There have been so many great moments in the game of baseball that listing them all would take a book in itself, maybe even multiple books. What follows are just a few moments in baseball that may or may not mean something to you. Some are from a long time ago and some are more recent. These are in no special order. Just a few things to remind us how great the game of baseball is and how much it has meant to the American people.
In 1969, a team by the name of the New York Mets did something no one thought they would come close to doing. This team, which spent the first six years of its existence at or near the bottom of the National League, eventually made it to the World Series and faced the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. After losing the first game, they won four in a row to win their first World Series in their history.
The year was 1998. The year before, the baseball season was lost due to a players’ strike. The fans were fed up with the game. It was doubtful that they would return in the numbers Major League Baseball was used to. Then the unthinkable happened. Not one, but two players were chasing Roger Maris’ single-season home run record of 61 home runs in a season. Finally, Mark McGwire was the first to break the record. Sammy Sosa broke it as well, but McGwire ultimately finished the season with 70 home runs and Sosa finished with 66. The chase brought excitement to the game that had been missing and might have stayed lost if not for those two.
In 1932, Babe Ruth went to visit a crippled boy in the hospital. The boy asked Babe if he would hit a home run in his next game against Chicago. Ruth told the boy that he would do it. That afternoon, Ruth pointed to the center field seats and then, on the next pitch, he hit the ball out of the ballpark in the exact spot he pointed to. Some say it’s a fact, others say it’s just a legend. It certainly is what great baseball moments are made of.
Arguably the most famous baseball moment of all time was on October 3, 1951, when Bobby Thompson hit what was called “The Shot Heard Around the World” when he homered off Ralph Branca in the bottom half. of the ninth inning to cap off the miraculous comeback. of the Giants against the Brooklyn Dodgers. At one point during the season, the Giants were so far behind the Dodgers that they had absolutely no chance of overtaking them. Thompson’s shot not only put the Giants in the record books, but it made household names for both Thompson and Branca, who have done interviews together for years.
Just a handful of some of the best moments from what many call the greatest game ever played.
