Ranking the 10 Most Iconic MLB Moments of the Last Decade

While the start of the next decade of MLB baseball will get kicked off a bit later than usual, it still promises to be an exhilarating time for the sport. It will have to work hard to top the past decade in terms of drama, spectacle, and memorability. These 10 moments will live forever in the long and storied history of the game, and they stand out as the most memorable of the decade.

10. 2018: Mitch Moreland's World Series Homer

Just when it looked like the Los Angeles Dodgers could turn the tide of the 2018 World Series when they took a 4-0 lead into the seventh inning of Game 4, Mitch Moreland was here to break their hearts. Moreland launched a three-run home run off of Dodgers reliever Ryan Madson, which cut LA's lead to one. After a Rafael Devers single in the ninth keyed a five-run inning, Boston took Game 4 and set the stage for their second championship this decade.

9. 2015: Jose Bautista's Bat Flip

The bat flip heard 'round the world. Texas Rangers reliever Sam Dyson tried to sneak one of his two-seam fastballs past Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, but he missed over the inside part of the plate. The resulting meatball was promptly hammered into oblivion by Bautista, who capped this moment off with a bat flip that still resonates to this day, be it in Texas or in Canada.

8. 2017: Indians Win 22 Straight Games

The Indians were as hot as can be in the closing months of the 2017 season, winning a record 22 consecutive games. The 1916 New York Giants' record fell when Jay Bruce knocked in Jose Ramirez to give the Indians a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Kansas City would get revenge the next day and end the streak, but this is one record that might never be broken, as the team who does would have to reel off nearly a month of wins in a row.

7. 2012: Miguel Cabrera Seals His Triple Crown Season

By 2012, no one had won the Triple Crown (leading the league in average, home runs, and RBI in the same season) since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Miguel Cabrera, in the middle of a hot stretch rivaled by few in the history of baseball, changed that. Cabrera finished the 2012 season with a .330 average, 44 home runs, and 139 RBI, which all led the American League by a considerable margin. Cabrera would not only make history with this rarest of offensive milestones, but he picked up one of his back-to-back MVP awards this season as well.

6. 2010: Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay's Perfect Games

Perfect games have become a little bit easier to come by of late, as 2010 managed to feature TWO of them. Oakland's Dallas Braden made headlines when he shut down the Tampa Bay Rays on Mother's Day, while the late Roy Halladay picked up one of his own against the Marlins. Only three perfectos have been twirled since, all of which came in 2012, but these two stand out, given the totality of the circumstances surrounding each of these all-time masterpieces.

5. 2019: Howie Kendrick Gives the Nationals a World Series

It's been a few months now, and Astros fans still aren't done licking their wounds. Will Harris was one of the most reliable relievers in all of baseball over the last half-decade, but the soft-tossing veteran's plans to escape the seventh inning were undone in two pitches by Howie Kendrick. His opposite field home run gave the Nationals a 3-2 lead that they never relinquished, and it helped propel them to the first championship in franchise history against the cheating Astros. Simply sublime.

4. 2011: David Freese's World Series Heroics

Freese's Game 6 and Game 7 performances in 2011 are what every kid on the sandlot dreams of. Freese sent Game 6 into extras with a two-out, two-run triple, before ending the game with a walk-off home run that sent the World Series to a Game 7 for the first time since 2002. Freese picked up an RBI double in Game 7 that gave St. Louis the lead, which gave him an MLB-record 21 RBI in a single postseason. Freese, recently retired, will live on forever in baseball lore thanks to his clutch hitting.

3. 2014: Derek Jeter Walks Away

Jeter is a unique case in baseball history, as there aren't many baseball players that can claim to have engendered as much respect and goodwill from rival fans as Jeter has. His 20-year career with the Yankees came to an end in 2014, and his final at-bat at Yankee Stadium came straight out of a Hollywood writers room. Jeter slapped a trademark base hit the other way against Baltimore Orioles reliever Evan Meek, scoring Antoan Richardson, and giving the Yankees a walk-off win. Even as he turned 40 and saw his skills decline, Jeter is exactly the guy every Yankee on that team wanted at the plate when the chips were down.

2. 2013: Boston Heals After the Marathon Bombings

Boston was left in tatters after the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon left the city a frightened wreck of itself. Former Red Sox legend David Ortiz should be recognized for the job he and his Red Sox did in stitching this fanbase and that city back together. His famously NSFW speech at Boston's first home game since the bombings brought us one of the great quotes in Boston sports history. Because sports often transcend reality and gives us the storybook ending, it was Boston who ended up bringing home the 2013 World Series. You couldn't write it any better.

1. 2016: Cubs Breaking the Curse

Even if you knew nothing about baseball, you knew the Chicago Cubs were the biggest losers in sports history, having gone 108 seasons without a championship. Having won their first pennant since 1945, the team looked destined for another fruitless title pursuit after the Cleveland Indians took a 3-1 series lead. The Cubs rallied and won three straight, including a thrilling 8-7 win in extra innings to break the biggest curse in sports history. A literal century of futility was erased thanks to Kris Bryant, Jon Lester, Joe Maddon, and countless others, who finally brought a championship to the North Side.