the giants won the pennant

having not been around or aware of my future dodger fandom, i was able to appreciate events such as mickey owens' dropped third strike and al downing serving up 715 for what they were - seminal baseball moments rather than dodger moments that live in infamy.  the best example of this is 'the shot heard 'round the world'.  as a kid in the late 70's, i knew that 'the shot heard 'round the world was the start of the revolution.  the minute men were ready, on the move.'  but i also knew that it meant 'the giants win the pennant!' ad infinitum, it seemed. 

as a developing baseball fan before espn, i truly enjoyed watching those highlight montages that would show up on 'this week in baseball' or on the dodger/giant pregame shows, and thomson's home run was a mainstay of those productions.  still, i couldn't relate to the heartbreak that the dodger fans of 1951 felt (although ozzie smith and jack clark would help me get there in 1985) and so, in an 'everest' kind of moment, i sent some cards to bobby thomson himself to sign last year.  the first three are all from the 1994 upper deck all time heroes set

and the last one is from 2001 topps.

whether he knew what pitch was coming or not, thomson still had to execute.  sorry dodger fans of 1951, but i am glad he did.

thanks bobby, and rest in peace.