Baseball

Ralph Branca is best known for throwing the pitch that resulted in Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ’Round the World.” A MOMENT IN TIME details the remarkable story of a man who could have been destroyed by a supreme professional embarrassment --- but wasn’t.

In early 1950’s, the New York Yankees were invincible: they led the New York City baseball dynasty, which for eight consecutive years held a grip on the World Series. Then the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee, becoming surprising revolutionaries and proved that they could do the impossible. 

At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

Ian O'Connor draws on extensive reporting and unique access to Derek Jeter that has spanned some 15 years to reveal how a biracial kid from Michigan became New York's most beloved sports figure and the enduring symbol of the steroid-free athlete.