Only once did Bob Gibson fail to pitch a complete game in the Fall Classic. And it was in his very first start. The athletic right-handed of the St. Louis Cardinals was on that level of Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal at this time, and trying to go past them!
Gibson, (19-12) took the hill in game 2 of the 1964 World Series. It was another year of Gibby getting better: 13-12 in 1961, 15-13 in 1962, then 18-9 in 1963. But in 1964 there were a lot of clutch starts, for the St. Louis Cardinals had to come back from 6 1/2 games back with 12 to play to beat Philly. Cincinnati and San Francisco were also in the running. Milwaukee finished just 5 games back. Those were the teams that Gibson was up against in the regular season. Now how about the New York Yankees in the postseason?
The Cards took game 1, 9-5 when Ray Sadecki beat Whitey Ford. In game 2, Gibson would not have to worry about beating a World Series veteran. Actually, his mound opponent, Mel Stottlemyre, was also making his first Fall Classic start. Which of these two would be more nervous? Knowing what I've read about Gibson, it's Mel. The Cardinals were also playing at home, putting further stress on Stottlemyre to tie up the 1964 Fall Classic.
And Gibby and his mates came at New York with everything they had. Bob walked Phil Linz to start the game, then fanned the next four batters! Who did he think he was, Sandy Koufax?
Linz would prove to be the only baserunner of the first two innings. Stottlemyre was certainly no Koufax or Gibson. His prized pitch was a sinkerball, which really dipped and made countless batters ground out. But he actually fanned the first batter, Curt Flood.
And it was actually Bob Gibson who faced the first threat. In the top of the third with two out, Linz got a single. Bobby Richardson then hit a double to left. It was second and third for the dangerous Roger Maris. But the smooth Gibson got him to ground out.
The first two batters singled in the bottom of the frame. Gibson himself hit a sacrifice bunt to advance them. A ground ball out by Flood and St. Louis was up, 1-0.
The Yankees were unfazed. They actually loaded the bases with only one out in the top of the 4th. Clete Boyer flew out, Elston Howard tagged from third and scored. 1-1.
As Stottlemyre settled down from his tough inning, so did Gibson. Mel allowed a walk in the bottom of frame, but Mel got the other three hitters out. Gibson sailed through the top of the 5th, getting the Yankees 1-2-3. Bob Gibson had a single in the bottom of the 5th, but Mel again got the other three batters out.
Gibson though, came undone in the top of the 6th. First, he walked Mickey Mantle. Then, he needed a fine play by Dal Maxvill at second to retire Howard on a liner. After that, Gibby hit Joe Pepitone. Well, that's what the umpire said. Bob, catcher Tim McCarver and some of the other Cardinals didn't think so, but the call stood. Tom Tresh sent a bouncing ball to left field. Mantle scored. The Yankees were ahead to stay against the great Bob Gibson!
Stottlemyre got Curt Flood, Lou Brock and Ken Boyer (Clete's older brother) in order in the bottom of the 6th. Then, New York picked up where they left off in the last inning.
Phil Linz, who would have a big game for the Yankees, got the ball rolling with a single to left. When Gibson threw a wild pitch, Linz was on second with nobody out. Gibson came inside on Richardson, but Bobby got a broken bat single to center. Roger Maris, quite all game long, lashed a single to right. Richardson made it to third. Mantle hit a ground ball, and Maxvill's only option was to first. Richardson scored to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
Stottlemyre had a 1-2-3 7th and Gibson had a 1-2-3 8th. But when St. Louis batted in the bottom of the frame, they got one run back.
Carl Warwick, on his way to a record 3 pinch-hits this World Series, got his second with a single. Bob Skinner batted for Gibson and came through with a ground-rule double. The Cardinals had the tying run at the plate, with nobody out. But Flood grounded out, and neither runner advanced. Brock also grounded out, but Warwick scored and Skinner held. Howard the catcher, allowed a passed ball. Stottlemyre prolonged the inning further by walking Bill White. Boyer forced White at second, and Bob Gibson's last chance to win this game went out the window. It was still 4-2 for New York.
The Yankees, with Gibby out of there, unloaded on Barney Schultz and Gordon Richardson in the top of the 8th. Linz went yard for his third hit of the game. The Yankees big guns, Maris, Mantle, Howard and Tommy Tresh, pretty much took over from there and the Yankees scored three more times. A meaningless run by St. Louis in the bottom of the 9th made it an 8-3 final for the Bronx Bombers.
Bob Gibson hadn't pitched too bad. 8 innings, 8 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts and 3 walks. But against the New York Yankees, you had to be better than that, no matter who you were, in the World Series. And Gibson would do just that not only in the 1964 Fall Classic, but in all of his remaining World Series starts.
References
Anderson, Dave. Pennant Races: Baseball At Its Best. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
Gibson, (19-12) took the hill in game 2 of the 1964 World Series. It was another year of Gibby getting better: 13-12 in 1961, 15-13 in 1962, then 18-9 in 1963. But in 1964 there were a lot of clutch starts, for the St. Louis Cardinals had to come back from 6 1/2 games back with 12 to play to beat Philly. Cincinnati and San Francisco were also in the running. Milwaukee finished just 5 games back. Those were the teams that Gibson was up against in the regular season. Now how about the New York Yankees in the postseason?
The Cards took game 1, 9-5 when Ray Sadecki beat Whitey Ford. In game 2, Gibson would not have to worry about beating a World Series veteran. Actually, his mound opponent, Mel Stottlemyre, was also making his first Fall Classic start. Which of these two would be more nervous? Knowing what I've read about Gibson, it's Mel. The Cardinals were also playing at home, putting further stress on Stottlemyre to tie up the 1964 Fall Classic.
And Gibby and his mates came at New York with everything they had. Bob walked Phil Linz to start the game, then fanned the next four batters! Who did he think he was, Sandy Koufax?
Linz would prove to be the only baserunner of the first two innings. Stottlemyre was certainly no Koufax or Gibson. His prized pitch was a sinkerball, which really dipped and made countless batters ground out. But he actually fanned the first batter, Curt Flood.
And it was actually Bob Gibson who faced the first threat. In the top of the third with two out, Linz got a single. Bobby Richardson then hit a double to left. It was second and third for the dangerous Roger Maris. But the smooth Gibson got him to ground out.
The first two batters singled in the bottom of the frame. Gibson himself hit a sacrifice bunt to advance them. A ground ball out by Flood and St. Louis was up, 1-0.
The Yankees were unfazed. They actually loaded the bases with only one out in the top of the 4th. Clete Boyer flew out, Elston Howard tagged from third and scored. 1-1.
As Stottlemyre settled down from his tough inning, so did Gibson. Mel allowed a walk in the bottom of frame, but Mel got the other three hitters out. Gibson sailed through the top of the 5th, getting the Yankees 1-2-3. Bob Gibson had a single in the bottom of the 5th, but Mel again got the other three batters out.
Gibson though, came undone in the top of the 6th. First, he walked Mickey Mantle. Then, he needed a fine play by Dal Maxvill at second to retire Howard on a liner. After that, Gibby hit Joe Pepitone. Well, that's what the umpire said. Bob, catcher Tim McCarver and some of the other Cardinals didn't think so, but the call stood. Tom Tresh sent a bouncing ball to left field. Mantle scored. The Yankees were ahead to stay against the great Bob Gibson!
Stottlemyre got Curt Flood, Lou Brock and Ken Boyer (Clete's older brother) in order in the bottom of the 6th. Then, New York picked up where they left off in the last inning.
Phil Linz, who would have a big game for the Yankees, got the ball rolling with a single to left. When Gibson threw a wild pitch, Linz was on second with nobody out. Gibson came inside on Richardson, but Bobby got a broken bat single to center. Roger Maris, quite all game long, lashed a single to right. Richardson made it to third. Mantle hit a ground ball, and Maxvill's only option was to first. Richardson scored to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
Stottlemyre had a 1-2-3 7th and Gibson had a 1-2-3 8th. But when St. Louis batted in the bottom of the frame, they got one run back.
Carl Warwick, on his way to a record 3 pinch-hits this World Series, got his second with a single. Bob Skinner batted for Gibson and came through with a ground-rule double. The Cardinals had the tying run at the plate, with nobody out. But Flood grounded out, and neither runner advanced. Brock also grounded out, but Warwick scored and Skinner held. Howard the catcher, allowed a passed ball. Stottlemyre prolonged the inning further by walking Bill White. Boyer forced White at second, and Bob Gibson's last chance to win this game went out the window. It was still 4-2 for New York.
The Yankees, with Gibby out of there, unloaded on Barney Schultz and Gordon Richardson in the top of the 8th. Linz went yard for his third hit of the game. The Yankees big guns, Maris, Mantle, Howard and Tommy Tresh, pretty much took over from there and the Yankees scored three more times. A meaningless run by St. Louis in the bottom of the 9th made it an 8-3 final for the Bronx Bombers.
Bob Gibson hadn't pitched too bad. 8 innings, 8 hits, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts and 3 walks. But against the New York Yankees, you had to be better than that, no matter who you were, in the World Series. And Gibson would do just that not only in the 1964 Fall Classic, but in all of his remaining World Series starts.
References
Anderson, Dave. Pennant Races: Baseball At Its Best. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Print.
Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns. Prod. Ken Burns. PBS. 1994. Television.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Fenway: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005. Print.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1964. Major League Baseball Productions, 1964. DVD.
Retrosheet. Web. 19 Aug. 2014. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Retrosheet. Web. 19 Aug. 2014. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
World Series Of 1967. Performance by Harry Caray, American and National Leagues of Professional Baseball Club, 1967.
Youtube. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com>.World Series Of 1967. Performance by Harry Caray, American and National Leagues of Professional Baseball Club, 1967.
World Series Of 1968. Dir. Dick Winik. Perf. Curty Gowdy. Major League Baseball Productions., 1968. DVD. Narrated by Curt Gowdy.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
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