The Yankees actually scored more runs then the Cardinals did in the 1964 World Series. But St. Louis won it with some timely offence. New York twice scored eight runs in games where the Cards could only muster three of their own.
But when it mattered, the Bronx Bombers were out-scored.
In game one, St. Louis scored nine times to New York's five. But it was the Yankees up 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Whitey Ford's arm was gone, and Mike Shannon rocked him for a towering two runs blast. When Tim McCarver followed with a double, Ford left the mound. Al Downing came in. A two-out single by pinch hitter Carl Warwick (who set a World Series record with three pinch hit blows in '64) that just made it out of the infield scored another. Then a triple by Curt Flood on a ball that Tom Tresh later admitted he lost in the sun, scored the 6th run of the day by St. Louis. It was all they would need. Three more runs in the bottom of the 8th turned a 6-5 lead into a 9-5 St. Louis win.
In game two, Bob Gibson walked the first batter, then fanned the next four. But St. Louis could not seem to touch Yankee rookie Mel Stottlemyre, who surprised everyone by staying right with Gibby. With the score tied at 1 in the top of the 7th, Gibson broke. Mickey Mantle walked, Joe Pepitone was hit by a pitch with one out. The Cardinals protested that call, but to no avail. Tom Tresh's bouncing ball made it to the outfield. New York was ahead to stay. Bob really came apart at the seems in the top of the 8th. A single by Phil Linz. A wild pitch. Bobby Richardson with a broken back single to score Phil. 3-1, New York. Roger Maris got Richardson to third with another single. Mantle grounded out, scoring Richardson, 4-1. Although the Cardinals got one back in the bottom of the frame, Gibson was gone. So too, was any chance of a comeback. Phil Linz's home run in the top of the 9th started a four-run uprising by the Bronx Bombers. 8-3 was the final score.
Game three was a classic pitcher's duel between the veteran Curt Simmons and third year man Jim Bouton. Simmons gave up four hits and one run over eight innings. Bouton gave up six hits and one (unearned) run over nine innings. St. Louis had their chances to do more. Runners on the corner in the top of the second. Bases loaded in the top of the top of the sixth. But all they could get was one puny run in the top of the fifth. McCarver singled to right, just past Pepitone at first. Mantle, playing right while Maris was in center (And that was crucial, as Mickey's knees were gone at this point. As you will see later, this was a smart move on manager Yogi Berra's part) let the ball get through him for an error. As bad as Bill Buckner's years later? Seemed like it. Curt Simmons himself got a clutch two-out single that Clete Boyer at third could only get a piece of. But Clete had driven in Elston Howard earlier with a run in the bottom of the second with a double. Mickey Mantle led of the bottom of the ninth against relieve pitcher Barney Schultz. One pitch, bye-bye Mr. Rawlings! The Mick hit this one into the upper deck in right, giving the Bronx Bombers a dramatic, 2-1 win! St. Louis finished with more hits (six) than the Yankees (five), despite the loss!
The next game saw the Yankees start out red hot. St. Louis failed to get the ball out of the infield against Al Downing in the first, but New York sure did in their half. A single by Linz, a double by Richardson, a single by Maris and a single by Mantle and it's 2-0. Ray Sadecki's day was over. Roger Craig came in. Elston Howard singled and it's 3-0. Craig settled down after that, although the Yankees got a hit and three walks against him in the next 4 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, Downing had made it look almost too easy. Aside from the third inning, St. Louis went 1-2-3 all the time in the first five! In the sixth, Carl Warwick (getting his third pinch-hit) and Curt Flood singled. Lou Brock flew out. Then the inning seemed over as Dick Groat hit a roller to Bobby Richardson. Bobby had the ball stuck in his glove and couldn't seem to get the ball out in time. When he tossed to Linz at second, it was wide and the shortstop was taken out the equation anyways by Flood. Ken Boyer hit a 1-0 pitch into the left field stands for a grand slam and a 4-3 Card lead. It held up the rest of the way, despite the fact that each team had only six hits. This Fall Classic was knotted at two games apiece.
In game five, Bob Gibson seemed a whole lot better. Mel Stottlemyre seemed to add K's to his repotire. Gibby was also about strikeouts. Before the day was over, Bob would have thirteen. Stottlemyre and his New York teammates finished with nine themselves. With Gibby on first and one out, it was Flood with a bouncer that Richardson somehow muffed for an error. Brock singled him home. When Bill White sent a grounder that Richardson had no trouble with, it looked like an inning ending double play. Linz got the ball in plenty of time for the second out, but fired the ball into the dirt at first. Joe Pepitone made a nice play to scoop it out and the Yankees were out of the inning, down only one. Or were they? Al Smith, the first base umpire, called White safe. It was 2-0, St. Louis. Bob Gibson seemed in control. But when Mantle reached first on an error and Pepitone hit a grounder that hit the pitcher and went towards third, New York looked dangerous. But Bob had other ideas. He made a great play and threw out Joe at first, or at least that was the call. The Yankees were now really mad at Smith. When Tresh tied with a dramatic two-run blast to deep right-center, the play on Pepitone became a game-saver! Tim McCarver stroked a clutch 3-run home run of Pete Mikklelsen in the tenth inning to make St. Louis the winners, 5-2. 9-5 in game 1 and 5-2 here would be the only time the Cards won by more than two runs. Nevertheless, St. Louis was now up, three games to two heading home!
Alas, Gibson would be needed again, as another fine effort by Curt Simmons was wasted. Worse still, this time he even got tagged with the loss! Each team got ten hits, but Simmons looked better as Bouton was nailed for nine hits in 8 1/3 innings. Flood and Brock got back-to-back singles. And with Lou on third, White sent another roller to Bobby Richardson, who fielded it cleanly. Linz made the putout at second and fired it over to Pepitone for the putout at first. Double play, but a run scored. Simmons allowed only a single by Richardson in the first and fourth, then got 'em 1-2-3 in the second and third. In the fifth, though, Tom Tresh continued his assault on Cardinal pitching by hitting a ground-rule double to lead things off. Bouton himself scored Tom with a single. In the top of the sixth, Curt finally got Richardson out, but Bobby wasn't a home run threat. Guys like Maris and Mantle were. The M and M boys then took Simmons out of the park on consecutive pitches. Bouton had a 1-2-3 6th and 7th inning. Simmons left for a pinch hitter in the 7th. The Yankees scored five times in the top of the 8th as Pepitone hit a grand slam. Two meaningless runs off Bouton in the bottom of the 8th and 9th made the final, 8-3, just like in game two. Both teams got 10 hits.
So it was Gibson against Stottlemyre in game seventh. The Cardinals scored three off Mel in the bottom of the fourth and three more off Al Downing in the bottom of the next frame. Ken Boyer added a home run in the bottom of the seventh. But The Mick, playing in his final World Series game, took Hoot deep the other way on a three-run blast in the top of the sixth. Gibson looked like he was tired, having so few day's off. Bobby Richardson got his 13th hit of the 1964 Fall Classic in the 7th. Maris blasted it hard, but right to Shannon in right. Gibson had a 1-2-3 8th. The Cardinals got men to second and third with just one out in the bottom of the eighth, but could not get either home. New York was not done their scoring, however. After getting Tresh on strikes to start the top of the ninth, Clete Boyer got a pitch to his liking. Clete took this one out of the park, to join his brother on the day in the long ball department. Johnny Blanchard batted for Pete Mikkleson and Bob Gibson got him on his ninth and final strikeout of the game. But the Yankees were still not done. Phil Linz, who had been robbed of a hit on a sinking liner in the top of the 5th, hit a Gibson pitch where no man could catch it. Linz's home run cut the Cardinal lead to just 7-5, and the dangerous Richardson was next, Maris and Mantle to follow. End of the line for Gibby? No chance! Bob got the other Bob to pop out. With a 7-5 win in game 7, St. Louis had won the 1964 World Series!
New York had two blowouts and a one-run game. St. Louis' had three nail-biters and another game that was one run until their last at-bats. The Yankees had scored 33 runs to the Cardinals 32. But St. Louis had spread it out over seven games, while the Yankees struggled to find offence in games three, four and five. Ultimately, that, may have cost them the 1964 World Series.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
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.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 19 May. 2014.
But when it mattered, the Bronx Bombers were out-scored.
In game one, St. Louis scored nine times to New York's five. But it was the Yankees up 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Whitey Ford's arm was gone, and Mike Shannon rocked him for a towering two runs blast. When Tim McCarver followed with a double, Ford left the mound. Al Downing came in. A two-out single by pinch hitter Carl Warwick (who set a World Series record with three pinch hit blows in '64) that just made it out of the infield scored another. Then a triple by Curt Flood on a ball that Tom Tresh later admitted he lost in the sun, scored the 6th run of the day by St. Louis. It was all they would need. Three more runs in the bottom of the 8th turned a 6-5 lead into a 9-5 St. Louis win.
In game two, Bob Gibson walked the first batter, then fanned the next four. But St. Louis could not seem to touch Yankee rookie Mel Stottlemyre, who surprised everyone by staying right with Gibby. With the score tied at 1 in the top of the 7th, Gibson broke. Mickey Mantle walked, Joe Pepitone was hit by a pitch with one out. The Cardinals protested that call, but to no avail. Tom Tresh's bouncing ball made it to the outfield. New York was ahead to stay. Bob really came apart at the seems in the top of the 8th. A single by Phil Linz. A wild pitch. Bobby Richardson with a broken back single to score Phil. 3-1, New York. Roger Maris got Richardson to third with another single. Mantle grounded out, scoring Richardson, 4-1. Although the Cardinals got one back in the bottom of the frame, Gibson was gone. So too, was any chance of a comeback. Phil Linz's home run in the top of the 9th started a four-run uprising by the Bronx Bombers. 8-3 was the final score.
Game three was a classic pitcher's duel between the veteran Curt Simmons and third year man Jim Bouton. Simmons gave up four hits and one run over eight innings. Bouton gave up six hits and one (unearned) run over nine innings. St. Louis had their chances to do more. Runners on the corner in the top of the second. Bases loaded in the top of the top of the sixth. But all they could get was one puny run in the top of the fifth. McCarver singled to right, just past Pepitone at first. Mantle, playing right while Maris was in center (And that was crucial, as Mickey's knees were gone at this point. As you will see later, this was a smart move on manager Yogi Berra's part) let the ball get through him for an error. As bad as Bill Buckner's years later? Seemed like it. Curt Simmons himself got a clutch two-out single that Clete Boyer at third could only get a piece of. But Clete had driven in Elston Howard earlier with a run in the bottom of the second with a double. Mickey Mantle led of the bottom of the ninth against relieve pitcher Barney Schultz. One pitch, bye-bye Mr. Rawlings! The Mick hit this one into the upper deck in right, giving the Bronx Bombers a dramatic, 2-1 win! St. Louis finished with more hits (six) than the Yankees (five), despite the loss!
The next game saw the Yankees start out red hot. St. Louis failed to get the ball out of the infield against Al Downing in the first, but New York sure did in their half. A single by Linz, a double by Richardson, a single by Maris and a single by Mantle and it's 2-0. Ray Sadecki's day was over. Roger Craig came in. Elston Howard singled and it's 3-0. Craig settled down after that, although the Yankees got a hit and three walks against him in the next 4 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, Downing had made it look almost too easy. Aside from the third inning, St. Louis went 1-2-3 all the time in the first five! In the sixth, Carl Warwick (getting his third pinch-hit) and Curt Flood singled. Lou Brock flew out. Then the inning seemed over as Dick Groat hit a roller to Bobby Richardson. Bobby had the ball stuck in his glove and couldn't seem to get the ball out in time. When he tossed to Linz at second, it was wide and the shortstop was taken out the equation anyways by Flood. Ken Boyer hit a 1-0 pitch into the left field stands for a grand slam and a 4-3 Card lead. It held up the rest of the way, despite the fact that each team had only six hits. This Fall Classic was knotted at two games apiece.
In game five, Bob Gibson seemed a whole lot better. Mel Stottlemyre seemed to add K's to his repotire. Gibby was also about strikeouts. Before the day was over, Bob would have thirteen. Stottlemyre and his New York teammates finished with nine themselves. With Gibby on first and one out, it was Flood with a bouncer that Richardson somehow muffed for an error. Brock singled him home. When Bill White sent a grounder that Richardson had no trouble with, it looked like an inning ending double play. Linz got the ball in plenty of time for the second out, but fired the ball into the dirt at first. Joe Pepitone made a nice play to scoop it out and the Yankees were out of the inning, down only one. Or were they? Al Smith, the first base umpire, called White safe. It was 2-0, St. Louis. Bob Gibson seemed in control. But when Mantle reached first on an error and Pepitone hit a grounder that hit the pitcher and went towards third, New York looked dangerous. But Bob had other ideas. He made a great play and threw out Joe at first, or at least that was the call. The Yankees were now really mad at Smith. When Tresh tied with a dramatic two-run blast to deep right-center, the play on Pepitone became a game-saver! Tim McCarver stroked a clutch 3-run home run of Pete Mikklelsen in the tenth inning to make St. Louis the winners, 5-2. 9-5 in game 1 and 5-2 here would be the only time the Cards won by more than two runs. Nevertheless, St. Louis was now up, three games to two heading home!
Alas, Gibson would be needed again, as another fine effort by Curt Simmons was wasted. Worse still, this time he even got tagged with the loss! Each team got ten hits, but Simmons looked better as Bouton was nailed for nine hits in 8 1/3 innings. Flood and Brock got back-to-back singles. And with Lou on third, White sent another roller to Bobby Richardson, who fielded it cleanly. Linz made the putout at second and fired it over to Pepitone for the putout at first. Double play, but a run scored. Simmons allowed only a single by Richardson in the first and fourth, then got 'em 1-2-3 in the second and third. In the fifth, though, Tom Tresh continued his assault on Cardinal pitching by hitting a ground-rule double to lead things off. Bouton himself scored Tom with a single. In the top of the sixth, Curt finally got Richardson out, but Bobby wasn't a home run threat. Guys like Maris and Mantle were. The M and M boys then took Simmons out of the park on consecutive pitches. Bouton had a 1-2-3 6th and 7th inning. Simmons left for a pinch hitter in the 7th. The Yankees scored five times in the top of the 8th as Pepitone hit a grand slam. Two meaningless runs off Bouton in the bottom of the 8th and 9th made the final, 8-3, just like in game two. Both teams got 10 hits.
So it was Gibson against Stottlemyre in game seventh. The Cardinals scored three off Mel in the bottom of the fourth and three more off Al Downing in the bottom of the next frame. Ken Boyer added a home run in the bottom of the seventh. But The Mick, playing in his final World Series game, took Hoot deep the other way on a three-run blast in the top of the sixth. Gibson looked like he was tired, having so few day's off. Bobby Richardson got his 13th hit of the 1964 Fall Classic in the 7th. Maris blasted it hard, but right to Shannon in right. Gibson had a 1-2-3 8th. The Cardinals got men to second and third with just one out in the bottom of the eighth, but could not get either home. New York was not done their scoring, however. After getting Tresh on strikes to start the top of the ninth, Clete Boyer got a pitch to his liking. Clete took this one out of the park, to join his brother on the day in the long ball department. Johnny Blanchard batted for Pete Mikkleson and Bob Gibson got him on his ninth and final strikeout of the game. But the Yankees were still not done. Phil Linz, who had been robbed of a hit on a sinking liner in the top of the 5th, hit a Gibson pitch where no man could catch it. Linz's home run cut the Cardinal lead to just 7-5, and the dangerous Richardson was next, Maris and Mantle to follow. End of the line for Gibby? No chance! Bob got the other Bob to pop out. With a 7-5 win in game 7, St. Louis had won the 1964 World Series!
New York had two blowouts and a one-run game. St. Louis' had three nail-biters and another game that was one run until their last at-bats. The Yankees had scored 33 runs to the Cardinals 32. But St. Louis had spread it out over seven games, while the Yankees struggled to find offence in games three, four and five. Ultimately, that, may have cost them the 1964 World Series.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
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.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 19 May. 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment