Terry was a decent pitcher for the Yankees from 1959 -1964. In 1962 he was very good, and was the Yankees best pitcher, won 23 games, tops in the AL, and threw almost 300 innings.
But that's not why we remember Ralph Terry, is it? Terry came on in relief in the 8th inning in the 7th game of the 1960 World Series and gave up the game-winning homer to light hitting Bill Mazeroski. In Ken Burns' baseball, Billy Crystal, after relating the shock and depression that followed that 1960 disaster, that Terry had a similar chance in the 1962 World Series. Pitching to Willie McCovey with two men on in the 9th, Stretch smoked a liner that thankfully ended up in Bobby Richardson's glove. Redemption. Baseball is a game of redemption. Usually.
Terry had twelve decent seasons in the majors, with stops in Kansas City, Cleveland, and even a couple years with the Mets. Unfortunately his name is often mentioned with Fred Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, Mickey Vernon, and Bill Buckner. Each was better than their moment of baseball agony.
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| Bobby Richardson, Ralph Terry, and David Mantle at a Newark Bears game in 2009 |
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