World Series: Did You Know?

The 1959 and 1960 World Series have little in common on the surface. But in reality, they actually have a few things in common.

In both series, the National League team won the Fall Classic. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago 

White Sox in 1959. The following year, it was the Pittsburgh Pirates with a huge upset over the New York Yankees. The difference was that it took Dodgers six games and the Pirates 7.

In both series, the American League team scored more runs despite losing. The American League team also tossed 2 shutouts. The difference is that Whitey Ford tossed both for the Yankees, while the White Sox got them both from a 2-pitcher effort.

In both series, the losing team actually scored more runs than the winning team. The difference was the Yankees outscored the Pirates by a wide margin, 55-27. The White Sox only outscored the Dodgers 23-21.

In both series, it was Clem Labine who pitched for the winning team. The difference was Clem only tossed 1 inning over 1 game in 1959. In 1960, he appeared in 3 games. Labine was routed by the Yankees, as he gave up 13 hits in 4 innings for an ERA of 13.50.

In both series, the winning team walked more batters than the losing team. Again, the difference lies in the margin. The Dodgers’ pitchers issued 20 walks to the White Sox’s 12. The Pirates’ pitchers missed the plate 4 times to a batter 18 times to the Yankees’ 12.

As you can tell, the losing team in both series walked 12 batters.

In both series, the losing teams also got a superb performance by a unlikely source. Ted Kluszewski of the White Sox, who battled injuries and was past his prime, hit .391 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs in only 6 games. Bobby Richardson of the Yankees hit .367 with a grand slam and 12 RBIs. The difference was that Richardson received the MVP and Kluszewksi didn’t (Larry Sherry won it in 1959).

In both series, the winning team got a great performance from a relief pitcher. Larry Sherry was 2-0 with 2 saves. Elroy Face was 0-0, but set a World Series record with 3 saves in the Series. Face would have been the winning pitcher in game 7 had the Pirates not let the Yankees score twice in the top of the 9^th. So both pitchers could have had a hand in all 4 of their teams’ wins.

In both series, the losing manager appeared in the World Series for the last time. The difference was the success of both managers. Casey Stengel of the Yankees had won 7 World Series and 10 pennants, while Al Lopez had won 0 World Series and 2 pennants.

But, both managers were on the pennant winning teams for all AL teams appearing in the World Series in the 1950s (Lopez managed the 1954 Cleveland Indians).