I thought with their World Series buddies the Chicago White Sox getting eleven runs in one inning on one hit, what could the Dodgers of the 1959 season do that could match that?
How about using 9 pinch hitters in one game? Don't worry, it wasn't in one inning. It was on September 22nd, 1959 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The game featured two pretty good pitchers. Sandy Koufax was not quite there yet, but in his last two starts in August and his first start in September, he'd K'd 41 batters in only 28.0 innings. He had started to skid a bit after that, however. Sandy's record was now only 8-6 (and that would be his final record) but his ERA was a respectable 3.85.
His mound opponent for the Cardinals was Larry Jackson. His record was only 13-13 coming into this one, but his ERA was even better than Sandy's: 3.25!
Jackson failed to get a batter out in the top of the first, and by the time the inning ended, Los Angeles had sent every men to the plate except Koufax. None of them were pinch hitters, however. The Dodgers had a quick 3-0 lead and the starter out of the game. Marshall Bridges, who would later pitch for the Yankees, came in for the Cards. But Sandy would also soon be in the showers.
Two walks around two groundouts and the old Koufax wildness was still around in the bottom of the frame. Gene Oliver singled to load them up. And then Hal Smith, the Cardinals' catcher, cleared 'em with a grand slam. Bye-bye Sandy! 4-3, Cardinals. Hmmm, the Yankee fan in me is thinking about game 4 of the 1964 World Series. It was Ken Boyer who drew Koufax's second walk, by the way. It was the bottom of the first, and both teams had unloaded a full salvo of arsenal. It would be kept up all throughout the game.
The Dodgers scored a run in the top of the second to tie it, and then Gil Hodges' 3rd inning home run made it 6-4, Los Angeles. But the lead was short-lived.
Boyer and Stan Musial singled to start the bottom of the 3rd. Hal Smith failed this time. But a home run by Curt Flood scored Ken and Stan, and the Cardinals had erased another Dodger lead. And again, it was the Cards with the lead. Slugfest! St. Louis wasn't about to stop there and added two more runs to make it 9-6 after just 3 innings. The Dodgers had already used Koufax, Chuck Churn and now Clem Labine. At this rate, they'd need to use 9 pitchers to get through this one!
Tommy Davis pinch-hit for Labine and went down on strikes in the top of the 4th. In the top of the 5th, with the Dodgers still trailing 9-6, it was Don Demeter who pinch-hit for Duke Snider, but he was out on a fly ball to left. Carl Furillo batted for Norm Parker and also went out to left. Deep left.
The Cardinals scored twice more the bottom of the frame, but the Dodgers were about to get some much-needed offence. St. Louis had now touched home 11 times!
In the top of the 6th, with one out, it was Joe Pignatano who batted for Johnny Roseboro, the catcher. He walked. At last, as pinch hitter who reached base! Stan Williams (who had come on to pitch following Labine's leaving for a pinch hitter. And Stan was also a future Yankee) was due to hit next and the Dodgers were down 10-6. What would you do?
Los Angeles went with Chuck Essegian off the bench. And did he ever come through! Swatting a Bridges' offering to left for a double, the Dodgers were back a little, 11-7. But there was still some unfinished work to do. Oh yes! And still some more pinch hitters for the Blue and White!
It was Ron Fairly, who would later play for the Toronto Blue Jays years later, who came off the bench to hit for Los Angeles in the top of the 8th. The Dodgers were 1-4 (and a walk) so far, pinch hitting. Fairly was hitting for Pignatano. But on the hill now was was one of the best relief pitchers of this, or any time: Lindy McDaniel!
Ron could only ground out. Right after him came still another pinch hitter, and another Sandy, Amoros. Amoros, of course, made that great catch of Yogi Berra in game 7 of the 1955 World Series. Cuban born, he spoke very little English and never really made a name for himself in the big league. Nonetheless, he was a good hitter with some power. And the Dodgers need some of that right now! But all Sandy could do was ground out. Los Angeles did eventually load the bases, but came away from this inning empty. It was still St. Louis on top, 11-7.
Fred Kipp and Danny McDevitt had managed to shutout the Cards in the last three innings, but it was last call for Los Angeles in the top of the 9th.
Gil Hodges got a single with one out, but McDaniel got Maury Wills to lineout to second. Hodges was not doubled up, but LA was down to their last out.
Pinch hitter? How'd you guess?
Rip Repulski batted for Norm Sherry. The Dodgers were 1 for 6 pinch hitting so far. But Repulski got a single to keep the Dodgers' hopes alive.
Pinch hitter? You're right again!
It was actually Frank Howard who batted for McDevitt. And did big Frank (can't call him The Big Hurt, that's for Frank Thomas) come through! He blasted a majestic 3-run home run to left center. The Dodgers were suddenly within a run of the Cardinals. And back to the top of the order.
The batter was Jim Gilliam.
And no pinch hitter.
McDaniel, however, needed just 2 pitches to get Gilliam to ground out and end the game. The St. Louis Cardinals had won this one 11-10.
The Dodger's pinch hitters had gone 3 for 8 with a walk, 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs in this game. That set an all-time record that has been equalled only twice in the next 54 years. The Dodgers may have lost the game, but they had used up the bench. And it was the depth of this team that was apparent here, and later on, in the World Series.
Golenbock, Peter. "1955." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print. pp. 230-232
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
“Pinch Hitting Records.” Pinch Hitter Records by Baseball Almanac, <www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/pinch-hitters-records.shtml>. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
How about using 9 pinch hitters in one game? Don't worry, it wasn't in one inning. It was on September 22nd, 1959 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The game featured two pretty good pitchers. Sandy Koufax was not quite there yet, but in his last two starts in August and his first start in September, he'd K'd 41 batters in only 28.0 innings. He had started to skid a bit after that, however. Sandy's record was now only 8-6 (and that would be his final record) but his ERA was a respectable 3.85.
His mound opponent for the Cardinals was Larry Jackson. His record was only 13-13 coming into this one, but his ERA was even better than Sandy's: 3.25!
Jackson failed to get a batter out in the top of the first, and by the time the inning ended, Los Angeles had sent every men to the plate except Koufax. None of them were pinch hitters, however. The Dodgers had a quick 3-0 lead and the starter out of the game. Marshall Bridges, who would later pitch for the Yankees, came in for the Cards. But Sandy would also soon be in the showers.
Two walks around two groundouts and the old Koufax wildness was still around in the bottom of the frame. Gene Oliver singled to load them up. And then Hal Smith, the Cardinals' catcher, cleared 'em with a grand slam. Bye-bye Sandy! 4-3, Cardinals. Hmmm, the Yankee fan in me is thinking about game 4 of the 1964 World Series. It was Ken Boyer who drew Koufax's second walk, by the way. It was the bottom of the first, and both teams had unloaded a full salvo of arsenal. It would be kept up all throughout the game.
The Dodgers scored a run in the top of the second to tie it, and then Gil Hodges' 3rd inning home run made it 6-4, Los Angeles. But the lead was short-lived.
Boyer and Stan Musial singled to start the bottom of the 3rd. Hal Smith failed this time. But a home run by Curt Flood scored Ken and Stan, and the Cardinals had erased another Dodger lead. And again, it was the Cards with the lead. Slugfest! St. Louis wasn't about to stop there and added two more runs to make it 9-6 after just 3 innings. The Dodgers had already used Koufax, Chuck Churn and now Clem Labine. At this rate, they'd need to use 9 pitchers to get through this one!
Tommy Davis pinch-hit for Labine and went down on strikes in the top of the 4th. In the top of the 5th, with the Dodgers still trailing 9-6, it was Don Demeter who pinch-hit for Duke Snider, but he was out on a fly ball to left. Carl Furillo batted for Norm Parker and also went out to left. Deep left.
The Cardinals scored twice more the bottom of the frame, but the Dodgers were about to get some much-needed offence. St. Louis had now touched home 11 times!
In the top of the 6th, with one out, it was Joe Pignatano who batted for Johnny Roseboro, the catcher. He walked. At last, as pinch hitter who reached base! Stan Williams (who had come on to pitch following Labine's leaving for a pinch hitter. And Stan was also a future Yankee) was due to hit next and the Dodgers were down 10-6. What would you do?
Los Angeles went with Chuck Essegian off the bench. And did he ever come through! Swatting a Bridges' offering to left for a double, the Dodgers were back a little, 11-7. But there was still some unfinished work to do. Oh yes! And still some more pinch hitters for the Blue and White!
It was Ron Fairly, who would later play for the Toronto Blue Jays years later, who came off the bench to hit for Los Angeles in the top of the 8th. The Dodgers were 1-4 (and a walk) so far, pinch hitting. Fairly was hitting for Pignatano. But on the hill now was was one of the best relief pitchers of this, or any time: Lindy McDaniel!
Ron could only ground out. Right after him came still another pinch hitter, and another Sandy, Amoros. Amoros, of course, made that great catch of Yogi Berra in game 7 of the 1955 World Series. Cuban born, he spoke very little English and never really made a name for himself in the big league. Nonetheless, he was a good hitter with some power. And the Dodgers need some of that right now! But all Sandy could do was ground out. Los Angeles did eventually load the bases, but came away from this inning empty. It was still St. Louis on top, 11-7.
Fred Kipp and Danny McDevitt had managed to shutout the Cards in the last three innings, but it was last call for Los Angeles in the top of the 9th.
Gil Hodges got a single with one out, but McDaniel got Maury Wills to lineout to second. Hodges was not doubled up, but LA was down to their last out.
Pinch hitter? How'd you guess?
Rip Repulski batted for Norm Sherry. The Dodgers were 1 for 6 pinch hitting so far. But Repulski got a single to keep the Dodgers' hopes alive.
Pinch hitter? You're right again!
It was actually Frank Howard who batted for McDevitt. And did big Frank (can't call him The Big Hurt, that's for Frank Thomas) come through! He blasted a majestic 3-run home run to left center. The Dodgers were suddenly within a run of the Cardinals. And back to the top of the order.
The batter was Jim Gilliam.
And no pinch hitter.
McDaniel, however, needed just 2 pitches to get Gilliam to ground out and end the game. The St. Louis Cardinals had won this one 11-10.
The Dodger's pinch hitters had gone 3 for 8 with a walk, 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs in this game. That set an all-time record that has been equalled only twice in the next 54 years. The Dodgers may have lost the game, but they had used up the bench. And it was the depth of this team that was apparent here, and later on, in the World Series.
References
Golenbock, Peter. "1955." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print. pp. 230-232
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
“Pinch Hitting Records.” Pinch Hitter Records by Baseball Almanac, <www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/pinch-hitters-records.shtml>. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
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