. The swing. The blast. It’s gone.

It never happens. It can’t really happen. In fact, it had never happened in Game 1 of the World Series or any other game of the series. Kirk Gibson in 1988 didn’t need a grand slam to win the game. He just needed to overcome two injured legs and Cy Young Award winner on the mound. Joe Carter‘s home run for Toronto? That was a three-run shot. That’s right, it had never happened.

Until now.

Freddie Freeman‘s blast on the first pitch of the at-bat from Nestor Cortes landed deep into the right field seats. Freeman stood and watched. Dodger fans at the game had already been standing and watched as they jumped up and down. I flashed back and could hear a much younger me as I rose from my seat to see Kirk Gibson’s drive and Freeman’s drive take very different trajectories 36 years and 10 days apart…both with me roaring, “Goooooooooo.” Both landed in what looked to be almost the same place. Ball game. Amazing.

It’s why those of us who love sports…love sports. Against all odds, there is hope. Usually, the hope is dashed against the rocks of despair. But, sometimes, the hope is realized. And we can celebrate something deep, something soulful, something, heart-wrenching (in a good way), something branded with difficulty, something stress-laden, and something beautiful, regardless of the outcome. We so rarely rise to the challenge when everything counts. Tonight, Freeman met his challenge…and it was beautiful.

It took a minute to get there and a great game. The starting pitchers, Jack Flaherty for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Gerrit Cole for the New York Yankees had kept fans on the edge of their seats in a classic duel that Flaherty would eventually lose when a hanging breaking ball ended up deep in the left field seats. The blast by Giancarlo Stanton forced Flaherty from the game. Yankees led 2-1. The Dodgers had gone ahead 1-0 on a Will Smith sacrifice fly, scoring Kike Hernandez.

Los Angeles would scratch out a run after Shohei Ohtani doubled and reached third when Gleyber Torres failed to move his feet to catch the throw in. Mookie Betts slashed a drive to right that Juan Soto ran down. 2-2.

In the top of the 10th, Jazz Chizholm Jr. got a fastball for some reason and laced it to right. He then stole two bases on Blake Treinen and scored on a ground ball fielder’s choice by Anthony Volpe. 3-2 Yankees.

In the bottom of the 10th, L.A. fans hoped for heroics from the bottom of the lineup or at least to get to Ohtani and the top of the order. Will Smith lined to right. Gavin Lux walked and then fell rounding second on a single by Tommy Edman. Yankees fans who were paying attention will always remember second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera diving over the ball, which allowed Edman’s hit to go through. Lux came out, replaced by Chris Taylor.

Suddenly, there was hope. And hope is what dreams are made of.

This was also where things got weird. Yankee manager Aaron Boone decided to bring a lefty in to face Ohtani. The lefty? Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in a month. Yankees fans had to be screaming. Dodgers fans could not believe their good luck. A rusty starter coming into a relief appearance in the World Series with three-straight MVPs possibly getting a chance to win the game? Amazing. Thank you, Aaron, for the chance.

Ohtani swung at the first pitch, which looked outside, and popped out to left fielder and former Dodger Alex Verdugo. Verdugo made a great catch, but tumbled into the stands. The runners moved up as a result. With a base open, Boone gives a free pass to Betts.

A lot will be made of Freeman’s ankle sprain. It has been a month almost to the day since it happened. There was no hobbling to the plate ala Gibson. There didn’t need to be. In 1988, Gibson could have walked and someone else could have had a shot. Here, there were only two options. Freeman gets on base or Freeman gets out. One way or the other, the game ends. The pitch from Cortes darted in inside. Freeman dropped the head of the bat and lifted. His follow-through left him with his right hand on the bat, raised skyward as if holding a torch. He slowly walked toward first. There was no need to rush. Some things can take all of the time in the world.

Beautiful.

Ball game.

6-3 Dodgers.