Branca’s Pitch goes beyond The Shot Heard Round the World as retired Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca works on writing his memoir.

While perusing through the baseball documentaries available through the library, the film on Branca piqued my interest. I mean, here’s the guy who gave up one of the most legendary home runs in baseball history on October 3, 1951. They even gave it a name! All it took was a single pitch in the third game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. Bobby Thomson may have achieved all of the fame but Branca had the unfortunate luck of throwing the pitch. It could have been Don Newcombe as he pitched up until being relieved in the ninth inning by Branca. Lo and behold, Thompson hits the home run and broadcaster Russ Hodges’ call lives on to this day. Branca, blamed as a scapegoat, was just never able to recover.

“One little mistake and it costs you,” remarks Branca.

Weirdly enough, the pitch was up and in. In short, it’s not an easy pitch to hit a home run. In fact, it’s the most difficult. And yet, Thomson hit in the clutch and became a legend.

The Thomson home run at New York’s Polo Grounds also transcended baseball. It became one of those things where people could tell you exactly where they were. Much like Pearl Harbor, the Kennedy assassination, September 11, and October 7. What I didn’t realize until recently is that the Dodgers and Giants played in a best-of-three series. In this era, most teams tying for a spot in the postseason end up playing in a tiebreaker game. The 1950s were certainly different. The two clubs would travel back and forth between Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds. Still though, more iconic moments have joined it through the years. Buckner’s legs. Kirk Gibson. Kirby Puckett. Joe Carter. David Freese. Moments that baseball fans can probably tell you exactly where they were.

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DIRECTOR: Andrew J. Muscato
FEATURING: Ralph Branca, David Ritz, Joshua Prager

Branca’s Pitch was released on DVD on October 1, 2013. Grade: 3.5/5

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