LOS ANGELES — Watching on his phone at his northern Michigan ranch over dinner, Kirk Gibson had the same reaction as so many Dodgers fans as the ball sailed over the fence in right-center field.
“F–king ay,” was his initial reaction, he told The Post in a phone interview ahead of Saturday night’s Game 2. “Have at it.”
It really happened again.
Thirty-six years after a hobbled Gibson hit one of the biggest home runs in World Series history — a two-run, pinch-hit, walk-off shot off Dennis Eckersley in the opener of the series over the Athletics — Freddie Freeman had his Kirk Gibson moment.
The star first baseman, still nursing a sprained right ankle that led to him sitting out two games in the NLCS against the Mets, blasted the first walk-off Grand Slam in World Series history to cap a classic Game 1 win over the Yankees.
“Before it happened, I had a premonition,” recalled the 67-year-old Gibson, who is a special assistant to the Tigers. “I recognized what was going on, they were down to their last out, and Freddie came up. He hit it out quick, and everything about it was very, very reflective of my situation.
“The bases are loaded, there’s two outs, and Freddie is basically hanging by a thread. I just felt like, ‘Here it is, go ahead and do it.’ I’ve said many times: When it happened to me, it was very lucky. You feel honored. Little does he know what that can mean to his life and the game. It’s been an incredible thing for my teammates and me since it happened in 1988.”
Gibson has received tons of messages from former teammates and friends since Freeman’s seismic blast. He’s still catching up with everyone.
It brought back fond memories of 1988. After upsetting the favored Mets in the NLCS, the Dodgers were big underdogs to the Athletics.
Gibson was called upon to pinch hit with two outs, a runner on base and the Dodgers trailing by a run. His left hamstring was torn and his right knee had a torn medial collateral ligament.
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He still got to Eckersley on the eighth pitch of the dramatic at-bat. As he touched the plate, the hurting Gibson told his teammates to be careful with him because he was in pain.
“I hope everyone gets a chance to do something like that because it’s hard to explain what it does for you,” Gibson said.
He added: “I remember us going into the locker room, that’s what makes you happy. I remember my dad, my mom, having to defend me against people that were critical of me. When I hit the home run, that’s the first thing I thought of. ‘There ya go, just keep your mouth shut, we’ll have our day, and we’ll do it the right way,’ and we did.”
Gibson’s home run gave the Dodgers momentum that would lead to a series sweep of the Athletics. T
he Dodgers were considered a slight favorite over the Yankees entering this series, and this walk-off shot could have a similar impact.
“Maybe the Dodgers have that kind of luck when it counts [like we did]. I don’t know,” Gibson said. “I wish I could say that I gave him the scouting report like [Dodgers scout] Mel Didier gave me, but I didn’t. He’s a helluva player and he’s gone through a lot. Congratulations to Freddie Freeman.
“My whole run has been so overplayed and finally somebody else gets to carry the torch. Freddie’s awesome. It hasn’t been smooth sailing for him. Really respect him, the way he plays the game.”