Though Carbo hit the second most memorable home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, it was probably the most important. When he came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning with two on and two outs, the Red Sox were trailing the Big Red Machine, 6-3. Pinch-hitter Carbo changed that with one swing, and sent Fenway Park into a state of utter delirium by drilling a three-run homer to dead center field off Rawly Eastwick.

Without Carbo's blast, there would have never been that indelible Carlton Fisk arm-waving game-winner off the left-field foul pole in the 12th inning that forced Game 7.

"It never gets old," Carbo said from his home in Alabama. "That's what keeps me young. I just turned 55, I was sitting here the other day and I saw it on TV, and I told my wife, it feels like yesterday. It's been 27 years. To me, it just feels like yesterday."

Nearly three decades later, the biggest surprise for Carbo -- who was a left-handed hitter -- is that he was even in position to put that ball into the seats. They way he looked at it, he was never coming to the plate. He figured Sparky Anderson would bring in a lefty and Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson would counter with a right-handed pinch-hitter.

"I played for Sparky Anderson in the minor leagues and with the Reds," Carbo said. "Sparky Anderson was the type of manager who managed by the book. When Darrell Johnson said grab a bat, I looked at Juan Beniquez and said, 'You're gonna hit.' Darrell said, 'Just stand up there in the on-deck circle.' I was in the on-deck circle and I wasn't even preparing myself. The next thing you know, the umpire says 'You're the hitter, let's go.' I said, 'Wait a minute,' waiting for Sparky Anderson to come out of the dugout and he's not coming out of the dugout. I walked into the batter's box and I was still looking for Sparky. I said, 'You know what? I'm going to hit. I can't believe this.' "

All these years later, Carbo is doing a lot more than reliving the finest moment of an otherwise unspectacular career. In fact, Carbo has used the home run to make a difference in people's lives.

Thirteen years ago, Carbo decided it was time to stop kidding himself. He was addicted to alcohol and drugs, and had been since his early years in the Major Leagues. So he went to rehab and found religion.

After getting out of rehab, Carbo -- who spent his early retirement years running a hair salon -- opened a facility called "Diamond Club Ministry". More than a decade later, it is still going strong. He teaches baseball and religion, and travels far and wide to do it.

"I've been to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the refugees, I picked out a baseball team of refugees with shorts, tennis shoes, no gloves, we played the Air Force and Navy over there and had a lot of fun," Carbo said. "I've been all over the United States. This year alone I've been to Maine, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, Toronto, Detroit. What we do is teach baseball and tell kids about Jesus. The ministry is what my main focus is now."

And he realizes that the home run has opened many of the doors he has traveled through over the last 13 years.

"That home run has really opened the door for me to go and teach baseball," said Carbo. "People still remember that home run. That gives me the opportunity to open that door and talk about the World Series, show the World Series film. And you tell them, 'If [alcohol and drugs] never touch your lips, you'll never have a problem.' "

The homer, in a way, was the symbol of what Carbo's career could have been if he stayed clean. In 1970, he was The Sporting News Rookie of the Year for the NL pennant-winning Reds. He hit .310 with 21 homers and 63 RBIs. Little did he know it at the time, but he would never top any of those numbers again. He had peaked at the age of 23.

There were contract disputes the next few years, and trades to St. Louis and Boston. His dreams of becoming an impact player were slipping away as he turned into a journeyman backup outfielder.

"I never seemed to get back into a groove," said Carbo, who was a first-round draft pick of the Reds, "or back to where I was. I went to the big leagues and was immediately successful, and then I found out I was going to struggle with contracts. I turned to alcohol and drugs to find some peace. Of course, everyone knows that's not going to bring you any peace but death itself. My career faltered and continued to go downhill until the age of 32, when I was out of baseball. I was still young enough to play, but I never regrouped to understand how great the game was.

"I believe that God gave me so much ability that I could perform to last 12 years and be an average ballplayer. I look back and wondered how good I could have been. I had a lot of ability. I could throw, I could run, I could hit. I could have been, I should have been, better if I would have stayed away from the alcohol and drugs. I could have been a great ballplayer. If I would have been more focused on the game itself and the love of the game."

However, there is one chapter of Carbo's career that always brings a smile to his face. That would be the Boston years. He played for the Red Sox for two seasons, before being traded to the Brewers early in the 1976 season. He came back to Boston in 1977 and had his best season since his rookie year, only to be sold to the Indians for cash early in 1978.

"My heart has always been with [late Red Sox owner] Mr. [Tom] Yawkey and the Red Sox," said Carbo, who finished his career with a .264 average and 96 homers. "That was the first opportunity I ever got to play and I felt I was a Major League baseball player and I was playing for the uniform and the fans. You love the Boston fans, you love the ownership and when you leave, your career dies.

"If I knew than what I know now, I would have wanted to be with the Red Sox from the time I was drafted at age 17, and ended my career with the Red Sox. Knowing what I know today, I wouldn't have signed with the Cincinnati Reds. I would have waited and waited, probably my whole life, to play for the Red Sox."

Carbo still stays in touch with baseball. He watches the Red Sox whenever he can get them on TV. He regularly follows the Braves and Cubs through cable. And he often spends his evening hours running baseball clinics. He isn't sure if he'll ever go back to the Major Leagues. But he does have one fantasy he can't shake.

"My dream would be to manage in the minor leagues with the Red Sox, and get to the big leagues and win a world championship with the Red Sox as a manager," Carbo said. "I would, I would very much like to manage. I have pursued it, but I think there's so many other things that are happening in my life. As Major League ballplayers, we all love the game, and would like to be a part of it, especially an organization like the Red Sox. Most of us would like to coach and manage, but I don't know if it would be the right thing for me at this present time."

Ian Browne, who covers the Red Sox for MLB.com, can be reached at Ian.Browne@mlb.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.