Maria Sciullo of the Post-Gazette recently observed, aptly, that Pittsburgh has been overrun by smaller-than-life characters in recent decades.
So long as Bill Mazeroski is around -- say, rounding second, thoughout the ages -- however, it will be easy to overlook the lesser characters. Bill James has described Maz's defensive performance as the greatest of any player at any baseball position, and called Maz's defensive contribution to his team the greatest in professional baseball history. Add the 1960 home run and -- perhaps most important -- the humility and decency, and Maz would be a giant anywhere.
So long as Bill Mazeroski is around -- say, rounding second, thoughout the ages -- however, it will be easy to overlook the lesser characters. Bill James has described Maz's defensive performance as the greatest of any player at any baseball position, and called Maz's defensive contribution to his team the greatest in professional baseball history. Add the 1960 home run and -- perhaps most important -- the humility and decency, and Maz would be a giant anywhere.
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I had the honor of being present at the Forbes Field outfield wall on 13 Oct. 2000, at the 40th anniversary tribute to the Pirates' winning of the 1960 World Series with Maz's "shot heard 'round the world," the first such celebration he attended. Although we had been advised that Maz was kind of shy around exuberant crowds, in fact he gave a lovely speech, then graciously signed autographs (for free) for a good half hour afterwards. Most importantly, the crowd honored him with the utmost courtesy, which is surely the greatest compliment of all.
Oh, and he's really handsome!
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