A Moment in Time: An American Story of Baseball, Heartbreak, and Grace

RalphBrancaisbestknownforthrowingthepitchthatresultedinBobbyThomson’s“ShotHeard‘RoundtheWorld,”thehistorichomerunthatcappedanincrediblecomebackandwonthepennantfortheGiantsin1951.AndsoBrancawasonthelosingendofwhatmanyconsidertobebaseball’smostthrillingmoment,butthatnotorietybeliesaprofoundlysuccessfullifeandcareer.AMomentinTimeistheremarkablestoryofamanwhocouldhavebeendestroyedbyasupremeprofessionalembarrassment—butwasn’t.Brancacameupasayoungphenom,playingfortheBrooklynDodgersduringtheirheyday.HewasastapleoftheDodgers’teamsinthelate40’s,dominatingtheNationalLeague.NewYorkCityitselfwasimmersedinpost-waroptimism,andthethreeteamsproducedpassionaterivalries.It’snostretchtosaythatNewYorkbaseballwasthecenterofthesportinguniverse.Inthosedays,theplayerswerepartofthefabricoftheneighborhoods,ofthecityitself.It’saworldpopulatedbylegendarycharacterslikeJackieRobinson,PeeWeeReese,GilHodges,LeoDurocher,BranchRickey,andWalterO’Malley.ThisistheworldthatBranca’smemoirevokes.Theinfamoushomerunis,ofcourse,stilldeeplyingrainedinthatstory.Sevenyearsago,JoshuaPragerreportedintheWallStreetJournalthattheGiantshadcheated,illegallystolensigns,andthatBobbyThomsonknewafastballwascomingonthatfatefulpitch.Prager’sstorymadeinternationalheadlinesandproducedabestsellingbook,butitwasn’tnewstoRalphBranca,whofoundoutfromateammatein1954.Overtheyears,Brancahasalwaysdeclinedtocommentonthescandal,outofrespectforhisfriendshipwithThomson.Heisfinallyreadytotellhisstory,whichisasentertainingandinspiringasanyclassicbaseballtale.