Beware Of The Dreaded Double J!

Jimmy Johnson is in some pretty select company. He's one of a few relief pitchers to post back-to-back 50 save seasons in 2012 and 2013. But there is really nothing quite like the first time, eh?

Stat Set 1

Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Wolfgang	1914	24	12	0.500	119.1	9	5
Mays	1915	38	27	0.711	131.2	6	5
Danforth	1917	50	26	0.520	173.0	11	6
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Marberry	1926	64	47	0.734	138.0	12	7
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Quinn	1932	39	29	0.744	64.1	5	4
Russell	1933	50	31	0.620	124.0	12	6
Brown	1938	51	32	0.627	132.2	15	9
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Beggs	1940	37	27	0.730	76.2	12	3
Murphy	1941	35	31	0.886	77.1	8	3
Maltzberger	1944	46	41	0.891	91.1	10	5
Page	1949	60	48	0.800	135.1	13	8
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Konstanty	1950	74	62	0.838	152.0	16	7
Wilhelm	1952	71	32	0.451	159.1	15	3
Paige	1952	46	35	0.761	138.0	12	10
Kinder	1953	69	52	0.754	107.0	10	6
Mossi	1954	40	18	0.450	93.0	6	1
Narleski	1955	60	36	0.600	111.2	9	1
Freeman	1956	64	47	0.734	108.2	14	5
Hyde	1958	53	44	0.830	103.0	10	3
Duren	1959	41	29	0.707	76.2	3	6
Face	1959	57	47	0.825	93.1	18	1
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
McDaniel	1960	63	47	0.746	104.1	12	4
Arroyo	1961	65	54	0.831	119.0	15	5
Radatz	1963	66	58	0.879	131.1	15	6
Perranoski	1963	69	47	0.681	129.0	16	3
Lee	1964	64	39	0.609	137.0	6	5
Ellis	1964	52	32	0.615	122.1	10	3
Miller	1965	67	55	0.821	112.1	14	7
Regan	1966	65	48	0.738	116.2	14	1
Wood	1968	88	46	0.523	159.0	13	12
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Hiller	1973	65	60	0.923	125.1	10	5
Borbon	1973	80	36	0.450	121.0	11	4
Marshall	1974	106	83	0.783	208.1	15	12
Gossage	1975	62	49	0.790	141.2	9	8
Lyle	1977	72	60	0.833	137.0	13	5
Stanley	1978	52	35	0.673	141.2	15	2
Tekulve	1979	94	67	0.713	134.1	10	8
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Fingers	1981	47	41	0.872	78.0	6	3
Hernandez	1984	80	68	0.850	140.1	9	3
Lamp	1985	53	11	0.208	105.2	11	0
Eichhorn	1986	69	38	0.551	157.0	14	6
Henke	1987	72	62	0.861	94.0	0	6
Burke	1987	55	30	0.545	91.0	7	0
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Eckersley	1990	63	61	0.968	73.1	4	2
Thigpen	1990	77	73	0.948	88.2	4	6
Ward	1992	79	35	0.443	101.1	7	4
Henry	1991	32	25	0.781	36.0	2	1
Wetteland	1993	70	58	0.829	85.1	9	3
Harvey	1993	59	54	0.915	69.0	1	5
Hoffman	1998	66	61	0.924	73.0	4	2
Williamson	1999	62	40	0.645	93.1	12	7
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Rhodes	2001	71	16	0.225	68.0	8	0
Smoltz	2003	62	55	0.887	64.1	0	2
Timlin	2005	81	27	0.333	80.1	7	3
Nathan	2006	64	61	0.953	68.1	7	0
Rivera	2008	64	60	0.938	70.2	6	5
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L
Bell	2010	67	57	0.851	70.0	6	1
Cook	2012	71	23	0.324	73.1	6	2
Chapman	2012	68	52	0.765	71.2	5	5
Johnson	2012	71	63	0.887	68.2	2	1
Davis	2014	70	11	0.157	72.0	9	2
Rondon	2015	72	47	0.653	70.0	6	4
Pitcher	Year	GP	GF	GF%	IP	W	L

Stat Set 2

Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Wolfgang	1914	0	?	?	?	1.89	50	3.8	1.073	1.8
Mays	1915	7	?	?	?	2.60	65	4.4	1.063	1.0
Danforth	1917	9	?	?	?	2.65	79	4.1	1.324	3.2
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Marberry	1926	22	?	?	?	3.00	43	2.8	1.348	3.1
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Quinn	1932	13	?	?	?	2.66	24	3.5	1.383	1.1
Russell	1933	13	?	?	?	2.69	28	2.0	1.218	3.1
Brown	1938	5	?	?	?	3.80	55	3.7	1.500	0.4
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Beggs	1940	7	4	0.636	0	2.00	25	2.9	1.161	2.2
Murphy	1941	15	7	0.682	0	1.98	29	3.4	1.397	2.2
Maltzberger	1944	12	?	?	?	2.96	49	4.8	1.095	1.8
Page	1949	27	11	0.711	0	2.59	99	6.6	1.315	4.2
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Konstanty	1950	22	4	0.846	0	2.66	56	3.3	1.039	4.7
Wilhelm	1952	11	1	0.917	1	2.43	108	6.1	1.155	2.7
Paige	1952	10	5	0.667	1	3.07	91	5.9	1.254	3.4
Kinder	1953	27	8	0.771	4	1.85	39	3.3	1.140	4.5
Mossi	1954	7	0	1.000	0	1.94	55	5.3	1.022	3.3
Narleski	1955	19	2	0.905	6	3.71	94	7.6	1.281	2.5
Freeman	1956	18	3	0.857	2	3.40	50	4.1	1.344	2.6
Hyde	1958	18	5	0.783	0	1.75	49	4.3	1.136	4.9
Duren	1959	14	7	0.667	1	1.88	96	11.3	1.200	3.8
Face	1959	10	9	0.526	1	2.70	69	6.7	1.243	3.2
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
McDaniel	1960	26	6	0.813	1	1.29	95	8.2	0.863	6.0
Arroyo	1961	29	10	0.744	1	2.19	87	6.6	1.109	3.3
Radatz	1963	25	3	0.893	0	1.97	162	11.0	1.096	5.7
Perranoski	1963	21	8	0.724	0	1.67	75	5.2	1.202	4.5
Lee	1964	19	8	0.704	1	1.51	111	7.3	1.058	4.3
Ellis	1964	14	2	0.875	1	2.57	125	9.2	1.054	3.1
Miller	1965	24	1	0.960	1	1.89	104	7.8	0.997	4.3
Regan	1966	21	7	0.750	1	1.62	88	6.8	0.934	5.0
Wood	1968	16	5	0.762	7	1.87	74	4.2	1.006	5.4
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Hiller	1973	38	0	1.000	0	1.44	124	8.9	1.021	8.1
Borbon	1973	14	5	0.737	6	2.16	60	4.5	1.421	2.5
Marshall	1974	21	12	0.636	9	2.42	143	6.2	1.186	3.1
Gossage	1975	26	5	0.839	1	1.84	130	8.3	1.193	8.2
Lyle	1977	26	8	0.765	1	2.17	68	4.5	1.197	3.7
Stanley	1978	10	5	0.667	1	2.60	38	2.2	1.242	4.1
Tekulve	1979	31	6	0.838	8	2.79	75	5.0	1.176	3.2
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Fingers	1981	28	6	0.824	0	1.04	61	7.0	0.872	4.2
Hernandez	1984	32	1	0.970	0	1.92	112	7.2	0.941	4.8
Lamp	1985	2	5	0.286	8	3.32	68	5.8	1.164	1.3
Eichhorn	1986	10	4	0.714	7	1.72	166	9.5	0.955	7.4
Henke	1987	34	8	0.810	1	2.49	128	12.3	0.926	3.3
Burke	1987	18	4	0.818	5	1.19	58	5.7	0.890	4.3
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Eckersley	1990	48	2	0.960	0	0.61	73	9.0	0.614	3.3
Thigpen	1990	57	8	0.877	0	1.83	70	7.1	1.038	3.4
Henry	1991	15	1	0.938	3	1.00	28	7.0	0.833	2.2
Ward	1992	12	4	0.750	24	1.95	103	9.1	1.135	3.1
Wetteland	1993	43	1	0.977	0	1.37	113	12.0	1.008	4.2
Harvey	1993	45	4	0.918	0	1.70	73	9.5	0.841	4.0
Hoffman	1998	53	1	0.981	0	1.48	86	10.6	0.849	4.1
Williamson	1999	19	7	0.731	5	2.41	107	10.3	1.039	2.8
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Rhodes	2001	3	4	0.429	31	1.72	83	11.0	0.853	2.5
Smoltz	2003	45	4	0.918	0	1.12	73	10.2	0.870	3.3
Timlin	2005	13	7	0.650	24	2.24	59	6.6	1.320	2.9
Nathan	2006	36	2	0.947	0	1.58	95	12.5	0.790	3.3
Rivera	2008	39	1	0.975	0	1.40	77	9.8	0.665	4.3
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Bell	2010	47	3	0.940	0	1.93	86	11.1	1.200	1.9
Cook	2012	14	7	0.667	21	2.09	80	9.8	0.941	2.6
Chapman	2012	38	5	0.884	6	1.51	122	15.3	0.809	3.6
Johnson	2012	51	3	0.944	0	2.49	41	5.4	1.019	2.4
Davis	2014	3	3	0.500	33	1.00	109	13.6	0.847	3.7
Rondon	2015	30	4	0.882	8	1.67	69	8.6	1.000	2.2
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR

Notes

Wolfgang appeared as a starter eleven times.

Danforth appeared as a starter nine times.

Paige and Mays appeared as a starter six times.

Marberry, Mossi, Lee and Ellis appeared as a starter five times.

Russell and Stanley appeared as a starter three times.

Brown, McDaniel and Wood appeared as a starter two times.

Beggs, Quinn and Narleski appeared once as a starter

Maltzberger, Hyde, Konstanty, Duren, Tekulve and Henke all wore glasses.


References

Sports Reference LLC. "Jimmy Johnson Pitching Statistics And History." Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnsji04-pitch.shtml. Web. (04 Feb., 2016)

World Series: Did You Know?

Chick Gandil drove in five runs in 1917. Two years later, in the Fall Classic he helped fix, he drove in another five. While it might not have been his best efforts, when he was trying, Charles (His real first name), helped. The Chicago Eight still have a cloud over their heads.

The 1917 World Series was the first for Gandil. Many of the men who'd help him throw the Fall Classic two years later were there. Gandil might have been picking his spots in '17, as well. The New York Giants actually gave Chicago quite a scare.

Gandil waited until game two to get his first RBI. The White Sox, Gandil's team, won game one of the 1917 World Series, but only 2-1. Gandil didn't do much.


In game two, at home, Chicago was down 2-0 when Gandil got their third straight hit of the inning. But, it was a bit of a fluke. Pitcher Ferdie Schupp got a piece of it, but not enough. Chicago took off from there. New York did not score a run. Chicago sure did. Six more to be exact. You would have thought Gandil might have gotten another RBI. You would have thought wrong.

The next two games were both shutout losses for Chicago, which seemed odd.



With the series tied at two, the White Sox won a slugfest, 8-5. Gandil got two RBIs on a double in the bottom of the seventh. That knocked home a pair to put the White Sox, behind 5-2, to within a run of the Giants.

Gandil then went out of his way to help his team wrap it up in the sixth game for the World Championship. Gandil got another two RBIs. But this time, he made a mistake on the play.

Chicago was up 1-0 in the top of the fourth when Chick scored Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch with a single to right. Neither of those runs were earned, however. Neither was the first run that scored prior to the at bat. Was Chicago receiving gifts here?

Gandil then gave the Giants a nice gift. He decided to try for second after Felsch scored. Needless to say, he was out. The Giants eventually scored twice before the White Sox scored again. There was no further scoring.



So two years later, not all was on the level. Chicago faced the Cincinnati Reds in 1919. And the first game was a rout. Gandil was the man in the middle of the fix.

The Reds, playing at home, scored a run in the bottom of the first. Gandil actually tied it by getting the first RBI of the game for Chicago. He knocked home Joe Jackson, who'd reached on an error. The game was tied 1-1, but the rest of the affair was all Cincy.

The 9-1 win was resounding enough, and Gandil had an interesting game. He got another hit, but also made an error. In game two, he had chances to get more RBIs. But for some reason. Chick didn't.

Jackson led off the top of the second for Chicago with a double. A sac bunt sent him to third, and Gandil to the dish. Just hit it deep. Gandil did not do that. Gandil grounded out to short as Jackson held. The inning ended as it had begun, with no score.

And, an even better situation presented itself to Gandil in his next trip to the dish. Buck Weaver got the inning going with a single. Jackson also singled. Happy Felsch, as he had last time, hit another sac bunt. Now, two runners were in scoring position with only one out.

Gandil, though, hit it to first basemen, Jake Daubert. Daubert saw Weaver heading home and gunner him out. Jackson was on third. Gandil stole second. But Swede Risberg ended the inning by popping out to Daubert.

The White Sox were behind 4-0 in the top of the seventh and Gandil got the inning off badly as he wa retired. But Chicago scored twice to cut the lead in half. The next inning, they seemed primed for more as Jackson got his third hit of the game. Better still, Joe made it to second on an error. But before Gandil could bat, Felsch lined out to third.

The Reds did not score in the bottom of the eighth, so Gandil was the leadoff hitter in a do-or-die inning. Well, finally Gandil did something positive. He singled. However, Risberg grounded into a double play. Ray Schalk, the catcher, followed this with a single. Chicago had ten hits. But Fred McMullin ended the game by grounding out.

So down two games to none, Chicago needed game three at home. Would a change of scenery help?

Well, there were two runners in scoring position with not a man out in a scoreless game in game three. It was the bottom of the second. Gandil was back at the plate. He singled! Both runners scored. 2-0. That was all pitcher Dickie Kerr needed. Chicago went on to win, but Gandil didn't get any more hits or even RBIs. Stuck at three.

In game four, Jackson led off the second with a double. Although Felsch was retired, it was in the act of bunting. Jackson was now at third. Gandil, needed only a fly to break what was then a 0-0 game. Chick popped it up. This was really a bad time. Risberg walked and stole second. Another walk, this time to catcher Schalk, and Chicago appeared to be in business. Eddie Cicotte, the starting pitcher and game one loser, ended the inning by grounding out.

Via an hit by pitch and an error, the White Sox had Eddie Collins on third and Jackson on third the next inning, but again came away empty-handed. The Reds did not score off Cicotte until the top of the fifth. The pitcher made two errors (Intentional, since he was in on the fix) that were costly. Gandil did single in the bottom of the sixth, but it came with two outs and nobody on. In the eighth, after Felsch singed with two down, Gandil ended the inning by fanning. The Reds did not score again after their two-run uprising earlier, but that proved to be enough as Chicago never scored at all in this game.

And Chicago didn't score in game five back in Cincinnati, either. Just like in 1917, it was Chicago being blanked in back-to-back games. The series was not over, as it was a best-of-nine affair. But Gandil was not helping. He was 0-4 in this crucial game. 5-0, Cincy.

So the Reds were looking to put the final nail in the White Sox's coffin in game six. They made illusions of that, racing out to an early 4-0 lead. A four-run lead again. But Chicago finally woke up.

A lot of good Chick was. The White Sox were still in the game in the top of the fourth. It was 2-0 at this point. Guess who left Happy Felsch at first to end the inning? Gandil! Cincy quickly tacked on their next two runs in the bottom of the frame to make Chicago pay.

Chicago finally scored in the top of the fifth. Gandil had nothing to do with it. The next inning, Buck Weaver hit a double to lead off. Jackson singled, Felsch doubled. 4-3. Jimmy Ring was called in to pitch to Gandil. Pop out. No matter. Before the inning was over, the game was tied.

It stayed that way until the top of the tenth despite walks to Jackson and Gandil in the top of the eight. But in the tenth, Weaver hit another double. Jackson on a bunt, made it to first as the go-ahead run was now at third. However, Felsch committed the first out of the inning by going down on strikes. What would our boy do?

What he did was single. Weaver scored. Swede Risberg ended the inning by lining into a double play. But Chicago held Cincinnati off the scoreboard one final time in the bottom of the inning. The 5-4 win was a must for Chicago.

The seventh game saw Chicago score first, right there in the top of the first. For good measure, the White Sox had Shoeless Joe Jackson on second and Happy Felsch on first. But Gandil ended the inning.

Still, this was Chicago's game. They added a run in the top of the third, and then two more in the top of the fifth. Gandil was looking at a 4-0 lead as he came to the plate that inning, but this time for Chicago. Jackson was again on second and Felsch again on first. This time, though, there was only one out. Gandil grounded out. Both runners advanced but the inning ended as Risberg fanned.

Chicago ended up winning the game 4-1, and headed home. But Cincinnati wasn't about to let Chicago off the hook a third time. They scored four times in the top of the first.

Another run in the top of the second, and it was now 5-0 for the Reds. Could Chicago come back? Jackson hit a home run in the bottom of the third, but then the White Sox offence stalled. At a crucial time, too. The Reds got their five-run lead back in the top of the fifth. The next inning, they scored three more times to make it a 9-1 rout. Chicago had one last big inning in them.

But in the bottom of the frame, Weaver singled to start the inning. Jackson came back up, and looked ready for another home run. But as it turned out, his blast in the third was the 1919 Fall Classic's only one. Still, he gave it quite a ride to centre. Felsch also flied to centre, but not that deep. That left it up to Gandil, who went to right for the final out of the inning.

The Reds got two on in the top of the seventh, but failed to score. The Sox had no such luck getting a base runner in their half of the inning. And, as if to make them pay again, Cincinnati promptly scored another run to get to double digits in their next turn to bat.

So it was 10-1 as Chicago batted in the bottom of the eight. Buck Weaver put two runners in scoring position with a double. Shoeless Joe followed with a double of his own. That scored both Weaver and Eddie Collins, who'd singled with one out. It was 10-3, but Felsch made the second out of the inning. Gandil hit a fly to right, but Alfred Neale (They called him Greasy) was in a bad spot. That sun prevented him from picking up the baseball. By the time Neale caught up to it, Jackson had long since scored. Gandil made it to third. The inning then appeared to be over for sure as Swede Risberg hit a short fly to Edd Roush in centre. But the centre fielder couldn't come up with it, and was charged with an error. Gandil scored to make it a 10-5 ballgame. Ray Schalk ended the inning by grounding out. But Chicago had put a big "4" on the scoreboard.

The Reds did not score in the top of the ninth. The White Sox put two on before Jackson grounded out to end the October Classic. Gandil did not get to bat again.



Gandil, like the seven other men involved in the fix, was thrown out of the game following the 1920 season. The scandal had been exposed. It's too bad, really. Chick had talent, no doubt. And he could get the job done anyway you asked. The 1919 World Series will be forever tainted with memories of the Black Sox.


References


Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1992. Print.

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.

"Shoeless Joe Jackson Virtual Hall of Fame." Shoeless Joe Jackson Virtual Hall of Fame. http://www.blackbetsy.com/shoeless.html. 3 Feb. 2016.

Retrosheet. www.retrosheet.org. 2 Feb. 2016.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 2 Feb. 2016.

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org. 2 Feb. 2016.

Youtube. https://www,youtube.com/. 2 Feb. 2016.

World Series: Did You Know?

In his first Fall Classic that he played in that went the distance, The Mick went yard in game six and seven. In the last World Series Mickey Mantle played in that went seven, he also hit a home run in the last two contests.

Mickey Mantle saw his first Fall Classic come to an early end in 1951 due to an injury chasing a Willie Mays' flyball. It knocked him out the rest of the World Series, which Mantle's New York Yankees won over Mays' New York Giants in six games.

The Yankees were back the next year. Sans Joe DiMaggio and not against the Giants. It was against that other good team from New York. The Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees went into game five at Ebbets Field down 3-2. They had to win both game six and seven there or Brooklyn was going to be on top of the world in 1952. The Yankees didn't want that.

Mantle made sure that didn't happen.

The Yankees entered the top of the eighth ahead 2-1, with Yogi Berra and Duke Snider hitting some long balls of their own in the game. How about our boy? Well, Mickey didn't have a home run as he lead off the top of the top of the frame against Brooklyn's Billy Loes. Preacher Roe was throwing in the bullpen. The Dodgers might have thought it was a good idea to make the switch hitter bat from the right side.

On Loes' second pitch, Mantle went the other way to left centre. The ball landed in the seats and the Yankees were now up 3-1. It proved to be crucial, as another blast from Snider in the bottom of the frame cut into that, but did not tie the game. It was New York that ended up with a narrow 3-2 win.

In the winner-take-all game seven, the Dodger sent out Joe Black to bring it all home. For five innings, the rookie stayed right with anyone on the Yankees mound. Ed Lopat lasted just three innings for New York.

With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the sixth, Phil Rizzuto lined out to Pee Wee Reese in short. Pee Wee made a nice backhand snare. But Mantle came up next, and Black fell behind in the count 3-1. The Mick sent the next pitch onto Bedford Avenue in right. 3-2, Yankees. Mantle was not finished. His single to centre field the next inning off Roe brought home Gil McDougald. That proved to be the final score as Mantle and New York had themselves a 4-2 win and a World Championship, right there in Brooklyn.

Skip ahead 12 years and Mantle was playing in his final Fall Classic. The opposition was the St. Louis Cardinals. Although Mantle's dramatic walk-off home run in game three off Barney Schultz (Before going to bat, Mickey had told the hitter behind him, Elston Howard, that he was going to hit a home run) had given New York a 2-1 lead in the series, it was St. Louis winning the next two games. That meant New York had win both games' six and seven at Sportsman's Park (Also called Busch Stadium at that point).

Game six was a rematch of the dramatic game three, as Jim Bouton tried to keep New York alive. Curt Simmons, meanwhile, was trying to slam the door shut on the Yankees. Simmons started strong as he fanned both Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in the top of the first, back-to-back. St. Louis wasted no time in getting to Bouton. Right in the bottom of the first, it was the Cardinals scoring first. But then New York took over.

Simmons actually held The Bronx Bombers off the scoresheet through four. Bouton scored Tom Tresh with the tying run in the top of the fifth on a single. The Cards got two men on the bottom of the frame. It was the closest they'd come to winning this game.

With one out in the top of the sixth, it was Roger Maris putting the mighty Yankees up 2-1 with a solo home run that was just fair. Mantle, the next hitter, gave Simmons and company no time to recover. Batting right-handed against the left-handed pitcher, Mantle followed Maris' flight path to right. 3-1, New York.

Mantle scored another run in the top of the eighth to make it 4-1. With the bases filled, it was Joe Pepitone hitting a grand slam. St. Louis scored two meaningless runs off Bouton as New York won, 8-3.

Bob Gibson was trying to nail it down in game seven, and up 6-0 after five innings. The Yankees weren't about to just roll over and die.

Indeed. Leading off the sixth inning, Bobby Richardson didn't connect solidly, but beat out a ball hit to third base. Maris singled to right on a bouncing ball. Mantle was next up. Gibson was tiring. He was pitching under some duress. Bob was pitching on two days' rest.

The Mick cut the lead in half with a home run to left over Lou Brock's head. This seemed to wake up the team. It was 6-3, and there was plenty of time to go. Bobby Richardson collected hit thirteenth hit of the 1964 Fall Classic the next inning, and Roger Maris gave it a ride to right. But the ball was hit right to Mike Shannon. Steve Hamilton gave up a home run to Ken Boyer in the bottom of the seventh, and that made it a 7-3 ballgame.

Mantle hit it well, but could only fly to Curt Flood in centre in the eighth. The Yankees came at Gibson with everything but the kitchen sink in the ninth. With one out, Clete Boyer joined his brother in the home run trot as he nailed a 3-2 Gibson delivery to left, That made it 7-4. One out later, it was Phil Linz blasting another Gibson pitch out of the park in left. 7-5. Gibson was just getting the ball over the plate. At this point, that might not have seemed like enough.

Gibson settled down, having been given a pep talk by his manager, Johhny Keane. Richardson popped out on a 1-1 pitch, and the Cardinals had a 7-5 win.

Mickey Mantle had played in his last Fall Classic game. But in that and in game six, he'd gone out the way he should have. A home run.

References

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.

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

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

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

Retrosheet. www.retrosheet.org. Web. (2 Feb. 2016) 

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. (2 Feb. 2016)

Youtube. https://www,youtube.com/. Web. (2 Feb. 2016)

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org (2 Feb. 2016)

Sure Could Have Fooled Me!

Ivan Lendl reached 10 semifinals or better on grass courts in the grand slams.

Lendl's struggles at Wimbledon are well-documented, but of course, it's not to say he didn't do well there. What many fans of tennis have forgotten is his Ivan's results in another slam held on grass were pretty good, too.

The Australian Open was the grand slam that no one wanted to play. For one, it was played in December, when you want to be at home. For another, the prize money was very little. Finally, it was played on grass. Around December and even in January where it was eventually moved (They even played two, one in January and one in December of 1977) in 1987, were many tournaments played indoors. So it didn't make sense to break the cycle of playing on the same surface to travel all the way Down Under. The Australian Open was played on grass.

So that should have discouraged Lendl. He actually gave it a try down there in 1980, and was seeded second. But Ivan lost in the second round. Three years later (He did not play in it in 1981 and 1982), Lendl gave it another shot. This time, he beat hometown boy Pat Cash in the round of 16, fellow countrymen Tomas Smid in the quarters and Tim Mayotte in the semifinals. But waiting in the finals was Swede, Mats Wilander. Lendl won only nine games in the straight set defeat.

Lendl had played in his first ever semifinals in a grand slam played on grass earlier in '83. He lost to John McEnroe at Wimbledon. The next year, he got to the same round, losing to Jimmy Connors. McEnroe routed Connors in the finals. Lendl again played in Australia that year, but only won three matches.

At Wimbledon in 1985, the year Boris Becker made his first big splash at the tender age of 17, Lendl only made it to the fourth round, losing to France's Henri Leconte. His Australian Open was much better. Having finally won the US Open following three straight finals losses, Lendl headed back to Australia, determined to win his first Grand Slam on grass. But waiting in his path was Stefan Edberg. Stefan was a Swedish teenager at the time, much like Wilander in 1983.

But Edberg had that serve-and-volley game that drove Lendl crazy. Ivan stayed right with the young man, and this thing was destined to go five. Edberg, seeking his first grand slam tournament win, snatched it 9-7 in the fifth. In the finals, he made short work of Wilander.

Lendl might have had thoughts of coming back and winning it in 1986, because he reached the finals at Wimbledon for the first time. Lendl, however, had all sorts of problems in the semifinals again. While he managed to prevail against unseeded Slobodan Zivojinovic, it took five sets. Boris Becker, back for a chance at back-to-back wins, made it abundantly clear his win the previous year was no fluke. He beat Lendl 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 in the finals. This was the first of three losses to Becker by Lendl at Wimbledon.

No Australian Open was held in 1986, however. The decision was made to move it to January, hoping to attract a larger audience. Obviously, it could not be held in '86.

The first slam of 1987 was a grim reminder to Lendl of what he would face at Wimbledon. Reaching the semifinals for the second straight time, he faced Pat Cash. It went four, and Pat took the first and third sets in tiebreakers. That helped propel Cash to the win. Pat could not, however, overcome Stefan Edberg in the finals. This ended up being the last ever Australian Open held on grass, as the tournament moved to Flinder's Park the next season. The surface was now a form of hard court that Lendl found to his liking. Within three years, Ivan had himself a pair of Australian Opens.

But Wimbledon remained elusive.

1987 was Lendl's best chance to win it. Becker somehow lost early. Ivan beat Stefan Edberg in the semifinals. He was playing well. Now, only Pat Cash remained. But the frequently injured Australian played one amazing finals. He put pressure on Lendl's serve from the get-go. Cash had a set point at 4-5 in the first, only to see Lendl come up with some big serves and net play. The set went to a tiebreaker. Lendl fought off four set points from 1-6, but Cash took it eventually, 7-5.

Cash raced through the second without losing a point on his serve. Lendl, making one last gasp, broke him early in the third. But serving for the set at 5-3, he came undone with a double fault. Pat motored on in from there. Lendl didn't win another game.

Lendl was back in the final four in 1988, as he looked across the net to his old pal Becker (Who upended Cash in just three sets in the quarterfinals). Lendl looked lost for two sets. An exciting tiebreaker was to follow, with both competitors going back and forth, toe to toe. Lendl managed to outlast the German, 10-8. Play at this point was suspended, sadly. Becker came back the next day and scrapped his way to a 6-4 win in the fourth set.

When the two players met again the next year, same round, Lendl looked like he finally had him. Ahead two sets to one, the Czech was looking poised and ready to overcome adversary. However, fate again intervened. A rain delay stopped play in the fourth with Ivan up a break. When the action resumed, Boris stormed back to win the next two sets. So close, yet so far again for Lendl.

Lendl had one last shot at the great trophy that eluded him in 1990. Now 30 years old, and having raised his second Australian Open crown in January, Lendl decided to skip the French Open (Having already won it three times) to do some grass-court refining. This helped him beat Boris Becker in straight sets in the finals at Queens. Lendl won 6-3, 6-2. A bit of revenge.

However, none of that could stop a third straight Becker-Edberg finals. Lendl made it to the semifinals for the seventh time in his career. But it was Edberg playing at an even higher level than he'd showed Lendl in Australia five years ago. The Swede, serving and returning amazing all match long, needed less than two hours to hand the hard-luck Czech a straight set defeat. Edberg went on to conquer Becker in the finals in five.

A tough run for Lendl. He'd conquered all surfaces except grass. Despite that, he'd put together a pretty good record on lawn tennis. The play there just did not suite his style, despite a strong first serve. Lendl preferred to hang back at the baseline and win the big, long rally. But grass, ever so fast, does allow players to do that, except in more recent years. It was Lendl's misfortune to come along when McEnroe and Connors were still good, Wilander had some surprising results, and three guys named Cash, Becker and Edberg came along.

References

Feinstein, John. Hard Courts. New York: Villard, 1991. Print.

Collins, Bud. The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. Washington, D.C.: New Chapter, 2010. Print.

Philip, Robert. Agassi: The Fall and Rise of the Enfant Terrible of Tennis. London: Bloomsbury, 1993. Print. 

Haylett, John, and Richard Evans. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Tennis. New York: Exeter, 1989. Print. 

Callery, Sean. The Pictorial History of Tennis. New York: Gallery, 1990. Print.