Top 10 Sports Moments in Seinfeld History

Here are the top 10 Sports Moments in Seinfeld history.

10. Kramer Plunks Pepitone

While pitching at a Yankees fantasy camp, Kramer is disgusted at Joe Pepitone's crowding of the plate. So he comes inside once, then plunks him with the next pitch. A fracas ensues, and Kramer decks Mickey Mantle, ending the week's games.

9. Yankee Bastards

George gets a little too comfortable with the Southern lingo preferred by Astros management. Mr Wilhelm overhears him on the phone saying, "You tell that son of a bitch no Yankee is ever comin' to Houston. Not as long as you bastards are running things.

8. Yankees Hire George as Assistant to the Traveling Secretary

Mr. Steinbrenner: Nice to meet you.
George: Well, I wish I could say the same, but I must say, with all due respect, I find it very hard to see the logic behind some of the moves you have made with this fine organization. In the past 20 years you have caused myself, and the city of New York, a good deal of distress, as we have watched you take our beloved Yankees and reduce them to a laughing stock, all for the glorification of your massive ego!
Mr. Steinbrenner: Hire this man!

7. Abstinent George Turns into Hitting Genius

Abstinence turns George into a genius, so he offers hitting tips to Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter: "Guys, hitting is not about muscle. It's simple physics. Calculate the velocity, v, in relation to the trajectory, t, in which g, gravity, of course remains a constant. It's not complicated." They say, as World Series winners, that they don't need help from an assistant traveling secretary who put them up in a Milwaukee Ramada. George reminds them it took them six games to dispose of the Braves.

6. George Is to Bette Midler as Pete Rose Is to Ray Fosse

In a softball game pitting The Improv against the cast from the musical "Rochelle Rochelle," Bette Midler, is playing catcher. So is George, and the two try to get under each other's skin.

George tries to stretch out a home run with a wave from Jerry, the third-base coach, and ... WHAMMO! Midler is flattened, George is safe at home, an angry mob chases him and Jerry. Meanwhile, Kramer is left to console Bette by singing "Wind Beneath My Wings."

5. Jerry's Legacy as Sprint Champ is Challenged

Jerry dates a girl named Lois, whose boss, Duncan Myers, was defeated by Jerry in a controversial ninth-grade race to see who would represent the school in a track meet. Ever since, nobody challenged Jerry's 10-yard head-start, a product of his nerves, but Myers always suspected something fishy. Still, despite incessant pleading from schoolmates and faculty to not waste his assumed "god-given talent," Jerry always chose not to run. When Jerry agrees to meet Duncan and Lois for lunch, George comes up with a plan: he'll "unexpectedly" drop by, pretend he hasn't seen Jerry in awhile and back up the long-ago race as legit.

Duncan's not buying it, and finally gets Jerry to agree to a rematch, as Lois will be fired if he doesn't comply. After 20 years, even gym teacher Mr. Bevilaqua is an interested party. He's the starter, and he explains the rules: when his gun goes off, so should Jerry and Duncan. As Bevilaqua counts down from "ready" to "on your mark," Kramer's car backfires, and Jerry once again gets an illegal head start and a legacy-building victory.

4. George Tries to Get Fired From the Yankees

The Mets want to hire George as head of scouting, but they can't make him an offer while he's employed by the Yankees. So George goes all-out to get himself fired, because he wants to leave people saying , "Wow! Now that guy got canned!" Among his stunts to draw Steinbrenner's ire:

Wearing an authentic Babe Ruth jersey taken from the Yankees Hall of Pride display case, then cleaning his strawberry-stained hands on it. Unfortunately for George, Steinbrenner digs it, saying the team's gotta "tear down the past" and that Ruth was "nothing more than a fat old man, with little-girl legs."
"Streaking" through a Yankees-Orioles game in a flesh-colored bodysuit. The fans love him for it.
Tying a World Series trophy to the back of a car and dragging it around the Yankee Stadium parking lot, yelling, though a bullhorn: "Attention, Steinbrenner and front-office morons! Your triumphs mean nothing. You all stink. You can sit on it, and rotate! This is George Costanza. I fear no reprisal. Extension 5-1-7-0."

But Costanza just couldn't get out of the Bronx.

3. Puddy Loves Them Devils

2. Frank Costanza Is No Fan of Ken Phelps

Steinbrenner: Mrs. Costanza?
Estelle: Yes?
Steinbrenner: My name is George Steinbrenner, I'm afraid I have some very sad news about your son.
Estelle: (gasps)
(Costanza living room)
Estelle: I can't believe it. He was so young. How could this have happened?
Steinbrenner: Well, he'd been logging some pretty heavy hours, first one in the morning, last one to leave at night. That kid was a human dynamo.
Estelle: Are you sure you're talking about George?
Steinbrenner: You are Mr. and Mrs. Costanza?
Frank: What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for?! He had 30 home runs and over 100 RBIs last year. He's got a rocket for an arm. You don't know what the hell you're doin'!
Steinbrenner: Well, Buhner was a good prospect, no question about it. But my baseball people loved Ken Phelps' bat. They kept saying "Ken Phelps, Ken Phelps."

1. Keith Hernandez and 'The Second Spitter'

Originally broadcast as a 60-minute special, "The Boyfriend" ranks as one of the most memorable Seinfeld episodes, sports-related or otherwise. In a genius take-off of the 1991 Oliver Stone film "JFK," which also featured actor Wayne Knight (who played Newman on Seinfeld), Jerry debunks the theory that Hernandez once spit on both Kramer and Newman -- an event that would change them "in a deep and profound way from that day forward."

Let's set the scene: June 14, 1987. Mets-Phillies. Hernandez makes a crucial error in the ninth that cost the Mets the game. Newman spots the former first baseman outside Shea Stadium and heckles, "Nice game, pretty boy." Kramer feels the sting of saliva and yells out, "I'm hit!" before the spit reportedly ricochets toward Newman. Back ... and to the left. Back ... and to the left. "Unfortunately the immutable laws of physics contradict the whole premise," concludes Jerry, who assists the victims in determining an additional assailant: reliever Roger McDowell.

Quotes:
Newman.: Wow, it was McDowell.
Jerry: But why? Why McDowell?
Kramer: Well, maybe because we were sitting in the right field stands cursing at him in the bullpen all game.
Newman: He must have caught a glimpse of us when I poured that beer on his head.