The Best, Worst and Most Painful Moments in World Series History
Baseball expert and author Joe Posnanski picks the best of the best.
Ask people about the most memorable moments from the last 117 years of Fall Classics and you might get 117 different answers. So we turned to Joe Posnanski, author of the blockbuster The Baseball 100 and the forthcoming Why We Love Baseball. He’s used to ranking events on the field, so we asked him to make his picks of the best, the worst, the most painful and the most inspiring moments in World Series history.
World Series moments
Joe Posnanski's first, best World Series memory
“I was 8 years old,” the all-star scribe says. “In game six the Reds were in position to win the 1975 World Series over the Red Sox. Then there was the Carlton Fisk home run, with him waving the ball fair.”
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But that was only the third best homer in World Series history, according to Posnanski
No. 2: Pittsburgh Pirate Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homer to win game seven over the hated Yankees in 1960. And No. 1: “Kirk Gibson’s home run against the A’s in 1988,” says Posnanski. “You had two classic calls by the announcers on that one—Jack Buck and Vin Scully.”
Most emotional World Series homer
The Yankees’ Derek Jeter, against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. “He hit the walk-off home run in Yankee Stadium, with the ruins still smoking downtown from 9/11.”
Saddest World Series villain
The obvious pick: the Red Sox’s Bill Buckner, who allowed a ground ball to roll between his legs, opening the door for the Mets eventual victory in 1986. But for Posnanski, the umpire Don Denkinger is the saddest figure. In 1985, he blew the most famous call in baseball history, deeming Kansas City’s Jorge Orta safe at first (he was out, according to the replays), which led to St. Louis’s eventual downfall that year. “I’ve talked to him on multiple occasions,” says Posnanski. “It’s not easy to be the guy who made that call.”
Greatest Moment in the Negro Leagues World Series
This legendary event happened in 1942. “Satchel Paige, pitching for the Monarchs, walked the bases loaded on purpose to pitch to Josh Gibson, of the Homestead Grays, the biggest slugger of the day,” says Posnanski. “When Gibson comes to the plate, Paige tells him, 'I'm not going to throw smoke at your yoke, but a pea at your knee.’ He struck him out.”
Greatest all-time World Series win
“The Cubs, in 2016,” Posnanski grudgingly admits. “You can’t get much better than that. I wish it hadn’t happened against Cleveland.” That’s where Posnanski grew up as an Indians idolator. They’re Guardians now, so they’ve finally escaped that name, if not yet the history of futility.
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[photo by Katie Posnanski/Simon & Schuster]
