Bill Mazeroski, a defensive-minded second baseman whose home run ended the 1960 World Series, has died at age 89.
The Hall of Famer’s death was announced Saturday by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the only team he played for during his 17 major league seasons. Mazeroski died Friday. The Pirates did not disclose the cause of death.
“It is with a heavy heart that we relay the news of the passing of legendary Pirates and National Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski,” the team said in a statement, calling his 1960 blast “the greatest home run in baseball history.”
“He was a beloved member of the Pirates family and will be deeply missed.”
Grainy footage from Oct. 13, 1960, shows Mazeroski driving a pitch from Ralph Terry over the left-field wall at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Pirates a 10-9 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series. Fans mobbed him as he crossed home plate.
“I don’t know it’s out. I don’t know it’s a home run. But I know I’m going to end up on third if he misplays that ball off the wall,” Mazeroski recalled during a 2015 Pirates telecast about the solo shot. “So I’m busting my tail getting around there, and by the time I hit second base, I looked down the line and the fans went crazy. From second base, I didn’t touch the ground all the way in.”
It remains the only Game 7 walk-off home run in World Series history.
Mazeroski won eight Gold Glove awards at second base and was selected to 10 All-Star teams. He won two World Series titles with the Pirates, the other coming in 1971 when Pittsburgh defeated the Baltimore Orioles in seven games.
A native of West Virginia, Mazeroski finished with a .260 career batting average. In 2,163 games, he had 138 home runs, 2,016 hits and 853 RBIs.
He posted a career fielding percentage of .983 and had his finest defensive season in 1966, committing just eight errors in 957 chances over 162 games for a .992 fielding percentage.
Mazeroski was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, by the Veterans Committee in 2001.
“I think defense belongs in the Hall of Fame,” he said at his induction ceremony. “Defense deserves as much credit as pitching and hitting, and I’m proud and honored to be going into the Hall of Fame mostly for my defensive abilities.”