PITTSBURGH – On Sunday, the Pirates will unveil a statue of Bill Mazeroski and The Greatest Home Run Ever, his epic blast that decided the 1960 World Series.

That's right – The Greatest Home Run Ever.

Hard to believe, but some people will tell you that that Bobby Thomson's homer in the 1951 National League playoffs ranks No. 1 on the list. What are they thinkin'? No disrespect to the former New York Giants outfielder, who passed away last month, but to compare his homer to Maz's is to hang Lindsay Lohan's mug shot next to the Mona Lisa in The Louvre. They're not in the same museum, really.

Five reasons why:

5. Thomson's homer against the Brooklyn Dodgers is known as The Shot Heard 'round the World. Closer to the truth, it's the Shot Heard 'round New York, which some only think is the world. Maz's homer? It was The Shot Seen 'round the Country. In 1960, approximately 87 percent of United States households had television sets. In 1951, the number was less than 24 percent. (NBC televised both games.)

4. Maz's homer capped the wildest, wackiest, arguably most wonderful World Series ever. From blowouts to shutouts to one-run games, no Fall Classic packed more into seven games. Quick – other than Thomson's homer, name another memorable moment in the 1951 playoffs.

3. If the '51 Giants hadn't cheated, there never would have been a playoff in the first place.  As the book The Echoing Green confirmed in detail, they used an elaborate scheme to steal signs and erase a 13-game deficit in the pennant race. The '60 Pirates didn't have to breach ethics. They were in first place in 125 of the last 126 days in the regular season.

2. Thomson's homer decided the National League pennant, not the world championship. In one of the most anti-climactic World Series ever, the Giants lost to the New York Yankees in six games. Maz's homer beat the favored Yankees to win it all. (Hmmm. That can't be why some Eastern media try so hard to dismiss it, can it?)

1. Even if someone decides a World Series on another walk-off homer – and it will happen eventually -- Maz's will still be the first one. Which is another reason that it was, is and always will be The Greatest Home Run Ever.

As Yogi Berra might say, the debate is over now that's it over.