Willie Mays' Catch
1954, GAME 1
“I had it the whole time,” Giants center fielder Willie Mays quipped after making his famous catch of a shot off the bat of Cleveland’s Vic Wertz. He probably did. Depending on whom you talk to, Wertz hit the ball between 450 feet and 450 miles in the cavernous Polo Grounds, with runners on first and second in the top of the eighth of a 2-2 game. Mays’ improbable over-the-shoulder catch saved two runs, and the Indians now had runners on first and third with one out. New York reliever Don Liddle had been brought in to face Wertz but now was being taken out of the game. “Well,” he said to incoming pitcher Marv Grissom, “I got my man.” Grissom squeezed out of the jam, and the Giants went on to win the Series.
Next: Don Larsen's Perfect Game
Don Larsen's Perfect Game
1956, GAME 5
In 100 years of World Series play, there has been only one day when a pitcher was perfect. And if they play the World Series for 100 more, Don Larsen may still be the only man to take on 27 batters from a league champion and send ‘em all back to the bench. Larsen was a respectable 11-5 in the 1956 regular season, but no one could have predicted his Game 5 heroics. During the game, his Yankees teammates abided by the superstition that no one was to talk to the pitcher throwing a no-hitter, lest they would jinx the history unfolding before them. Larsen, who regarded such tradition as bunk, kept trying to strike up conversation and share his excitement. Alas, Larsen was the loneliest man in the stadium until the final out, when catcher Yogi Berra leaped into his arms in one of the most recognizable images in baseball history.
Next: Bill Mazeroski's Walk-off
