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

"Ralph Branca is best known for throwing the pitch that resulted in Bobby Thomson's "shot heard 'round the world," the historic home run that capped an incredible comeback and won the pennant for the New York Giants in 1951. Branca was on the losing end of one of baseball's most thrilling moments, but that notoriety belies a profoundly successful life and career. A Moment in Time details the remarkable story of a man who could have been destroyed by a supreme professional embarrassment--but wasn't. Branca came up as a young phenom, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers during their heyday, the late 1940s. ... [It] offers a rare first-person perspective on the golden era of baseball, opening a window on a world populated by legendary characters such as Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Leo Durocher, Branch Rickey, and Walter O'Malley"--