The Greatest Half Inning in World Series History – IOTW Report

The Greatest Half Inning in World Series History

Thursday, 17 August 2023, 22:37 BFH Uncategorized 62

Granted, I am biased. And I’m butthurt because this year’s Mets have a chance of being the highest salaried team to ever come in last place. It’s an embarrassment beyond all embrassments.

But this was great –>

62 Comments on The Greatest Half Inning in World Series History

  1. One of my pet peeves in all sports is the undying pursuit of accuracy, of getting the call right. I welcomed VAR in soccer, electronic line calls in tennis, and liberal access to instant replay. For this reason, until baseball gets rid of the officious jackasses behind home plate and utilizes computerized pitch counts, where strikes and balls are called correctly and not left up to the massive egos of umpires, I will stay away from the MLB.

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  5. Rich- I’m on the opposite side of the fence on this. I like the human element of the chance of making mistakes, bad calls, or what have ya in competition. Our officials in sports are humans. I don’t want perfection. Perfection is boring. Part of what makes sports interesting is that human component. I want to live in that world. With perfect umpiring in baseball, say, you’ll never see a Lou Pinella, Billy Martin, or Earl Weaver tantrum again. That’s all part of the entertainment. https://youtu.be/FrhmUGRaOwY

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  6. I liked the Yankees, especially in the days of Billy Martin, what a character. After all the player strikes and the league lockouts I got fed up. These days I might watch some of the league championships or the World Series if there’s a team I can root for – or against.

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  7. @Bman

    You will still have these;

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbEHAsZxRYo

    When you keep the “human element” you destroy the whole concept of “May the best man win” because with mistakes in officiating, the best man does not always win.

    “Perfection is boring”

    When it comes to officiating, you want perfection. These athletes train their whole lives and make the ultimate effort, the least these umpires can do is be correct in their calls. Not to mention entire fortunes made or lost on the caprices of someone who should not be injecting himself into a sport no spectator paid to see.

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  9. Rich, the NFL has been total shit the past 5 years or so with fucked up outrageous calls.
    They have replay and still get it wrong.
    Billions bet on the game yet some guy who’s primary job is something else, moonlighting as an official on Sunday.
    Ridiculous.

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  10. the greatest half-inning in WS history was the 9th inning of Don Larson’s 1956 WS perfect game … hands down!

    talk about pressure … I bet you couldn’t have shoved a pencil up his ass w/ a jack hammer!

    all that other stuff was just wrong pitch/wrong time, bad managing or luck.
    (does anyone feel like me that Rollie Fingers grooved that pitch to Kirk Gibson’s wheelhouse in the ’88 WS? … sometimes I wonder)

    & @Rich Taylor ~ they’re already utilizing auto-calls for balls & strikes in the minors … not defending umpires, but the problem w/ viewing the batter’s box over the right shoulder of the pitcher while watching on tv leads to a skewed view of the box & it definitely isn’t a 3D view.
    I’ve umped a few games in my day & it’s not easy calling balls & strikes, particularly when a good pitcher w/ a lively ball can shave the corners of the zone where you have to judge if the ball clipped the zone, or not. I always figured if I thought the majority of my calls were correct, then I had a good night. & I was always my worst critic.

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  11. ^^^^ I differ to your expertise. I don’t know if you are a soccer fan, few here are, but are you familiar with VAR? Same with electronic line calls in tennis. The technology is available NOW to be precise within a millimeter. It’s not perfect but it is damn sure better than what we have now. Nothing ruins it more for me as a casual observer than to see a dumbass umpire try to get back at a batter he thinks is showing him up by calling a third strike on a ball that is obviously out. That, or throwing a pitcher out of the game because he looks at the umpire funny. Get rid of these clowns for good.

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  12. So, Rich, could one infer that you want infallible entities officiating these events. Events which, up until your proposed divergence in the officiating elements of competetition in general, were handled by humans. Is that not stripping humanity from the game?

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  14. Rich, the VAR allowed Sweden to beat the American Ingrate Women’s Soccer team last week.
    That last penalty kick would have been likely called a no goal…

    BTW, it’s England vs Spain in the final.
    Not sure what Fox Sports paid for the games but most of them start around 1-3 AM in the states.

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  16. Loco, you probably know this, but Foxsports has short youtube clips of every single game, posted about an hour after the live match ends. Viewing the matches this way I am able to see all of them.

    The goalee of the US women’s team was the best athlete out there, she played great and nearly got that last penalty shoot out. She was also one of the few that put her hand over her heart and sang the National Anthem.

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  17. … & soccer is a wimp game played by wimps …. ‘slip & fall accident victims’ more like it

    … & yes, I played soccer in high school … it’s boring & wimpy
    (I do understand you have to have ball-to-foot skills … that’s why we can train monkeys or donkeys to play it … what separates the ‘human element’ from other animals ‘sports’ is our hand-skills … something soccer doesn’t permit)

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  18. Rich, I’ve watched replays as well.
    The Australia vs France final was damned good.
    I was pulling for OZ.

    It sucks that the American team has been poisoned for years now.
    Hopefully that ends.

    Molon, there actually has been much less flopping this year.
    The refs have been having none of it so a lot of it ended.

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  19. @Rich Taylor

    “Yes, I want the “human element” taken out of the game as much as possible. Get the call right, it is only fair to those playing the game.”

    I’ve heard of hedging your bets with the machines, their ultimate takeover and survival of same, but damn dude….

    Which do you prefer, Judas or Benedict?

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  22. It’s hard to see how the Saints weren’t cheated out of victory over the Rams a few years back.
    The ref was RIGHT FUCKING THERE!
    The receiver was leveled while the ball was at it’s apex!

    Of course the 1972 Men’s Olympic Basketball team would like a word…

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  24. Loco, the officiating this go-round has been top-notch, no flopping and proper yellow/red cards. And VAR has been essential in spotting real fouls in the box.

    They also got it right on suspending Lauren James for 2 games for stepping on the other player. She will be back for the final so I think England is the clear favorite.

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  25. Rich, Spain is actually favored to win.
    I noticed they have some pretty crisp passing of the ball against Sweden.

    The good thing about watching delayed games is no spoiler alerts.
    Americans don’t care so I can watch a game that took place a day ago and not know the score from the internet unless I seek it out.

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  26. If you don’t understand the intrinsic value of human beings calling balls and strikes then you’ve never been a fan of baseball nor understand the history, tradition and why it might be the greatest game ever developed…..There are already challenges that the replay shows for close plays at bases, foul balls, home runs etc….Thay can be overturned or upheld….Soccar and Tennis need computers to define the boundaries because human beings can’t stand the boredom in between the calls and decisions….It’s like the Tour De France when they go to the mountains. Just open a vein and do your best death of Marat imitation……Baseball is a way of life, it explains life to you…..The Little League World Series is happening now and watching it will make you a better human being….

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  27. @JB ~ I was a catcher too, & I never remember a ref throwing a flag at me.
    (sorry, couldn’t let it go … lol … & know you meant ump)
    & yes, refs blow calls all the time (probably what you meant & I mis-interpreted). what is infuriating is that the so-called Instant Reply is often wrong also!

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  28. Molon, I always thought that Kirk Gibson’s at bat was the all time best! In fact I think he should have won the World Series MVP for that single at bat even though that was his only appearance in the entire series.

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  29. willysgoat wins the Internet tonight!
    so let it be written, so let it be done!
    inserting that ‘death of Marat’ remark was sublime.

    I am humbled beyond words

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  32. @joe6 ~ yeah, but I still get that feeling that Fingers grooved that pitch. the one place Gibson absolutely liked it, & as an added bonus, the only place he could swing w/ power without pain due to his injury was exactly where Fingers placed it.

    coincidence? … yeah, the only place that didn’t burn in Maui was Oprah’s digs … coincidence

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  37. Dang ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ, I’m damn glad someone got the death of Marat infurance!….That’s the posture I take when watching soccer, tennis, bicycle riding, all of the faggoty types of sporting events….

  39. ΜΟΛΩΝ, joe6 does like conspiracies.
    We go at it from time to time with World Trade Center 7.
    It’s all in good fun as long as others don’t get involved…

    WTC-7 Truth is a fascinating study…
    We need a thread tomorrow night with that as a topic!

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  40. Molon, it wasn’t Rollie Fingers, it was Dennis Eckersley. And if he intended to groove him a pitch I don’t think he would have waited for a 3-2 count. Anyway, I will always think that was the single best at bat I’ve seen. I was home with little kids and my wife, and nobody cared except me.

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  42. @willygoat ~ I actually think most all sports take skill, particularly at the highest levels (including wimp soccer). I was a mediocre tennis player that could hold my own vs. the local neighborhood & I bicycled a lot, mostly as a kid, but do realize those that train for the sport are way beyond anything that I could ever accomplish … even w/ doping!

    badminton anyone? ping pong? …ah yes, perhaps Cornhole Superhole Bowl!

    just imagine what the future Olympics sports are going to be.
    (now, there’s a thread!)

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  44. I once hit a touchdown with a cricket bat. I got the award for the bestest Chess Grandmaster when I was 6 years old. Bobby Fisher said, “DANG!” and peed on the chess set.

    Then I went to the moon, and knocked down WTC-7 with a huge fart.

  45. Did you NOT write this Willys:
    “posture I take when watching soccer, tennis, bicycle riding, all of the faggoty types of sporting events”

    Why do you watch what you refer to as faggoty sports?
    Are you still closeted?
    You can come out here, no judgement…

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  47. @ ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ….I get ya. I played lacrosse in college and at the club level for a few years after until I blew up my knee playing beer league slow pitch….Soccer, Tennis, bike riding, the other faggoty sports, that I don’t have to watch, just bore the hell out of me…..I don’t think that even if a hunky grocery store bagger wanted me to watch the ladies World Cup Final with him Spain vs England according to Loco) I would watch it…..

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  48. Whole peppercorns make my asshole bleed. And the farts? OOF!

    And then Fischer had the fucking GALL to talk nonsense about his Queens and Pawns. I was like, “Fuck you, dawg!”

    And then some faggot was “bagging” my groceries… and faggotly asked me if I was a pitcher, or a hitter.

  49. @joe6 ~ I stand corrected … Eck … get all those ’80’s ‘staches confused. (Fingers had that handlebar thing going, didn’t he?) Eck could’ve just walked him, hit him, throw something inside, high & tight

    … but, NOOOOOOOOOOOO …. a bit low & away … right where Gibson wanted it & could slap it

    like I said previously, wrong pitch, managerial error, etc. … also, it was only Game 1, so it wasn’t a Series winning hit like Bill Mazeroski’s dinger in the ’60’s Series … which WAS one of the greatest half-innings of the history of the WS
    (p.s. look that one up! Pirates came back from a 7-4 deficit, up by 2 in the ninth only to get tied in the top of the ninth & win!)

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  52. Loco, My Granny once tole me bout a dim witted yung’un….I think you qualify….She said…” I don’t think that boy could empty water out of a three sided boot”….

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  54. What a great 1/2 inning. Thank you Fur. I used to love baseball, can’t tell you how many times I cut HS to ride the el down to Addison and watch the Cubs. Failed my senior year I missed so many days. Had season tickets for the Rockies. Coors Field is a beautiful park.

    That was more baseball then I’ve seen in decades. Player strikes and other bullshit ruined it for me.

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  55. Larsen perfect game?

    Yawn.

    A Game 5 that didn’t decide the World Series was the greatest half-inning in World Series history?

    And, even a home run breaking up the no-hitter doesn’t put the Dodgers in the lead. The Yankees were up 2-0.

    And, there could be no walk-off win because the Yankees were at home.

    I highly disagree. The fact that it was a perfect game is really just a side-show for one man. It could happen on opening day, game 63, or game 101. It was a win.

    The win is most important. And it wasn’t a win to take the series.

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  56. I’m amazed that many of the great comebacks/collapses (depending upon your point of view) do not happen in the final game of the series. Buckner’s error was in game 6. Earlier in those playoffs, Boston came back against the Angels in game 4. The Steve Bartman game was not the final game of that series.

    But, as a fan, you know that the series is over and the team that had that great come back will close out the series in the next game.

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  58. Big Fur Hat – Have to agree with you. It was a bit annoying to see the BoSox getting ready to celebrate. That 6th game had everything and the Scoreboard accidentally flashed a congrats sign for Boston’s “WIN” .

  59. So great that Scully & Garagiola let the pictures speak for themselves.
    Big Fur Hat , Marv Albert retired a few years ago and that schmuck of an owner at Madison Square Garden didn’t give him a chance to say Goodbye .

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