12/21/24
October 23, 2002
Ripken's streak is the most memorable moment in baseball history? : It is, according to us fans. Does anyone else find it hard to believe that 'the shot heard 'round the world' didn't make the list?
posted by oliver_crunk to baseball at 07:43 PM - 11 comments
Personally, I would say that Gehrig's speech was number 1 moment. I wasn't around for it (my parents weren't either), but that echoing voice of a great player at the end, just the sheer emotion of it all, was a great moment in the history of the game. Ripken's streak was a great moment, and it helped get people back into baseball after the strike in 1994, but it shouldn't be the best moment ever. IMO, of course...
posted by bcb2k2 at 09:43 PM on October 23, 2002
I can't believe the Shot heard round the world wasn't even in the top ten. That's my #1. I wasn't alive, of course, but having read every book I could get my hands on and living baseball for years growing up I was pretty up on history ;) That whole list was ridiculous because a bunch of them weren't even moments so much as they were just records held, things that took a while, etc. (Ichiro Suzuki becomes first Japanese position player?) For instance, I don't think there was very much that was particularly memorable about Ripken's 2131 at all... aside from the overdone ceremonty that accompanied it. Recency does rear its head though and it's understandable. I mean, right now the thing I remember most clearly are all from last season - the devastating Gonzalez incident, Bonds hits 73, etc. Though I wouldn't think any of those will be the longest lasting. I'd place McGwire breaking Maris's record well ahead of Bonds breaking his, in the long run. In my lifetime (born 1979), Gibson's HR is right up there, as is Joe Carter, Kirby, Wade Boggs on the horse in 96, and McGwire's 62. Most significant? Hard to call. Anyway, it's a dumb little award that noone expected them to get right anyway... I'm still just pretty shocked that Thompson's HR wasn't even close...
posted by Bernreuther at 09:57 PM on October 23, 2002
I saw that. I was like, Wait a second -- that's a "moment"? And it's "memorable"? I don't think I can remember a single hit Ripken got.
posted by ajax at 10:19 PM on October 23, 2002
ajax: The moment for me was when Ripken hit the home run in his first at bat in the game he broke the record. That was dramatic. And the jog around the park to shake hands and wave at everyone. Tears to my eyes. I'm such a sap. My top 10 that I personally saw/viewed on TV: 10. Dave Stieb's no-hitter. He held the record for most no-hitters ruined in the 9th inning, and then finally got his magical moment. Top of the mountain is finally reached... 9. Barry Bonds' 71st HR. 8. Kirby Puckett's HR in Game 6 of 1991 World Series. 7. Derek Jeter's "magic play" in last year's playoffs. 6. Nolan Ryan's 7th no-hitter (against my Jays). 5. Blue Jays' double 5-run come back in Game 4 of 1993 World Series to win 15-14 in the high scoring game in World Series history. 4. Joe Carter's HR in Game 6 of the same series. The video is memorable, but the radio call was my favourite: "Touch'em all Joe! You'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!" 3. Cal Ripken's 2131rd game. 2. Mark McGwire's 62nd HR, hugging the Maris family, hugging Sosa, hugging little McGwire at home plate...sniff. Here I go again... 1. Kirk Gibson's HR. If Disney had made a film with an ending like that, it would have been panned by the critics as silly. "I do not believe what I have just seen." - Joe Buck (side note: the ending to "The Natural" and "Field of Dreams" would be on the list if we included fictional moments as well)
posted by grum@work at 11:35 PM on October 23, 2002
Excellent list, grum@work.
posted by kirkaracha at 01:42 AM on October 24, 2002
What happened to Carlton Fisk's homerun in Game 6 of the 75 World Series. That is the first clear memory of baseball I have. (It was the first game my parents let me stay up to watch.) I am glad that the fans gave The Hammer some love at #2.
posted by trox at 08:50 AM on October 24, 2002
I don't imagine they would ever do it, but it would have been great if they had included the lows as well as the highs. Who could forget Pete Rose? Or George Brett storming out on the field? Or the Black Sox?
posted by McBain at 10:08 AM on October 24, 2002
The moment for me was when Ripken hit the home run in his first at bat in the game he broke the record. I'm with you there. (Though, obviously, I'd forgot about that home run. Must've been blinded by my rage against MLB....) Gibson's homer is also my strongest memory. That was just absurd -- the cripple coming back to save the day for the underdog, in the most dramatic of all possible plays. Crazy stuff.
posted by ajax at 10:58 AM on October 24, 2002
Obviously my most "memorable" moment was the ending of Game 6, 1986 World Series. Isn't one of the joys of baseball- of sports, really- that we have our own memories of our favorite teams? We don't need a "most memorable" for all of baseball, because that term is meaningless when discussing what for many people is not just a very social and community but also a very personal fandom.
posted by hincandenza at 01:13 PM on October 24, 2002
Noone wants to glorify the bad memories though, even if the Buckner thing sticks in the craw of the entire northeast... I forgot about Fisk too but I'd put that right up there in the top 3 or 4 with Thompson. I like Grum's list even if it is a bit Blue Jays skewed. But hey, every fan of every team has different ones. I could make a list of 10 Yankee moments that are damn memorable too... (I wonder how I'd rank those. Hmm, work procrastination fodder...)
posted by Bernreuther at 01:32 PM on October 24, 2002
Sure. The voting was over the internet. People old enough to remember the shot aren't exactly the internet's main demographic. :)
Personally, I'm sort of surprised it's not Gibson's HR- that game is the first baseball game that I have a distinct memory of, and so the net's key demographic should have a pretty decent memory of it. And c'mon... even at 10 years old, I knew it was utterly silly for him to be batting. I mean, batting. He couldn't even walk. Still surreal.