Carl Warwick tied a World Series record with three pinch hits in the 1964 Fall Classic. Despite this, he batted just .220 lifetime as a pinch hitter. The St. Louis Cardinals needed some timely hitting and Carl provided them with some! When you're up against the New York Yankees, sometimes you need some magic off the bench.
In game 1, with the score tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 6th and a runner on second, the Yankees Whitey Ford was removed from the mound for the last time in a World Series. Al Downing came in and retired pinch hitter Charlie James for the second out. Warwick was up to hit for Cardinals starter Ray Sadecki.
Warwick sent a bouncer that just got by shortstop Phil Linz to the left for a hit. The runner from second, Tim McCarver, scored. On the throw home, Carl pulled in at second. Julian Javier came in to run for Warwick. And he seemed destined to be stranded. Curt Flood got underneath one and sent a ball to Tom Tresh in leftfield. This one was staying in the park, and Tresh seemed in the right position to make the play.
But Tresh had lost it in the sun! The ball caromed off the wall and Javier scored on what became a triple. These harmless hit balls were doing St. Louis a favour here! The Cardinals hadn't hit the ball that well, but were suddenly up, 6-4. These two sequence of events proved crucial. The Yankees got a run back in the top of the 8th before the Cardinals salted victory away with three more runs off Pete Mikklesen in the bottom of the inning. 9-5, St. Louis, final.
In game 2, it didn't seem like Warwick would be needed. Bob Gibson, the poised St. Louis starter, walked Linz to open the game. Then, he proceeded to fan the next four batters! The Cardinals picked up a run in the bottom of the third.
The Yankees tied on two hits, a walk and a sac fly in the top of the 4th. Yankee starter Mel Stottlemyre and Gibson were locked in a pitching duel from here on in. Both looked a little nervous. And why not? It was, for both of them, their first ever World Series start.
In the top of the 6th, Gibson's wildness started. The Yankees always took advantage of those types of situations. You can't give them this, even if you're Bob Gibson.
Mickey Mantle walked. Elston Howard was out on a scorcher to second. Joe Pepitone was hit by a pitch. Or was he? Gibson and catcher McCarver didn't think so. A real rhubarb insued, but Pepitone was on first and Mantle on second. A bouncing ball off the bat of Tresh made it through the left side of the infield, and the Yankees were now up, 2-1. Stottlemyre got through the bottom of the frame 1-2-3.
The Yankees went right back at Gibby in the top of the 7th. Linz got a single. A wild pitch put him on second. Bob came in with a tough pitch to another Bob. But Richardson got a broken bat single to center to make it 3-1, New York. Gibson now needed to get Roger Maris out. Hoot had handled Roger with relative ease so far, getting him out all three times in this game. But Maris got a single. Mantle hit in on the ground to second, but the Cards could only go to first as Richardson scored. 4-1, Yankees! Stottlemyre had another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame. With that sinker-ball of Mel's working so well, this game and maybe even this Series, was looking like a tough one for St. Louis to win. Stottlemyre, along with Downing and Jim Bouton, looked like they were going to carry the Yankees pitching staff for years to come. And they were all under the age of 25!
The 8th inning saw Gibby have a 1-2-3 inning of his own. Stottlemyre wasn't so lucky this time. The Cardinals would get a run back in the frame. And it was Carl Warwick who led the uprising.
Batting for Dal Maxvill, he lashed a single to left. This one gone by Linz to the right. And now it was time for another pinch hitter. Only this time, for Bob Gibson. Bob Skinner batted for him and hit a ground rule-double to left, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Curt Flood grounded out to Clete Boyer at third. Both runners held.
But Brock drove in Warwick with a ground ball. The Cardinals looked like they would get more as a passed ball and a walk put runners on the corners. However, Ken Boyer could only ground out. It was still 4-2, Yankees. New York put this game out of reach with four runs in the top of the 9th, while the Cards could only answer with a single tally of their own in the bottom of the frame.
Warwick and the Cards were off to The Big Apple for the next three games. Things did not get much easier. Another young pitcher, another long day! Actually, game three would take just two hours and sixteen minutes to play. But it seemed like an eternity for the batters on both teams!
Jim Bouton and Curt Simmons hooked up in a classic pitcher's duel that saw the score tied at 1-1 after 8. Warwick was needed in the 9th.
Tim McCarver reached on an error by Clete Boyer. Mike Shannon sacrificed him to second. Warwick again batted for Maxvill and walked. Bob Skinner, another pinch hitter, got a hold of one and sent it to center. But Roger Maris, playing center with Mantle in right, tracked it down and made the putout. Curt Flood ended the inning by hitting one to right, where The Mick almost dropped it. That ended the inning.
The Mick then made sure he and his teammates didn't have to field again in game three!. Mickey belted a dramatic walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 9th! 2-1, New York was your final score.
In game 4, St. Louis watched helplessly as New York scored 3 times in the bottom of the 1st to take a 3-0 lead. Ray Sadecki was out of the game with just one out. Roger Craig and Ron Taylor, the tall Canadian, held the Yankees to just 2 hits and 4 walks the rest of the way.
None of that seemed to matter, though. St. Louis did nothing to Al Downing in the first 5 innings. They managed just 1 hit and 1 walk.
In the top of the 6th, Warwick batted for Craig and got the second hit of the day for his team. Flood then got the third, but Brock flied out. So with two on and one out, Dick Groat hit what looked like a nice easy innings-ending double play. For some reason, Bobby Richardson, after fielding it, couldn't make the play. The ball was stuck in his glove, and his throw was wide of second base. All three runners were safe. It was a crucial mistake, as Ken Boyer hit a 1-0 change-up from Downing into the seats in left. A 3-0 deficit was now a 4-3 Cardinal lead! That proved to be the final score.
Warwick didn't play in game 5, but St. Louis won it, 5-2. Now, the Cardinals were just one win away from the World Championship! Meet me in St. Louis, Louis!
But back there, it was Mantle and Maris going back-to-back to turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead for the Bombers. It was in the bottom of the 7th when Warwick batted for Maxvill for the 3rd time in this Series. There was one out. This time, Warwick failed. Jim Bouton got him to pop up to Boyer at third. St. Louis tried another pinch hitter, Charlie James, but it was out number three! The Yankees explosive offence then scored 5 more times in the top of the 8th. A couple of meaningless runs by St. Louis made the final score, 8-3 in favour of New York.
But a win by the Cardinals in game seven behind Gibson made the St. Louis Cardinals the World Champions for 1964. Warwick, a bit of a forgotten footnote, had gone 3-4 in a pinch-hitting role! Batting .750 in the postseason lifetime off the bench vs. just .220 in the regular season is quite a disparity!
In game 1, with the score tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 6th and a runner on second, the Yankees Whitey Ford was removed from the mound for the last time in a World Series. Al Downing came in and retired pinch hitter Charlie James for the second out. Warwick was up to hit for Cardinals starter Ray Sadecki.
Warwick sent a bouncer that just got by shortstop Phil Linz to the left for a hit. The runner from second, Tim McCarver, scored. On the throw home, Carl pulled in at second. Julian Javier came in to run for Warwick. And he seemed destined to be stranded. Curt Flood got underneath one and sent a ball to Tom Tresh in leftfield. This one was staying in the park, and Tresh seemed in the right position to make the play.
But Tresh had lost it in the sun! The ball caromed off the wall and Javier scored on what became a triple. These harmless hit balls were doing St. Louis a favour here! The Cardinals hadn't hit the ball that well, but were suddenly up, 6-4. These two sequence of events proved crucial. The Yankees got a run back in the top of the 8th before the Cardinals salted victory away with three more runs off Pete Mikklesen in the bottom of the inning. 9-5, St. Louis, final.
In game 2, it didn't seem like Warwick would be needed. Bob Gibson, the poised St. Louis starter, walked Linz to open the game. Then, he proceeded to fan the next four batters! The Cardinals picked up a run in the bottom of the third.
The Yankees tied on two hits, a walk and a sac fly in the top of the 4th. Yankee starter Mel Stottlemyre and Gibson were locked in a pitching duel from here on in. Both looked a little nervous. And why not? It was, for both of them, their first ever World Series start.
In the top of the 6th, Gibson's wildness started. The Yankees always took advantage of those types of situations. You can't give them this, even if you're Bob Gibson.
Mickey Mantle walked. Elston Howard was out on a scorcher to second. Joe Pepitone was hit by a pitch. Or was he? Gibson and catcher McCarver didn't think so. A real rhubarb insued, but Pepitone was on first and Mantle on second. A bouncing ball off the bat of Tresh made it through the left side of the infield, and the Yankees were now up, 2-1. Stottlemyre got through the bottom of the frame 1-2-3.
The Yankees went right back at Gibby in the top of the 7th. Linz got a single. A wild pitch put him on second. Bob came in with a tough pitch to another Bob. But Richardson got a broken bat single to center to make it 3-1, New York. Gibson now needed to get Roger Maris out. Hoot had handled Roger with relative ease so far, getting him out all three times in this game. But Maris got a single. Mantle hit in on the ground to second, but the Cards could only go to first as Richardson scored. 4-1, Yankees! Stottlemyre had another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame. With that sinker-ball of Mel's working so well, this game and maybe even this Series, was looking like a tough one for St. Louis to win. Stottlemyre, along with Downing and Jim Bouton, looked like they were going to carry the Yankees pitching staff for years to come. And they were all under the age of 25!
The 8th inning saw Gibby have a 1-2-3 inning of his own. Stottlemyre wasn't so lucky this time. The Cardinals would get a run back in the frame. And it was Carl Warwick who led the uprising.
Batting for Dal Maxvill, he lashed a single to left. This one gone by Linz to the right. And now it was time for another pinch hitter. Only this time, for Bob Gibson. Bob Skinner batted for him and hit a ground rule-double to left, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Curt Flood grounded out to Clete Boyer at third. Both runners held.
But Brock drove in Warwick with a ground ball. The Cardinals looked like they would get more as a passed ball and a walk put runners on the corners. However, Ken Boyer could only ground out. It was still 4-2, Yankees. New York put this game out of reach with four runs in the top of the 9th, while the Cards could only answer with a single tally of their own in the bottom of the frame.
Warwick and the Cards were off to The Big Apple for the next three games. Things did not get much easier. Another young pitcher, another long day! Actually, game three would take just two hours and sixteen minutes to play. But it seemed like an eternity for the batters on both teams!
Jim Bouton and Curt Simmons hooked up in a classic pitcher's duel that saw the score tied at 1-1 after 8. Warwick was needed in the 9th.
Tim McCarver reached on an error by Clete Boyer. Mike Shannon sacrificed him to second. Warwick again batted for Maxvill and walked. Bob Skinner, another pinch hitter, got a hold of one and sent it to center. But Roger Maris, playing center with Mantle in right, tracked it down and made the putout. Curt Flood ended the inning by hitting one to right, where The Mick almost dropped it. That ended the inning.
The Mick then made sure he and his teammates didn't have to field again in game three!. Mickey belted a dramatic walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 9th! 2-1, New York was your final score.
In game 4, St. Louis watched helplessly as New York scored 3 times in the bottom of the 1st to take a 3-0 lead. Ray Sadecki was out of the game with just one out. Roger Craig and Ron Taylor, the tall Canadian, held the Yankees to just 2 hits and 4 walks the rest of the way.
None of that seemed to matter, though. St. Louis did nothing to Al Downing in the first 5 innings. They managed just 1 hit and 1 walk.
In the top of the 6th, Warwick batted for Craig and got the second hit of the day for his team. Flood then got the third, but Brock flied out. So with two on and one out, Dick Groat hit what looked like a nice easy innings-ending double play. For some reason, Bobby Richardson, after fielding it, couldn't make the play. The ball was stuck in his glove, and his throw was wide of second base. All three runners were safe. It was a crucial mistake, as Ken Boyer hit a 1-0 change-up from Downing into the seats in left. A 3-0 deficit was now a 4-3 Cardinal lead! That proved to be the final score.
Warwick didn't play in game 5, but St. Louis won it, 5-2. Now, the Cardinals were just one win away from the World Championship! Meet me in St. Louis, Louis!
But back there, it was Mantle and Maris going back-to-back to turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead for the Bombers. It was in the bottom of the 7th when Warwick batted for Maxvill for the 3rd time in this Series. There was one out. This time, Warwick failed. Jim Bouton got him to pop up to Boyer at third. St. Louis tried another pinch hitter, Charlie James, but it was out number three! The Yankees explosive offence then scored 5 more times in the top of the 8th. A couple of meaningless runs by St. Louis made the final score, 8-3 in favour of New York.
But a win by the Cardinals in game seven behind Gibson made the St. Louis Cardinals the World Champions for 1964. Warwick, a bit of a forgotten footnote, had gone 3-4 in a pinch-hitting role! Batting .750 in the postseason lifetime off the bench vs. just .220 in the regular season is quite a disparity!
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