Stan “who may be the only reporter who covered that game for a New York paper who’s still alive” Isaacs remembers…
And then there was the laughable promotion by MasterCard in 2002 to select the greatest moments in baseball history. MasterCard was more interested in numbers than in fashioning an authentic list. So it was that most of the events people voted on were not moments; they occurred mostly in the post-television age; and were events likely to draw votes in certain quarters, i.e. listing Ichiro Suzuki’s outstanding 2001 rookie season as a way of attracting votes from Japan. Yes, Japanese citizens were eligible to vote.
The Thomson-Branca moment did not make the final top ten. Cal Ripken’s feat of playing in the most consecutive games (that’s a lot of “moments”) was voted No. 1. Baseball was made to look ridiculous anew for selling out to a commercial entity.
As the contest drew to an end, the MasterCard people sent Thomson and Branca on a round of radio talks to promote the contest. That night they were at Shea Stadium to appear on a Mets’ pre-game show. I was in the Mets clubhouse and watched Branca, a regular visitor to the Mets because manager Bobby Valentine was his son-in-law, leading Thomson around, introducing him to players.
I was in Valentine’s office where the talk got around to the MasterCard promotion. Branca vented his anger. “It’s ridiculous that our moment is not high in the running.” he said. “Was Suzuki a moment? Was Ripken a moment?”
I could hardly suppress a smile. Here was Branca—the victim of a day that has lived in infamy for him, for the Dodgers and their fans—angry that his “moment” was not being awarded with the votes of the fans. Ah, baseball.
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
We were joking and yucking it up about something when we reached the front of the line and a fellow standing behind the signing table shouted out, "NEXT!" My father stopped laughing, walked up to the table, threw down his ticket, and said, "Ralph, you broke my heart," and turned and walked away. After a brief moment Branca turned and looked at me, and it felt like everybody in the area did the same. I slinked up to the table, gave him a baseball to sign, mumbled "thank you" and got out of there as quickly as I could.
It's still one of my most cherished memories of the man. Sorry Ralph, but he paid for his ticket.
For ten bucks, Pete Rose will sign "I broke your heart" on a baseball. For another five, you can kick him in the nads.
Ripken's streak was not a "moment" in and of itself, but the #2131 game with him jogging around the field to high-five the fans was an authentic moment at the end of a lot of pre-processed, cue-the-soundtrack hooey.
It also shut up Chris Berman for 20 minutes. Cal's getting into Heaven for that alone.
And that time he rescued the bloody naked dude on Thanksgiving day.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main