GREATEST MOMENT IN BASEBALL HISTORY
okie dokie
WORLD SERIES!!!!!!
I THINK WIlD THIG CLAIMED HE HAD A HANGNAIL OR A THUMBLEED OR A BLISTER OR
SOMETHING...DOES NOT TARNISH NOTHING...BEST MOMENT PERIOD. DON'T BOTHER TO
REPY TO THIS NOTE UNLESS YOU AGREE!!!!!!!!!
Bob Roman
<jeremy_l...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>DON'T BOTHER TO
>REPY TO THIS NOTE UNLESS YOU AGREE!!!!!!!!!
Are you insane?
Bob Roman
okie dokie
gettings its due!!!!!!
The scary part is how few people agree with me...a home run to win the
world series???? You gotta be kidding me!!!
powrwrap
> okie dokie wrote:
> NO! I'm just sick and tired of that outstanding baseball moment not
> gettings its due!!!!!!
>
> The scary part is how few people agree with me...a home run to win the
> world series???? You gotta be kidding me!!!
If that is the criteria, I'll take Bill Mazeroski's Game 7, bottom of
the ninth inning shot over the Yankees in 1960 over Carter's Game 6,
bottom of the ninth job over the Phillies.
Corby Gilmore
I'll reply, and I certainly dont agree.
In my opinion, the best moment in baseball occured in 1939, and is
remembered as the "Gehrig Farewell Speech". Sadly, the worst moment in
baseball followed it barely 2 years later, when Gehrig passed away.
--
Corby Gilmore
co...@ncf.ca
Corby Gilmore
"okie dokie" (jeremy_l...@hotmail.com) writes:
> NO! I'm just sick and tired of that outstanding baseball moment not
> gettings its due!!!!!!
>
> The scary part is how few people agree with me...a home run to win the
> world series???? You gotta be kidding me!!!
If you insist on picking a home run that won a World Series, then I
would suggest that Bill Mazeroski's homer in 1960 to complete the 2nd
greatest upset in WS history (the miracle Braves of 1914 being the 1st)
was a momemt of far greater impact than Carter's homer.
--
Corby Gilmore
co...@ncf.ca
Bob Roman
<jeremy_l...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>NO! I'm just sick and tired of that outstanding baseball moment not
>gettings its due!!!!!!
My question was, why would you post to a discussion group and then say
you have no interest in discussion? I, for one, don't come to rsb to
receive tablets from the mountain top...especially if they are written
in all caps.
Bob Roman
Gerry Myerson
Bob Roman <robert...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> My question was, why would you post to a discussion group and then say
> you have no interest in discussion? I, for one, don't come to rsb to
> receive tablets from the mountain top...especially if they are written
> in all caps.
I think those would be caplets.
--
Gerry Myerson (ge...@maths.mq.edi.ai) (i -> u for email)
Richard R. Hershberger
My vote is for that day when Abner Doubleday persuaded the other boys
in Cooperstown to play according to the rules he just invented, making
Joltin Joe Carter and all the rest possible. Of course it didn't
actually happen, but if we are to choose the "greatest moment" with no
defined criteria, I see no obligation to assume "non-fiction" as a
requirement.
Richard R. Hershberger
James Kahn
> "okie dokie" (jeremy_l...@hotmail.com) writes:
> > NO SHADOW OF A DOUBT...JOLTIN JOE CARTER HITS IT OUT OF THE PARK TO WIN THE
> > WORLD SERIES!!!!!!
> > I THINK WIlD THIG CLAIMED HE HAD A HANGNAIL OR A THUMBLEED OR A BLISTER OR
> > SOMETHING...DOES NOT TARNISH NOTHING...BEST MOMENT PERIOD. DON'T BOTHER TO
> > REPY TO THIS NOTE UNLESS YOU AGREE!!!!!!!!!
>
> I'll reply, and I certainly dont agree.
>
>
> In my opinion, the best moment in baseball occured in 1939, and is
> remembered as the "Gehrig Farewell Speech". Sadly, the worst moment in
> baseball followed it barely 2 years later, when Gehrig passed away.
Not to take away from the greatness of that day, but I would hope
the greatest moment in baseball history would actually involve a game.
I'm sure there are lots of candidates, but off the top of my head I'll
nominate Kirk Gibson's HR off Eckersley in the '88 World Series.
--
Jim
New York, NY
(Please remove "nospam." to get my e-mail address)
http://www.panix.com/~kahn
danny...@aol.com
What is the greatest non HR moment?
Danny
Bob Roman
<danny...@aol.com> wrote:
>I'll vote for Thomson's HR.
>
>What is the greatest non HR moment?
Omar Vizquel's unassisted triple play in the ninth to end the 1997
World Series.
...oh wait. That only happened in my imagination. Never mind.
Bob Roman
Perry Sailor
<danny...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1121875930.7...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> I'll vote for Thomson's HR.
>
> What is the greatest non HR moment?
Some candidates from moments I've witnessed:
Sid Bream juuuussst beating Bonds' throw.
Gonzo's bloop single over Jeter.
Jeter's play on Giambi.
Ryan's 7th.
McLain's 30th.
The Rose/Fosse play.
Gibson's 17th K in '68 game 1.
Cleon Jones squeezes the last out in the '69 WS -- the miracle season of my
lifetime (I'm no Mets fan, but that year everyone outside Chicago and
Baltimore was a Mets fan).
Perry
>
> Danny
>
Tom MacIntyre
<rrh...@acme.com> wrote:
Roy Hobbs, blood oozing from his side, hits that home run, with a bat
he helped Bobby Savoy make? :-)
Tom
Richard R. Hershberger
Tom MacIntyre wrote:
> On 20 Jul 2005 07:03:57 -0700, "Richard R. Hershberger"
> <rrh...@acme.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >Corby Gilmore wrote:
> >> "okie dokie" (jeremy_l...@hotmail.com) writes:
> >> > NO SHADOW OF A DOUBT...JOLTIN JOE CARTER HITS IT OUT OF THE PARK TO WIN THE
> >> > WORLD SERIES!!!!!!
> >> > I THINK WIlD THIG CLAIMED HE HAD A HANGNAIL OR A THUMBLEED OR A BLISTER OR
> >> > SOMETHING...DOES NOT TARNISH NOTHING...BEST MOMENT PERIOD. DON'T BOTHER TO
> >> > REPY TO THIS NOTE UNLESS YOU AGREE!!!!!!!!!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I'll reply, and I certainly dont agree.
> >>
> >>
> >> In my opinion, the best moment in baseball occured in 1939, and is
> >> remembered as the "Gehrig Farewell Speech". Sadly, the worst moment in
> >> baseball followed it barely 2 years later, when Gehrig passed away.
> >>
> >
> >My vote is for that day when Abner Doubleday persuaded the other boys
> >in Cooperstown to play according to the rules he just invented, making
> >Joltin Joe Carter and all the rest possible. Of course it didn't
> >actually happen, but if we are to choose the "greatest moment" with no
> >defined criteria, I see no obligation to assume "non-fiction" as a
> >requirement.
>
> Roy Hobbs, blood oozing from his side, hits that home run, with a bat
> he helped Bobby Savoy make? :-)
That's the spirit! Now, how does that compare with Moonlight Graham
finally getting to bat?
Jim Reid
Sid Bream juuuussst beating Bonds' throw.
Gonzo's bloop single over Jeter.
Jeter's play on Giambi.
Ryan's 7th.
McLain's 30th.
The Rose/Fosse play.
Gibson's 17th K in '68 game 1.
Cleon Jones squeezes the last out in the '69 WS -- the miracle season
of my
lifetime (I'm no Mets fan, but that year everyone outside Chicago and
Baltimore was a Mets fan).<<
Since I was there for Ryan's 7th no-hitter, I'm a little biased but I
still would have to go for a group of games. The Red Sox comeback last
year in the ALCS. Talk about clutch...and since it was against the
Yankees.....sweet!
George
Leak's near inside-the-park HR. I sure hope they don't ruin of the
memory of the original with this remake coming out tomorrow.
okie dokie
I ***SAYS*** PARDON?????
HOW CAN THAT *****CRAPPY***** PLAY BE CONSIDERED BETTER THAN A HOMER TO
WIN THE WORLD SERIES??????
PERHAPS IF I SAID 'THE WORST MOMENT IN BASEBALL HISTORY WAS WHEN BONDS
COULD NOT THROW A SHALLOW HIT TO THE PLATE TO BEAT OUT A GUY WHO HAD
ONE FUNCTIONAL AND ONE NON-FUNCTIONAL LEG'....THEN I WOULD AGREE.
YOU LOOK AT THAT PLAY AND SAY IT WAS ENABLED 100% BY SID BREAM. I LOOK
AT THAT PLAY AND SAY THAT WAS ENABLED 100% BY BAROID. HE WAS SO
EMBARRASSED AFTER THAT PLAY HE STARTED SHOOTING UP RIGHT AWAY.
Ron Johnson
>in Cooperstown to play according to the rules he just invented, making
>Joltin Joe Carter and all the rest possible. Of course it didn't
>actually happen,
Well we don't actually know that.
We know Doubleday was in West Point when this was supposed to have
happened, but there's no particular reason he couldn't have perfected
a jet plane to use for commuting between West Point and Cooperstown.
I suppose he might have mentioned this in his diary. But in spite of
writing down everything else in his life (published in 32 volumes
IIRC) he might have forgotten.
>but if we are to choose the "greatest moment" with no
>defined criteria, I see no obligation to assume "non-fiction" as a
>requirement.
--
RNJ
Eric Ramon
The greatest moment was [Darin Erstad] [catching Kenny Lofton's
flyball] for the final out in the [2002] World Series, making the
[Anaheim Angels] the champs!!
Insert your own details for your favorite team in the spaces provided,
as I've done.
Perry Sailor
"okie dokie" <jeremy_l...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121961515.4...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> SID BREAM?????
>
> I ***SAYS*** PARDON?????
>
> HOW CAN THAT *****CRAPPY***** PLAY BE CONSIDERED BETTER THAN A HOMER TO
> WIN THE WORLD SERIES??????
If you look, you'll see I was responding to the question "What is the
greatest non HR moment." So Carter's homer was off the table.
But I still think that play was more memorable and dramatic than Carter's
homer -- with 2 out in the 9th inning of the 7th game, it actually reversed
the outcome of the NLCS, since both the tying and winning runs scored on the
play. Carter's HR came in game 6, and only reversed the outcome of that
game (while winning the series, of course).
Perry
Paul G. Wenthold
>>>Some candidates from moments I've witnessed:
>
>
> Sid Bream juuuussst beating Bonds' throw.
> Gonzo's bloop single over Jeter.
> Jeter's play on Giambi.
> Ryan's 7th.
> McLain's 30th.
> The Rose/Fosse play.
> Gibson's 17th K in '68 game 1.
> Cleon Jones squeezes the last out in the '69 WS -- the miracle season
> of my
> lifetime (I'm no Mets fan, but that year everyone outside Chicago and
> Baltimore was a Mets fan).<<
>
I vote for Pete Rose catching the ball that popped out of Bob Boone's
mitt in the 1980 WS.
paul
Tom MacIntyre
I was too, via a radio broadcast. Without the visual, I even predicted
to my wife the possibility of a no-hitter after that nasty second
inning.
Tom
Tom MacIntyre
<rrh...@acme.com> wrote:
Or...it could be Marquis Grissom's walk-off solo home run in the
eleventh inning off Bob Wickman of the Yankees, to win the Expos' only
World Series in a 1-0 victory. Pedro started and pitched 8 innings of
3-hit baseball, and Montreal-born reliever Denis Boucher getting the
win with 3 no-hit innings, in a movie script that I'd love to have the
ability to write. :-)
Tom
okie dokie
how do you compare -
forget it...I can't even bring myself to respond.
Richard R. Hershberger
Ron Johnson wrote:
> In article <1121868237.3...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> Richard R. Hershberger <rrh...@acme.com> wrote:
> >
> >My vote is for that day when Abner Doubleday persuaded the other boys
> >in Cooperstown to play according to the rules he just invented, making
> >Joltin Joe Carter and all the rest possible. Of course it didn't
> >actually happen,
>
> Well we don't actually know that.
>
> We know Doubleday was in West Point when this was supposed to have
> happened, but there's no particular reason he couldn't have perfected
> a jet plane to use for commuting between West Point and Cooperstown.
>
> I suppose he might have mentioned this in his diary. But in spite of
> writing down everything else in his life (published in 32 volumes
> IIRC) he might have forgotten.
Have you seen David Block's new book, _Baseball Before We Knew It_? It
has breathtaking new research on the origins of baseball. (Everything
you think you know is wrong: and I'm not talking about Abner Doubleday
here.) It also has a chapter on the Spalding-Doubleday connection. It
is really a digression, but a fascinating one. It turns out that they
had an indirect connection through the Theosophists, one of those 19th
century religious sects. The only connection Doubleday had with
baseball was that he ordered some baseball equipment for his troops
during the Civil War, but that merely puts him in line with many other
Civil War generals.
Richard R. Hershberger
powrwrap
> Eric Ramon wrote:
> The greatest moment was [Darin Erstad] [catching Kenny Lofton's
> flyball] for the final out in the [2002] World Series, making the
> [Anaheim Angels] the champs!!
>
> Insert your own details for your favorite team in the spaces provided,
> as I've done.
"Bases loaded. Here's the pitch. And Larkin lifts a fly ball to left
center and THE TWINS ARE GOING TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES! THE TWINS HAVE
WON THE WORLD SERIES!"
(probably the best WS game ever.)
okie dokie
lamest moment for all people who live outside of minnesota. Minnesota
is such a loser state anyhow...who would you bother to chime in with
this junk??What's next...you're gonna tell me how awesome a
coach/scalper Mike Tice is?
powrwrap
> okie dokie wrote:
> Gee...let me guess..a twins fan? Again, I said "GREATEST" moment...not
> lamest moment for all people who live outside of minnesota. Minnesota
> is such a loser state anyhow...who would you bother to chime in with
> this junk??What's next...you're gonna tell me how awesome a
> coach/scalper Mike Tice is?
Hey quark for brain! I wasn't responding to you. BTW, nice fight your
Blue-Jays put up in the 1991 ALCS. Nothing like losing three in a row
at home...
Brad Filippone
: Gee...let me guess..a twins fan? Again, I said "GREATEST" moment...not
: lamest moment for all people who live outside of minnesota. Minnesota
: is such a loser state anyhow...who would you bother to chime in with
: this junk??What's next...you're gonna tell me how awesome a
: coach/scalper Mike Tice is?
This was the exciting final game of quite possibly the most exciting World
Series in history (and, yes, I'm very up on baseball history) therefore it
is a legitamate answer to the posed question.
Brad
okie dokie
(If you don't get it, check here:
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/gijoe.html)
I guess the conclusion is you can't get the regional bias out of the
debate. I don't see how that final measures up at all, but maybe I'm so
blinded by Blue Jay fanatism I can't see baseball glory when it shows
itself on a diamond not containing Blue Jays.
Richard R. Hershberger
Regional bias is nothing compared to chronological bias. Baseball has
pretty decent records going back about 160 years. Yet when people are
asked about the the greatest moment in all of that history, the answers
turn out to heavily favor events within recent memory. Yes, it is
certainly possible that the greatest moment was recent. But when a
bunch of people propose different moments, but they are nearly all
recent, this simply tells us that most people think history began about
they time they were twelve.
Richard R. Hershberger
Tom MacIntyre
<rrh...@acme.com> wrote:
For me, that's how old I was when the Expos played their first game.
:-) and :-(
Tom
>
>Richard R. Hershberger
okie dokie
athletes today. It is more and more challenging to be great. I think
that's what motivates steroid use. And if you disagree that the game is
being played by better athletes now than in previous eras, why are we
watching?
I have to believe the training pro players do now cannot be compared to
the training (or lack thereof) athletes in eras gone did. There's way
more $$ on the line - even in time adjusted rates - so the incentive to
be a phenomenal athlete is that much higher, the competition is that
much better.
And for the record, I turn twelve next year.
Roger Moore
>Regional bias is nothing compared to chronological bias. Baseball has
>pretty decent records going back about 160 years. Yet when people are
>asked about the the greatest moment in all of that history, the answers
>turn out to heavily favor events within recent memory. Yes, it is
>certainly possible that the greatest moment was recent. But when a
>bunch of people propose different moments, but they are nearly all
>recent, this simply tells us that most people think history began about
>they time they were twelve.
I'd assume that some of the bias is also recording bias. A lot of what
gets those moments credit is that there is video of them to show on ESPN
Classic, so more people know about them. If we could see the $15,000
slide, Merkle's Boner, the Vaughn/Toney double no hitter, game 7 of the
1924 Series, the Homer in the Gloaming, or any other great moment of the
game before widespread TV broadcasts, they'd probably get more credit
today.
--
Roger Moore | Master of Meaningless Trivia | (r...@alumni.caltech.edu)
I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the
people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by
violent and sudden usurpations. -- James Madison
Bob Roman
<jeremy_l...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>And if you disagree that the game is
>being played by better athletes now than in previous eras, why are we
>watching?
Horses are running at the same speeds as 100 years ago, and we're
still watching.
Bob Roman
Roger Moore
>But that has more to do with the fact that the game is played by better
>athletes today. It is more and more challenging to be great. I think
>that's what motivates steroid use. And if you disagree that the game is
>being played by better athletes now than in previous eras, why are we
>watching?
But a lot of what makes a moment great is context, not athleticism.
Notice how many of the suggested greatest moments came in the final game
of the World Series, LCS, or final game of a down-to-the-wire pennant
race, and how few came in spring training or before the All-Star break.
The proposed greates moments all seem to have come in the ninth inning or
in extra innings, too.
Bobby Thomson's HR isn't famous because it was tough to hit a HR down the
line in the Polo Grounds, because that wasn't a particularly tough place
to hit one. It's famous because it was a come from behind, walkoff HR in
the winner take all game of a three game playoff between bitter rivals and
capped one of the great come from behind stories in the history of the
game. It seems to me that the current system tends to dilute rivalries
and pennant races, so it might reasonably be expected to produce fewer
great moments than the old 22 games against every team, winner take all
pennant races of the 8 team per league era.
David Marc Nieporent
>>Regional bias is nothing compared to chronological bias. Baseball has
>>pretty decent records going back about 160 years. Yet when people are
>>asked about the the greatest moment in all of that history, the answers
>>turn out to heavily favor events within recent memory. Yes, it is
>>certainly possible that the greatest moment was recent. But when a
>>bunch of people propose different moments, but they are nearly all
>>recent, this simply tells us that most people think history began about
>>they time they were twelve.
>I'd assume that some of the bias is also recording bias. A lot of what
>gets those moments credit is that there is video of them to show on ESPN
>Classic, so more people know about them. If we could see the $15,000
>slide, Merkle's Boner, the Vaughn/Toney double no hitter, game 7 of the
>1924 Series, the Homer in the Gloaming, or any other great moment of the
>game before widespread TV broadcasts, they'd probably get more credit
>today.
True.
On the other hand, not to sound all Maynardy, but what is one really saying
when one describes as a "greatest moment" something one hasn't seen but has
only read about? I can readily talk about the greatest moments I've seen,
but the greatest moment in history? Aren't I really saying, "This is
something I've read that others think is great," rather than something _I_
think is great? Yes, I know the Shot Heard Round the World was dramatic,
and that Jackie Robinson stepping on a field had a huge impact, but is that
the same thing as evaluating "Greatness"?
---------------------------------------------
David M. Nieporent niep...@alumni.princeton.edu
Roger Moore
>On the other hand, not to sound all Maynardy, but what is one really saying
>when one describes as a "greatest moment" something one hasn't seen but has
>only read about? I can readily talk about the greatest moments I've seen,
>but the greatest moment in history? Aren't I really saying, "This is
>something I've read that others think is great," rather than something _I_
>think is great? Yes, I know the Shot Heard Round the World was dramatic,
>and that Jackie Robinson stepping on a field had a huge impact, but is that
>the same thing as evaluating "Greatness"?
I'm not sure that I am relying on others' judgment in thinking about
those events as great. I have in my own mind a set of ideas about what
makes an event great baseball. Among these are:
1) That it is actually a moment- a single baseball play- rather than a
more extended event. A game winning hit is a moment, but a perfect game
is not.
2) That it has a genuine element of uncertainty, so that while it is
possible to hope for the event it isn't viewed as a foregone conclusion
by the time that it's ready to happen. A game winning hit has this kind
of uncertainty but surpassing a career statistical record doesn't.
3) That the greatness of an event is increased by the drama of its
backstory. A clutch HR to win game 1 of the Series isn't as great a
moment as an equally clutch HR that wins game 7, and a game winning HR
between bitter rivals is greater than one between teams that lack bad
blood.
While my judgment of the relative importance of those factors is obviously
subjective, that judgment is still largely factual. My personal judgment
that Bobby Thomson's HR was a greater moment than Jackie Robinson's first
game is something that I can defend based on my own judgment of what
constitutes a great moment (Robinson fails by my criterion 2) without
needing to have witnessed those events personally. To the extent that I
am relying on others' opinions to form mine, I'm doing so indirectly.
When judging Bobby Thomson's HR, for instance, I depend more on what
people back then said about the intensity of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry
but not on their judgment about how great the HR actually was.
Tom MacIntyre
Just sitting back, waiting for a "The Nieporent" comment... :-)
Tom
David J. Grabiner
> Bobby Thomson's HR isn't famous because it was tough to hit a HR down the
> line in the Polo Grounds, because that wasn't a particularly tough place
> to hit one. It's famous because it was a come from behind, walkoff HR in
> the winner take all game of a three game playoff between bitter rivals and
> capped one of the great come from behind stories in the history of the
> game. It seems to me that the current system tends to dilute rivalries
> and pennant races, so it might reasonably be expected to produce fewer
> great moments than the old 22 games against every team, winner take all
> pennant races of the 8 team per league era.
In particular, consider the effect of the wild card. Every Yankee and
Red Sox fan knows about Bucky Dent, because that was the 163rd game of a
season in which the rivals had tied at 99-63 after a great race. With a
wild card, there would have been no 163rd game, because the Yankees and
Red Sox tied for the best record in the AL and thus would both get
playoff spots. Instead, the Angels and Rangers would have tied at 87-75
for the AL West title, and the playoff between two mediocre teams
wouldn't have had such a memorable homer.
--
David Grabiner, grab...@alumni.princeton.edu, http://remarque.org/~grabiner
Baseball labor negotiations FAQ: http://remarque.org/~grabiner/laborfaq.html
Shop at the Mobius Strip Mall: Always on the same side of the street!
Klein Glassworks, Torus Coffee and Donuts, Projective Airlines, etc.
okie dokie
Actually Roger, I think you've probably done the most to shed some
light on this topic. I really can't argue the definition you've given.
As I think about it, the lack of meaningful rivalry between the jays
and Phillies does erode the greatness of the play in an all time sense.
As for horse racing, I think it can't be considered because of the A to
B type of connection between the viewing and gambling of the sport. And
even if you don't buy that argument, horse racing is the only example I
can think of where the sport has not materially evolved over the eons.
I still place a significant weight in that. I believe given 2 home runs
to win a LCS, or World Series or whatever dramatic moment, the one
which occured in 2000 is much more meaningful than the one in 1956. The
fact that two better athletes contested the event makes it more
significant.
Perry Sailor
"Richard R. Hershberger" <rrh...@acme.com> wrote in message
news:1122656590.8...@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
I don't know about anybody else, but I figured my own subjective feeling
about it at the time had to weigh heavily, so I purposely excluded anything
I didn't personally see -- usually on TV -- live as it happened. For one
example, I'm sure Bobby Thomson was a great moment, but I personally
couldn't judge how I reacted emotionally to that compared to how I reacted
to Gibson's, so I didn't count it.
Perry
Chris Cathcart
Richard R. Hershberger wrote:
> > Roy Hobbs, blood oozing from his side, hits that home run, with a bat
> > he helped Bobby Savoy make? :-)
>
> That's the spirit! Now, how does that compare with Moonlight Graham
> finally getting to bat?
Ghosts playing baseball would truly transcend the sport, making the
Gehrig Farewell Speech (what comes first to mind for me) a distant
second.
Bob-Nob
<snip>
I was trying to think of the top ten moments. Here are some great
moments which come to mind (in no real order)...
Gibson's home run
Fisk's home run (or perhaps Carbo's?)
Thomson's home run
Hartnett's home run
Carter's home run
Dent's home run
Henderson's home run off Donnie Moore...
...and there are tons of these sorts of home runs. The Yankees had a
few in a winning effort against the Braves and a few in an
ultimately losing effort against the Diamondbacks. All this made me
think what the great non-home run moments might be. (But then we get
into things like whathisname's single off Rivera to win in 2001, which
isn't all that much different. Perhaps a list of the ten great
non-batting moments, might be more interesting...
Alexander's strike out of Lazzeri
Mays's catch
a number of catches from 1912, 1947, 1955, 1969, 1975
whoever it was who struck out Bench (?) on a faked-pitchout, perhaps...
...but then we start getting into things like Buckner's error. I
don't think of it as a great moment, though perhaps that's my Red
Sox fan-ness coming out. Wilson didn't do anything special, and
Buckner did something less than special. The comeback was a great
thing (speaking objectively, not subjectively) and Buckner's error
was the most memorable moment of it, but I don't think that makes
Buckner's error a great moment in and of itself. Sorta like Merkle's
Boner or Snodgrass's Muff (yeesh, MLB has had some great porn titles)
don't qualify for me.
Anyone want to provide a better bunch of moments?
Catch you later.
--Robert Machemer
--
Robert Paul Aubrey Machemer | "For each time he falls, he shall
Amherst College, Math & Classics | rise again, and woe to the wicked!"
IF1, IF3, IF9: best films, cast | --Don Quixote (Man of La Mancha)
IF's 3-Year Anniversary: 5/12 - 5/15... What are YOU doing this weekend?
Roger Moore
>...and there are tons of these sorts of home runs. The Yankees had a
>few in a winning effort against the Braves and a few in an
>ultimately losing effort against the Diamondbacks. All this made me
>think what the great non-home run moments might be. (But then we get
>into things like whathisname's single off Rivera to win in 2001, which
>isn't all that much different. Perhaps a list of the ten great
>non-batting moments, might be more interesting...
I think that the underlying reason for this is related to my criterion
that a great moment must be a single event. Pitching is inherently not
about single events; it's about sustained prevention of events for the
other team. When a pitcher does something really great, it's almost
always spread out over a whole inning or even a whole game, rather than
concentrated into a single moment. About the only way for a pitcher to
have a truly great moment is to come in as a reliever and keep the go
ahead run from scoring. Great fielding moments can happen but they tend
to be extremely rare; almost by definition a great fielding moment must be
the result of making a great play to stop a great hitting moment, which is
obviously going to be inherently rare.