Bill Mazeroski
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Maz_1960_HR.jpg
Mazeroski homers to win the 1960 World Series
William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936, in Wheeling, West Virginia), nicknamed "Maz", is a former Major League Baseball player. He is best known for being the first player in Major League history to win the World Series with a game-ending home run (see 1960 World Series).
Bill Mazeroski attended Warren Consolidated High School in Tiltonsville, Ohio and excelled in both baseball and basketball. He started on the varsity baseball team as a freshman.
As a 17-year-old in 1954, Mazeroski signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team for which he would play his entire career. Originally signed as a shortstop, he was quickly moved to second base and made his Major League debut on July 7, 1956.
Mazeroski was noted for his defensive prowess and earned his first of eight Gold Glove Awards in 1958. He had a career .983 fielding percentage and led the National League in assists nine times, and holds the major league career record for double plays by a second baseman.
Despite his defensive play often overshadowing his offensive contributions, Mazeroski had several fine offensive seasons. In 1958, he hit .275, hit 19 home runs (a career best) and had 68 RBIs and was considered for the MVP Award. In 1966 he knocked in 82, a career best. During his peak seasons (1957-68), he drove on more runs than any other middle infielder of the period.
In the 1960 World Series, Mazeroski hit a game-winning home run off New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry which won the series for Pittsburgh. It was the first time a World Series had ever been ended by a home run and will likely remain the defining event of Mazeroski's career. (The feat has been accomplished once since, by Joe Carter in the 1993 World Series.)
Mazeroski was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
In a cameo appearance in The Odd Couple, Mazeroski hit into a game-ending triple play.
Warren Consolidated High School has since joined other schools to form Buckeye Local High School in Rayland, Ohio. Buckeye Local honored him in 2003 naming their new baseball field after him and placing a monument behind home plate, near the road.
Quotation
- Between 1966 and 1967, Mazeroski and shortstop Gene Alley won two Gold Gloves, joining a select list of eight shortstop-second baseman duos have won the honor in the same season while playing together.
See also
Accomplishments
- 7-time All-Star (1958-60, 1962 -64,1967)
- 8-time National League Gold Glove Award winner 2B (1958, 1960-61, 1963-67)
- Finished 8th in the National League MVP Award voting (1958)
- Selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame (2001)
External links
- Bill Mazeroski at:
- Baseball Hall of Fame (biography) (http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/mazeroski_bill.htm)
- Baseball Library (article) (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/M/Mazeroski_Bill.stm)
- The Baseball Page (profile) (http://www.thebaseballpage.com/past/pp/mazeroskibill/)
- Baseball Reference (stats) (http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mazerbi01.shtml)
Categories: Baseball Hall of Fame | 1958 National League All-Stars | 1959 National League All-Stars | 1960 National League All-Stars | 1962 National League All-Stars | 1963 National League All-Stars | 1964 National League All-Stars | 1967 National League All-Stars | Pittsburgh Pirates players | Major league second basemen | 1936 births | Polish-Americans