On Wednesday, Ibanez topped them all with one swing. Well, two swings actually that, in the words of Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher, "looked absolutely identical. They were both rockets." The first connected with a Jim Johnsonfastball with one out in the ninth inning and sent it screaming into the seats in right field to tie the game at 2. The second came to start the 12th inning, against Brian Matusz, and landed in the second deck of the right field stands to become a walk-off home run that gave the Yankees a 3-2 victory and a 2-1 series lead.
It also cemented Ibanez's place in Yankees lore, and not just because he is the first person in postseason history to hit two home runs in a game that he didn't start. And not just because this was the third time he had hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning or later in just three weeks. And not even because he gave the new Stadium, now in its fourth year, the kind of unforgettable, unexpected and electric October moment that for so many decades defined its departed neighbor across the street.
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