By Shawn Stewart

Who was in the on deck circle when Bobby Thomson hit is walk off home run in game 3 of the playoff series between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers? The answer is Willie Mays, who was a rookie in 1951. Why is it such a big deal to mention this? Willie Mays is regarded by some to be the greatest baseball player of all time. He was labeled the “most- well-rounded player” and was well known for his power at the plate and amazing defense, which actually molded him to become the greatest center fielder of all time. He is currently fifth on the all time home run list, just behind Alex Rodriguez, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. Two of the names on this list played during the steroid era, so that is a debate for another time.

Baseball, America’s Pastime, is known for historical moments and big plays that are still talked about today. Some of the moments may include Willie Mays and his famous “over the shoulder catch” in the 1954 World Series, or Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, or Roger Maris breaking Bath Ruth’s single season homerun record in 1961, but could anything be bigger than winning the World Series on a walk off home run in Game 7 against the power house New York Yankees?

Remember when you were a little kid in your backyard and you imagined you were coming up to bat in the bottom of the 9th with the game tied and a chance to win the game and the World Series with a walk off homerun? Well, for Bill Mazeroski, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was a reality. This was a real David and Goliath matchup. Nobody expected the Pirates to win the series, let alone force a game 7. The dramatic home run was described like this, “Ralph Terry, who had gotten the final out in the Pirates’ eighth, returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth to finish the job. The first man he faced was Bill Mazeroski. With a count of one ball and no strikes, the Pirates’ second baseman smashed a historical long drive over the wall in left, ending the contest and crowning the National League as champions” according to the Baseball Almanac. As Mazeroski touched home plate, the Pirates celebrated, and the Yankees were in absolute shock knowing they had complete control of the series.

In fact the losing team, which was the Yankees, outscored the Pirates by a combined score of 55-27. The 55 runs in a 7 game series by the Yankees is still a World Series record to this day, but none of that mattered because the Pirates hung around and forced a game 7, which gave them the opportunity to make history. This is the only time a winner-take-all World Series game ended with a walk- off home run. Years later, Mickey Mantle stated that losing the 1960 series was the biggest disappointment of his career, according to Baseball Almanac. But for Bill Mazeroski “it was the highlight”.

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