World Series: Did You Know?

The Yankees failed to reach the World Series only twice in the 1950s.

And both years, Early Wynn was on the team that did make the World Series!

The Yankees missed in 1954 because the Cleveland Indians won 111 games. 5 years later, a team full of speedsters made it.

Both teams also had the American League leader in Wins. Fitting since that was his last name with an "S" on the end. At least, that's how you pronounce it.

It was an early win usually when Early Wynn was on the mound!

On his way to a career total of exactly 300 wins, Early led the AL in that category twice in the 1950s.

And it was 1954 and 1959.

So his AL leading 23 wins in 1954 actually only tied Bob Lemon, but it was enough to stop the Yankees from making it 6 straight trips to the Fall Classic.

So what happened to Wynn and the Indians in '54?

Lemon started game 1 against Sal Maglie and the Giants (Still in New York at this point), and took an early 2-0 lead. Back came the Giants to tie.

Then, Willie Mays made The Catch. Then, Dusty Rhodes hit a dramatic 3-run-pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the 10th!

In game 2, our boy Wynn started and pitched real well. New York got 4 hits off him. The Indians got 8 for the second straight game. And they still lost.

They lost because of Dusty Rhodes and Johnny Antonelli.

Antonelli, taking the hill for the Giants, gave up a leadoff home run to Al Smith (who would also play for the White Sox of '59) of the Indians. But it was nothing but "0" on the scoreboard for Cleveland the rest of the way.

Wynn, outside of Rhodes, gave up just 2 hits.

Rhodes, again pinch-hitting, ruined the Indians again.

His 2-run, pinch-hit single in the bottom of the 5th scored Mays to tie the game. The Giants then took the lead on Antonelli's groundout.

In the 8th, it was Rhodes hitting a solo home run to make it 3-1 Giants. That was the final score.

New York went on to a sweep. So I guess Wynn and the Indians couldn't stop the other New York team from winning in 1954. Actually, still another New York team, the Dodgers, won the next year. So even if the Yankees didn't make it to the World Series, New York pretty much owned it. If the Yankees made it to the World Series in 1955, and lost to Brooklyn, New York pretty much owned the World Series. You get the idea.

Milwaukee took that away in 1957, and then Brooklyn and the Giants moved for the 1958 season.

Wynn was in Chicago (AL) for the 1959 season. He made sure the Yankees didn't make it to the World Series.

Actually, his old team, Cleveland finished 2nd for good measure.

So, Wynn was up against the Dodgers. The Los Angeles Dodgers, that is.

Wynn led the AL with 22 victories for Comeback Player Of The Year. He was 39 years old. But Wynn was pitching like he was in his early 30s!

Wynn would get the call in game 1. Would Early's team win a game this time? Would Wynn win a game this time?

Everyone found out soon enough!

Wynn took the hill in game 1 and tossed 7 shutout innings. Gerry Staley came in and pitched 2 more for the combined shutout. Chicago scored 11 runs. Wynn drove in 1 of them for good measure.

Wynn also started game 4, and was trampled by Los Angeles in the 3rd inning. 4 runs scored against him. Chicago rallied later to tie the game, but ended up losing anyways.

And Early also started game 6. He was knocked out again after just 3 1/3 inning. The White Sox lost the game and the Series. Early never pitched again in the Fall Classic, as the 1960s dawned, the Yankees made it a point to make it back to the World Series. They did the first five years, 1960-1964. Wynn retired by then with exactly 300 wins.

References


Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. 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, pp. 282-391.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print, pp. 260-399.

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. Dec 14. 2013.