Could Dane Myers Home Run Been A Hal King Moment?

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

It looked like the Reds were going to drop a double header to the St. Louis Cardinals that would have put them 5 1/2 games behind the Cardinals and 7 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres for the final Wild Card position.

There were two outs and the bases empty when Dane Myers pinch hit for Jose Trevino in the bottom of the ninth with the Reds trailing 5-4 against Peter Strzelecki who was one out away from a win.

Myers, who also homered in the first game of the double header, launched a 1-0 pitch into the left field stands to tie the game.

Instead of dropping a double header, right then and there, the home run sent the game to extra innings. Elly De La Cruz singled to score ghost runner, Tyler Stephenson with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Will the moment become the spring board to propel the Reds to the 2026 playoffs with 37 games remaining? That is to be determined. 

Long time Reds fans point to a moment in 1973 in which the Reds trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers by 11 games in the first game of a double header on July 1, 1973. The Dodgers had Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton about to complete a 3-1 victory when lifetime backup catcher, Hal King, came to the plate with two on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with a .182 average and two home runs.

King was brought brought up on June 20 after catching 38 games at Triple A Indianapolis, hitting .252 with seven home runs.

Tony Perez doubled to lead off the ninth inning but Sutton, who was a nine-game winner at the time, retired Bobby Tolan on a pop up to second base. Sutton struck out Larry Stahl. Johnny Bench pinch hit for Dave Concepcion. The Dodgers elected to walk Bench intentionally. Reds manager Sparky Anderson sent King up to bat for Bench's backup, Bill Plummer. 

King and Sutton went to a 2-2 count before launching his second home run of the season over the right centerfield fence at Riverfront Stadium to win the game. The Reds won the second game 3-2 in 10 innings.

The Reds went on a run of 60-26 and allowed them to overtake the Dodgers and win the National League West title.

King also homered in another pinch hit appearance in the 10th inning on August 17 to provide the winning run against the New York Mets, who the Reds ended up playing in the NLCS.

The Mets went on to the 1973 World Series against the Oakland Athletics.