It’s been 28 years since game four of the 1987 World Series, but Tom Lawless remembers it like yesterday.
With his St. Louis Cardinals tied at 1-1 with the Minnesota Twins, the Penn State Behrend alumnus and Erie native stepped to the plate with no outs and two Cardinals on base. The infielder had gone just 2-for-25 over 19 games that season, and here he stood, with the opportunity to create some October magic.
“It was just a 2-0 fastball that I got a good swing on, but it was 45 degrees that night and you really don’t know how the ball is going to carry. I knew I hit it well, and I knew it had a chance,” said Lawless, who played parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons with the Cardinals, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays. “You don’t go up there and say you’re going to hit a home run and throw the bat, but when you know games are crucial, your emotions are running high, everything takes over and your body does things it wouldn’t normally do.”
When the bat hit the ball, Lawless took 11 steps forward and watched to see if it would clear the fence. When it did, he seamlessly flipped the bat over his back, inadvertently cementing himself as part of MLB postseason lore.
Hyperbole? Not according to St. Louis Cardinals’ director of communications Brian Bartow.
“Tom Lawless’ 1987 World Series homer set off a spontaneous and somewhat rare show of emotion, but for whatever reason, it seemed fitting having come from a player who was not known for his hitting prowess,” said Bartow, who had only worked for the team nine months at the time of Lawless’ historic flip. “To this day, it remains an iconic image in both Cardinals and World Series history.”
Lawless’ marquee moment once again became a topic of discussion this postseason after Toronto Blue Jays’ outfielder Jose Bautista enjoyed a similar moment. On Oct. 15, in game five of the American League Divisional Series, Bautista hit the game-winning, series-clinching three-run home run to lead the Jays over the Texas Rangers. After the blast, he methodically flipped his bat forward.