Remembering When Jason Giambi Grand Slammed the Twins Out of the Bronx 18 Years Ago Today

Slugging first baseman Jason Giambi didn't have the decorated Yankee career he likely envisioned when he inked a seven-year, $120 million deal in the Bronx following the 2001 season, but he certainly delivered on his power potential. And, for what it's worth, plenty of Yanks have waited far longer than Giambi did to record his signature Yankee moment, which came 18 years ago to this very day. The Yankees were down 12-9 in the 14th inning after tying the game with a single run in the bottom of the ninth when the Giambino stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, blinked the driving rain out of his eyes, and delivered.

13-12 was your final.

May 17 is a storied day in Yankees-Twins rivalry history for more reasons than just the Giambi smack too, of course -- it was on this day in 1998 that David Wells retired all 27 Twins he faced in order.

As far as "Baseball Immortality" goes, both of these legendary individual feats rank near the top of any modern-era regular season Yankees "best of" list. Giambi certainly deserves props for coming through in the clutch here, foreshadowing his powerful blasts against the Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS the very next year.

For much of his Yankees career, Giambi was a power threat, but not much else. But in '02, he did it all, and his first stretch in 'stripes was capped off by this iconic bash.