1961 Yankee Of The Day: Whitey Ford

So the time has come to look at the Chairman Of The Board's 1961 season.

His season did not get off on the right foot as he lost the season opener 6-0, lasting less than 7 innings as Minnesota Twins got 5 hits, 3 walks and 3 runs against Ford.

But then Ford went out and shutout KC 3-0 with a masterful 3 hitter despite 4 walks. He fanned 8. Four days later he tossed another complete game against the O's and won 4-2.

But the Detroit Tigers brought Slick down to earth in his next start, as Ford failed to make it to 7 innings for the second time in the month. This time Whitey allowed 11 hits, 2 walks and 6 earned runs. The Yankees scored 11 runs in this game, but the Tigers scored 13. Ford also had 2 hits and 2 RBIs.

His final start in April was on the 30th, the first game of a doubleheader against the new Washington Senators. Ford only pitched 6 innings again, but allowed just 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs and struck out 5. The Yankees won the game 4-3, and The Chairman had his third win on the month.

May began with start on the 4th. For the second straight start, he pitched exactly 6 innings, but once again, allowed only 2 earned runs. Ford avenged his loss a month ago to the Twins with a 5-2 win.

His next two starts weren't bad: 6 earned runs in 15 innings, but Ford failed to get a decision in both of them. But then he beat the Orioles again, again by a 4-2 score on the 21st. Ford got an RBI single in the forth that scored an unearned run.

Ford won his next start as well, although he gave up 4 earned runs. In beating the Red Sox 6-4, he lasted 7 innings, gave up 5 hits and walked 2.

Whitey lost just his second game on the season when Boston nipped him 2-1 on the 29th of May. Ford gave up just 2 earned runs and matched his season high so far with 8 K's.

Then came June.

He started 8 games.

And won them all.

He beat the Chicago White Sox on a fine 7 hitter on June 2nd.  Then, thanks to Ford's pitching (7.1 IP 3H, 2ER, 2BB 8K) and hitting (2-3, 1RBI, 1R) the Yankees topped the Twins 7-2 on the 6th.

He was even better his next outing. The poor Kansas City A's could attest. Ford sent them down on slick 5 hitter with 6 strikeouts. He hit his only extra base hit, a double, in the 7th. The downside was he allowed an inside the park homerun to his ex-teammate, Hank Bauer. One of the K's was a pinch hitter and also ex-Yankee, Don Larsen.

The Chairman was anything but in his next start (June 14th) as he allowed 8 hits and 5 earned runs. But the Yankees beat the Indians 11-5 and Whitey was at 10 wins already.

He made it 11 as he turned back the Tigers 9-0 four days later. In 8 innings, he allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 11 batters, a season high to date.

It would again be Kansas City's turn in Slick's next start. They managed to get 3 runs off Ford in 7, but Ford struck out 9, and won 8-3.

The expansion Angels hit Ford hard his next start, with 6 hits, 6 runs (all of them earned), and 4 walks in 7 innings. But the Yankees won anyway, 8-6, as Ford fanned 7 more.

Finally, Washington got their first crack at Ford on the last day in June. But they might have wished they hadn't.

Ford gave up just 5 hits, 3 walks and an unearned run, while fanning 8. I guess the bad part is, Ford failed to reach first base safely, as his 10 game, reaching base streak came to an end.

But in any event, Ford was now 14-2, at the end of June.

Here is The Chairman Of The Board's June statistics:

8 GP
8 GS
8 W
0 L
0 S
64.1 IP
43 H
21 ER
22 BB
55 SO
2.94 ERA
.186 OBA
.253 OBP

And he had no intention of stopping as he won his first July start, 6-2, a complete game, 5 hitter with 11 strikeouts against Detroit. This dropped his ERA to 2.98

The Red Sox got 10 hits and 5 earned runs against Whitey on the 8th, but Ford won his 16th game, 8-5. Then he came back with his second shutout on the season against Baltimore four days later. He gave up 6 hits and K'd 9.

Ford finally had his first no decision since May 14th when he was knocked out after 4.2 innings against Boston on the 21st. The Yankees eventually won, 11-8, but The Chairman had allowed 7 hits, 7 earned runs and 6 walks. His ERA was back over three. And it would stay there for the rest of the season.

But he beat the other Sox, 5-1 with a masterful 7 hits, 0 earned runs in his next start.

And he finished July with another win, 5-4 over the Orioles. Slick was a little less slick in this one as the O's got 7 hits and 4 runs off him, but they ended up losing. Ford had tied a career high in wins with his 19th.

Ford opened August with a pair of no decisions, neither of which was very impressive, unless you want to count his two RBIs on the 2nd. So Whitey had to wait until August 10th to pick up his 20th win and a new career high against the Orioles. The O's made him earn it, as they got 8 hits of Ford in 7 innings but lost 3-1.

The White Sox would also get 8 hits off Ford in only 7 innings. Unlike the O's, it was enough for a 2-1 win over him and the Yankees. But it was just his 3rd loss on the season.

And that 3rd loss was followed by Slick's 21st win in his next outing.

He had to go a little more than nine 9 (9.2). But the Yankees prevailed 4-3 over Cleveland in 10 innings.

Following a no decision on August 23rd, Whitey won his 22nd game against Kansas, even though he went just 5 innings.

He was pitching well on the first of September against Detroit, when he left the mound with 2 outs in the fifth, too early to get a win. Later it was determined to be a strained hip muscle. The Yanks got the win, 1-0.

But then, back and healthy, he tossed his 3rd and final regular season shutout when he blanked the Senators 8-0. He surrendered just 5 hits and 2 walks. He fanned 7. Despite this, his ERA was still 3.22.

Then came his shortest outing on the season.

It was just two innings on September 10th against Cleveland. And he surrendered 7 hits and 5 earned runs. Amazingly, the Bronx Bombers won this game anyway, 7-6.

He beat Detroit 11-1 to move the Yankees closer to push the Tigers to 10 1/2 games out with only 15 games left for catchup. (Ford's buddy Mantle helped not with a homerun, but with 2 runs scored and an RBI.) Ford had a complete game and his 24th win.

But he suffered his 4th loss in his next start against the O's. Actually, Ford lost the game 1-0, so he can hardly be blamed. He allowed 7 hits but just 1 earned run, and fanned 7 batters.

The next start for Slick saw the Yankees make it up to him. Ford allowed 9 hits in only 5 innings against Boston. Yet the Yankees won the game 8-3 making Whitey a 25 game winner on the year.

It was his last win in the regular season, although he pitched a 6 inning scoreless outing in an eventual 2-1 Yankee win on September 29th. And he fanned 9 more to up his career high in strikeouts in a single season to 209.

Ford's final ERA of 3.21, while high, was good enough for 10th in the AL that that year. It was well back of Washington's Dick Donavan who lead the league in that category at 2.40.

Ford's 25 wins were tops though, two more than Yankee Killer (or this year's AL Killer) Frank Lary. And his .862 W% in tops in the league as well. In innings pitched (283), starts (39), and batters faced (1,159) Ford also stood alone atop the league.

His WHIP of 1.2 was good enough for 7th.

On just hits allowed per 9 innings, Ford ranked 8th, just ahead of teammate Ralph Terry with 7.7.

Although not a strikeout pitcher normally, his 209 strikeouts gave Slick an average of 6.6 per nine innings, good enough for 5th, American League-wise.

As for the 209 strikeouts, even better, that was second only to Camilo Pascual's 221.

Ford was one of 7th pitchers tied for 9th in complete games with 11.

As for shutouts, he was tied for 5 others (including teammate Bill Stafford) for 6th place.

On bit a of a negative side, Ford's 242 hits allowed were the 7th most allowed. He also allowed the 8th in the league in homeruns allowed per nine innings (0.73) and also tied for 6th in the league in wild pitches with 8. His 101 earned runs allowed was the 9th most. And his 5 errors topped all AL pitchers.

His 2.3 strikeouts to walks ratio was third in the league.

And his 45 assists was 5th among AL hurlers.

All this was enough to win his first Cy Young award (They only handed out one among both leagues, so Ford had to beat out the likes of Spahn, Koufax, Gibson, Burdette and even others like Joey Jay, Jim O'Toole, Johnny Podres and Stu Miller), his second Sporting News American League Pitcher of the Year, and 5th place in AL MVP voting. Ford was selected for both All Star Games.

And his season, of course did not end there. In the 1960 World Series, Slick had tossed a pair of shutouts. So, not surprisingly, he started game 1 of the 1961 World Series against Cincy.

And Whitey picked a fine time to pitch his best game on the year!

In a pitcher's duel with the Reds' Jim O'Toole, Ford came out on top 2-0 on a 2-hitter. Ford got help from a pair of solo homeruns by Moose Skowron and Elston Howard. Not to mention two fine plays by Clete Boyer at third.

Then with the Yankees leading the series 2-1, Ford took the mound to try and push Cincinnati to the brink. He had upped his World Series consecutive scoreless innings streak to 27.

O'Toole could not be touched through 3. Ford retired the first 7 batters he faced. The Yankees threatened Jim with a walk and a double in the third, but it lead nowhere.

Babe Ruth had the record of consecutive scoreless innings in a World Series with 29 2/3. Ford was now at 29 1/3. Could he do it?

Darrell Johnson singled, bringing O'Toole to the plate. O'Toole hit a tough chopper that Tony Kubek made a fine play on to force Johnson at second. There was no time to get O'Toole.

But when Elio Chacon grounded out to Bobby Richardson, Ford had the record!

A double play in the top of the 4th gave Ford all he would need, although the Reds gave it a great try in the bottom of the frame. Ford gave up a single to Eddie Kasko. Then with only one out, he hit Frank Robinson. He had to induce the dangerous Wally Post to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to get out of that.

Kubek's single drove in the Yankees second run (actually, it was Ford who scored it, having reached base on a walk) in the top of the 5th. Ford retired the first two Reds in the their half of the inning. But once again Johnson, who had once been a teammate of Whitey Ford (actually his catcher occasionally in the late 50s) singled, bringing up Dirk Gernert to bat for O'Toole (who once again had not pitched badly, 5IP 5H 2ER 3BB 2K, and was once again in line for a loss). Gernert bounced to Clete Boyer at third, who fired to second to get Johnson.

Then Boyer helped out Ford with his bat, doubling to left (right to the "328" sign in left) in the sixth against relief pitcher and soon-to-be-author-pre-Jim-Bouton-but-like-it, Jim Brosnan. Moose Skowron, who had beaten out an hit to third, was now on third, and Ford had a chance to add to the 4 run lead.

Old Slick lashed at a pitch and foul tipped it of his right toe. Ouch. This would not hurt as much as the play Coleman was about to make.

Ford grounded to him at first, and Coleman took it and made the putout unassisted. Skowron decided to try and score, but somehow Coleman raced across and, without the ball leaving his hands, tagged Moose out for an unassisted double play.

But when Elio Chacon opened the bottom of the sixth with a single (just out left fielder Yogi Berra's reach, the result of which had Yogi flat on his face), that was it for Ford. Jim Coates came in to pitch and got out of the inning despite the fact that he also hit Frank Robinson with a pitch.

Coates would finish up the shutout, and the Yankees would add three more runs for a 7-0 win. Then the Yankees put the final nail in the Reds coffin with a methodical 13-5 win in game 5, the World Series theirs in 5 games.

Although he was not able to finish the game, it was Ford who would be named the Series MVP with two wins and shutout. This would be the second straight World Series where Ford had two wins, no losses and an ERA of 0.00 in two starts.


References


Golenbock, Peter. "1961." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print, pp. 405-445.

Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. "The M&M Boys." All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print, pp. 129-145.

100 Years Of The New York Yankees. Major League Baseball Productions, 2003. DVD.

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

Smith, Ron. The Sporting News Presents 61*: The Story Of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle And One Magical Summer. St. Louis: Sporting News, 2001. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 03 Oct. 2011.

“1961 World Series.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_World_Series.

The World Series Of 1961. Dir. Lew Fonseca. Prod. Dick Borden. Perf. New York Yankees Cincinnati Reds 1961. Major League Baseball Productions Inc, 1961. DVD. DVD Released in 2006.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OMpOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fUkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7218,229046&dq=whitey+ford&hl=en

1961 Yankee Of The Day: Ralph Terry

Ralph Terry entered the 1961 season trying to shake off the effects of Bill Mazeroski's World Series winning homerun he gave up the previous year. Tough on Ralph, who, at 6 '3 was one of the tallest pitchers in baseball at the time.

He ended the year as one of the best right handed pitchers in the AL!

But he had to earn it first.

The Yankees didn't seem to interested in Terry in April. He pitched a total of three time. Actually, he pitched in relief in the very first game of the year, April 11, and was ineffective. The same could be said about his first start 11 days later. His only other April appearance was a little better, a win over Cleveland, despite 9 hits in only 7 innings.

His first four May starts brought not a win (or a loss) and Terry had still not showed much.

But then came May 24th against Boston. And was it ever a dandy.

Terry fired a complete game 3 hitter. And then Yankees needed it, for they scored only 3 runs. Terry game up 2.

But he still wasn't there, as he was knocked out against the same Red Sox six days later. 5 hits in only two innings. Two months and his ERA is 5.16!

June would bring Terry back on track.

Now his first game in June was a no decision. That's the bad part, as is the 4 earned runs. But the good part is he allowed just 7 hits and no walks. Terry was just that, a control pitcher.

On June 7th, Terry pitched a fine 2 hitter against the Twins. This time he gave up 3 walks, but he went the distance to pick up his third win.

His next start was on the 11th as he gave up just 5 hits and 1 walk.

Then 4 days later, he went 11 innings to beat Cleveland 3-2. He gave up 7 hits, but fanned a season high 8 for his 5th win of the season.

But there was some bad new from this: Terry had a stained shoulder. All those fine curveballs were having an effect on him.

His first start back was on July 9th against the Red Sox. Terry looked a little rusty. And with one out and two man on in the top of the second, Jim Coates replaced Terry. The Yankees lost the game 9-6. It was a game that featured a rare 3 run homerun by Bobby Richardson in a losing effort. It was also Terry's first loss on the year.

After lasting just two innings in his next start, then tossing 4.2 innings in a rare relief appearance, Terry hit a season low in his next appearance.

Terry didn't retire one batter when he appeared in relief in the 6th inning of a July 22nd game against the BoSox again. The two batters he faced both hit safely.

So only a July 27th game was left to try and salvage July.

Actually, Terry would pick up his 6th win as he went 8.1 innings and gave up just 5 hits and 3 walks, dropping his ERA to 3.59. The Yankees downed the ChiSox, 4-3.

Then came the big month for Ralph Terry, 1961.

August.

His first two starts had the following in common:

Hits allowed: 9

Earned runs allowed: 5

Run support: 12 runs

Result (team): win 12-5

Result (Terry): win 7 and 8 on the season.

He was back in the pen on August 16th as he pitched against the ChiSox. In four innings, he allowed just two hits, no walks and no runs for his 9th win. Now his W% on the season was .900, although his ERA was 3.76.

Then came back to back shutouts over Clevenland and Kansas City. First he gave up 4 hits and no walks, and then 5 hits and one walk, pushing his record to 12-1!

Finally, he lost a game.

It was his last start of the month, against Minnesota.

It actually wasn't that bad. Despite 8 hits in 7 innings, Terry walked only 1. And he allowed just two earned runs. But Terry emerged as the loser, as the Yankees were themselves shutout, 3-0, as his mound opponent Camilo Pascual used that fine, roll off the table curveball to allow only 4 hits, two walks and strikeout 9! It was his 12 win, one more than Terry.

So how good was August?

Let's look:

Terry went 5-1, with 5 straight wins at one point. His ERA was 2.45, and batters hit just .234 against him. More impressive, batters managed just a .239 one base percentage against Terry! That is because in 44 innings he gave up just 37 hits and 2 walks, total! And for the season, his ERA was now a very respectable 3.24.

On September 2nd, against Detroit, and it was a very key game, Terry beat the Tigers 7-2 with a fine outing. 7 innings, 6 hits and 1 walk. Now Terry had 12 wins to tie Pascual, who would lose his start the next day.

5 days later, Terry went the distance, gave up 5 hits, no walks and just 3 earned runs as the Yankees beat the Indians, 7-3.

And, again 5 days later, Terry was the winner in a 4-3, rain shortened game against Chicago. This was a little messy. 5.2 IP, 7H, but again, no walks. Terry had upped his record to 14-2.

How good was his control at this point? Consider this: in his last 10 appearances (9 starts, 1 relief) or 74.2 IP, Ralph had walked 6 batters!

It had to end somewhere, though.

And it did with a thud! September 16.

The Tigers realized this was about their last chance to catch the Yankees and won for the second straight game over the Bronx Bombers, 10-4, despite homeruns from Maris (#57) and Howard (#20 and also saw his batting average drop to .360).

But Terry was very off that day.

Roger Maris hit a two run shot in the to third to tie the game 2-2. But in the bottom of the third, with Al Kaline on first, Norm Cash (who had 2 hits and 4 RBIs on the day, raising his average to .359, right behind Howard) hit a homerun to give Detroit the lead for good.

In the next inning with two on, Rocky Colavito scored Billy Bruton with a single to put Detroit up 5-2. That was the end for Terry and the Yankees, who lost the game 10-4. Terry surrendered 10 hits and 6 earned runs. Frank Lary had beaten the Yankees, again!

But that was just Terry's third loss, and his next start was his 15th win, September 20th.

But hardly anyone remembers this game for who the winning pitcher was.

Actually, it was Roger Maris who everyone was watching.

But no one seemed to care that Terry pitched a complete game, gave up just 4 hits, 1 walk and 1 earned runs and the Yankees triumphed 4-2 and clinched the pennant. Maris did hit a homerun (#59) and followed with one of his own.

Terry also tied a season high as he struck out eight, including pinch hitter Marv Throneberry in the bottom of the eight.

With the pennant in hand, Terry was back on the mound four days later. He lasted 6 innings and gave up 4 hits and 0 walks. Then Yankees lost  this game to the Red Sox, 3-1. Terry didn't get a decision.

It was game #162 on the season for the Yankees (although not the last regular season game as the Yankees played a tie) and who better to pitch (and win it) than the man who had pitched in the opening game?

Again he lasted only 6 innings, but for the second straight start, Terry didn't give up a walk and surrendered one earned run. He also fanned 5 and gave up just 5 hits. The Yankees won 3-1. Terry had his 16th and last win on the season against just 3 losses.

Although he tossed just 188.1 innings, his 3.15 ERA was good enough for 6th lowest in the American League that year. His 16 wins (despite only 27 starts) was good enough for 5th. His .842 W% was second to Whitey Ford. And most impressive was being second in WHIP with only 1.08. Ralph had walked just 42 batters, or about 2 per nine innings (He was 4th in the league in that category).

The one thing Terry lacked was a World Series win at this point!

Still shaking off  the dire effects of the Maz homerun of a year before, Terry took the hill in the second game of the 1961 World Series.

He didn't pitch too badly. In his 7 innings, he gave up just 6 hits 2 walks and struck out 7.

After 4 innings the game was tied at 2. But in the top of the 5th, the Reds Vada Pinson scored on a passed ball. It was all Cincy would need.

Johnny Edwards then scored Wally Post with a single in the 6th. Terry was removed for pinch hitter Hector Lopez in the bottom of the 7th despite a 1-2-3 top of the innings. The Yankees ultimately lost the game 6-2.

But with the Yankees up 3-1 in the Series, Terry took the mound in the 5th game in Crosley Field.

Better still, the Yankees gave him a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the third.

But then Terry ran into trouble.

Don Blasingame and Eddie Kasko opened the inning with singles. Terry then retired Pinson on a fly ball that moved Blasingame to third.

Frank Robinson then hit a three run homerun to finish off Terry, although the Yankees won the game 13-5.

Ralph Terry was a pitcher who held the Yankees in the race in the last two months of the season. When the other starters faltered he (and Whitey Ford) kept the Yankees on course for their 26th pennant.


References:


1961 World Series: New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds. Major League Baseball Productions. DVD.

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000, pp. 405-445. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 29 Sept. 2011.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8dZdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yV4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4670,6414776&dq=ralph+terry&hl=en

1961 New York Yankee Of The Day: Luis Arroyo

The closer.

Luis Arroyo.

Arroyo had replaced Ryne Duren as the team's mop up man in the 1960 season. Duren would then be dealt early in 1961.

Arroyo was 34 years old when the season started, and he would put together a season for the ages as a relief pitcher. He did two things all year for the Yankees.

1) He won games

2) He saved games

Luis had to wait for the Yankees 5th game in order to make an appearance. But he would pick up the save as he went 1.1 innings in a 4-2 win over the Angels on April 20th. This was the second game of a doubleheader.

There would be many more saves to follow.

After getting nothing in his next appearance, Arroyo got his first win in a 13-11 slug fest over Detroit on April 26. He tossed two scoreless innings and K'd 3.

His next two games that month were two innings each, and they both resulted in saves.

April was now over, but Arroyo must have been sad to see it go. 5 appearances, 9 innings, ERA,

ZERO!

He did give up a run in just 1 inning of work in his first May(day?) outing, but amazingly enough, it wasn't enough to stop him from save #4. Against the Angels on the 5th, he collected his 5th save.

It was a case of double whammy on the 9th of May, however.

Whitey Ford entered the bottom of the 8th with a comfortable 4-1 lead. But former Yankee Andy Carey crashed a double to left. Then former Yankee pitcher (1956 World Series perfect game pitcher, I should say) Don Larsen, pinch hit and delivered a single to score Carey. After Dickie Howser was hit by a pitch, it was up to Arroyo to put out the fire.

Jerry Lumpe, still another ex-Yankee, walked to load the bases.

Hank Bauer, yet another ex-Yankee, greeted Luis with a single to left that scored both runners. 4-3.

Then Norm Siebern, drew a walk.

By the time it was over, (Arroyo finally got out of the inning by retiring Marv Throneberry. Yes, he played for the Yankees, too) Luis and the Yankees had lost the game, 5-4.

His next game saw him squander another lead, and the Yankees eventually lost 4-3 to Detroit. Fortunately, he was not charged with the loss.

He was credited with a hold against the Indians on the 19th of May despite being routed from the mound. This little slump pushed Arroyo's ERA to 3.10.

The next two games were against the O's and the Sox and each time Luis tossed 2 innings. Each time they couldn't touch him and each time he picked up a save.

The month ended on a down as he blew a save and was charged with the loss in a game against the White Sox. Then he got routed again, this time by the Red Sox. ERA at this point, 3.42.

June opened with a tough blown save against the White Sox. Funny how stats don't show that. Arroyo would toss 4.2 innings in what would be one of his longest relief outing of that season.In those 4.2 innings, he allowed only 2 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. The Yankees would eventually lose the game, 6-5.

In back to back days, June 5th and 6th, he collected two more saves against the Twins. Then he picked up his second win against the A's in his next outing.

Luis then recorded three straight saves before a loss on June 19th against Kansas dropped his W-L back below .500. That would soon change.

And the saves? They kept right on coming as he saved 4 more before the month ended: 2 against KC and 1 each against the Twins and Angels. And his ERA was down to 2.33.

July began with win #3 for him despite just facing one batter, against the Sens July 1st. Then he picked up save #17 the next day.

A fine 3 inning relief effort against Detroit (on Independence Day) didn't result in a win or a save. The Yankees lost the game 4-3.

Two more games of 3 inning relief stints did bring him two more saves. First, he closed the door against Red Sox, striking out 6th on the 8th of the month, then it was the other Sox, Chicago, 5 days later.

Two days later, he picked up his 4th win against Chicago, then did likewise against the Sens on the 18th.

The Yankees played the Red Sox next, and while it was Johnny Blanchard who did the work with the bat, Arroyo is who I am talking about right now. More on the Yankees third catcher in a later blog.

The Yankees trailed 7-6 in the game on July 21st, when Arroyo entered the game in the bottom of the 8th, and Arroyo was nicked for a run on a Frank Malzone sacrifice fly.

The Yankees, however, rallied for 5 runs in the top of the ninth, to take the lead. Arroyo even got a single in that inning, although it was not at all related to the scoring.

But when Luis moved down the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth, he had his 6th win.

The bad news? He couldn't hold the lead, and even let the Red Sox take the lead.

The good news? The Yankees again rallied, making Arroyo a winner with 4 IP.

The amazing news? Arroyo was 2-2 at the plate with a double and scored a run, sending his batting average to .353!

Arroyo was doing it all!

The White Sox felt his wrath as he picked up two more saves against them, pushing his total to 21. He was now threatening the record for saves in a single season. At that point, it was 27, held by Joe Page and Ellis Kinder with 27.

Luis pitched 6.2 innings in his last July outing. He gave up 5 hits and 5 walks, and fanned 6. He didn't allow a run, but the Yankees lost anyway, 2-1 to the O's. But that performance dropped his ERA even lower, 1.75.

He record his 8th win (and at this point, Luis still is on just 3 losses) in his first August appearance. Then he blew the save and got his 9th win against Minny on Aug 4th.

August 8th saw Arroyo make it to double digits in wins when he sent the Angels packing with three fine shutout innings and 5 saves. Two days later, he got his first August save against the Angels again.

A week later he picked up his 23rd save by pitching just one inning. Two days later, against the Indians, he picked up saves #24 by retiring the only batter he faced.

On August 23rd, once again, the poor Angels were the victim of an Arroyo win. Again it was 3 fine innings of shutout ball.

Luis' last August appearance was on the 27th, as he reached the quarter century mark in saves by pitching 2/3 of an innings. Actually, he gave up 2 hits and a run, but New York won the game, of course, 8-7.

September started out for Arroyo on the very first day of the month.

It was one hell of a game, as Detroit's Don Mossi and Whitey Ford kept putting up 0's on the scoresheet. Bud Daley relieved Ford (whose hip muscle had become strained) with two down in the fifth and continued the shutout. Hector Lopez batted for Daley in the bottom of the 8th, but the Yankees got nothing out of that.

As Arroyo took the mound, first baseman Bill Skowron told him, "You hold 'em here, and I'll win it for you when we get up."

Luis went to work, and the Tigers didn't get the ball out of the infield!

But Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were quickly retired by Mossi in the bottom frame.

Then the Yankees reached down.

Elston Howard rammed a single to center, and then Yogi Berra singled to right center. Howard was now on third.

And guess who was up? "Moose" Skowron!

And he promptly singled to left to win the game, just as he had promised.

The next day, he struck out 3 of the 4 Tigers he faced for Luis' 26 save. One more to go to tie the record!

Arroyo's first crack at a chance for tying Page and Kinder for relief immortality came on September 3rd as the Yankees and Bill Stafford presented him with a 4-2 lead in the 8th. Six outs to go. The game is notable as the first for Tom Tresh, who turn out to be one very good Yankee. Tommy was involved in one hell of a game!

Billy Bruton and Al Kaline singled, putting runners on the corners. Arroyo got Rocky Colavito to ground into a double play, but Bruton scored. Arroyo then fanned Norm Cash.

A walk and an error by Skowron put runners on 2nd and 3rd with just one out in the top of the ninth. Bubba Morton pinch hit for pitcher Terry Fox, and the Yankees intentionally walked him. Bases loaded.

Jake Woods, the rookie and American League leader in both triples and strikeouts, singled to left to score both runners. Arroyo got out of the inning without further peeps, but the Yankees had to play catchup.

Mickey Mantle was the first batter in the bottom of the ninth. He had done all he could to help the Yankees win this game. In the first, he hit his 49th homerun off Jim Bunning. Yes, the future Senator. In the fifth, he robbed Bunning of a triple when he snared his liner with an over the shoulder catch.

Mantle promptly smashed a 450 foot shot to right center. Homerun #50. 5-5 game.

Berra singled. When Elston Howard had pinch hit for Stafford and stayed in the game, it meant that the pitcher spot was now the 6th spot in the lineup. This meant Arroyo was now the batter.

He advanced Yogi, the winning run, into scoring position with a bunt. Skowron was walked intentionally, and then Clete Boyer flied out. It was up to Howard.

And Ellie sent everyone home happy with a 3-run walk off homerun!

Arroyo was probably forgotten about at this point, but he was the pitcher of record, so he now had 13 wins.

6 days later, he won his 14 game, and 12th in a row, with a 8-7 win over Cleveland. He didn't pitch that well again, as he gave up 4 hits and 2 walks in only 3 innings, but a win is a win, right?

It was a simple 1-2-3 ninth inning on September 10th (first game of a double-header), but Arroyo got save #27, tying an all time single season record. And he wasn't about to stop there.

But his winning streak did end four days later. The Yankees, with some fine pitching (despite 8 hits allowed) by Jim Coates took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 8th. Then with two men on and one out Arroyo entered the game looking for his 28th save.

It didn't happen.

The ChiSox scored once in that inning, the erupted for 3 more in the ninth to hand Arroyo his 4th loss.

Arroyo had to live with another blown opportunity three days later (Sept 17th), but it was in that game that Luis pitched some "lights out".

Arroyo was again pitching against the Tigers, again in relief of Bill Stafford. Again Woods was involved. One out.

Arroyo entered the game in the 8th inning, Wood was on first, having singled to slice the Yankee lead to just 4-3.  Morton was the batter. Again?

Well Arroyo had Woods picked off, but Skowron made a bad throw and Wood scored all the way from first. Luis bared down and a third strike past Morton. Dick McAuliffe grounded out to end the inning. But now the game was tied.

Arroyo really was a gamer in the 9th. Despite two walks and a single, he got out of the jam by striking out Mike Roarke with the bases filled.

Wood, Fox and McAuliffe all failed to get the ball out of the infield in the bottom of the 10th. Arroyo then fanned two more in a scoreless 11th.

In the top of the 12th, Roger Maris' two run shot gave Arroyo all he needed. The Tigers got a lead off walk, but then Arroyo laid into them for win #15 on the season. Quite the pitching line: 4.2 IP 2H 3BB 6K.

It was another 1-2-3 9th on September 23rd, and Luis Arroyo had save #28 against the Boston Red Sox on September 23rd. Arroyo now stood alone!

But the Red Sox brought him and the Yankees to their knees the next game as they tagged him for 2 runs and 3 hits in only an inning of work. It was bad enough for his 5th loss on the campaign.

After another 1-2-3 ninth inning in a loss to the O's, the Red Sox deprived Arroyo of a save and Whitey Ford of a win on September 29th when the scored off Luis in the 7th. The Yankees won that game 2-1, anyway, but it was Rollie Sheldon who got the win.

October 1st, 1961, the last game of the season, and only 23,154 came to see Roger Maris hit homerun #61. But they also saw Bill Stafford toss a fine 3 hitter for 6 inning. After Hal Reniff tossed a perfect 7th inning, Arroyo came on in the 8th, with the Yankees ahead 1-0, Maris' homerun still the game's only run.

Pumpsie Green was the first batter to face Luis. Green was the first black to play for the Red Sox, who were the last team to integrate.

Arroyo fanned him. Jackie Jensen, who only 3 years earlier was AL MVP, came to bat, as it turns out, for the last time. It was a fear of flying that ultimately made him quit at 34.

Arryo got him to pop out to Tony Kubek at short. Chuck Schilling ended the inning by grounding out to Kubek.

In the ninth, rookie Carl Yazstremski singled with one out, but Arroyo got Frank Malzone to fly out to Roger Maris in center (Maris' last play in the regular season) and Lou Clinton to hit into a force play at second.

Luis Arroyo's final stats show him as the American League leader in games pitched, games finished, and of course, saves with 29. With a 15-5 record, his ERA was 2.19 in 119 IP.

But the season didn't end there. It was on to the World Series.

The Yankees won the opener behind Ford's 2-hitter. The Cincinnati Reds Yankees trail by just a single run going into the top of the 8th, but Johnny Blanchard tied the game with a pinch hit homerun. Arroyo took the mound in the bottom of the frame.

And he pushed aside Frank Robinson, Gordy Coleman and Wally Post, just like that.

Roger Maris' solo homerun in the top of the ninth gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Could the New York (and Arroyo) hold it?

Gene Freese, the Reds' third baseman, struck out to open the bottom of the ninth. Good start Luis!

Leo Cardenas pinch hit for catcher Johnny Edwards and got a hold of one to dead center. Oh no!

In left centerfield was the Crosley field scoreboard. The ball was heading towards it. But on either side of it was nothing. Unless the ball hits it, the game is tied! Were was it going to hit?

It's close!

Good thing it hit the scoreboard.

Man on second and one out nevertheless. The batter is pinch hitter Dick Gernert. He hit to chopper to short where Kubek threw him out, Cardenas holding at second.

Now just another pinch hitter, Gus Bell, stood between Arroyo, the Yankees and a 2-1 series lead.

Bell slashed one right back at Arroyo, who knocked it down, picked the ball up and tossed to Skowron and first. Game over.

Arroyo didn't get into the last two games, but the Yankees won them both to wrap up the series.


References


1961 World Series: New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds. Major League Baseball Productions. DVD.

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000, pp. 405-445. Print.

Smith, Ron. The Sporting News Presents 61*: The Story Of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle And One Magical Summer. St. Louis: Sporting News, 2001. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 23 Sept. 2011.

Baseball: 200,000 Games At The Major League Level

(Disclaimer: I use major league from the birth of the National League in 1876 to the present. For now, The National Association (1871 to 1875), The American Association (1882 to 1891), aren't going to be included.The American League joined the fray in 1901. I will include the Federal League, however, as one of my all time favs, Chief Bender, pitched one season and sported a 4-16 record. Must have been one tough league!)

So baseball approaches 200,000 games played tomorrow.

That many?

Through the years, it has provided some of the greatest excitement ever seen from sports fans.

Here, for your pleasure, is my Top 10 Most Memorable Games EVER In Baseball:

10)  Game 6, 1993 World Series, October 23, 1993. Joe Carter's homerun, I must have jumped so high, I hit my head on my basement ceiling!

9)  September 9, 1965: Poor Bob Hendley. He tosses a 1-hitter over 8 innings. That's enough to beat anyone. Anyone, that is, except for Sandy Koufax, who tosses a perfect game and wins 1-0.

8)  July 2, 1963: Warren Spahn is nearing the end of his career, while Juan Marichal was just sort of starting his. But it was Juan heck of a long game, that ended with Marichal on top 1-0...in 16 innings via Willie Mays' homerun!

7)  May 26, 1959, Harvey Haddix retires 36 straight batters to start the game, then ends up losing it somehow!

6)  Game 5, 1956 World Series, October 8th: Don Larsen commits grand larceny by throwing the only perfect game, or even no-hitter, in World Series history

5)  Game 1, 1954 World Series, September 29th: Mays makes THE CATCH!

4)  Game 6, 1975 World Series, October 21st: First Bernie Carbo's dramatic 3-run pinch hit homerun ties the game, then brilliant plays by George Foster and Dwight Evans keep it tied. And then Carlton Fisk leads off the bottom of the 12 and...

3)  Game 7, 1991 World Series, October 27th: Gene Larkin is sent up to the plate in the bottom of the 10th to pinch hit for DH (?!)  Jarvis Brown and delivers the blow that ended a World Series that, honestly, seemed to have no end in sight!

2)  Game 7, 1960 World Series, October 13th: Bill Mazeroski! Sorry Dad, that game!

1)  Game 3, 1951 National League Playoffs, October 3rd: Need I say more?


References

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

Baseball's Greatest Moments. Prod. Major League Baseball Home Video. Perf. Warner Fusselle. Major League Baseball, 1991. Videocassette. Narrated by Warner Fusselle.

Bingley, Phil, et al. Another World: the Toronto Stars Tribute To The’ 93 Blue Jays. Toronto Star for Doubleday Canada, 1993. Print.

Brenner, Richard J. The World Series: The Great Contests. East End Publishing, 1989. Print.

Buckley, James Jr. Unhittable: Reliving The Magic And Drama Of Baseballs Best-Pitched Games. Triumph Books, 2004. 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, 2000. Print.

Golenbock, Peter. Fenway: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005. Print.

Kahn, Roger. The Boys Of Summer. Harper & Row, 1972. Print.

Kaplan, Jim. The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and the Pitching Duel of the Century. Chicago, IL: Triumph, 2011. Print.

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, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Paper, Lewis J. Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game And The Men Who Made It Happen. New York, NY: New American Library, 2009. Print.

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

Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 23 Sept. 2011.

Baseball Playing Card Of The Day: Al Kaline

The famed #6 of the Tigers waited...

...waited for his chance to be in a World Series.

Year after year the Tigers had to deal with the Yankees, who they could not overtake. Then it would be the Twins in 1965 and the Orioles the next year. In '67 the Tigers lost to the Angels on the last day of the season to fall just a game short of the Red Sox.

But then in 1968, it all came together for Detroit. Denny McLain won 31 games, Mickey Lolich 17. Amazingly, Kaline was just a part time player that year, as Jim Northrup played 105 games in right field. Kaline, meanwhile, played 70 games in right, 5 in left and 22 at first base.

The problem here was Ray Oyler. Despite his 111 games for the Tigers that year at shortstop, he batted .135. Needless to say, Mickey Stanley, the centerfielder, would be at short as the World Series started. Northrup moved to center, Kaline back right.

The Tigers could do little with the Cardinals, Bob Gibson in the series opener. Kaline fanned three times, as Gibson K'd 17. Kaline, did however, hit a tremendous double to left in the sixth to move Dick McAuliffe to third with 2 outs. Gibson then fanned Norm Cash to end the inning. Kaline's K's, if you want to know, were in the 1st, 4th and 9th inning. The 9th inning one was Gibson's 15th.

After going 2 for 5 in game 2 (an 8-1 Tiger victory), the Tigers came home for games 3, 4 and 5.

Game 3 was a game of homeruns, and in the bottom of the 3rd with McAuliffe on first, Al faced Ray Washburn. The Tiger fans went wild when Kaline put in deep to left for a 2-0.

Alas, it was a game of homeruns. Tim McCarver would hit a 3 run homerun off reliever Pat Dobson, putting the Cardinals up 4-2 in the 5th. McAuliff's homerun in the bottom of the frame brought the Tigers to within one, but Orlando Cepeda's 3 run shot put the game out of reach in the 7th.

Game 4 was all Bob Gibson, as the Cardinals rolled to a 10-1 win. However, Kaline made a play that I will never forget in the 4th inning.

The Cardinals speedster, Lou Brock, tripled with no one out. Then Curt Flood flied out to right.

It was a short fly, but one that Brock could have scored on against many a right fielder.

But Al fired a perfect strike to home, right on the money. Brock dared not challenge his arm.

Imagine that: you've got the fastest runner in the game, showing the great arm a lot of respect by not going home.

It's a play, when you look in the box scores of a game that, doesn't show up, other than, "A fly ball to right". But what that doesn't say is that Kaline had a arm that was respected by everyone, even the fleet footed Brock.

Brock would score anyway, as the next batter, Roger Maris, grounded out.

Kaline got two meaningless hits that game, and the Tigers were now down 3 games to 1. Were they dead? Don't you dare think so!

Game 5 had the Tigers down 3-0 early, but Kaline's single in the 7th brought home the tying and eventual winning run. The Tigers would win, 5-3.

In game 6, Kaline was the big bat of the game, as Kaline was 3/4 with 3 runs scored and 4 runs batted in. Kaline had two of his hits in the third inning, as the Tigers scored 10 runs. In the 5th, Al added a homerun. It was down to one last game!

They had to beat Bob Gibson, 6-0 in his last 6 World Series starts! The odds seemed dim. But Mickey Lolich was 2-0 in the series, and matched Gibson in 0's on the score sheet until the 7th.

Then Detroit got a break.

Mickey Stanley and Kaline went out, and Gibson had retired 20 of the first 21 batters he faced. But suddenly, Norm Cash and Willie Horton singled. Northrup was up, and he sent one to center, where Curt Flood misgudged it, (He later said he lost sight of it in the white shirts behind home plate). The Tigers added another run before the innings was over. 3-0 Tigers!

In the ninth, the Tigers nipped Gibson for another run, and the Cardinals finally got on the board when Mike Shannon homered in the St Louis half. But when McCarver popped out to Bill Freehan, the Tigers were World Series Champions!

They would not have done it without Kaline. Taking nothing away from Lolich's 3-0 record, it was Kaline who hit .379 (second on the team to Cash), 2 homeruns (tied for first with Northrup), 8 RBIs (again tied for team lead with Northrup) and 6 runs scored (tied for team lead with Horton). Amazingly, Kaline did not draw a single walk in the Series!

But it was typical of Kaline, who did so much but didn't get noticed. In his career he only once lead the league in hits, batting average and total bases, and that all came in 1955. A guy by the name of Mantle made it tough to lead the league in much of anything the next year.

Al did, however, lead the league in S% and OPS, plus also IBB in 1959. In 1963, he again lead the league in IBB.

He ended his career with a .297 batting average, 399 homeruns, and 3007 hits. A shame he couldn't hit one more homerun, as Al Kaline would have been the first player to have 3000 hits and 400 homeruns. That honour would go to Carl Yastrzemski.

In 1980, Al received his highest accolade when he was inducted into the Hall Of Fame.


References


World Series Of 1968. Dir. Dick Winik. Perf. Curty Gowdy, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals. Major League Baseball Promotion Corp., 1968. DVD. Narrated by Curt Gowdy. DVD released in 2002.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 17 Sept. 2011.

1961 Yankee Of The Day: Bill Stafford

Bill Stafford was tall and imposing, and had not pitched much for the Yankees the year before. Yet suddenly, there he was, at 21, in the starting rotation for most of the 1961 season.

He kicked off hi s 1961 season by finishing two games (April 15th and 20th) and getting credit for the save in both. He pitched 5 more times that month with little effectiveness.

In May however, he got his first start. On the 16th he faced Washington. However, he was driven off the mound in just 3 innings. He would pitch only three more times that month (exclusively in relief), getting hit hard in the first two, but then firing 4 innings of no hit ball against Boston on the 30th for his first win. But at this point, he had already suffered two losses.

Then in June, Bill was in the rotation. And he responded with a 7-hitter against the White Sox, a 5- hitter against the Athletics and a 4-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels. He picked up the win in all of those games.

He was hit hard in his next three starts, yet amazingly, he still won two of them (The other, a June 16th start, was a loss against Detroit). Now, Stafford was 6-3 with a 2.55 ERA.

But it was back to the drawing board after his first start of July, as the problems of April and May returned. He didn't get charged with the loss against Washington on that day, but then he lost a game that he pitched in relief against Detroit on Independence Day.

He really rebounded splendidly against the Cleveland Indians in his next start, just two days later. Not only did he go the distance and pick up the shutout, but Stafford allowed just two hits (to Willie Kirkland and Mike de la Hoz) and no walks. He even singled in the Yankees second run in the 7th as the Yankees triumphed, 4-0.

He beat the White Sox in his next start despite only going 6 innings. Then he tossed 9 innings of 6 of six hit ball in a 12-0 win over the Sox on July 25, the second game of a doubleheader.

But the month ended on a sour note as he lost 4-0 to the Orioles.

He failed to get a decision in his first August start against the Twins, then another no decision followed against Angels, but he gave up nine hits in 5.1 innings. His next start on August 12th was little better, and he lost 5-1 to the Senators.

A fine 7-hitter over 8 innings meant Stafford had reached double figures in wins, but then on August 22nd he lost again, this time to LA. Loss #7.

Stafford was superb in his next outing, a 3-hitter and 8 Ks against KC on August 26th. 4 days later he tossed a 4-hitter and a shutout against Minny.

September 3rd hard Stafford toss 7 innings and give up just 6 hits against the Tigers. Alas, it was a no decision. Then he beat the Indians again for win #13.

The Tigers got some revenge when they tagged Stafford for 10 hits in only 7.1 innings. Stafford didn't lose that game, but he lost his next two starts, both against the Orioles.

Oct 1st was the season's final game. And while Roger Maris did hit his 61st homerun in this game, it was Stafford (6 IP 3H 0R/ER 1BB 7K) who was the winning pitcher in an 1-0 Yankee win.

So Bill Stafford finished 1961 with 14 wins 9 losses 2 saves, an ERA of 2.68 (2nd in the league behind the Sens Dick Donavan) and 3 shutouts (tied for 6th with 5 others) in 195 innings.

Stafford did pitch in the World Series. He was the starting pitcher in game 3, which to me was the most important game of the series.

He set down the Reds again and again, yet trailed 1-0 going into the 7th.

But Yogi Berra singled home a run to tie the game. The Reds weren't finished either, and reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the frame, when Eddie Kasko singled home catcher Johnny Edwards.

That was all for Stafford as Bud Daley took over. The Yankees, on homeruns by Johnny Blanchard and Roger Maris in the 8th and 9th innings respectively, won the game 3-2, to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Stafford didn't pitch again that series.


References


1961 World Series: New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds. Major League Baseball Productions. DVD.

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000, pp.  405-445. Print.

Smith, Ron. The Sporting News Presents 61*: The Story Of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle And One Magical Summer. St. Louis: Sporting News, 2001. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 8 Sept. 2011.

Baseball Playing Card Of The Day: Carl Hubbell

Whenever I talk about Carl Hubbell, the subject of the 1934 All Star Game comes to mind.

Now, me personally, I don't put much stock into them. I've never been to one in any sport. Everyone is in it for fun. You're only their based on half a season.

But in Hubbell's case, it's part of his legacy, so why not?

It was the second ever All Star Game, July 10, 1934 at the Polo ground. Hubbell, who would win 21 games that season, stated for the NL.

Leading off for the AL was Charlie Gehringer. He greeted Hubbell with a single, and then advanced to second on center fielder Wally Berger's error.

When Heinie Manush walked. it was first and second, nobody out.

The batter was Babe Ruth!

Yet Hubbell struck him out with a screwball.

Then Lou Gehrig came to bat.

Hubbell fanned him, two. I guess there was too much excitement at this point because Gehringer and Manush pulled off a double steal. They caught 'em napping!

Hubbell was unruffled. He struck out Jimmy Foxx to end the inning.

The top of the second began with Al Simmons going down on strikes.

Joe Cronin followed suit. Hubbell had fanned 5 straight Hall Of Famers.

But Bill Dickey broke that up with a single. Hubbell fanned pitcher Lefty Gomez. Gomez also went to the Hall Of Fame. 6 of 7 Hall Of Famers K'd!

As it turns out, Hubbell was through for the day, and the AL ended up winning the game 9-7, as Mel Harder tossed 5 innings of 1 hit ball for the senior circut.

That takes nothing away from the above.

Yet when I think of Hubbell, I think of one of Babe Ruth's last great performances.

See, after the 1934 season, the 15 year marriage of The Bambino and the Bronx Bombers was over. So he was back to Boston, but this time with the Braves.

So his very first game as a National Leaguer was against the Giants. And Hubbell was starting!

(Understand this about this blog's author. Anytime someone does something spectacular against some team or someone, I always like to know what happens the next time out.)

So this was Ruth's first time facing Hubbell since the All Star Game the year before. It was also the first time he'd faced Hubbell in a non-allstar game.

Ruth, true to his flare for the dramatic, singled in the game's first run in his very first at-bat. He then scored a run himself later that inning. Then King Carl fanned him in the second inning

In the fifth, Ruth came up with a man on and crashed a 2 run homerun. Later that game, he made a great catch to rob Hubbell of a sure hit. Hubbell managed to fan him later that game.

In the 1933 World Series, the last World Series to feature the Washington Senators (Here that Nationals?) Hubbell held off the Sens 4-2 in game 1, then went 11 innings before emerging a 2-1 winner in game 4. The Giants went on to win the series in 5 games.

Carl would face the Yankees in the World Series (sans Babe Ruth, of course) in 1936 and 1937.

He beat Ruffling and the Yankees 6-1 in the '36 opener, a fine 7 hitter. But he couldn't hold off the inevitable, and lost game 4, 5-2, allowing 3 earned runs and 8 hits in 7 innings. The Giants managed to win game 5 in extra innings, but the Yanks won game 6 easily.

In '37 the Yankees were even stronger. Hubbell was routed off the mound in game one. Hubell managed to hold the Yankees off for 5 innings. But in the sixth, the Yankees scored 7 times off him.

The Giants soon found themselves down 3-0 in the Series, but Hubbell would save them from total embarrassment.

He must have smiled as the Giants scored him 6 runs in the bottom of the 2nd. The Yankees scored a run off him in the first and third, and still another in the ninth, but Carl spun a fine 6 hitter to win 7-3. The Yankees would win the series the next game.

As for Hubbell, he would live long enough to watch another screwball master, Vernando Valenzuela, strikeout Don Mattingly, Cal Ripken Jr., Jesse Barfield, Lou Whitaker and Teddy Higuera. Kirby Puckett the got ahold of one and grounded out.

Hubbell would carry on until 1943. He died on November 21, 1988 in Scottsdale, Arizona. He had been elected to the Hall Of Fame in 1947.

References

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.

Baseball's Greatest Moments. Prod. Major League Baseball Home Video. Perf. Warner Fusselle. Major League Baseball, 1991. Videocassette. Narrated by Warner Fusselle.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9opTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OjgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1584,5537937&dq=babe+ruth&hl=en

Seaver, Tom and Marty Appel, Great Moments In Baseball, Birch Lane Press, New York, 1992.

1961 Yankess Of The Day: Rollie Sheldon

Sheldon is similar to Jimmy Coates in that his contributions to the great 1961 Yankees have been forgotten. But rest assured, he helped make the Yankees of that year, that much better.

He made only two appearances in April. His second, the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Senators on April 30th, was a loss despite allowing just 5 hits in 7 innings.

Following two relief appearances in May, he got his second start on May 21st against the Orioles.

Again, he piched 7 innings.

Again, he gave up but 5 hits.

Again, he took the loss.

Another relief appearance followed a week later, and the he was back starting on the last day of May against the Red Sox. He didn't quite last 7 innings (6.2), and (here we go again!) he gave up 5 hits, plus 3 earned runs. But Sheldon and the Yankees emerged victorious, 7-6.

June was argurbly Rollie's best month as he went 3-0 with a 2.86 ERA and batters hit less than .200 against him (.197).

He pitched a total of 7 games, 4 of them starts. His first three appearances were the second game of doubleheaders.

First he went the distance and beat the Twins, 6-1 on June 5th. Then he pitched a perfect ninth in a 9-6 loss to Kansas City. Finally, he beat the expansion Los Angeles Angels 5-1 with a pitching line that consisted of 8 innings, 6 hits,6 walks, and 6 Ks!

On June 19, he started against Kansas. This time, he allowed only 2 walks and 5 hits in his 8.1 innings. It would be a no decision, however, and the Yankees eventually lost 4-3.

Then he won a wild one against Minnesota on June 24th.

Shelly lasted less than 6 innings and surrendered 6 hits and 5 (earned) runs. Yet he won the game 10-7 to lift his won-loss record to 4-2. His last appearance in June was on the 27th as he tossed a perfect 8th inning (1 strikeout) against the Angels.

July was Sheldon's busiest month as he pitched nine times, six of them starts.

Actually, he started with a fine relief appearance (5.1 innings) against the Sens on the very first day of July. He didn't get a decision, but he allowed only 2 hits and 2 walks.

Following another relief appearance 3 days later against the Tigers, he was back starting against the Indians. Despite 4 hits and 5 walks allowed, he finished with a shutout.

Four days later, he pitched another shutout, this time a 5 hitter, no walks and 7 Ks.  This dropped his ERA to 2.28.

But then he staggered in his next two starts.

First he allowed 6 runs in only 5 1/3 innings work against Chicago on July 14. Then he allowed 3 earned runs and 7 hits against Washington. His effort against the Red Sox on the 22nd was no better as Rollie was shelled for 4 earned runs in only 3.1 innings of work.

He gained a little revenge by beating the White Sox on a fine 4 hitter, but in his last July start, he was knocked out on 5 hits in only 1.1 innings work.

He waited 6 days in August before getting a start against Minnesota. 8 hits allowed but only 2 runs scored, and Roland had his 8th victory.

Chicago again had his number in his next start, but on August 20th, he won his 9th game with another 8 hitter, this time against the Tribe.

He pitched three more times that month: A good relief appearance, a bad relief appearance, and then a very short start (5 hits and 4 runs in 2 innings) for his 4th loss on the season.

Having pitched six times in August, Sheldon was destined for the same in September.

His first two September starts we nothing of note, and in his third he retired one batter and gave up 5 earned runs. His ERA was now at a season high 3.76. And it was his 5th and final loss on the year. Sheldon was destined for the bullpen for the rest of the year.

But oddly enough, once there, he pitched very well.

He didn't recieve a decision in a fine relief appearance against the Tigers on September 15th, which was the second game of a doubleheader. But three innings, no hits and five strikeouts made him a winner eleven days later against the O's.

Rollie Sheldon's last regular season game came three days later, as he pitched the eighth and ninth innings of a 2-1 win over Boston. It was Sheldon who got the win thanks to 2 shutout innings. It would be his last time he tossed a pitch on the mound that year.

Sheldon's final record of 11-5 was the same as Jim Coates. His ERA (3.66) was higher, but he managed to toss more innings (162.2) and start more games (21) then Coates.

But perhaps, dissapointing to Sheldon, was his lack of World Series play that year. Sheldon would be the "odd man out" on the mound in the fall classic against Cincinnati.


References


Golenbock, Peter. "1961." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print. pp. 405-445.

Smith, Ron. The Sporting News Presents 61*: The Story Of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle And One Magical Summer. St. Louis: Sporting News, 2001. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 29 Aug. 2011.

1961 Yankee Of The Day: Jim Coates

Jim Coates had an on and off 1961 season on the hill.

But when the money was on the table, so was Jim.

He started the season in the bullpen. He even pitched one inning of the season openor against Minnesota. Coates gave up 1 run and the Yankees took a spanking, 6-0.

Then he started his first game 11 days later against Baltimore, in the second game of a doubleheader. The game is notable because it was actually called after 7 innings. Coates pitched 5 innings, gave up 7 hits and 3 earned runs an left with a 5-3 lead.

He was denied his first win, however, as the Orioles scored twice in the bottom of the 7th inning of Bill Stafford.

Coates would pitch just once more in April, on the last day of the month. It was a scoreless inning in a 2-1 Yankee loss to the Senators.

In May, Jimmy would pitched 11 times, all in relief. He would be quite effective as he went 5-2 with 2 saves in those appearances. His 5th win was most impressive, as he tossed 6 innings of scoreless, 2-hit relief against the Chi Sox in a 5-3 Yankee win.

Earlier, he pitched in both games of a May 14th doubleheader against the Tigers, who would hound the Yankees all season long. In the first game, he tossed a scoreless 11th inning (using the number 11 alot, eh?) for his second win on the season. Then in the nightcap, he tossed 5 innings of 1 run, 2 hit ball for his third win.

These fine performances dropped his ERA to 2.48 by the end of the month, and a spot in the starting rotation in June.

June 5th brought in a win (against the Twins) for Coates, who was now 6-2. He allowed 8 hits and just 2 earned runs in 8 innings of work. But his next 2 starts saw him allow 11 earned runs in 7.2 innings. So it was back to the bullpen, where he would earn two more saves, but no more wins.

July was a month of exclusive relief, but Coates wasn't any more effective. Curiously, he didn't suffer any losses, nor did he pick up a win or a save.

But of the 8 games he pitched that month, he was routed in 4 of them, pushing his ERA to 4.74.

Manager Ralph Houk must have had faith in him, because in August, Jim was inexplicably back in the rotation. But it proved to be a fine move.

First, he went all the way in a 2-1 nailbitter over the Twins on the 5th (4 hits allowed). Then he shutout the expansion Angels on another complete game 4 hitter. On Auguest 13, in the second game of a doubleheader against Washington, he again went 9. This time, though, he allowed 10 hits and 4 runs. The Yankees scored 9 runs themselves, however, and Coates' record was now 9-3.

Just when he finds his grove...

The wheels then came off the chariot!

Aug 18 vs Cleveland, 2.2 IP, 7H, 5ER, 1BB, 0K

Aug 24 vs Los Angeles, 3.2 IP, 6H, 2ER, 5BB, 1K

So it was back to the bullpen, where he pitched 3 innings, 1 run, 4K against the Twins on last day of August. He did not get a decision, and the two above losses sent his record to 9-5.

In September, Coates was back in the starting rotation and this time he really came through.

Another 4 hitter, this time against Minny on September 5th, brought him to double digits in wins. Then his next start, a 6 inning, 5 hitter against the Indians, put him to 11-5, and that would be his last decision of the season.

His next start was his last on the season. Against the Chicago White Sox on September 14, again the second game of a doubleheader, Coates pitched 7.1 innings, gave up 8 hits, but just one run. The Yankees eventually lost the game 4-3. Coates, though, he brought down his ERA to 3.66.

And it continued to drop despite just pitching out the 'pen. He was credited with a hold on September 23 against the Red Sox, pitching 3 fine innings. Then against Baltimore four days later, he tossed 3 innings of 1 hit ball. Finally, on the 30th, he went 2 innings, gave up 2 hits, no runs and had 3 strikeouts for the save, his 5th of the season.

Coates' final numbers for 1961 were: 11-5, 5 saves, 1 hold, and an ERA of 3.44 for 141 1/3 innings pitched.

In the World Series, Coates came to the mound in the 6th inning in game four after starter Whitey Ford hurt himself by fouling a ball of his foot in the sixth. Ford had just broken Babe Ruth's record for consecutive shutout innings in a World Series (32).

Ford actually started the inning. Right off the back, Elio Chacon singled. That was it for Ford. 

So it was Coates pitching in the 6th inning, harnessing a 4-0 lead, a runner on first and no one out. Eddie Kasko flied out, Vada Pinson grounded out. Chacon was now on second, but Wally Post flied out to end the inning.

The Yankees added three runs in the top of the 7th to extend their lead to 7-0 and Coates continued his fine outing by retiring Gene Freese, Gordy Coleman and pinch hitter Gus Bell in order.

Pitcher (and later, writer) Jim Brosnan, who had given up the three runs in the seventh, settled down, and did likewise to the Yankees in the top of the eighth. Coates had to face another pinch hitter, Jerry Lynch in the bottom of the frame, but Jim struck him out. Chacon this time could only pop out, and Kasko grounded out to Tony Kubek.

The Reds third pitcher of the game Bill Henry easily retired the Yankees on two strikeouts and a pop-up in the top of the ninth. Now Coates was just three outs away from preserving the shutout.

Pinson popped out to Skowron at first. But then Frank Robinson walked and then Post singled to left. Coates was going to have to earn it.

He bore down to strikeout Freese.

Then Coleman flied out to Hector Lopez in right. The Yankees had won 7-0, Coates had gotten then save. They would win game 5, 13-5 to win the series 4-1.

References

The World Series Of 1961. Dir. Lew Fonseca. Prod. Dick Borden. Perf. Mel Allen. Major League Baseball Productions., 1961. DVD. 

Golenbock, Peter. "1961." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print. pp. 405-445.

Mantle, Mickey and Herskowitz, Mickey. All My Octobers. Harper Collins, 1994, pp. 129-145.

Smith, Ron. The Sporting News Presents 61*: The Story Of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle And One Magical Summer. St. Louis: Sporting News, 2001. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 16 Aug. 2011.

How Jim Maloney Almost Had 4 No-No's in 1965, Part 2: Jim Never Met John Lewis

On June 14, 1965, Jim Maloney took the hill to take on the lowly Mets.

The Mets had a histoy of being no-hit. Sandy Koufax threw one against them in their inaugural campaign back in 1962. Then Jim Bunning threw a perfect game against them in 1964. Now it was 1965, and the Mets were 21-39, in 10th place again.

Maloney got Billy Cowan to bunt foul for strike three, then he fielded Chuck Hiller's ground ball for the second out. Charlie Smith flied out to end the inning.

Ed Kranepool broke up the perfect game bid by leading off the second with a walk, but Maloney got the next three batters in order, two via the K.

The third inning was easy as Maloney K'd the side. He now had 6 strikeouts.

Smith was the 7th strikeout with one out in 4th. The ball got away from Johhny Edwards and it was scored a wild pitch. Jimmy beared down and got Kranepool to hit into a double play.

In the fifth, Johnny Lewis took a called strike three, and then Ron Swoboda also fanned. His bid for anothing inning of strikeouts ended when Roy McMillan flied out. The sixth would bring no strikeouts. However, a pair of infield outs and a lineout to center brought Maloney to within nine outs of a no-hitter.

Gord Coleman took Chuck Hiller's grounded for an unassisted putout to open the top of the seventh. After Smith became Maloney's 10th strikeout victim, Kranepool ended the frame by flying out to Tommy Harper in left.

Lewis, Swoboda and McMillan went down swinging in the 8th, as Maloney still had the no-no, not to mention 13 strikeouts. It was still only the eighth inning, but now only 3 more outs remained.

The ninth inning started with a pinch hitter. Catcher Chris Cannizzaro had no luck with Maloney, so Jesse Gonder was sent in to bat for him. But all he could do was fly out to Frank Robinson in right.

Joe Christopher batted for pitcher Frank Lary and struck out swinging. One out to go!

The batter was Cowan.

Strike three called!

Alas, this didn't end the game. The Reds had their own hands full all night with Lary, managing 5 hits but no runs. Maloney must have felt like Harvey Haddix.

The Reds could get a run off of reliver Larry Bearnarth in the bottom of the ninth. Robinson walked, and that was all the Reds could muster.

In the top of the 10th, Maloney continued his mastery by getting Hiller to line out to right. Smith and Kranepool both fanned. 17 strikeouts and a no-no through 10!

Could the Reds finally put this one on ice?

Edwards opened with a single, and Chico Ruiz came in to pinch run. Leo Cardenas laid down a bunt to advance Ruiz to second. Jim Maloney then batted himself and grounded out to shortstop McMillan, but Ruiz

still made it to third. The inning ended however, as Harper grounded out to Smith at third.

The top of the 11th saw Lewis lead off with...a homerun. There goes the no-no. After Swoboda went down on strikes for K #18 of the day for Jim, McMillan kept the inning going with a single to center. Maloney beared down and got Gonder (who had stayed in the game as the catcher) to ground out. The Reds needed a run.

But Bearnarth retired Pete Rose on fly to left. Vada Pinson swung and missed for strike three. Frank Robinson singled to keep Maloney off the hook. The game would end, however, as Coleman grounded out to McMillan.

Worst thing about all this? At the time the game was still considered a no-hitter, since Maloney had not given up a hit through 9 (and 10 for that matter). But in 1991 this game, among others, was removed from the no-hit list when a new ruling on no-hitters was created. For it to be considered a no-no a pitcher had to give up no hits, even if the game went past nine innings.

References

Buckley, James Jr. Unhittable: Reliving The Magic And Drama Of Baseballs Best-Pitched Games. Triumph Books, 2004. (DVD Insert).

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 3 Aug. 2011.

Baseball Playing Card Of The Day: Lefty Grove

Lefty Grove

Lefty Grove, what a season he had in 1931!

Grove, whose given first name was Robert, was looking for his 17th straight win. One more win and Walter Johnson's and Smokey Joe Wood's name would be erased from the record books for most consecutive wins in one season. 

Then, on August 23, in the first game of a doubleheader, the Athletics faced the lowly St. Louis Browns. Easy pickings!

 But Al Simmons would miss his third straight game in which Grove started. The A's managed only three hits off Dick Coffman and lost 1-0, even though Grove gave up just seven hits himself.

Just a momentary setback as it turns out. Lefty would be around a while, and he had no intentions of one loss hurt him.

But just to add an exclamation to that, he would win his next six straight games before dropping his last start to the Yankees, to finish an astonishing 31-4!

But that was just another great season for Grove, who would finish his career with exactly 300 wins (As later would Early Wynn).

Look at his years from 1929 to 1931, and you find his W-L is 79-15. His team, the Philadelphia A's, won pennants in each of those three seasons. Twice in those years, Philly won the World Series. Their 1930 one was the last time the Athletics would win while playing for the city of Philadelphia.

Later, Lefty was sold by Connie Mack to the Boston Red Sox for $125,000. His winning ways continued, however, as he would post season win totals of between 20 and 31 over the course of the next seven seasons.

Lefty Grove was once almost hit by a ball that was lashed back through the box at batting practice while still with the Red Sox. Grove made sure that the next pitch sent the batter scrawling to the ground!

He twice won the pitcher's Triple Crown (leading the league in Wins, ERA and Strikeouts), which were back to back (1930-31) and his World Series record was 4-2 with a 1.75 ERA in 8 games, 5 starts and 51.1 innings.

As for his career ERA of 3.06, that might not rank up there with the other immortals, but he led the league in ERA an impressive nine times.

Grove was elected to the Hall Of Fame in 1947.

He would die on May 22, 1975 at the age of 75.

References

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 03 Aug. 2011.

Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.

1961 Yankee Of The Day: Bud Daley

Bud Daley



Bud Daley came to the Yankees on June 14th, 1961 in a deal that sent a pitcher (Art Ditmar) and a catcher (Deron Johnson) to Kansas.

Daley's record at the time of the trade was 4-8. His career record was 39-39. But Bud really came through for the Yankees that year, a team he'd be with through the 1964 season. He was with a team that wouldn't hesitate to turn to him, even in the biggest game of the year.

His record would be 4-9 after his first Yankee outing. He surrendered 6 earned runs in just 1.1 innings of work against the Tigers.

But from there he settled down and soon brought his record to 8-10 by making three fine starts against the Senators, Red Sox and Orioles in July.

Then the wheels came off the chariot.

He lost five straight games and saw his ERA shoot up to 5.19 at one point. His W-L record wasn't much better, 8-15.

But then it clicked again, for the last two months and in that year's World Series.

He defeated Los Angeles on a fine six hitter, got routed by Washington, then he was used in mop up duty as August ended.

September brought in Daley's finest month. First he beat Washington again with a fine 6 hitter. Then another complete game victory over Cleveland (5-hitter). Finally, he closed the month with a loss to Detroit, another five hit complete game gem against the Orioles, a 6 inning, six-hitter against Baltimore, and a scoreless inning against the Red Sox on the second last game of the season for the hold.

Daley's final numbers, broken down:

Total: 12-17, 4.28 ERA, 193.1 IP

KC: 4-8, 4.95 ERA, 63.2 IP

NY: 8-9, 3.96 ERA, 129.2 IP

In the World Series that year, Bud got into two games. Bud no doubt welcomed the opportunity. Great as the Yankees were that year, they'd really need him in those two games to contribute!

In game three, he pitched to one batter in the seventh inning. With two down, and the Reds just having scored a run against Bill Stafford to make it 2-1 Cincy, Daley retired Vada Pinson on a fly to right to end the inning. New York came back in no time, don't you worry!

In the top of the eighth, Johhny Blanchard batted for Daley with the Yankees still behind, 2-1. On Mickey Mantle's advice, he swung on the first pitch by Bob Purkey, and sent it into the right field stands to tie the game. The Yankees went on to win 3-2.

Daley didn't get credit for the win in that game (Luis Arroyo did), but in game 5, with starter Ralph Terry knocked out early with the Yankees ahead 6-3, Daley took over with one out in the bottom of the third.

He allowed a single and double in that inning, but escaped without further harm. Then he pitched a 1-2-3 fourth.

But in the fifth, with the Yankees now up 11-3, Daley faced Pinson again, who was leading off the inning. He singled, but was thrown out trying for a double by Roger Maris. After Frank Robinson (who had hit a three run homerun earlier) fouled out, Gordon Coleman reached first when Bud dropped a throw by Moose Skowron while covering first on a grounder to the first baseman. This proved to be costly as not only did the inning continue, but Wally Post then smacked a home run to deep left field.

This proved to be but a temporary lapse in concentration, however. Daley got it together, the Yankees added two more runs to offset Post's home run, going on to win 13-5 And this time our Buddy got credit for the win (6.2 IP 5H 0BB 3K). That game won the World Series for the Yankees, 4 games to 1.

The most amazing thing about Daley the lefty?

He pitched his entire career with a withered right hand.

References

Gallagher, Mark. Explosion! Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs. New York: Arbor House, 1987. Print, pp. 160-177, 345-353.

Golenbock, Peter. "1961." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print, pp. 405-445.

Mantle, Mickey and Herskowitz, Mickey. "The M&M Boys." All My Octobers. Harper Collins, 1994. Print, pp. 129-145.

Nemec, David, and Scott Flatow. "Handicapped Players."Great Baseball Feats, Facts, Firsts (2010). New York, NY: Signet, 2010. Print, pp. 200.

Smith, Ron. 61* The Story Of  Roger Maris And Mickey Mantle And One Magical Summer. The Sporting News, 2001. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 03 Aug. 2011.

The World Series Of 1961. Dir. Lew Fonseca. Prod. Dick Borden. Perf. Mel Allen. Major League Baseball Productions., 1961. DVD.