So as I sat thinking about tonight’s World Series Game 7, my thoughts went to famous World Series home runs. The first thing that popped into my mind was one of my favorite trivia questions of all-time! Who was playing left field for the New York Yankees when Bill Mazeroski hit his game winning home run to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 win over the New York Yankees. The win gave the Pirates a 4-3 Series victory and the 1960 World Championship! The answer is Yogi Berra!! I had just turned 9 years old and even then I hated the Yankees and very much enjoyed that afternoon! It’s the first World Series that I can remember, though really don’t remember many of the other games in the series!
Mazeroski’s home run for many years held the distinction as being the only home run to win a World Series. Actually, it held the distinction for 33 years until Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays ended the season for one of the most beloved Philadelphia Phillies teams of all-time, those 1993 Philies. A team of cast-offs and misfits that came together for one magical seaso. A team went from the cellar in 1992 to the penthouse in ’93. The team was in first place throughout the whole season and then it all came crashing down with one swing of Carter’s bat. Now there were two home runs that ended a World Series. One that I barely remember and one that I remember all to well!! The only difference between the two was that Carter’s home run ended the series in six games and Maz’s homer ended a seven game series. So Mazeroski’s homer still is the only one to end a seven game series, unless of course someone can do it tonight. The only person that I don’t want to do it is, Hunter Pen. Not that I don’t like Hunter Pence, I do, but considering what we gave up to get him and what we got back trading him away I think about what could have been! Especially, after reading this post…..Was trading for Hunter Pence Ruben Amaro’s worst move as Phillies GM?! After reading the post, my answer is a resounding yes!!!
The last World Series home run that came to mind was not one that ended a World Series, but did end the only World Series game that I have ever been to, game 3 of the 1964 World Series. Sitting in the left field bleachers on that fateful day, my cousin Jimmy Ashton, my parents and I sat through an 8 inning pitching duel between Jim Bouton of the Yankees and Curt Simmons of the Cardinals. In the 9th inning the Cardinals turned the ball over to veteran knuckleballer and my mother’s first cousin and my “Uncle” Barney. Barney’s job was to get out Mickey Mantle, one pitch, Mantle planted it in the right field stands, tying Babe Ruth’s record for the most home runs in World Series play, and sending me home a very dejected fan! So tonight I did a search on YouTube for Mickey and Barney and found the video of Mickey discussing that home run that ends this post and then I read this really good article at Sports Illustrated….The story behind Mickey Mantle’s 1964 walkoff Series home run
So what will happen tonight- we’ll just have to let the game play out and see, but whatever happens it won’t have the impact that the above homers have had on my baseball life, unless that Hunter Pence hits a homer to win his SECOND World Series ring! Argh!!!
