It was an amazing thing. Mantle, Maris, Berra and all the other Yankees were on defense in the bottom of the ninth in the seventh game of the World Series. The game was tied 9-9 when Ralph Terry delivered a slider to Pittsburgh's Bill Mazeroski, which Maz smacked over the left field wall to win the game. It's the only time the World Series has been decided by a walk-off home run ("walk-off" means the game ends with the hit and the players walk off the field).
As recounted by John Moody in The Wall Street Journal, Pirates outfielder Gino Cimoli recalled they were "just a bunch of ordinary guys" who slew the invincible Yankees. Pittsburgh had come from behind to clinch the pennant by winning 30 games in the last inning. It was nerve-wracking: "(Manager Danny) Murtaugh had a bum stomach and couldn't stand to watch the ninth in the dugout. He'd go back to the locker room and drink Maalox."
They won the Series and it's celebrated every year. Moody writes, "each October 13th, often in stinging sleet, a recording of the broadcast of that game is played in front of the last remnant of the Forbes Field wall still standing." Hundreds of fans gather to celebrate the event and savor the moment - at exactly 3:36 PM - when Maz knocks it out of the park again.
Today Pittsburgh is a sparkling modern city. But in 1960 it was a grimy steel town with sooty air and polluted rivers. It hadn't changed much since "O. Henry called it the "low-downdest hole" he had ever seen and its inhabitants as "the most ignorant, ill-bred, contemptible, boorish, degraded, insulting, sordid, vile, foul-mouthed, indecent, profane, drunken, dirty, mean and depraved." You didn't have to coax O. Henry to tell you what he really thought.
The city's renewal saw mills close and jobs disappear. Forbes Field was demolished and the Pirates play in a park on the banks of the Allegheny River. The waters are clean, the air breathable and you can run your finger over an exposed surface without getting a black film on it.
Maz's miracle is a colorful metaphor for what Christians experience. Whether we have an "Aha!" moment where we find faith instantly or come to it gradually through seeking, it's a defining event in our lives. For Pittsburghers that's what Mazeroski's home run was: an unforgettable shining moment in a depressing, declining city on the verge of transformational renewal.
Tough times followed, but memories of the miracle remained.
Isn't this like our faith? We experience a personal miracle when we find Jesus and realize eternity is ours. When tough times come the inspiration stays with us and helps bring us to a clear, bright future. Like the fans every October 13th we celebrate Jesus's miracle, but unlike them the resurrection is remembered by Christians 24/7/365.
Maz's miracle is a great story that coincided with Pittsburgh's impending rebirth. But the only rebirth and redemption that counts comes from Christ.
"The Greatest Home Run Ever" can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix848GU0gNo&NR=1
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send a email to cwgalaska@triadpress.us
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment