When the Dodgers signed free agent Kirk Gibson after the 1987 season, it not only provided the Dodgers with the leader they needed but also set in motion a string of some of the most improbable events of the 1980s. The Dodgers were bigger underdogs against the A's, who had a fearsome offense behind Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco and a pitching staff led by Dave Stewart, Bob Welch and Dennis Eckersley.

Gibson was hurt in the NLCS and his status for the World Series was greatly in doubt.

In game one, the A's had a one-run lead on the Dodgers in the ninth inning with two outs and nobody on base. Mike Davis was up at the plate as the last hope while Tommy Lasorda kept Gibson stashed away in the clubhouse.

The Past Ball Podcast is a podcast that gives you a quick story on some of the craziest, wildest, funnies, or just plain informative on America's Past Time. Unlike a catcher in a passed ball, we will not drop the ball on give you the past.

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