"It was one of the game's biggest moments. People will always remember it. It might overshadow Cal's home run." -- NL All-Star Rich Aurilia

"It," of course, is Tommy Lasorda's tumble into history, his sixth-inning rock-and-roll backflip. Lasorda, an honorary coach for the National League, had just gone out to take a turn coaching third base. There he was, just like old times, screaming and cajoling, pumping up the hitters. "He was trying to get us fired up all game," said Lance Berkman. "And then for that to happen ..."

"That" happened when Vladimir Guerrero took a cut and the bat flew out of his hand. Momentarily, Lasorda watched the ball go foul, unaware that the bat was helicoptering toward him. When he finally noticed, the quicks of a 73-year-old kicked in. He started stumbling backward, like a Teletubby in high heels. When he hit the ground, the sheer acceleration of his descent nearly flipped him into a full backward somersault. His hat flew off.

For a split-second, everyone was silent, scared the old man was hurt. Well, almost everyone was scared. In the AL dugout, Don Zimmer, a veteran of untold beanings, threw his arms up with a look that said, We're stopping the game for this?

Finally, Lasorda got up unharmed, hamming it up for the TV cameras and the cheering fans. A laughing Barry Bonds came over to offer a catcher's chest protector. Lasorda declined.

Of course, there was post-game controversy. Lasorda denied he got hit. "It didn't touch me," he insisted. However, sources close to the bat told ESPNMAG.com that there was indeed contact. Lasorda's godson agreed that the flop was warranted. "Yeah, it hit him," Mike Piazza said. "I'm just glad he's alive. For five seconds, my heart stopped. Now, it's worth a good chuckle."

"Like a Teletubby in high heels" was the best description ESPN The Magazine's Seth Wickersham could come up with on deadline and with the soda machine out of order. Think you've got a better way to describe Tommy's tumble? Send in your simile and Seth will pick the best ones to be posted on ESPNMAG.com. E-mail them to seth.wickersham@espnmag.com.