There have been so many great moments in the game of baseball that to list them all would take a book in itself, maybe even several books. What follows is simply a few moments in baseball that may or may not mean something to you. Some are from long ago and others are more recent. These are in no special order. Just a few things to remind us of how great the game of baseball is and how much it has meant to the American people.

In 1969 a team by the name of the New York Mets did something that nobody ever thought they would come close to doing. This team, that spent the first six years of its existence at the bottom of the National League, or close to it, finally made it to the World Series and took on the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. After losing the first game, they went on to win four straight to win their first World Series in their history.

The year was 1998. The year before, the baseball season was lost because of a players strike. Fans were fed up with the game. It was doubtful that they would come back in the numbers that Major League baseball was used to. Then, the unthinkable happened. Not one, but two players were chasing after Roger Maris' single season home run record of 61 homers in a season. Finally, Mark McGwire was the first one to break the record. Sammy Sosa also broke it as well, but McGwire ultimately ended the season with 70 home runs and Sosa finished with 66. The chase brought an excitement to the game that had been lost and might have stayed lost if not for those two.

In 1932 Babe Ruth went to visit a little crippled boy in the hospital. The boy asked the Babe if he would hit a home run for him at his next game against Chicago. Ruth told the boy that he would. That afternoon, Ruth pointed to the center field seats and then on the next pitch hit the ball out of the ball park to the exact spot that he pointed to. Some say it is fact, others say it is just legend. It's certainly the stuff of which great baseball moments are made of.

Arguably the most famous baseball moment of all time was on October 3, 1951, when Bobby Thompson hit what was called "The Shot Heard Around The World" when he homered off of Ralph Branca in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap the miracle comeback of the Giants against the Brooklyn Dodgers. At one time during the season the Giants were so far back of the Dodgers that they were given absolutely no chance to ever overtake them. Thompson's shot not only put the Giants into the record books, but made household names of both Thompson and Branca who have gone on to do interviews together for years after.

Just a handful of some of the greatest moments of what many call the greatest game ever played.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Baseball