Okay, I called it.  Except technically I didn't.

About a month ago, as my excitement for the coming baseball season was growing into a fevered pitch, I posted a video clip of what I called "arguably the most exciting moment in all of baseball history:" Jackie Robinson stealing home during the 1955 World Series.

Straight steals of home are a rare thing nowadays.  The runner has to beat a fastball to the plate, which is ninety long feet from the safety of third base. The pitcher's mound is only sixty feet, six inches away, and the ball's usually moving upwards of ninety miles per hour. It seems like it should be impossible.

Ty Cobb was a master of the maneuver with 54 career steals of home, but, then again, no one owned the basepaths quite like Cobb.   Ricky Henderson, who holds the all-time career stolen base record with 1,406 steals, only swiped home four times. 

 I'm listening to the Red Sox-Yankees game on the radio.  I'm too busy right now to be paying attention to baseball, but different rules apply when the Yankees are in town.  The radio is turned down low so I can work on my paper, but it's loud enough that I can hear if Joe Castiglione gets excited.  When he does, I turn it up.

 Back when I posted the video of Jackie's steal, I meant to predict that Ellsbury would be the next major leaguer to accomplish the feat, and that he'd do it this season.  The only reason I didn't was because I couldn't find the picture of him that I wanted: leading off the base with his wide stance, his eyes on the pitcher, his fingers dangling inches from the ground, his left armed sheathed in red.  It's an image immediately recognizable in Red Sox Nation.

 Did I just hear that?  Jacoby Ellsbury just stole home?  That can't be right.  It must've been a passed ball or something.  Maybe a double steal, with the runner at first stealing second and distracting the catcher. A straight steal of home during a nationally televised game?  Oh my God, I called it! I think. Did I ever find that picture?

Last night I squandered valuable weekend research hours to go over to a friend's place to watch the game, which he had TiVoed that afternoon.  Saturday's match between the Red Sox and the Yankees embodied everything I love about our national pasttime: there was the rally to overcome a seemingly insurmountable deficit, there was the underperforming player who hits the grand slam with two outs, there was the lost lead regained and lost and regained again.  It was one of the best baseball games I've ever seen, and it's still only April.

A quick internet search confirms it: Jacoby Ellsbury just had a straight steal of home.  I'm up and pacing around, too excited to sit still.  Suddenly West Virginia valley fill permits  seem utterly unimportant.  Too far away.  (Note: they are important. Very much so.  I'll remember that once the adrenaline clears my system.)   If the Red Sox win tonight they'll extend their winning streak to an obscene ten games, but even in the unlikely event of a loss tonight, they'll still win on the highlight reel.  I watch the clip on MLB.com, but the focus is on J.D. Drew's at bat and you only see Ellsbury sliding through home ahead of Jorge Posada's tag.  You don't see his lead off of third or his take off during the wind-up. They show you Andy Pettite's slack-jawed look of disbelief as he gets the ball back, but there's no replay. 

 Tomorrow I'll see the replay. It'll be up on MLB.com, ESPN.com, and NESN.com.  There'll be stories about the art of stealing home in the dying Boston newspapers and on the young, buzzing sports blogs.  I'll watch YouTube videos captured on handheld camcorders and cameraphones.  I'll watch the postgame interviews and the slow motion replay of the tag.  I'll update this with pictures and maybe video.  But that's tomorrow.  Tonight there's still a game to win.

 UPDATE:

Sox win, 4 to 1.

Excellent but annoyingly unembedable video here.