Most Memorable Moments

[Archive]

Posted By: PASJD

1. Bobby Thomson. And anyone who thinks otherwise MUST read Dom DeLillo's admittedly semi-fictionalized account of it. It had it all -- a walkoff homerun in a playoff game capping a remarkable comeback (not just the game, but the second half of the season) in a fierce rivalry in what was then the center of the baseball universe. By the way, I assume people know who was on deck -- a 19 year old kid named Willie Mays.

2. Alexander v. Lazzeri. Pure drama. What people may not know is Alexander was drunk from celebrating his win the previous day and had no expectation of pitching. From accounts, he walked in very slowly to an absolutely hushed crowd. Hornsby meets him at the mound and Alexander explains he intends to set up Lazzeri with an inside fastball. Hornsby starts to say you can't do that, then realizes he is talking to a man who has won 350 plus games and thinks the better of it. The at bat is textbook pitching: Lazzeri takes a curve for strike one. Alexander then throws him the inside fastball, just far enough off the plate that he can't hit it for a home run, he crushes it as Hornsby feared, but foul. With Lazzeri now set up, Alexander fans him on a sweeping curve off the outside corner. Alexander then goes on to shut down Murderers' Row for two more innings, and the Cards win the Series. Wow.

3. Mazeroski. Yankees lose. Theeeeeeeeeee........ Yankees lose. Don't forget there was another dramatic home run in that game too to tie the score after the Yankees had gone ahead.

4. Bucky Bleeping Dent. I was tempted to put this one higher, but that probably reflects my Red Sox bias. The game had it all, including the remarkable comeback by the Red Sox to close to one run after Reggie's post-Dent homer seemingly put it out of reach, but stopped short by Piniella's great play where he lost the ball in the sun but fooled Rick Burleson into not trying for third. Talk about drama, how about the final at bat, Gossage in his prime vs. Yaz with men on base. There is a wonderful account of the game by a guy named Jonathan Schwartz called something like "Day of Light and Shadows" I forget the exact title.

5. Carlton Fisk. Red Sox bias again, maybe, but I think not. Like Maz, had the dramatic home run beforehand, when one overmatched ex-Red named Bernie Carbo who had swung helplessly at strikes one and two crushed a three run blast to center to tie the game. George Foster cut down the winning run the inning before on a laser to the plate. In his at bat in the top of the 12th Rose apparently said to Fisk, "hell of a game, isn't it." Etc.