Although Pittsburgh Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski is remembered most for hitting a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, it was his glove work at second base that punched his ticket for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Mazeroski died on Friday. He was 89.
In a statement released by the Pirates on Saturday, Bob Nutting, Pirates’ chairman of the board, summarized how much Mazeroski has meant to generations of baseball fans in southwestern Pennsylvania.
“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. Maz was a seven-time all-star who hit the greatest home run in baseball history. He was a beloved member of the Pirates family and he will be deeply missed,” Nutting said.
For as skilled a fielder as Mazeroski proved to be—winning eight Rawlings Gold Glove Awards for a second baseman—it was the ninth inning roundtripper hit off of New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field on Oct. 13, 1960, at 3:36 p.m. local time that remained his signature accomplishment. During 17 seasons wearing the Pirates’ black and gold colors, from 1956, when Mazeroski made his pro debut at age 19, through the 1972 season, the Wheeling, West Virginia, native built a resume that led to election to two Halls of Fame.
In August 2001, at the “Home of Baseball” in Central New York, Mazeroski, along with Dave Winfield, Kirby Puckett, and Hilton Smith, were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Having played in 2,163 games for the Pirates, Mazeroski in 2022 was among the inaugural class of the club’s Hall of Fame. Along with Mazeroski, Ralph Kiner, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Stargell were included in the Class of 2022.
Speaking to The Epoch Times on Saturday in Sarasota, Florida, at the Baltimore Orioles’ spring training complex, Fox Sports baseball field reporter and analyst Ken Rosenthal expressed the same sadness that fans all around the MLB felt when first learning of Mazeroski’s passing.
“Obviously he hit one of the most famous home runs in the history of the game. As a player, Maz was a great defender. It’s a shame that he’s gone. The guy was a legend.”
Bob Prince, the iconic radio and TV voice of the Pirates for nearly three decades, would refer to Mazeroski as “The Glove” in recognition of his status as a perennial Gold Glove candidate. With the statistics in his favor, few could argue that Mazeroski did indeed set the bar for defense at his position.
Jim Trdinich, Pirates’ team historian, knew Mazeroski on a personal and professional level for several decades. Trdinich, who also works closely with all of Pittsburgh’s alumni, paints a picture of Mazeroski as being incredibly humble.
“[Mazeroski] was reminded so much of that home run. It seemed that the fans who reminded him of that got more enjoyment out of it than he did,” Trdinich told The Epoch Times on Sunday prior to a Pirates-Tampa Bay Rays Grapefruit League game in Bradenton, Florida. “To him, it was just another home run.”
According to Trdinich, after clubbing that ninth inning home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series that broke a 9–9 tie score, life remained normal for Mazeroski once exiting the stadium. Trdinich tells of Mazeroski and his wife Milene, who would be married for 64 years until she passed away in 2024, going from the celebration at Forbes Field to Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park to feed the squirrels.
“Back then, there wasn’t as much celebrating as today. He was just a humble guy then and he kept the humility through his whole post-career.”
Mazeroski was active with the Pirates’ alumni until his health started to take a turn. He started coming to Pittsburgh’s spring training camp in the early 2000s as an instructor, as Trdinich remembers. In 1987, Mazeroski had his No. 9 retired by the Pirates. He last appeared at Pirate City in southwest Florida in 2020.
Former Pirate infielder Neil Walker was one of the players who sought out Mazeroski’s advice on ways to better his defensive game. Trdinich recalls the Hall of Famer offering tips and tutoring Walker on receiving a ball flipped to him at second base, and while making his turn to throw to first base.
“Mazeroski showed Walker how to catch the ball on the outside of his glove so he could get it quicker to his hand, to make the throw,” says Trdinich, employed by the Pirates for more than 30 years.
With so many Pirates legends—Pie Traynor, Honus Wagner, and Paul Waner leading the pack—deciding where Mazeroski fits in is such a tough call that even the team’s historian is stumped for specifics. But certainly, in any top 10 all-time list is where Mazeroski belongs, according to Trdinich.
Being inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame in 2022 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, and all the accolades prior to and after these two grand acknowledgements, Mazeroski is said to have taken it all in stride and never saw himself as anyone special. Pirates’ fans took it up on themselves to remind Mazeroski of the contrary.
