The aura of the League Championship Series in baseball was diminished quite a bit once the Division Series was introduced in 1995. Nothing seemed more high stakes than a 162-game season followed by just one 7-game series to determine the league champion. The Wild Card throws it off a bit—five game crapshoots, inferior teams getting hot and making it to the LCS to get destroyed, and so on. Still, the Division Series has had some great moments since its introduction, and this week’s Top 7 looks at them.

7. Pujols battles Peavy
The Cardinals were afterthoughts heading into the 2006 playoffs even though they had their entire team playing together for the first time since seemingly May. 2008 NL MVP Albert Pujols stepped to the plate against Jake Peavy and fouled one back, but catcher Mike Piazza mis-judged it and let it bounce. A few seconds later and Pujols had given the Cards a 2-0 lead on a monstrous bomb to left center. He had set the tone for the entire playoffs.


6. Chris Burke
In a game that featured the most possible casual fans that could possibly watch a Braves/Astros game, Burke hit a home run in the bottom of the 18th to send the Astros to the NLCS. It featured a three-inning relief appearance by Roger Clemens, 14 pitchers, and the Braves leaving somewhere around 65 runners on base.


5. Robinson for McGwire
Mark McGwire is the all-time leader in at bats per home run in baseball history. The Cardinals were tied with the eventual World Series champion Diamondbacks in the 9th inning of Game 5 in 2001 and McGwire was coming to the plate. Tony LaRussa hit Kerry Robinson for him. The Cardinals lost, and McGwire career was over. With how horrifically he played in ’01, it’s hard to completely blast LaRussa for the decision, but it’s amazing that McGwire’s last at-bat was taken by a guy who struggled to keep his career average above .080.


4. Pudge hangs on
The Marlins were up in the series 2-1 over the Giants. J.T. Snow was coming home with the potential tying run in the 9th inning (without Dusty Baker’s son nearby). He barreled over Pudge Rodriguez, who hung onto the ball, then held it up pumping his fist. The series ended with the tying run thrown out at the plate during what may have been the greatest playoffs of the last 20 years. That year also featured a walk off homer from Trot Nixon that extended the Red Sox’ eventual comeback against the A’s.


3. Jeter’s throw
In what has become the Zapruder film of Division Series moments, Derek Jeter came out of nowhere to barehand a cutoff throw and shuffle it, just getting Jeremy Giambi at the plate, who inexplicably did not slide. The Yankees won the game 1-0, came all the way back from a 2-0 deficit in the series, and won the whole thing again.


2. Pedro destroys
In a “Daniel LaRusso’s gonna fight!?” moment, Pedro surprisingly came out of the bullpen as the Red Sox were trying to comeback in the series against the Indians IN Cleveland. Pedro completely shut them down for six innings, as the ungodly powerful Indians lineup got all of zero hits against him. Anyone without a vested interest in the game could take one look at the insane pitches he was throwing and tell that there was no chance in hell that anyone could possibly hit him that night.


1.Griffey slides home
The Mariners had just won a playoff game to make it into the playoffs for the first time, and they immediately responded with a 2-0 series deficit against the Yankees. Getting all the way to Game 5, they needed a rally in the bottom of the 9th to take the series, capped off by Griffey scoring from first on a double, avoiding the tag, and getting mobbed on the plate. Even though it was the first-ever Division Series year of 1995, it’s still the most famous moment that there is.