Fifty of baseball's best recount their most memorable game.
With careers that often span decades, and with more than 160 games in each season, baseball players have a lot to consider when choosing the one game that stands out -- but there is always at least one that leaps to mind for the "boys of summer".
Combed from the vast archives of Baseball Digest, America's longest-running baseball publication, Steve Milton selects 50 such stories from the magazine's celebrated feature, "The Game I'll Never Forget."
From the expressive Yogi Berra, who chose to recount a few of his best and worst moments, to hitting genius Stan Musial's "march to 3000", Milton chooses players from the 1950s through to modern day. They include:
- Blue Jays outfielder Joe Carter recalls his 1993 walkoff World Series-winning homerun against the Philadelphia Phillies
- Former American League star Rod Carew recalls his best season, in 1977, when he finished with a .388 batting mark
- Brewers star Robin Yount recalls how his hitting helped Milwaukee beat the Orioles for the 1982 East Division title
- Rickey Henderson remembers when he broke the all-time stolen base mark
- Pitching great Sandy Koufax recalls his perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965
- Roger Clemens, the great Red Sox pitcher, remembers throwing a record when he struck out 20 Mariners in a 1986 match-up.
But it is Mike Piazza's memory that may stand out most. He recalls playing an "emotionally excruciating" game at Shea Stadium just a couple of days after the 9/11 attack. Like all New Yorkers those were days he never forgot. For Piazza, he would come to learn over the years that followed how deep and profound an impact that game had on the rest of his life.
The Baseball Game I'll Never Forget includes much of what makes baseball a timeless sport: readers will learn about nail-biting victories, home runs, perfect games and career milestones. Mistakes made, chances lost, fear of failure, coaches and managers with their own often harsh opinions all salt the stories told by these heroes of the diamond.
The Baseball Game I'll Never Forget is a unique account of some incredible games and the players who played them.
Steve Milton is an award-winning sports journalist who has written dozens of books, from hockey to auto racing to figure skating. He is also the author of Hockey Hall of Fame Book of Jerseys and Toughest I Ever Faced: Hockey Hall of Fame Players Remember Rivals, Teammates and Heroes.
