Shot Heard Round The World - Giants Baseball

With the Giants needing a resurrection of sorts these days, I thought it appropriate to remind myself exactly why I continue to watch and suffer through the highs and lows of another torturous baseball season. Its the unforgettable Moments.

Moments like 1951's Bobby Thomson "shot heard around the world," that reminds old Giants fans and new alike, that baseball is a game of little seasonal moments that when sprinkled with a bit of magic can lead to big, breathtaking moments linking peoples, places and sporting lives from one generation to the next.  

Its these moments that are passed generation to generation like a family heirloom given to a young bride, departing soldier or in this case a precocious, inquisitive child.  Just one moment in sports can become an everlasting jewel that one rubs on and shines until it sparkles brightly for those lost in the darkness wondering what joys there are in life.

There are two things that make moments like these so  precious and memorable;  The thrill of experiencing such a dreamlike event and the joy of sharing it with others for the rest of your natural life.  In this scene, you see grandfather and grandchild sharing the joy and thrill of baseball.  One discovering his young voice through the magic of baseball and the other seeing and hearing his voice come out ever so passionately through his grandson's lips as the little guy recites a Giants Moment taught him by grandpa.  

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, from the movie "Parental Guidance," I give you actor Joshua Rush receiving and giving the gift that is one of the Greatest Unforgettable Moments in Giants Baseball History.



“Bobby Thomson ... up there swinging' ... He's had two out of three, a single and a double, and Billy Cox is playing him right on the third-base line ... One out, last of the ninth ... Branca pitches ... Bobby Thomson takes a strike called on the inside corner ... Bobby hitting at .292 ... He's had a single and a double and he drove in the Giants' first run with a long fly to center ... Brooklyn leads it 4-2 ... Hartung down the line at third not taking any chances ... Lockman with not too big of a lead at second, but he'll be runnin' like the wind if Thomson hits one ... Branca throws ... [sound of bat meeting ball]

There's a long drive ... it's gonna be, I believe ... THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they're goin' crazy, they're goin' crazy! [crowd noise]

I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I do not believe it! Bobby Thomson hit a line drive into the lower deck of the left-field stands and this blame place is goin' crazy! The Giants! Horace Stoneham has got a winner! The Giants won it by a score of 5 to 4, and they're pickin' Bobby Thomson up, and carryin' him off the field!”