Best Pitcher vs. Batter

[jeterMVP]

I remember watching the Giants play the Yankees in Yankee Stadium (can't remember the year :grouchy ). Barry Bonds steps up against Mariano Rivera. 3-2 pitch Rivera throws the nastiest cutter i've ever seen him throw...up and in...probably moved 6 in. Bonds swings and misses. Best matchup i've ever seen. The AB had me on the edge of my seat.

what's yours?

[Minstrel]

I remember watching the Giants play the Yankees in Yankee Stadium (can't remember the year :grouchy ). Barry Bonds steps up against Mariano Rivera. 3-2 pitch Rivera throws the nastiest cutter i've ever seen him throw...up and in...probably moved 6 in. Bonds swings and misses. Best matchup i've ever seen. The AB had me on the edge of my seat.

what's yours?

It's not the best hitter and batter of my era, but I remember a Mark McGwire / Randy Johnson confrontation in the Kingdome, when Mac was still an A and Unit was still a Mariner.

Randy Johnson threw some wicked pitches and the at-bat ended with McGwire launching a Johnson fastball for one of the longest home runs I've ever seen. To me, it was one of the greatest at-bats I've witnessed live and will probably always live in my memory.

[Mariano_Rivera]

I remember watching the Giants play the Yankees in Yankee Stadium (can't remember the year :grouchy ). Barry Bonds steps up against Mariano Rivera. 3-2 pitch Rivera throws the nastiest cutter i've ever seen him throw...up and in...probably moved 6 in. Bonds swings and misses. Best matchup i've ever seen. The AB had me on the edge of my seat.

what's yours?

To a lesser extent I remember a Hideki Matsui-Joe Nathan AB early last year. It was a one run game in the bottom of either extra innings or the 9th, Godzilla worked the count full and fouled off a few pitches until Joe throws a FB just barely outside that Matsui just watches go by. The umpire missed the call and called him out on strikes costing the Yankees the game.

[EvanAparra]

The Derek Lowe vs. Terrence Long (i believe) to end the ALDS in '03 was a nailbiter. When that pitch went in on him and then came back over the corner of the plate at the last second -- i held my breath until the ump signaled the out. Great moment.

[W_Marone]

When the Rocket was in Houston and was pitching to Barry Bonds...was a great match up....Rocket, of course, got the better of Bonds.

[Williamsburg2599]

In recent memory, Maddux Vs. Bonds this year was pretty good.

[BoSox Rule]

Pedro/Bonds in 04 was good to watch.

[JamesWest]

Easily 6/24/95 in Chcago: 7th inning, Alex Fernandez vs Scooter Tucker. Tucker had been hitless for the season. Everyone in Cleveland was on the edge of their seat waiting to see if Tucker would finally hit one, but he struck out and never had another AB in the Majors.

[538280]

Pedro/Bonds in 04 was good to watch.

Yes it was. That was going to be mine.

[hellborn]

Watching Maddux face Belle in the Tribe-Braves WS, in the one game where Greg was totally on, was electric for me...I think that Belle reached out on an outside pitch that had totally fooled him and poked it over the RF fence for a HR, may have been the only Tribe run in that game. Made me realize how incredibly strong and disciplied Belle was, but also just how deceptive Maddux must have been at his best.

[Myankee4life]

Clemens VS A-rod during the 2000 ALCS. A-rod was absolutely owned.

Zumaya VS A-rod during the 2006 ALDS. A-rod was once again owned.

[AlecBoy006]

Probably the biggest milestone for me was seing Sosa's 400th.

[JamesWest]

Watching Maddux face Belle in the Tribe-Braves WS, in the one game where Greg was totally on, was electric for me...I think that Belle reached out on an outside pitch that had totally fooled him and poked it over the RF fence for a HR, may have been the only Tribe run in that game. Made me realize how incredibly strong and disciplied Belle was, but also just how deceptive Maddux must have been at his best.

The Indians won the game you are describing (it was game 5 of the 1995 WS). During that AB in the bottom of the first, Maddux threw up and in on Belle and the benches started to clear. There was no brawl, but it looked like one might start. I was at that the game and I don't remember Maddux looking that impressive that night. maybe it was thre weather,it was a cold, damp night.

[Captain Cold Nose]

The one at-bat that always stands out to me, even though I've seen beter hitters and pitchers, was Reggie Jackson breaking up a Nolan Ryan no-hitter in the 70's when Reggie was with New York and Ryan was with California.

[GiambiJuice]

Kirk Gibson vs Dennis Eckersley

[hellborn]

The Indians won the game you are describing (it was game 5 of the 1995 WS). During that AB in the bottom of the first, Maddux threw up and in on Belle and the benches started to clear. There was no brawl, but it looked like one might start. I was at that the game and I don't remember Maddux looking that impressive that night. maybe it was thre weather,it was a cold, damp night.
Memory is a funny thing...Maddux was really on in Game 1, and Belle didn't HR off him in that game. Greg was not as sharp in Game 5, when Belle hit the shot...but, I still do remember that it was an impressive piece of hitting by Albert, muscled an outside pitch that fooled him out the other way.
Maddux's stats weren't too bad in Game 5 (Clontz gave up a HR to Thome to put the game out of reach), but he did uncharacteristically walk three batters and pick up the loss, of course.
Thanks for setting me straight! I usually go look up stuff like this before I post just to be sure, but I was feeling totally sure here...

[JamesWest]

Thanks for setting me straight! I usually go look up stuff like this before I post just to be sure, but I was feeling totally sure here...

That game is one of my favorite baseball memories. I generally look up stuff beofre I post too, but this was one that I was absolutely sure about!!

[csh19792001]

Most fun? Albert Pujols vs. Odalis Perez of late.

I've watched Bonds vs. Maddux off and on for almost 20 years, but more exciting was either Pedro or Big Unit vs. Bonds, because both would go right after him, drill him when he hung over the plate, and never backed down.

When Pedro and Bonds faced off in 04' and Pedro struck him out on four pitches (and made him look silly) it was the most refreshing thing I'd seen in years (after years of seeing lousy mid level national league pitchers throw four weak balls out of the strike zone, watching Bonds take off all his armor, and then trot non chalantly to first base).

YAWN. Sabermetricians eat your hearts out at all those BS walks and the stat inflation that came with it. That's not baseball.

Bonds vs. Pedro in 2004 was the fiirst (and maybe only) time I've ever seen Bonds totally dominated (and intimidated, for that matter).

The most prolific matchup I ever witnessed with regularity was Jeter vs. Pedro- including the postseason, they faced one another probably 110 times.

[JamesWest]

YAWN. Sabermetricians eat your hearts out at all those BS walks and the stat inflation that came with it. That's not baseball.

.

I don't know how you can say that about baseball's most exciting play, the base on balls.

[EvanAparra]

I've watched every single Pedro start I could since '97, and for some reason Im drawing a big, stupid, blank on his strikeout of Barry. Does anyone have a link of a video of this??