In Bob Gibson's first Fall Classic appearance, he departed from the game trailing 4-1. In his last World Series appearance, he was behind 4-1 at one point. The St. Louis Cardinals lost both games.
In his first ever World Series start, game two of 1964, it was Gibby vs. New York. The Yankees sported some high-octane offence from Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Elston Howard, Tom Tresh and Joe Pepitone. This would be a tough test for Bob. But for a while, the big right-hander hung right in there.
After walking Phil Linz to start the game in the top of the first, Gibby mowed down Bobby Richardson, Maris, Mantle and Howard on strikeouts. Gibby was off to a fine start! New York had also seen this all before! A year earlier, Sandy Koufax had mopped up on Tony Kubek, Richardson, Tommy Tresh, Mantle, Maris in succession.
The Cards had Mel Stottlemyre to deal with and Gibson helped out there, too.
In the bottom of the third, with the game still scoreless, Mike Shannon singled. Dal Maxvill followed suite. Gibson was at the dish and put down a bunt that moved both runners up. When Curt Flood grounded out, St. Louis took a 1-0 lead.
But Bob Gibson had started to falter in the top of the inning. With two outs, he had permitted a Linz single. Richardson followed with a double before Gibby got out of there. In the next inning, Hoot was not so lucky.
Mantle struck out. And The Mick was looking at 0-2 with two K's in the game so far. With that kind of confidence, Hoot may have forgotten about Elston Howard, who hit a double. Joe Pepitone, with his care-free attitude, may have also escaped Gibby's grasp. But Pepi sent a ball to short left that Lou Brock tried to snag. But the ball eluded him and Ellie made it to third and Pepitone took second. When Clete Boyer sent a fly to Curt Flood in centre, the game was tied as Howard scored. 1-1.
In the sixth inning, the Yankees took the lead. And they did not relinquish it. Mantle drew a walk. Howard lined out to Maxvill, who made a nice play to snatch it out of the air. Pepitone was hit by a pitch, although Gibson and manager Johnny Keane argued in futility. Tresh hit a bouncing ball single to score The Mick and make it 2-1, New York.
The next inning was more bad news for Gibson and St. Louis. Linz led off with a single to left. A wild pitch moved him to second. Gibson threw Bob Richardson a tough inside pitch. Bobby swung and shattered his bat, but still got a single to score Linz. 3-1, and New York smelled blood. Roger Maris singled Richardson to third. Mantle grounded out, but Richardson scored to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
Gibson had a 1-2-3 eighth, but was lifted in the bottom of the frame for a pinch hitter. The move seemed to work as the Cardinals eventually scored a run. But four more runs by New York in the top of the ninth salted this one away. When it was over, the Yankees were on top, 8-3.
Bob Gibson didn't exactly have it easy in his next two starts in the 1964 World Series, but he managed to win both of them as the Cards ended up on top of the mountain in baseball that year.
Bob Gibson seemed to benifit the most from this triumph. In 1967, St. Louis won it all again, and this time Gibby won all three of his World Series starts. In 1968, the Cards were looking for their third World Series win of the decade.
Gibson won games one and four, but the stubborn Detroit Tigers clawed back from three games to one down to force a game seven. It was back to Bob Gibson. St. Louis, playing at home, must have been sure that their ace could put Detroit away for good here. But it was not to be. Even the immortals eventually meet their match. Gibson had that happen to him in his first Fall Classic start. And here, again.
Gibson started strong. Mickey Stanley's single in the fourth inning was the only hit the Tigers got off him through 6 2/3 innings. But the Cardinals were also unable to score during that stretch. Then, with two down in the top of the seventh inning, Norm Cash singled. Willie Horton then followed with one of his own.
Jim Northrup launched a drive to centre. Curt Flood, the Cards' centerfielder, started in. Curt suddenly realized the ball was higher and harder then he thought. By the time he reversed his wheels, it was far too late and the ball made it to the wall. Cash and Horton scored on the triple. When Bill Freehan followed with a double between Flood and leftfielder Lou Brock, it was 3-0, Detroit.
Gibson had a 1-2-3 eighth inning, but another run by Detroit in the ninth made it 4-0, Tigers.
Three outs away from defeat, St. Louis came up for one last try in the last of he ninth. Flood lined out. Orlando Cepeda popped out to the catcher, Freehan. Mike Shannon gave the Cardinal fans one last glimmer of hope with a solo home run to left. It was 4-1 Detroit and that blast broke up starter Mickey Lolich's shutout bid. But the big left-hander, who had also won his first two starts in the 1968 Fall Classic, would not be denied another triumph here. Tim McCarver popped up to Freehan, and the Detroit Tigers were the 1968 World Series winners in seven games.
Bob Gibson may have lost those two games, but it happens to the best of us. Gibby was one of the most fearsome competitors the game of baseball had ever seen. And nowhere was it more evident then in the Fall Classic. Even in defeat, Gibby never asked or gave a quarter. He just kept comin' at you!
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. 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. Jan 1. 2014.
Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.
Fonseca, Lew, director. World Series Of 1964. Performance by Harry Carey, Major League Baseball, 1964.
In his first ever World Series start, game two of 1964, it was Gibby vs. New York. The Yankees sported some high-octane offence from Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Elston Howard, Tom Tresh and Joe Pepitone. This would be a tough test for Bob. But for a while, the big right-hander hung right in there.
After walking Phil Linz to start the game in the top of the first, Gibby mowed down Bobby Richardson, Maris, Mantle and Howard on strikeouts. Gibby was off to a fine start! New York had also seen this all before! A year earlier, Sandy Koufax had mopped up on Tony Kubek, Richardson, Tommy Tresh, Mantle, Maris in succession.
The Cards had Mel Stottlemyre to deal with and Gibson helped out there, too.
In the bottom of the third, with the game still scoreless, Mike Shannon singled. Dal Maxvill followed suite. Gibson was at the dish and put down a bunt that moved both runners up. When Curt Flood grounded out, St. Louis took a 1-0 lead.
But Bob Gibson had started to falter in the top of the inning. With two outs, he had permitted a Linz single. Richardson followed with a double before Gibby got out of there. In the next inning, Hoot was not so lucky.
Mantle struck out. And The Mick was looking at 0-2 with two K's in the game so far. With that kind of confidence, Hoot may have forgotten about Elston Howard, who hit a double. Joe Pepitone, with his care-free attitude, may have also escaped Gibby's grasp. But Pepi sent a ball to short left that Lou Brock tried to snag. But the ball eluded him and Ellie made it to third and Pepitone took second. When Clete Boyer sent a fly to Curt Flood in centre, the game was tied as Howard scored. 1-1.
In the sixth inning, the Yankees took the lead. And they did not relinquish it. Mantle drew a walk. Howard lined out to Maxvill, who made a nice play to snatch it out of the air. Pepitone was hit by a pitch, although Gibson and manager Johnny Keane argued in futility. Tresh hit a bouncing ball single to score The Mick and make it 2-1, New York.
The next inning was more bad news for Gibson and St. Louis. Linz led off with a single to left. A wild pitch moved him to second. Gibson threw Bob Richardson a tough inside pitch. Bobby swung and shattered his bat, but still got a single to score Linz. 3-1, and New York smelled blood. Roger Maris singled Richardson to third. Mantle grounded out, but Richardson scored to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
Gibson had a 1-2-3 eighth, but was lifted in the bottom of the frame for a pinch hitter. The move seemed to work as the Cardinals eventually scored a run. But four more runs by New York in the top of the ninth salted this one away. When it was over, the Yankees were on top, 8-3.
Bob Gibson didn't exactly have it easy in his next two starts in the 1964 World Series, but he managed to win both of them as the Cards ended up on top of the mountain in baseball that year.
Bob Gibson seemed to benifit the most from this triumph. In 1967, St. Louis won it all again, and this time Gibby won all three of his World Series starts. In 1968, the Cards were looking for their third World Series win of the decade.
Gibson won games one and four, but the stubborn Detroit Tigers clawed back from three games to one down to force a game seven. It was back to Bob Gibson. St. Louis, playing at home, must have been sure that their ace could put Detroit away for good here. But it was not to be. Even the immortals eventually meet their match. Gibson had that happen to him in his first Fall Classic start. And here, again.
Gibson started strong. Mickey Stanley's single in the fourth inning was the only hit the Tigers got off him through 6 2/3 innings. But the Cardinals were also unable to score during that stretch. Then, with two down in the top of the seventh inning, Norm Cash singled. Willie Horton then followed with one of his own.
Jim Northrup launched a drive to centre. Curt Flood, the Cards' centerfielder, started in. Curt suddenly realized the ball was higher and harder then he thought. By the time he reversed his wheels, it was far too late and the ball made it to the wall. Cash and Horton scored on the triple. When Bill Freehan followed with a double between Flood and leftfielder Lou Brock, it was 3-0, Detroit.
Gibson had a 1-2-3 eighth inning, but another run by Detroit in the ninth made it 4-0, Tigers.
Three outs away from defeat, St. Louis came up for one last try in the last of he ninth. Flood lined out. Orlando Cepeda popped out to the catcher, Freehan. Mike Shannon gave the Cardinal fans one last glimmer of hope with a solo home run to left. It was 4-1 Detroit and that blast broke up starter Mickey Lolich's shutout bid. But the big left-hander, who had also won his first two starts in the 1968 Fall Classic, would not be denied another triumph here. Tim McCarver popped up to Freehan, and the Detroit Tigers were the 1968 World Series winners in seven games.
Bob Gibson may have lost those two games, but it happens to the best of us. Gibby was one of the most fearsome competitors the game of baseball had ever seen. And nowhere was it more evident then in the Fall Classic. Even in defeat, Gibby never asked or gave a quarter. He just kept comin' at you!
References
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.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. 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. Jan 1. 2014.
Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.
Fonseca, Lew, director. World Series Of 1964. Performance by Harry Carey, Major League Baseball, 1964.
The Coca-Cola Company. World Series Of 1968. Performance by Curt Gowdy, Major League Baseball Productions, 1968.
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