As I write my Top 10 blogs for all baseball positions, I have been delving deeper into the careers of some of baseball’s greatest players.
The final plays of these MLB greats started to pique my interest. They are akin to the famous last words of historical greats, which carry a sense of finality, beauty, authenticity, and connection to one’s legacy. I often think of Leonardo Da Vinci’s final words in 1519.
"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."
Of course, this is ironic, as his work is considered to be among the greatest in human history.
Unlike DaVinci, there is little irony in the final plays of many MLB greats, and very few end in a storybook ending to cement the legacy of their careers. Perhaps that is why they are so difficult to find. I spent hours scouring the internet to find the final plays of some of the MLB greats. Yes, after 1980, it became a lot easier as a lot was recorded and archived. However, anything pre-1980 is very difficult to dig up. As a result, you have a lot of “last play videos” that are not indeed their last play.
In fact, a lot of the MLB greats pre-1980 just don’t have film of their final at-bats. As a result, YouTubers just show their final hits and title them “last at-bat.” Through some digging, I was able to find some last at-bats.
Yogi Berra- ground out
Joe DiMaggio- ground out
Babe Ruth- ground out
Lou Gehrig- ground out
Ty Cobb- ground out
Honus Wagner- ground out
Frank Robinson- ground out
Tris Speaker- ground out
Al Kaline- ground out
Jimmie Foxx- strikeout
Rogers Hornsby- strikeout
Hank Aaron- fly out
These final plays are as anticlimactic as Elvis saying, “I’m going to the bathroom to read.”
Nevertheless, I compiled some final plays in the video below.
The video has now been posted on The Dean Ciriaco Show channel. I encourage you all to follow it for more videos like it in the future.