After hosting an All-Star game that ended in a tie, fending off accusations of major leaguers’ abuse of steroids and narrowly avoiding a devastating players’ strike, major league baseball has once again disgraced the rich history of the sport – and this time the fans are to blame.
Before Game Four of the World Series Wednesday night in San Francisco, major league baseball and MasterCard counted down the top 10 baseball moments of all-time, as chosen by baseball fans across the country. Out of 1.1 million ballots cast, about 280,000 selected Cal Ripken’s breaking of Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak as the number one moment in baseball history, according to the Associated Press. Finishing second was Hank Aaron surpassing Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list, while Jackie Robinson’s entrance into the majors to break the color barrier placed third.
While Ripken’s 2,131st consecutive game marked an immensely commendable achievement that may never be matched again, it’s difficult to consider Ripken’s feat a ‘moment.’ The entire game was part of Ripken’s milestone, not just one particular at bat or defensive play, like Hank Aaron’s 715th career homer or Babe Ruth’s 60th regular season homerun. Likewise, achievements like Ichiro Suzuki’s rookie season and Ted Williams’ .406 season, while noteworthy, simply aren’t ‘moments’ and take away from the credibility of the countdown.
The countdown also features a disproportionate amount of ‘moments’ from the last 25 years. Baseball is America’s national pastime partly because of its rich history dating back more than 100 years. Naturally, the presence of video footage allows fans to watch clips from the 1950s onward again and again, while events from the 1910s and `20s – decades that featured the Babe’s 60th homer and the Boston Red Sox’ last World Series title – are contained to history books and photo albums. Unfortunately, the knowledge of many fans is limited to the time period in which they’ve lived, and part of baseball’s legacy has suffered because of it.
There were plenty of memorable moments left off Wednesday night’s ceremony, including perhaps the two most memorable moments in Red Sox history – Carlton Fisk’s game-winning homerun in Game Six of the 1967 World Series and Bill Buckner’s ground ball error at first base in Game Six of the 1986 World Series. Notably missing from the top ten was Babe Ruth’s legendary ‘called shot,’ where the Bambino reportedly pointed his bat toward the outfield wall and hit a home run over it in the same at bat. Also absent was Bill Mazeroski’s ninth-inning, walk-off home run to clinch the 1960 World Series for the Pirates and send the Yankees home empty-handed.
While countdowns are a fascinating topic to debate, especially when it involves baseball’s lengthy history, Wednesday night’s ceremony added little to the game and demeaned the accomplishments of the sport’s early-day heroes. While the collaboration between major league baseball and MasterCard may have been entertaining, a comprehensive list of baseball’s finest moments encompassing every era of the game’s history would be – priceless.