Bill Mazeroski, R.I.P.

Lets Recall Bill’s “Homer for the Ages” 

“Bill was one of a kind, a true Pirates legend, a National Baseball Hall of Famer, and one of the finest defensive second basemen the game has ever seen.” -Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting, speaking of Bill Mazeroski 

The baseball world was saddened today to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, aged 89. Known for his steady, often spectacular defense as a second baseman, he is best remembered for hitting one of the most dramatic home runs in baseball history: a ninth-inning drive in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series to clinch the Series for the Pirates over the heavily favored Yankees.  It remains the only Game Seven walk-off home run. ESPN ranked it number one on its list of the “One Hundred Greatest Home Runs of All Time.”  

Maz’s Career

Over his 17-year career (1956-1972), all with the Pirates, Bill hit .260, with 138 home runs, and 853 RBIs. He was a ten-time All-Star, the winner of eight Gold Gloves, and a member of two World Series championship teams (1960, 1972). But of course, his glove was his major league meal ticket. Contributor Vince Jankoski summed up Maz’s defensive prowess nicely:

He gets my vote as the all-time best fielding second baseman. He led the National League in double plays eight consecutive years from 1960-1967, in range factor ten of eleven seasons from 1958-1968, and in assists nine of those same eleven seasons. His Double Plays per game (.818) is higher than any other player in the Hall of Fame, and dwarfs non-HOF’ers generally considered good fielders.

On this sad occasion of Bill’s passing, I’d like to honor him by saying a few words about the classic 1960 World Series and Bill’s historic homer. It ranks right up there with Bobby Thomson’s blast in the 1951 playoff series.

In the featured photo above, we see a jubilant Maz on the bases after hitting the homer. In the photo below, Bill is rounding third. (A few years ago, I interviewed the kid on the right. His name is Ken Simons. You can read the interview here.)

A Few Words About This Classic World Series

The 1960 World Series was played from October 5 to 13, 1960. It’s considered one of the most exciting World Series of all time, ending on Bill Mazeroski’s dramatic walk-off home run in Game Seven, which gave the Pirates a 10-9 victory in the decisive game. It was the Pirates’ third World Championship overall and first since 1925. The Yankees were making their eighth appearance in the last ten years.

Six future Hall of Famers appeared in the Series: Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Casey Stengel. Bobby Richardson was the MVP of the series.

Our “senior” readers will recall with nostalgic affection the names of the umpires: Dusty Boggess, Johnny Stevens, Bill Jackowski, Nestor Chylak (HOF), Stan Landes, and Jim Honochick. Old-time Cub fans will be surprised to learn that Cubs’ announcer Jack Quinlan was at the radio mike.

How Did the Pirates Win This Series??

Looking over the statistics from the series, if you didn’t know better, you’d guess that the Yankees had won. They outscored the Pirates 55–27, out-hit them 91–60, hit for a higher average, .338-.256, blasted 10 home runs to the Pirates’ four (three of which came in Game Seven), and got two complete-game shutouts from Whitey Ford. And yet they lost the series! The Pirates’ inconsistent pitching and Stengel’s controversial decision not to start Ford in games one and four resulted in the peculiar combination of close games and routs.

The Historic Game Seven

Game Seven is one of the most memorable games in World Series history. The Pirates took an early 4-0 lead with Vernon Law on the mound. The Yankees came back and led 5-4 after six innings, then scored two more in the top of the eighth to make it 7-4.

In the Pirates’ eighth, singles by Gino Cimoli,  Bill Virdon (a sharp grounder that struck Tony Kubek in the throat), and Dick Groat cut the lead to 7-5. An infield hit by Roberto Clemente scored Virdon and advanced Groat to third, making it 7-6. With two runners on, Hal Smith then sent shock waves through Forbes Field by blasting a homer over the left-field wall. The Pirates now led 9-7 after eight innings.

Bob Friend came on in the ninth to protect the lead. After singles by Bobby Richardson and pinch-hitter Dale Long, Danny Murtaugh lifted Friend and brought in veteran Harvey Haddix. With one out, Haddix gave up a single to Mantle that scored Richardson and moved Long to third. Yogi Berra followed with a short grounder to first.  Rocky Nelson stepped on the bag for the second out, which was followed by a key base path move by Mantle: 

Mantle, seeing he had no chance to beat a play at second, scurried back to first and avoided Nelson’s tag, which would have been the third out as McDougald raced home to tie the score, 9-9. The Yankees were still alive. (1)

Maz’s Dramatic Moment!

Ralph Terry, who had gotten the final out in the Pirates’ eighth, returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth. The first man he faced was Bill Mazeroski. With a 1-0 count, the Pirates’ second baseman smashed his dramatic drive over the wall in left, ending the game and the Series.

As the Pirates erupted in a wild celebration, the Yankees stood in disbelief, knowing that they had clearly dominated the Series but had somehow managed to lose. Years later, Mickey Mantle was quoted as saying that losing the 1960 series was the biggest disappointment of his career. For Bill Mazeroski, it was undoubtedly the highlight. What an ending to what has become a classic World Series!

Rest In Peace, Maz. And thanks for the memories!

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from public domain through a Google search.

Information: uote (1) from the 1960 Baseball Almanac page. Also, excerpts edited from the 1960 World Series Wikipedia page. Statistics from Baseball-Reference.com