The third time would not quite be the charm for Bob Cerv, who had played for the Yankees so well before. Then he got traded to Kansas City.
But Cerv rejoined the Yankees during the 1960 season, only to be the 38th pick of the expansion Los Angeles Angels.
But with Ryne Duren expendable because of the emergence of Luis Arroyo, a trade with the Angels brought Cerv back for the third time, on May 8th.
He wasn't doing much at the time, his average down to .158, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R in 18 games. But the Yankees hadn't really settled on a left fielder that year, as Hector Lopez's nickname (sarcastic) What-A-Pair-Of-Hands, still haunted him.
His first two games did little to change that.
His Yankee third time around got underway as he made a pinch hit appearance in the 9th inning, the day after the trade, against his old team, Kansas City. Facing Jim Archer, he grounded out to third baseman and former Yankee Andy Carey. Carey had been the player the Yankees sent to Kansas in 1960 for Cerv. And the trade had been made on May 19, 1960, almost a year to the day of this game!
Then he entered the game (in the 9th) as a pinch runner 3 days later against the Tigers. Actually, the batter had just drawn a walk. Who was it you say? Oh, how about Mickey Mantle. They'd get to know each other quite well that season.
Then he played all 11 innings of the first game of a doubleheader two days later. In 5 at bats, he managed 2 hits, one of them a 2 run homerun of Don Mossi. It helped the Yankees win 5-4.
He would end up playing 12 games in total the month of May. On the 25th, Cerv enjoyed his second 2 hit game for the Bronx Bombers. Then three days later, he hit belted a grand slam of Early Wynn of the White Sox. But the Yankees lost 14-9. That was the first game of a doubleheader. In the nightcap, he went 2-3.
His last May appearance was against Boston the next day. Although he failed to get a hit, this month had raised is average 36 points from April's low .184.
After scoring two runs on June 4th, he scored a run on a walk as a pinch hitter in a game 11 days later against Cleveland. It proved to be the winning run as the Yankees won 3-2.
In two straight games he participated in, June 25th and 27th, he added a homerun in each of them. Still, Bob ended the month at just a .225 batting average.
July would not be much better despite the fact that, at this point, he, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were staying in a Queens apartment, which, to all you tennis fans out there, practically overlooked the Forest Hills Tennis Club where the US Open took place, back then.
After driving in 2 runs on July 2nd against Washington, he didn't do much the rest of the month. His only homerun came on July 15th against White Sox pitcher Turk Brown in the 9th inning. Batting for Hal Reniff, who trailed 8-6 going into the inning, Cerv's hit rallied his team to eventually win 9-8.
This would be his last RBI of the month, and he scored just one more run. Now his average was down to .222, or 2 hits for every 9 AB.
On August 2nd, again against Kansas, he went 2-5 as he got a double against Archer, struck out twice, and then singled to left in the eight. He then scored on Whitey Ford's single.
After Kansas City tied it 5-5 in the top of the ninth, Cerv came to bat with the bases loaded. He actually grounded to third, but third baseman's Wayne Causey's throw home was dropped by Joe Pignatano. Roger Maris scored the winning run as a result.
But Bob started September strong, as he raised his average 8 points by going 2-3. He led off the bottom of the 5th with a double against the Sens Pete Burnside. But the next three batters failed to get the ball out of the infield, leaving the game tied at 2. But with one out in the 7th and the score still tied, Cerv rifled a triple to left. When Clete Boyer followed with a long fly, the Yankees had the lead for good.
Cerv continued his fine September by getting two pinch hits in consecutive appearances. On September 10th, he came off the bench in the bottom of the 8th to deliver an RBI single of Cleveland's Bobby Locke to score Elston Howard with the winning run.
Five days he was called on again to pinch hit in the 7th inning with the Yankees down, 4-1. Clete Boyer, whose homerun had hommered earlier in the game to get the Yankees on the board, was on first. Bob batted for Rollie Sheldon and singled of Ron Kline to move Boyer to second. But Bobby Richardson hit into a double play to end that.
The Yankees tacked on another run later as Elston Howard also went deep, but ultimately lost to Detroit, 4-2.
If you're going to go, go with a bang. Which is what Bob Cerv did in what turned out to be his last game with the Yankees, ever.
It was on September 23rd against the Red Sox. The Yankees had build a 6-3 lead into the top of the ninth. Elston Howard then hommered, and with pitcher Jim Coates due to bat, Cerv went up again. Earlier in the game, he had hurt a cartilage in his right knee.
Facing Boston's Arnold Earley, Cerv hit a pitch to deep left for his sixth homerun of the year with the Yankees and 8th this season overall. That put the Yankees on top 8-3 and they stayed that way as Luis Arroyo held the fort.
But it was his last game, as mentioned. The cartilage would require season ending surgery, which would keep Cerv out of the World Series against Cincinnati. The Yankees would replace Bob on the roster with Jack Reed.
Cerv's final numbers aren't much to look at. In 75 games he posted a .234 average (or .289 OBP!) 8HR 26RBI 20R. But with the Yankees he was at .271 BA with 6HR, 20RBI and 17R in 57 games (.344 OBP). Of his 57 games for the Yankees that season, 28 were in left field, 2 in center field and 3 at first. 25 times he pinch hit and his May 12th appearance for Mantle was his only turn as a pinch runner.
References
“For Cerv, '44 Was The Real Drama.” Tribunedigital-Thecourant, Hartford Courant. 22 July 2001. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <articles.courant.com/2001-07-22/sports/0107221977_1_roger-maris-mickey-mantle-yankee-stadium>.
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.
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.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print, pp. 287-291.
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. 06 Oct. 2011.
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=vZdRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2hAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4519,2972836&hl=en
But Cerv rejoined the Yankees during the 1960 season, only to be the 38th pick of the expansion Los Angeles Angels.
But with Ryne Duren expendable because of the emergence of Luis Arroyo, a trade with the Angels brought Cerv back for the third time, on May 8th.
He wasn't doing much at the time, his average down to .158, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R in 18 games. But the Yankees hadn't really settled on a left fielder that year, as Hector Lopez's nickname (sarcastic) What-A-Pair-Of-Hands, still haunted him.
His first two games did little to change that.
His Yankee third time around got underway as he made a pinch hit appearance in the 9th inning, the day after the trade, against his old team, Kansas City. Facing Jim Archer, he grounded out to third baseman and former Yankee Andy Carey. Carey had been the player the Yankees sent to Kansas in 1960 for Cerv. And the trade had been made on May 19, 1960, almost a year to the day of this game!
Then he entered the game (in the 9th) as a pinch runner 3 days later against the Tigers. Actually, the batter had just drawn a walk. Who was it you say? Oh, how about Mickey Mantle. They'd get to know each other quite well that season.
Then he played all 11 innings of the first game of a doubleheader two days later. In 5 at bats, he managed 2 hits, one of them a 2 run homerun of Don Mossi. It helped the Yankees win 5-4.
He would end up playing 12 games in total the month of May. On the 25th, Cerv enjoyed his second 2 hit game for the Bronx Bombers. Then three days later, he hit belted a grand slam of Early Wynn of the White Sox. But the Yankees lost 14-9. That was the first game of a doubleheader. In the nightcap, he went 2-3.
His last May appearance was against Boston the next day. Although he failed to get a hit, this month had raised is average 36 points from April's low .184.
After scoring two runs on June 4th, he scored a run on a walk as a pinch hitter in a game 11 days later against Cleveland. It proved to be the winning run as the Yankees won 3-2.
In two straight games he participated in, June 25th and 27th, he added a homerun in each of them. Still, Bob ended the month at just a .225 batting average.
July would not be much better despite the fact that, at this point, he, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were staying in a Queens apartment, which, to all you tennis fans out there, practically overlooked the Forest Hills Tennis Club where the US Open took place, back then.
After driving in 2 runs on July 2nd against Washington, he didn't do much the rest of the month. His only homerun came on July 15th against White Sox pitcher Turk Brown in the 9th inning. Batting for Hal Reniff, who trailed 8-6 going into the inning, Cerv's hit rallied his team to eventually win 9-8.
This would be his last RBI of the month, and he scored just one more run. Now his average was down to .222, or 2 hits for every 9 AB.
On August 2nd, again against Kansas, he went 2-5 as he got a double against Archer, struck out twice, and then singled to left in the eight. He then scored on Whitey Ford's single.
After Kansas City tied it 5-5 in the top of the ninth, Cerv came to bat with the bases loaded. He actually grounded to third, but third baseman's Wayne Causey's throw home was dropped by Joe Pignatano. Roger Maris scored the winning run as a result.
But Bob started September strong, as he raised his average 8 points by going 2-3. He led off the bottom of the 5th with a double against the Sens Pete Burnside. But the next three batters failed to get the ball out of the infield, leaving the game tied at 2. But with one out in the 7th and the score still tied, Cerv rifled a triple to left. When Clete Boyer followed with a long fly, the Yankees had the lead for good.
Cerv continued his fine September by getting two pinch hits in consecutive appearances. On September 10th, he came off the bench in the bottom of the 8th to deliver an RBI single of Cleveland's Bobby Locke to score Elston Howard with the winning run.
Five days he was called on again to pinch hit in the 7th inning with the Yankees down, 4-1. Clete Boyer, whose homerun had hommered earlier in the game to get the Yankees on the board, was on first. Bob batted for Rollie Sheldon and singled of Ron Kline to move Boyer to second. But Bobby Richardson hit into a double play to end that.
The Yankees tacked on another run later as Elston Howard also went deep, but ultimately lost to Detroit, 4-2.
If you're going to go, go with a bang. Which is what Bob Cerv did in what turned out to be his last game with the Yankees, ever.
It was on September 23rd against the Red Sox. The Yankees had build a 6-3 lead into the top of the ninth. Elston Howard then hommered, and with pitcher Jim Coates due to bat, Cerv went up again. Earlier in the game, he had hurt a cartilage in his right knee.
Facing Boston's Arnold Earley, Cerv hit a pitch to deep left for his sixth homerun of the year with the Yankees and 8th this season overall. That put the Yankees on top 8-3 and they stayed that way as Luis Arroyo held the fort.
But it was his last game, as mentioned. The cartilage would require season ending surgery, which would keep Cerv out of the World Series against Cincinnati. The Yankees would replace Bob on the roster with Jack Reed.
Cerv's final numbers aren't much to look at. In 75 games he posted a .234 average (or .289 OBP!) 8HR 26RBI 20R. But with the Yankees he was at .271 BA with 6HR, 20RBI and 17R in 57 games (.344 OBP). Of his 57 games for the Yankees that season, 28 were in left field, 2 in center field and 3 at first. 25 times he pinch hit and his May 12th appearance for Mantle was his only turn as a pinch runner.
References
“For Cerv, '44 Was The Real Drama.” Tribunedigital-Thecourant, Hartford Courant. 22 July 2001. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <articles.courant.com/2001-07-22/sports/0107221977_1_roger-maris-mickey-mantle-yankee-stadium>.
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.
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.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print, pp. 287-291.
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. 06 Oct. 2011.
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=vZdRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2hAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4519,2972836&hl=en
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