MLB to select baseball's greatest moments

MILWAUKEE, July 9 (UPI) -- Major League Baseball and MasterCard Tuesday unveiled a program that will determine the greatest single moment in history of America's pastime.

With Tuesday night's All-Star Game as a backdrop, Commissioner Bud Selig revealed the 30 finalists for the Memorable Moments program. To kick off the campaign, which will encompass voting around the globe, the league convened many of the players involved in the moments.

Among the nominees were Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941, Bobby Thompson's dramatic home run 10 years later, Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run, and Reggie Jackson's three home runs in Game Six of the 1977 World Series.

"It's nice to be part of the history of the game," said Carlton Fisk, who was nominated for his game-winning homer in Game Six of the 1975 World Series. "I love the game, so to be recognized like this is nice."

"It's great," said Kirk Gibson, who was nominated for his game-winning homer in Game One of the 1988 World Series. "I hadn't thought about it a lot, but with the passing of Jack Buck, I began to think about the call and realized that what he was saying was what I was thinking. When you play baseball, those memorable moments make all the frustrating ones worth it."

Other events include Lou Gehrig's tearful farewell speech in 1939, Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947 and Satchel Paige being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

Among the more recent moments are Mark McGwire's 70-home run season in 1998, Barry Bonds breaking that record last season, and the game-winning hit by Luis Gonzalez in Game Seven of the 2001 World Series.

"It's very exciting when you think of all the great things that have happened in baseball and to have this chosen as one of the top 30," Gonzalez said. "I'm an historian of the game and watch a lot of things that have happened in the past and to have this chosen is pretty eerie. At the same time, I am very excited to be in a room with so many great players."

Balloting for the event begins July 9 and runs through October 7. Fans will vote for the top five moments and the top 10 moments will be revealed in a ceremony prior to Game Four of the

World Series.