Major League Baseball

Dodgers-Giants series recalls Finley and spirit of '04

Published Sep. 22, 2014 12:54 a.m. ET

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The Dodgers can clinch the National League West by taking two of three games from the archrival Giants this week at Chavez Ravine.

If that happens, we should recognize the parallels to one of the great, underrated baseball moments over the past quarter century: Steve Finley's division-clinching, walk-off grand slam against the Giants on the next-to-last day of the 2004 season.

Think about the circumstances: It had been nine years since the Dodgers won a division title, and the postseason-tested Giants arrived at Dodger Stadium needing to sweep the final weekend to force a one-game playoff. Barry Bonds, on the verge of his fourth straight NL MVP, was at the height of his late-career power.

The Giants won the series opener and took a 3-0 lead into the ninth inning on the final Saturday of the season. If San Francisco closer Dustin Hermanson could record the final three outs, the Giants would be one win away from a one-game playoff between the ancient rivals -- 53 years after Bobby Thomson.

Instead, Giants manager Felipe Alou summoned four pitchers in the inning: Hermanson, Jason Christiansen, Matt Herges and Wayne Franklin. The last out never came. The Dodgers scored seven times -- the last four on Finley's rocket to right, which he celebrated with an elegant, almost bashful bat flip (by today's standards).

Many ingredients were there for the Finley homer to be etched into our eternal sports consciousness. The game was broadcast nationally on FOX, with a memorable call of the moment by Thom Brennaman. Two iconic franchises were involved, competing directly for a championship in a manner not often seen in this era.

Research through STATS LLC reveals only two 1-2 finishes with a final margin of fewer than eight games since 1971: The first was in 1997, when the Giants won the NL West by two games over the Dodgers; 2004 is the other, and they haven't come close since.

Finley's home run did not resonate as widely as it could have, because the Cardinals eliminated the Dodgers with relative ease in the first round of the playoffs. That was the October when the Red Sox broke their 86-year-old curse -- the overriding memory of autumn 2004 for many baseball fans across the country.

Now, as the Dodgers enter Monday leading the Giants by 4 1/2 games, non-West Coast fans should consider staying up late to appreciate the rarity of this matchup. The onetime borough rivals aren't often this good at the same time. And if Yasiel Puig clinches the division with a walk-off grand slam, the bat flip might travel farther than the home run ball.

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