Thursday, May 8, 2014

World Series: Did You Know?

Barney Schultz posted an ERA of 18.00 in the 1964 Fall Classic. But he played a pivotal part in the St. Louis Cardinals' surprise pennant that year. Barney went 1-3 with 14 saves in the regular season. However, his ERA was a mind-blowing 1.64 in 49 1/3 innings pitched. That knuckleball of Barney's was really keeping the batters bewildered.

So he met his match in the World Series against the Yankees. Things did get off to a good start for Schultz and the Cards in game one, as it went along as smoothly as it had down the stretch for the team that year.

The New York Yankees played better than the final score would indicate. For a while, things looked almost too good for the Bronx Bombers. Whitey Ford started against Ray Sadecki. Ford came in with a World Series record of 10 wins, lifetime. Not the guy you want to face if you are the National League champions.

St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but a 2-run home run by Tom Tresh put the Yankees up 2-1 in the second. The Yankees then scored twice more to the Cardinals one through 5 innings. Ford, who was experiencing some arm trouble, looked sharp. St. Louis managed just 1 hit off Whitey from the 3rd to the 5th inning.

The Cards made their charge in the bottom of the 6th. They knocked out Ford with 3 runs, two coming via the long ball off the bat of Mike Shannon. A triple by Curt Flood (lost by Tresh in the sun) scored a run against Al Downing. It was 6-4, St. Louis with nine outs to go. Sadecki had been removed for a pinch hitter in that big 6th inning, so in came Barney.

The top of the 7th inning was not easy. Roger Maris flied out, but Mickey Mantle singled. Howard also flied out, but Tresh walked. Joe Pepitone was the only Yankee to go quietly (not that Joe ever went quietly with his antics off the field) went he went down on strikes. Downing, by contrast, had a 1-2-3 bottom of the 7th.

Then, with one out in the top of the 8th, it was Johnny Blanchard who was sent up to hit for Downing. Blanchard, who always had a knack for getting big hits in pinch-hit situations, came through with a double. Bobby Richardson, who had a knack for coming through in all World Series situations, singled to score pinch runner Mike Hegan. That cut the lead to just a single tally (6-5, St. Louis). Maris made it on an infield single. Mantle, ever so dangerous with the game on the line, grounded out to second.

St. Louis gave Schultz some breathing room as they added 3 runs to the tally in the bottom of the frame. The Yankees sort of shot themselves in the foot. The runs were charged against Rollie Sheldon and Pete Mikklesen, but it was Clete Boyer with an error and Howard with a passed ball. Schultz, for his part, did nothing to help the cause. He lined into a double play. No matter, 9-5 Cardinals.

Schultz then retired the Yankees in order in the top of  the 9th to ensure a 9-5 St. Louis win. Schultz got the save for that, but it was a bit ugly. Four hits, a walk and a run allowed in three innings.




His ERA was at 3.33 after one game. But it was on its way up, starting in game 2.

Bob Gibson, the Cardinal ace, was gone after 8 innings of game 2. He didn't pitch too badly, and even fanned 9. But 8 hits and 4 walks is far too many against a great team like New York. St. Louis could manage only 2 runs of rookie Mel Stottlemyre in that span. Barney was needed in the 9th to try and hold the score at 4-2, Yankees. This time, New York really got to him!

Schultz faced Phil Linz to lead off the 9th. Linz, playing for the injured Tony Kubek, had been enjoying a great game so far. Even the subs were getting in on the act for the Yankee offensive firepower. Phil had two hits and a walk off Gibson. Here, he took a mighty rip and deposited one of Barney's offering over Lou Brock in left for a home run. A rather rude greeting, eh? 5-2, New York. Schultz got the dangerous Richardson out on a liner to short, but Roger Maris (who had singled in his last at-bat off Bob Gibson) singled here again. Schultz was done for the day. A Mantle double off Gordon Richardson scored another run. By the time the Yankees were finally retired in the 9th, New York had upped their lead to 8-2. The Cardinals scored a meaningless run in the bottom of the frame. Game over, series tied. Game three would break the deadlock.

The third game, now in New York was a pitcher's duel between young Jim Bouton and veteran Curt Simmons. Bouton, not an author yet, seemed to be wilting under the pressure as the game move into the later stages. With the game tied at 1 in the top of the 6th inning, St. Louis loaded the bases. Bouton escaped. The Yankees did the same in the bottom of the frame, but Simmons also escaped.

In the 9th, Bouton and the Yankees appeared doomed. Tim McCarver reached on an error by Linz. Shannon got the bunt down. Carl Warwick pinch-hit for Dal Maxville and walked. Simmons' day then came to an official end as Bob Skinner was also sent up to pinch-hit. Skinner got the pitch he was looking for, a fastball, and did he ever connect! Bob sent a fly to deep right-center. In almost any other ballpark, this one's in the seats. But it's Yankee Stadium, here! Roger Maris (playing center for Mickey Mantle, who was "right" next to him) made a fine catch, but McCarver (who had also been robbed by Maris on a fly to right-center, only in game 2) tagged and made it to third. Curt Flood also connected solidly, sending a liner to right. The Mick almost missed this one. Bouton had made it out of the jam. 1-1 after 8 1/2 innings.

Schultz was called on again in the bottom of the inning. But the first batter he faced was Mantle. The Mick was not in a happy mood. But he was in a frame of mind that included the long ball! McCarver would have scored had Mantle failed on that catch. Mickey had made an error earlier in the game, leading to that run by St. Louis. The Mantle body was starting to break down, but the willpower was still there. For all you basketball fans out there, what was about to transpire was something out of Larry Bird's and Micheal Jordan's flair for the dramatic. You know, the kind that come with a promise first, 100% delivery second?

Mantle came to the batter's box and turned to Elston Howard (hitting behind Mickey), who was standing in the on-deck circle and said, "Elston, you might as well go back to the clubhouse because I'm going to hit the first pitch for a home run." Mickey did just that.

The first pitch from Barney was later described by Schultz as a "knuckler that didn't knuckle", and Mickey Mantle sent it into the upper deck in right for a dramatic walk-off home run. A 2-1 Yankee win sent poor Barney to tears in the visitor's clubhouse.


The Cardinals had come back from 6 1/2 games back with only 12 to play to take the pennant from the Philadelphia Phillies, so they were no strangers to heroics either. They proved that by winning the next two games on  dramatic round-trippers from Ken Boyer (actually a grand slam) and Tim McCarver (Mac's being in the 10th inning). Game 6 was back in St. Louis.

It looked like game three all over again, only in a different ballpark. Same two pitchers. 1-1 tie. This time, it was Mantle's buddy Roger Maris that broke the tie with a home run off Simmons in the 6th. Mantle followed that by blasting the next pitch from Curt to deep right for another long ball. 3-1 Yankees. While the Cards hit Bouton well this game, there would be no comeback.

Schultz came on to pitch in the top of the 8th. Linz was again the first batter he faced. On a half-swing, Phil poked a single to center. Barney then got the next two batters out, so maybe there he finally had regained his game one form. But then, came up Mantle again. Schultz walked him intentionally. Now Elston Howard got his chance to hit against Schultz, unlike in game three. His single scored Linz to make it 4-1, New York. That's all the Bronx Bombers would need. When Barney walked Tom Tresh, the bases were loaded. Gordon Richardson came in and Joe Pepitone equalled what Ken Boyer did in game four by clearing the bases with a four-bagger. 8-1, New York. The Yankees would go on to win 8-3, same final score as game two. But game two (and five) starter Bob Gibson edged them in the finale, 7-5. Schultz did not get to pitch in game seven.

So it had been a rough ride for Barney in the 1964 Fall Classic. Without him, St. Louis might not have made it. And he did preserve the opener. But like Gord Richardson, Schultz sort of found out that even the ageing Bronx Bombers were a force to be reckoned with. Not even the knuckleball was enough!


References


Anderson, Dave. Pennant Races: Baseball At Its Best. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Print.

Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Ford, Whitey, and Phil Pepe. Slick. New York: W. Morrow, 1987. Print.

Gallagher, Mark. Explosion!: Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs. New York: Arbor House, 1987. Print.

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books, 2000. Print.

Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.

Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1964. Major League Baseball Productions, 1964. DVD.

Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 08 May. 2014.

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