Bill Mazeroski, the Hall of Fame second baseman forever remembered for his walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, has died at age 89. The Pittsburgh Pirates announced his passing Friday, without disclosing a cause.
Mazeroski’s defensive brilliance earned him eight Gold Glove awards and a reputation as one of the finest fielders at his position. He turned a major league record 1,706 double plays and led the National League nine times in assists for second basemen. Statistician Bill James called him the game’s greatest defensive second baseman by a wide margin.
Elected to Cooperstown in 2001 by the Veterans Committee, Mazeroski’s offensive numbers were modest — a .260 career average, 138 home runs, and a .299 on-base percentage over 17 seasons. He never finished in the top 10 of MVP voting. Yet his Hall of Fame plaque celebrates a “defensive wizard” with “hard-nosed hustle.”
“I think defense belongs in the Hall of Fame,” Mazeroski said during his induction speech. “Defense deserves as much credit as pitching and I’m proud to be going in as a defensive player.”
The son of a West Virginia coal miner, Mazeroski etched his name in baseball history on October 13, 1960. With the Pirates and Yankees tied 9-9 in the bottom of the ninth inning at Forbes Field, he led off against Ralph Terry and drilled a pitch over the left-field wall. It was the first and only time a World Series ended on a home run.
ESPN has called it the greatest home run in major league history. The Pirates had not won a championship since 1927, and the Yankees had outscored them 55-27 in the series. New York’s Bobby Richardson was named MVP despite being on the losing team.
Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said, “Maz was one of a kind, a true Pirates legend … His name will always be tied to the biggest home run in baseball history and the 1960 World Series championship, but I will remember him most for the person he was: humble, gracious and proud to be a pirate.”
