Dick Groat and Bob Skinner faced the New York Yankees in the 1960 and 1964 Fall Classic. In '60, they were on the Pittsburgh Pirates. In '64 they were teammates on the St. Louis Cardinals.
Groat went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored in game 1 of the 1960 World Series. Also in that game, Skinner went 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Bob also added a stolen base that led to him touching home. Their efforts were rewarded as the Pirates took game one, 6-4. Neither would be as affective again in this Fall Classic. Skinner himself was replaced in left field with Gino Cimoli in the top of the eighth.
Cimoli played the entire second game, and Groat managed just one hit. The Yankees pounded the Pirates into oblivion in this contest, led by Mickey Mantle's two home runs. The final score was 16-3.
The 1960 World Series, which had started in Pittsburgh, now moved to New York. It was more of the same in game three for the Pirates. Another blowout, 10-0 for New York. Groat, facing Whitey Ford, went hitless in four trips to the plate. Skinner watched this one from the clubhouse, and probably thought it would all be over in two more games.
But Pittsburgh took game four, 3-2. The only problem was that Groat was again 0-4 and Skinner took it all in from the dugout.
In game five, the Pirates plundered the Yankees 5-2, behind a fine pitching effort of Harvey Haddix. Groat got his first hit since game one, but it was just that. In going 1-4, he scored a run. But how about our boy Skinner? Nothing doing, is all I can write.
Groat was back in game six back in the state of Pennsylvania. But Whitey Ford started this one, and threw another shutout. And for the third time in this 1960 Fall Classic, it was a Yankee rout. 12-0. Groat picked up another hit, but it took him another four tries. Skinner took it in for the fifth straight game.
Skinner was finally back in the winner-take-all game seven. He walked and scored on Rocky Nelson's home run in the bottom of the first. Pittsburgh went up 4-0 in this game, then fell behind 7-4 by the end of seven and a half.
Groat, though, singled in the bottom of the eighth off Bobby Shantz. Then Skinner moved him and Bill Virdon up with a bunt. The Pirates used that to eventually take the lead. While the Yankees came back to tie it in the top of the ninth, it was Pittsburgh with the 1960 World Series crown as Bill Mazeroski hit a dramatic walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. Pittsburgh had a 10-9, game seven win.
So in 1964, it was Groat and Skinner looking to help another team beat New York. Their new team, the St. Louis Cardinals, won a dramatic pennant race against the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.
Groat started game one, against Whitey Ford, in St. Louis. This time, Groat's team managed to beat Ford, 9-5. Groat had a hit and a walk. Neither figured into the scoring. Skinner sat it out.
In game two, St. Louis lost 8-3. Groat again had a hit and a walk. This time, however, he scored a run. Skinner got into the game as a pinch hitter. He matched Groat's production by getting a single. But he was stranded.
In game three in New York, Skinner was almost the hero.
Dick Groat, meanwhile, got a hit. It was a double against New York's Jim Bouton. The Cardinals seemed destined to break a 1-1 deadlock at this point as the loaded the bases. However, they failed to score. In the top of the ninth, with Tim McCarver on second and Carl Warwick on first, Bob Skinner went up to bat for pitcher Curt Simmons, who had more than done his job in this game. It was still tied at one. Skinner got the pitch he wanted, a fastball up in the strike zone. He hammered it to deep centre. Roger Maris went all the way to the warning track before he finally got to this one. So close. Mickey Mantle won the game in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off home run off Barney Schultz.
Groat got one hit in game four. It did not result in St. Louis scoring. However, he reached on an error in the top of the sixth inning. Then, he scored a run on Ken Boyer grand slam home run. That turned a 3-0 Yankee lead into a 4-3 Cardinal advantage. St. Louis ended up winning the game by that score. Skinner did not get to the plate or the field in this contest.
In game five, Skinner watched as Bob Gibson stuck out thirteen Yankees. But the contest was tied at two at the end of nine. In the top of the tenth, Bill White walked and Ken Boyer beat out a bunt. It was Groat to the plate, and his job was the same as Boyer's: Eliminate the double play!
He tried to bunt, but missed. White, running on the play to third, made a fake back to second. But when Yankee catcher Elston Howard threw to second to nail him, White turned on the jets and made it to third. The play was crucial, as Groat ended up forcing Boyer at second. When Tim McCarver ripped a three-run home run to right, St. Louis had what they needed to win, 5-2.
So, it was New York with their backs to the wall in game six, back in St. Louis. Dick Groat had a tough time against Jim Bouton, failing to get a hit in four trips to the plate. Curt Simmons kept St. Louis in the game, as he had in game three. The game not only tied, but again tied at one. But when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle went downtown off Simmons in the top of the sixth inning, St. Louis needed some runs. An Elston Howard single in the top of the eighth made it 4-1, New York. Then it was New York's turn to get a grand slam, this time off the bat of Joe Pepitone. 8-1, Yankees. St. Louis managed to get one run back in the bottom of the eighth as Bill White grounded out. But Dick Groat ended up being the last out of that inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, St. Louis again had a mild uprising. With one out, Mike Shannon hit a single. Then Jerry Buckek, who had entered the game a defensive replacement, singled. Bob Humphreys had held New York scoreless in the ninth, but now his spot was up. So Bob Skinner batted for him. The Cardinals had finally found a way to get rid of Jim Bouton. New York then went to the bullpen and brought in Steve Hamilton to face Skinner. Hamilton, an ex-basketball player, was a lefty at 6'6, two inches taller than Skinner.
And he came through! Singling to centre, Shannon scored to make it 8-3. There were two runners on and only one out. But Curt Flood hit into a game-ending double play. This Fall Classic was going to the seventh game, just like in 1960.
In game seven, there was not going to be any pinch hitting by St. Louis, with Bob Gibson back on the hill. Bobby was sitting 'er out!
Groat came up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Cards up 4-0. His ground ball out made it 5-0. St. Louis, as it turned out, needed still another run. Tim McCarver flew out to Mantle in right, but Ken Boyer scored from third after the catch. 6-0.
New York was not done as Mickey Mantle hit a three-run home run in the top of the sixth. That seemed to wake up the Yankees, as they started to make better contact.
A home run by Ken Boyer in the bottom of the seventh put St. Louis up by four runs, 7-3. But Gibson tired and allowed a dinger by Ken's younger brother Clete in the top of the ninth. Another home run by Phil Linz made it 7-5 before Bob finally got the last out.
Both Groat and Skinner were going to be almost afterthoughts on a team that had Roberto Clemente, Bill Virdon, Dick Stuart, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Friend, Vernon Law, Harvey Haddix and Elroy Face.
And there was no chance that anyone would think of them on a team with Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Ken Boyer, Bill White, Tim McCarver, Bob Gibson, Curt Simmons, Ray Sadecki. The Pirates of 1960 and the Cardinals of 1964 might have won it all without Dick Groat and Bob Skinner.
But let's look at their stats in 1960 and 1964. Groat won the batting title in '60 with a .325 average. He also led Pittsburgh with a .371 on-base percentage. Skinner was no slough, either. All he did was knock in 86 runs (second on the team behind Clemente's 94) hit .273 (and post a .340 OBP). He even played in the all-star game.
In '64 it was Dick Groat with 70 RBIs despite only hitting one home run. And he batted .292. Skinner hit about what he did in '60, .271. But even as a reserve, he had to take a backseat to Charlie James and Carl Warwick, who both played in 88 games. Skinner appeared in just 55 games.
So while both Groat and Skinner were perhaps overlooked, they sure made things a little easier for two teams that to beat a great Yankee team in the fall.
More from Dick Groat
References
“Allen Craig, Meet Carl Warwick.” On the Outside Corner. WordPress.com. 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. <ontheoutsidecorner.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/allen-craig-meet-carl-warwick/>.
Anderson, Dave. "The Phillies' Phlop." Pennant Races: Baseball At Its Best. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Print, pp. 255-288.
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.
Youtube. Web. 17 Sept 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
Groat went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored in game 1 of the 1960 World Series. Also in that game, Skinner went 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Bob also added a stolen base that led to him touching home. Their efforts were rewarded as the Pirates took game one, 6-4. Neither would be as affective again in this Fall Classic. Skinner himself was replaced in left field with Gino Cimoli in the top of the eighth.
Cimoli played the entire second game, and Groat managed just one hit. The Yankees pounded the Pirates into oblivion in this contest, led by Mickey Mantle's two home runs. The final score was 16-3.
The 1960 World Series, which had started in Pittsburgh, now moved to New York. It was more of the same in game three for the Pirates. Another blowout, 10-0 for New York. Groat, facing Whitey Ford, went hitless in four trips to the plate. Skinner watched this one from the clubhouse, and probably thought it would all be over in two more games.
But Pittsburgh took game four, 3-2. The only problem was that Groat was again 0-4 and Skinner took it all in from the dugout.
In game five, the Pirates plundered the Yankees 5-2, behind a fine pitching effort of Harvey Haddix. Groat got his first hit since game one, but it was just that. In going 1-4, he scored a run. But how about our boy Skinner? Nothing doing, is all I can write.
Groat was back in game six back in the state of Pennsylvania. But Whitey Ford started this one, and threw another shutout. And for the third time in this 1960 Fall Classic, it was a Yankee rout. 12-0. Groat picked up another hit, but it took him another four tries. Skinner took it in for the fifth straight game.
Skinner was finally back in the winner-take-all game seven. He walked and scored on Rocky Nelson's home run in the bottom of the first. Pittsburgh went up 4-0 in this game, then fell behind 7-4 by the end of seven and a half.
Groat, though, singled in the bottom of the eighth off Bobby Shantz. Then Skinner moved him and Bill Virdon up with a bunt. The Pirates used that to eventually take the lead. While the Yankees came back to tie it in the top of the ninth, it was Pittsburgh with the 1960 World Series crown as Bill Mazeroski hit a dramatic walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. Pittsburgh had a 10-9, game seven win.
So in 1964, it was Groat and Skinner looking to help another team beat New York. Their new team, the St. Louis Cardinals, won a dramatic pennant race against the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.
Groat started game one, against Whitey Ford, in St. Louis. This time, Groat's team managed to beat Ford, 9-5. Groat had a hit and a walk. Neither figured into the scoring. Skinner sat it out.
In game two, St. Louis lost 8-3. Groat again had a hit and a walk. This time, however, he scored a run. Skinner got into the game as a pinch hitter. He matched Groat's production by getting a single. But he was stranded.
In game three in New York, Skinner was almost the hero.
Dick Groat, meanwhile, got a hit. It was a double against New York's Jim Bouton. The Cardinals seemed destined to break a 1-1 deadlock at this point as the loaded the bases. However, they failed to score. In the top of the ninth, with Tim McCarver on second and Carl Warwick on first, Bob Skinner went up to bat for pitcher Curt Simmons, who had more than done his job in this game. It was still tied at one. Skinner got the pitch he wanted, a fastball up in the strike zone. He hammered it to deep centre. Roger Maris went all the way to the warning track before he finally got to this one. So close. Mickey Mantle won the game in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off home run off Barney Schultz.
Groat got one hit in game four. It did not result in St. Louis scoring. However, he reached on an error in the top of the sixth inning. Then, he scored a run on Ken Boyer grand slam home run. That turned a 3-0 Yankee lead into a 4-3 Cardinal advantage. St. Louis ended up winning the game by that score. Skinner did not get to the plate or the field in this contest.
In game five, Skinner watched as Bob Gibson stuck out thirteen Yankees. But the contest was tied at two at the end of nine. In the top of the tenth, Bill White walked and Ken Boyer beat out a bunt. It was Groat to the plate, and his job was the same as Boyer's: Eliminate the double play!
He tried to bunt, but missed. White, running on the play to third, made a fake back to second. But when Yankee catcher Elston Howard threw to second to nail him, White turned on the jets and made it to third. The play was crucial, as Groat ended up forcing Boyer at second. When Tim McCarver ripped a three-run home run to right, St. Louis had what they needed to win, 5-2.
So, it was New York with their backs to the wall in game six, back in St. Louis. Dick Groat had a tough time against Jim Bouton, failing to get a hit in four trips to the plate. Curt Simmons kept St. Louis in the game, as he had in game three. The game not only tied, but again tied at one. But when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle went downtown off Simmons in the top of the sixth inning, St. Louis needed some runs. An Elston Howard single in the top of the eighth made it 4-1, New York. Then it was New York's turn to get a grand slam, this time off the bat of Joe Pepitone. 8-1, Yankees. St. Louis managed to get one run back in the bottom of the eighth as Bill White grounded out. But Dick Groat ended up being the last out of that inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, St. Louis again had a mild uprising. With one out, Mike Shannon hit a single. Then Jerry Buckek, who had entered the game a defensive replacement, singled. Bob Humphreys had held New York scoreless in the ninth, but now his spot was up. So Bob Skinner batted for him. The Cardinals had finally found a way to get rid of Jim Bouton. New York then went to the bullpen and brought in Steve Hamilton to face Skinner. Hamilton, an ex-basketball player, was a lefty at 6'6, two inches taller than Skinner.
And he came through! Singling to centre, Shannon scored to make it 8-3. There were two runners on and only one out. But Curt Flood hit into a game-ending double play. This Fall Classic was going to the seventh game, just like in 1960.
In game seven, there was not going to be any pinch hitting by St. Louis, with Bob Gibson back on the hill. Bobby was sitting 'er out!
Groat came up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Cards up 4-0. His ground ball out made it 5-0. St. Louis, as it turned out, needed still another run. Tim McCarver flew out to Mantle in right, but Ken Boyer scored from third after the catch. 6-0.
New York was not done as Mickey Mantle hit a three-run home run in the top of the sixth. That seemed to wake up the Yankees, as they started to make better contact.
A home run by Ken Boyer in the bottom of the seventh put St. Louis up by four runs, 7-3. But Gibson tired and allowed a dinger by Ken's younger brother Clete in the top of the ninth. Another home run by Phil Linz made it 7-5 before Bob finally got the last out.
Both Groat and Skinner were going to be almost afterthoughts on a team that had Roberto Clemente, Bill Virdon, Dick Stuart, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Friend, Vernon Law, Harvey Haddix and Elroy Face.
And there was no chance that anyone would think of them on a team with Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Ken Boyer, Bill White, Tim McCarver, Bob Gibson, Curt Simmons, Ray Sadecki. The Pirates of 1960 and the Cardinals of 1964 might have won it all without Dick Groat and Bob Skinner.
But let's look at their stats in 1960 and 1964. Groat won the batting title in '60 with a .325 average. He also led Pittsburgh with a .371 on-base percentage. Skinner was no slough, either. All he did was knock in 86 runs (second on the team behind Clemente's 94) hit .273 (and post a .340 OBP). He even played in the all-star game.
In '64 it was Dick Groat with 70 RBIs despite only hitting one home run. And he batted .292. Skinner hit about what he did in '60, .271. But even as a reserve, he had to take a backseat to Charlie James and Carl Warwick, who both played in 88 games. Skinner appeared in just 55 games.
So while both Groat and Skinner were perhaps overlooked, they sure made things a little easier for two teams that to beat a great Yankee team in the fall.
More from Dick Groat
References
“Allen Craig, Meet Carl Warwick.” On the Outside Corner. WordPress.com. 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. <ontheoutsidecorner.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/allen-craig-meet-carl-warwick/>.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Anderson, Dave. "The Phillies' Phlop." Pennant Races: Baseball At Its Best. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Print, pp. 255-288.
Golenbock, Peter. "1964." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print, pp. 530-539.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1964. Major League Baseball Productions, 1964. DVD.
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.
Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Retrosheet. Web. 17 Sept. 2014. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
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