7.10.02
Major League Baseball announced during the All-Star festivities this week that they are going to have
a promotion featuring the 30 most memorable moments in the history of baseball. They released the
list and are allowing fans to vote on the most memorable play between now and the end of the season.
If there is no work stoppage, they will release the list of the top ten during the World Series.
This is a good idea with some serious flaws. One of the initial problems that I see is with the list of 30
"moments" that have been picked by major league baseball. Some of the items listed aren't moments.
One item on the list is Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's chase of Roger Maris in 1998. That lasted
a whole season, how can that be a "moment"? Some of the items are more like feats rather than
moments. For example, Johnny Vander Meer's no-hitters in back-to-back starts is an incredible feat,
but not really a "moment". Some of the items on the list are really events that changed the game more
than memorable "moments." For example, Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947 was an
event that radically changed the landscape of major league baseball, but not really a "moment." The
same is true with the Boston Red Sox sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. To me, the
memorable moments should be a play, or at the most a game that was remarkable or memorable in
some way. Have another list for the greatest feats (McGwire and Sosa chasing Maris; Johnny
Vander Meer;) and for events that changed baseball (Jackie Robinson; Babe Ruth sale).
Another problem I see is that three of the thirty "moments" on mlb's list come from last year. Last
season was a pretty entertaining one, but I can't believe that it produced 1/10 of the most memorable
moments of all time. In fact, I probably wouldn't have picked any of the three to be on my list. Barry
Bonds breaking a three-year-old homerun record was pretty cool, but not one of the 30 most
memorable moments of all time. Ichiro winning the MVP and ROY in the same year was more in the
vein of an event that changed baseball (maybe, the jury is still out), but in no case is it one of the 30
most memorable moments. Luis Gonzales' single to win the World Series was exciting and
extrememly memorable. One of the 30 most memorable? I don't know, it's a little early to tell, but
somehow I don't think the odds are in its favor. There is definately a bias towards the more recent
events in baseball. Over 1/2 of the events on mlb's list have occurred since 1990. Considering that
major league baseball has been around since the 1880's, I think the list is a little lopsided.
Anyway, the idea is still a great one, and it will be fun to debate the relative memorable-ness of each
of the "moments" that mlb has chosen. So now, without any further ado, here is my list of the top 10
(in no real order) most memorable moments in baseball history (as I have previously defined
moments):
1. Bobby Thompson's homerun off Ralph Branca to win the pennant for the Giants
2. Don Larsen's perfect game in the World Series
3. Babe Ruth's called shot (even if he didn't really call it, it was still memorable) in the World Series
4. Kirk Gibson's homerun off Dennis Eckersly in game one of the 1988 World Series
5. Willie Mays' over-the-head catch in center field
6. Lou Gehrig's farewell speech
7. Hank Aaron's 715th homerun
8. Ozzie Smith's walk-off homerun in the 1985 playoffs (I might have a little bias here)
9. Reggie Jackson's 3 homerun performance in the 1978 World Series
10. Joe Carter's walk-off homerun to win the 1993 World Series
I'm sure I've missed a few great ones and if we were really talking about just memorable moments
you'd have to consider Disco Demolition Night and the Pine Tar Incident, but I'm sticking to good
moments. Feel free to point out my omissions and send me your lists and I'll get them posted.
Granger