Pittsburgh Pirates legend Bill Mazewski has passed away. He is 89 years old. The eight-time Gold Glove winner, commonly known as Maz, is remembered by Pirates owner Bob Nutting as a humble, gracious and proud man. He is famous for his historic walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.
The Buccaneers said Mazeroski died Friday. Bob Nutting said: “Maz was one of a kind, a true Pirates legend. … His name will forever be associated with the biggest home run in baseball history and the 1960 World Series championship, but I remember him most as the person he was: humble, gracious, and proud to be a Pirate.”
The ten-time MLB All-Star and two-time World Series champion leaves behind two sons, Darren and Dave, and four grandchildren. His wife Milene Mazeroski passed away on May 19, 2024.
Bill Mazewski Cause of Death
While officials did not reveal the cause of death, some details were released Saturday. Mazeroski’s death was reportedly due to natural complications of advanced age.
Mazeroski, a second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 by the Veterans Committee. He was praised more for his defense than his offense. His plaque describes him as a “defensive wizard” with a “tenacious fighting spirit” and a “quiet work ethic.”
He broke the major league record with 1,706 double plays, led the National League in assists nine times, and was named the greatest defensive second baseman in history by statistician Bill James.
Mazeroski is not a superstar by traditional measures. He hit .260 with 138 home runs, 27 stolen bases, a .299 on-base percentage in 17 years, never had a .300 batting average, and finished in the top 10 most valuable players just once. He never had 100 RBIs or scored 100 runs in a season.
“I think defense belongs in the Hall of Fame,” Mazeroski said in his induction speech. “The defense deserves as much credit as the pitching, and I’m proud to be a defensive player.”
His defining moment came in the batter’s box against the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Pittsburgh, facing the Yankees for the first time since 1927, trailed 9-8 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. With Ralph Terry on the mound, Mazeroski came up and hit a slider that didn’t slide. The ball sailed over the left-field wall of Forbes Field and the Pirates won 10-9 and clinched their first championship in 33 years.
For the first time in World Series history, the game ended with a home run. Mazeroski ran around the bases, waving his hat, and fans poured onto the field to join his teammates back at home plate. In 1985, he later told the New York Times: “I was just trying to get on base. Nothing fancy, just trying to hit a fastball until he hit me. I thought the ball was going to go off the wall and if it bounced off Berra, I wanted to hit third. But as I came around to first base and set up second, I saw the umpire waving the circle over his head, and I knew it was over.”
Mazeroski spent his entire career with the Buccaneers, retiring in 1972. He coached briefly in Pittsburgh and Seattle and served as the infield coach during spring training. In 1987, the Buccaneers retired his No. 9 jersey. In 2010, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his Game 7 home run, a 14-foot-tall statue of him was unveiled around the base on Bill Mazeroski Way near the former site of Forbes Field.
Born in Wheeling, West Virginia during the Great Depression, Mazeroski grew up in eastern Ohio in a one-room house without electricity or indoor plumbing. His father, Louis, a coal miner who had hoped to become a professional player, encouraged his son’s love of sports by throwing tennis balls against a brick wall for him to hit. Although Mazeroski excelled in basketball and football, he chose baseball and was signed by the Pirates in 1954 at the age of 17. He started at shortstop and moved to second base during his rookie season in 1956.
In 1958, he met Buccaneers front-office employee Milene Nicholson through manager Danny Murtaugh.
(With AP input)
