One World Series swing, one game-winning hit

Geoff Blum gets only one World Series at-bat in his 14-year career in the majors, and he makes it count 18 years ago today.

His two-out, solo homer in the top of the 14th inning for the White Sox snaps a 5-5 tie with the Houston Astros en route to a 7-5 victory in Game 3 of Chicago's four-game series sweep in the 2005 World Series.

Blum's homer on a 2-0 pitch off reliever Ezequiel Astacio helps end a marathon that lasts 5 hours and 41 minutes before a Tuesday night crowd of 42,848 at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.

Blum's lone at-bat in the Series comes after he enters the game as a defensive replacement for White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi in the bottom of the 13th inning.

His moment, his homer into history, comes less than an inning later.

“When I barreled it up, I knew I smoked it,” Blum, then 32, later tells MLB.com. “Probably one of the harder balls I ever hit in my career. But the trajectory was so low off the bat, even at Minute Maid Park. I wasn’t sure if it was going to get out.

“With two outs, my intent was to get to second base. Get myself into scoring position, because I believe Aaron Rowand was hitting behind me. I wanted to give him an opportunity to get that game-winning hit. I put my head down for about the first two or three steps to get a good break out of the box, and I looked up and the second I looked up, it hit about six rows up and ricocheted back on the field.

“The next thing I saw was (first base coach) Tim Raines about six feet off the ground with both of his arms in the air.”

Blum then makes sure he gets back to paying attention, like taking care of the small matter of running the bases and giving the White Sox a 6-5 lead.

“My thought process going around was, ‘You better damn well touch every base.”