# data[].attributes.body
On the plate,

Injured.

Can he make the shot?

Ready,

Steady,

The ball is thrown.

Miss.

The ball comes again.

Miss.

His body aches with worry and pain

One more shot

He can't miss this one.

The ball flies through the air.

Meeting with the bat

The ball ricochets even higher than before.

Smashing the stadium lights

While the crowd illuminates with happiness.

He did it again!

He won!

He won!

He is astonishing!

He is

Kirk

Gibson.

-Sameha Hasan

# data[].attributes.headline
Ode to Kirk Gibson Oh poor man what can we say,Not introduced in a certain wayWhat could these injuries do?Could they help you?The crowd had a crazy look,Would you get off the hook? He stands on the baseWith a frightened look on his faceThe crowd goes wild One miss, the crowd is still riledThe pitcher winds up,Kirk Gibson not ready to duck.Missed another Why does he even bother.It was almost the end of the game ,Kirk with one hit His swing was lit,A home runMan it was fun.Teammates cheeringCrowd gleaming The game was over The day was like a four leaf clover,Lucky Kirk Gibson.-Allie Janicek

# data[].attributes.subject
Ode to Kirk Gibson Oh poor man what can we say,Not introduced in a certain wayWhat could these injuries do?Could they help you?The crowd had a crazy look,Would you get off the hook? He stands on the baseWith a frightened look on his faceThe crowd goes wild One miss, the crowd is still riledThe pitcher winds up,Kirk Gibson not ready to duck.Missed another Why does he even bother.It was almost the end of the game ,Kirk with one hit His swing was lit,A home runMan it was fun.Teammates cheeringCrowd gleaming The game was over The day was like a four leaf clover,Lucky Kirk Gibson.-Allie Janicek

# data[].attributes.body
So Close.

I can see the win from here

Injured. Up to bat.

Everyone in fear,

Kirk stares the pitcher down,

Fouls the strike off.

Tries not to frown,

Determined to hit,

Fouls again.

Ends up in a pit,

Last chance,

Confidence draining.

He gets into his stance,

POP!

The ball goes flying.

The crowd, enthusiastically crying

HOME RUN

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Coach calls his name

he knows this is their only chance

he knows he will never get another chance.

Gibson goes up to bat

he feels as if he is going to fall flat.

the ball comes he swings, boom

the ball zooms by, the crowd watches in aw,

the ball flies into the stands

And the crowd goes wild.

# data[].attributes.body
Game 4 of the World Series.

Dodgers Vs Oakland athletics.

Bottom of the ninth, dodgers down 1, two outs.

Injured outfielder Kirk Gibson walks up.

Dennis Eckersley throws the first pitch.

WACK! The crowd cheers

Foul ball.

Second pitch.

CRACK! The ball flies in the air

Foul ball.

Pitch number three.

Determined, Gibson hits the ball

CRACK.

The ball flies.

Home Run.

the crowd goes wild.

The impossible has happened.

With pain

The Dodgers won.

-Marcus Ortiz

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On 1988, despite all odds,

He did the unthinkable,

He was the one,

He was up to bat,

With two outs,

In the bottom of the 9th inning,

Kirk swings, and with one smack,

He hits the home run,

The crowd cheers,

The Dodgers have won

- Jacob R

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Last chance

To save the game

Number 23

Steps up to bat

Legs hurting,

Head throbbing,

Pressure rising

First hit,

Foul

Second hit,

Foul

Third hit,

The ball is moving fast,

Gibson's eyes focused,

The bat makes contact,

Home run

Gibson gets it,

The home run he needed

The home run his team needed

The crowd goes wild.

Charlie Taylor

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The year was 88,

and the World Series

wasn't looking great,

for the Dodgers in

the bottom of the

ninth inning.

Kirk Gibson was up to bat,

nervous,

sweating through his hat,

for the team is

depending all on him.

First pitch goes bang,

as it was almost the end

of the game, and the crowd

at the edge of their seats.

The second pitch goes back,

after a very loud wack,

and the Dodgers are

not looking so great.

Finally,

Gibson hits a home run,

the entire stadium in stun,

for the Dodgers won the World Series.

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Late night

Bright light

Loud cheer.

End of ninth

One more time

Injured player.

The Athletics have won.

That's what people were saying.

The game is over.

That's what people were saying.

The Dodgers have a chance

That's not what people were saying.

Kirk Gibson will hit a home run.

That's not what people were saying.

Kirk Gibson is injured,

Two hurt legs.

Not even announced,

Not a chance.

Swings bat,

Hit, foul ball.

Swings bat,

Hit, foul ball.

No one is expecting much.

But the crowd still has hope

Still,

Who would trust the game to injured Kirk Gibson?

Kirk Gibson would.

Last chance, he swings.

Hit.

The ball flies through the air.

Home run.

Our hero limps away.

The Dodgers have won.

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Injured, he walked up to the plate,

What happened next had to be fate.

The first pitch,

Foul.

Second pitch,

Strike.

Third pitch,

Home run.

The crowd stood appalled,

He had prevailed though all odds.

Cheers rang through,

A miracle they had all just viewed.

The words you had shared,

In a time of despair.

You believed in him,

You knew he could win.

- Peyton Fisk

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Up to the plate

Walks Kirk Gibson

Beloved Number 23.

Nervous,

Unstable.

He wasn't introduced-

Too injured to play.

The fist pitch was released:

Strike one.

The crowd gasped in horror

As he wobbled back to the plate.

Pitch two: strike two.

At this moment,

The crowd was silent.

He held the weight,

Of everyone there,

Two outs,

Two strikes,

Bottom of the ninth,

The pressure was high.

The pitch was thrown,

As bat hit the ball,

And the baseball flew into the crowd.

Rounding the bases,

Congratulated by

Fans,

Coaches,

Players.

Number 23.

Unstoppable.

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World Series, 1988,
Dodgers,

23, Kirk Gibson,

makes the impossible,

possible.

Ache,

Discomfort.

Swing,

Foul,

Swing,

Foul,

Swing,

CRACK!

Home Run

Cheers

Run,

Breathe,

Run,

Breathe,

Triumph

-Ameline Bertout

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Kirk Gibson up to bat!

Disbelief ensues among fans,

With two bad legs,

He stands at the plate.

First pitch,

He fouls it.

Second pitch,

He fouls it.

Third pitch.

He swings.

His bat

Makes contact

With the ball

In a year

Filled with impossibilities,

The impossible

Has happened.

Going,

Going,

Gone!

# data[].attributes.body
Almost Won.

The end of the game,

The big moment.

Kirk Gibson up

Injured,

Unsteady.

He stands on the base

Ready for the ball,

His disabilities show

Misses 1 and, 2.

The final hit

Make or lose,

Ready or not

The ball comes flying.

Kirk swings at the ball,

Contact.

The ball flies high

And everybody screams,

He ran all around.

Won.

# data[].attributes.body
He did not come out before the game,

He wasn't introduced.

Kirk Gibson

Number 23 on the Dodgers

With 2 bad legs,

1st hit he runs far

Foul.

"Are you alright fella?" The umpire asks.

Second hit

Foul.

Last hit

Not expecting much from him.

The ball flies high in the air,

Home run!

The crowd goes wild.

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The last chance to win,

Bottom of the 9th,

Kirk Gibson steps out to bat,

Injured not only in one leg

but two.

The pitcher hasn't let a

home run go all night,

He throws, Gibson gets his first foul

The Pitcher winds up, throws and,

Gibson gets his second foul.

The crowd is silent,

The pitcher confident in his skills,

He winds up and throws,

The unexpected the impossible happens

Gibson hits a Home Run

And the crowd goes wild,

The Dodgers Won the World Series.

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All the struggles and the pain

It's the name of the game

It's 1988

Kirk is stepping up to the plate

4th game of the series

Everyone's feeling quite eerie

SWING

Ball flies high

The smiles are wide

Home run

Rounding the bases

Looking at all the happy faces

Game winner

Time to go get some dinner

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23, up to bat.

Last chance.

Fear strikes the crowd.

The chance of a lifetime,

Down to a single person.

riddling with curiosity

Knees weak,

Arms are heavy

There's blood on his jersey already.

The ball flings through the air towards Kirk.

Crack! Goes the bat.

The ball, is set free into flight

The crowd roars in excitement

It's fair, and its gone.

The one chance no longer lives.

Home run.

Game over.

Dodgers win.

# data[].attributes.body
Injured but capable Kirk steps up to the plate

The crowd excited they couldn't wait

Fighting through the pain

because he wants to win the game

Down 0-2 in the count

He must make this one count

The pitch comes in

This ones for the win

He swings and the and makes contact

The ball is high and the sky and leaves the stadium

The game is over

Dodgers win

-Wyatt Coulter

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The crowd cheers,

Lights flicker,

Embraced by joy,

It's over.

The ball hits the light in right field,

Tension,

SWING!

Ready...

He doesn't know if he can do it,

The pain is unbearable,

All eyes are on him.

Heads fall in disbelief,

Foul again,

SWING!

Breathes heavy,

Foul is called by the umpire,

SWING!

He steps on the plate,

A whisper goes over the audience,

People look in aw,

Walks on the field,

It all starts here,

Coach calls me up.

# data[].attributes.body
He walks to the base,

With pain in both legs.

So much pain he didn't start

So much pain he couldn't run

The pitcher throws,

And he swings.

Going,

Going,

Foul...

On the way to first he hobbled,

He couldn't lose.

So much stress that they might lose.

So much stress that he may faint.

Second pitch,

Eyes on the ball.

Bang

Foul tip.

Bottom of 9th inning,

3 to 4 they're losing.

Stress and pain, he can't walk.

Stress and pain, he's bleeding.

The pitcher pitches once again,

The ball whips from his hand.

Yet he still sees the ball,

And the umpire sees the blood on his hip.

Bang

Going,

Going,

Gone.

He did it,

He won,

The happiness numbs the pain,

There is no longer only pain now.

There is also joy.

Pain and joy.

Pain and joy.

# data[].attributes.body
An injured player steps up to the job

Of winning the Dodgers their degree of fame,

Kirk Gibson, an outfielder, has to try

At literally the last moment in the game

At the bottom of the ninth

He steps up to the plate

Sweating and worried,

He ponders his team’s fate.

The first ball delivered

A foul is completed,

And on the second pitch thrown

His mistake was repeated.

On the third pitch of the game,

The team thought they were done,

But Kirk hit a homer

And the Dodgers had won.

-Andrew Mitchell
(By the way, nice 'stache, Kirk!)

# data[].attributes.body
He was the one,

nobody thought would make a hit,

Not even introduced,

With both legs injured,

The hamstring,

The knee,

He comes up to the plate,

Two outs

Bottom of the ninth inning,

Focuses and makes the pain a memory

With blood on his shirt

He takes a swing,

Goes out to the crowd,

Not yet,

A foul,

One more swing,

Another foul,

One,

More,

Swing,

"Wack",

The crowd screams,

There's hesitation,

He limps forward

Hitting each base

Slowly,

But carefully,

He takes the win.

# data[].attributes.body
Number 23, wounded,
and still the fans rooted,
now boosted with confidence,
he takes his first swing,
the crowd gains hope,
a foul,
second pitch and yet another foul,
the final pitch, the crowd slowly looses hope,
Kirk suprime the crowd as the ball soares through the sky,
a homerun is hit

# data[].attributes.body
Limping

Struggling

Hurting

He walks up to the base.

Kirk Gibson

Injured, 23

Wasn't even introduced

He hears the whispers.

Swinging

Hitting

FOUL

The air heavy with pressure, tension.
People chanting

He wastes his second chance,
He fouls again.
Third time's a charm?

The bat's heavy in his hands as his legs tremble.
He can feel the blood seeping through his shirt.

Deep breath.

Throbbing.

Hurting.

Waiting.
Swinging.

Running.

- Sophia Jones

# data[].attributes.body
9th inning
Runner on first
Game on the line
Kirk Gibson comes up
Both legs crippled

The pitch is thrown
Foul ball
Another pitch
Another foul ball

Next pitch
"WACK"
Hits a shot and it's gone
Walk off homerun

The crowd goes wild
DODGERS WIN!!!!!!!!!

# data[].attributes.body
Bottom of the ninth,

last chance for him.

He has used his first

two chances on a foul,

he has the whole team on his
injured body,

he steps into it,

and hits the ball to infinity.

Gregory Scher

# data[].attributes.body
Bottom of the ninth,
Dodgers down 1,
A crippled Kirk Gibson steps up to the plate,
worrying the crowd,
Kirk fouls off the first two pitches,
he is down 0-2 in the count
The crowd now on their feet,
The pitcher throws a fastball down the middle,
Kirk unloades a fierce swing and sends it deep in the right field bleachers,
A walk off home run.

# data[].attributes.body
Kirk Gibson, number 23,
two bad legs, very confident.
He fouled twice,
hit the ball the third time with all his power.
HOMERUN.

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Kirk stands tall
Focuses his eyes on the ball
The crowd gasps
What if he falls?

At the beginning of the night
Kirk gave all the onlookers a fright
He stands on base
Ready to make his case

Dodgers were lost in a mind's haze
Not really making much of a phase
Kirk sways on his two feet,
Ready to try and beat.

Even as he steps up to plate
His first two pitches aren't that great
But his teammates have faith
In all hope, it may quell their wraith

His jaw is grit
He swings, and hits!
Home run.

-Francis Jimenez

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I'm number 23 on the field
I'm bleeding but, I'll heal
I have to hit a homerun
I know if I miss, I'll be done

I don't want to fail
I have to, follow my trail
I need to hit the ball
The ball is fast, like a fireball

The crowd is screaming
The lights in my eyes beeming
I've had so many chances
I hit the run and everyone dances