Bill Mazeroski won the 1960 Fall Classic with a walk off home run in the seventh game. You knew that! But did you also know, that wasn't his only home run in that Series?
Game one of '60 was in Pittsburgh, where the underdog Pirates must have been expecting the worst. Here they were, in from of their fans, and ready to feel the wrath of the New York Yankees. The M and M Boys (Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle) had 79 home runs to their name that year alone. That, to go along with some other guys who knew how to leave the park, must have sent shudders down the Bucks back
But, of course, the Pirates did have guys like Roberto Clemente, Dick Groat, Bob Skinner, and Mazeroski with the sticks, right?
So in game one in Pittsburgh, it was Roger Maris that got things going as expected with a solo home run in the top of the first. Right off the bat, it seemed, it was the Yankees showing the Pirates that they were not in New Yorkès league.
But, if you can believe it, Pittsburgh came back in the bottom of the frame with RBIs from Groat, Skinner and Clemente! It was 3-1 Pirates. Now that was a lift that was needed! But, you had to think Pittsburgh needed more touches of home!
In the top of the fourth, the Bronx Bombers struck back. Maris struck the match again, leading off with a single. Vernon Law, the Pirates' starter, pitched carefully to Mickey Mantle. Too carefully. Vernon walked him. Yogi Berra flied out, but the swift Maris took third. When Moose Skowron singled, it was only a one-run game and only one out. Law managed to get out of there. But more offence was really needed now!
Here's where Mazeroski helped. With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Don Hoak walked. Maz stepped in and smacked a two-run home run to put Pittsburgh up by three, 5-2. Law was then hit by a pitch, but the next two batters were retired.
Pittsburgh did not need anything more from the bats in this game one. They did add another tally in bottom of the sixth to make it 6-2. The Yankees didn't exactly go quietly in the top of the ninth. Elston Howard crashed a surprising two-run home run off Elroy Face to cut it to 6-4. The next batter, Tony Kubek, then got a single to bring the tying run to the dish with only one out. But Hector Lopez grounded into a game-ending double play. The Pittsburgh Pirates had drawn first blood in the 1960 Fall Classic. And they went on to win.
The Pirates already had the lead in this game, unlike game seven, when Bill Mazeroski delivered the long ball. But think about a situation like this, the first game, great opposition, tight game, the list goes on. You need the big hit to make you believe. Maz did just that. His home run put the game out of reach. The Yankees, with their time-honoured tradition of October success, were not about to be an easy push overs. Here, the Pirates had to think sweep (New York had done just that to Pittsburgh in 1927, the Pirates last Fall Classic appearance prior to this) was the likely outcome. They overcame that fear with this win, and it was their slick-fielding second basemen that delivered the unlikely knockout blow!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Ford, Whitey, and Phil Pepe. Slick. New York: W. Morrow, 1987. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books, 2000. Print.
Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 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. 29 Sept. 2014.
Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 29 Sept. 2014. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
Game one of '60 was in Pittsburgh, where the underdog Pirates must have been expecting the worst. Here they were, in from of their fans, and ready to feel the wrath of the New York Yankees. The M and M Boys (Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle) had 79 home runs to their name that year alone. That, to go along with some other guys who knew how to leave the park, must have sent shudders down the Bucks back
But, of course, the Pirates did have guys like Roberto Clemente, Dick Groat, Bob Skinner, and Mazeroski with the sticks, right?
So in game one in Pittsburgh, it was Roger Maris that got things going as expected with a solo home run in the top of the first. Right off the bat, it seemed, it was the Yankees showing the Pirates that they were not in New Yorkès league.
But, if you can believe it, Pittsburgh came back in the bottom of the frame with RBIs from Groat, Skinner and Clemente! It was 3-1 Pirates. Now that was a lift that was needed! But, you had to think Pittsburgh needed more touches of home!
In the top of the fourth, the Bronx Bombers struck back. Maris struck the match again, leading off with a single. Vernon Law, the Pirates' starter, pitched carefully to Mickey Mantle. Too carefully. Vernon walked him. Yogi Berra flied out, but the swift Maris took third. When Moose Skowron singled, it was only a one-run game and only one out. Law managed to get out of there. But more offence was really needed now!
Here's where Mazeroski helped. With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Don Hoak walked. Maz stepped in and smacked a two-run home run to put Pittsburgh up by three, 5-2. Law was then hit by a pitch, but the next two batters were retired.
Pittsburgh did not need anything more from the bats in this game one. They did add another tally in bottom of the sixth to make it 6-2. The Yankees didn't exactly go quietly in the top of the ninth. Elston Howard crashed a surprising two-run home run off Elroy Face to cut it to 6-4. The next batter, Tony Kubek, then got a single to bring the tying run to the dish with only one out. But Hector Lopez grounded into a game-ending double play. The Pittsburgh Pirates had drawn first blood in the 1960 Fall Classic. And they went on to win.
The Pirates already had the lead in this game, unlike game seven, when Bill Mazeroski delivered the long ball. But think about a situation like this, the first game, great opposition, tight game, the list goes on. You need the big hit to make you believe. Maz did just that. His home run put the game out of reach. The Yankees, with their time-honoured tradition of October success, were not about to be an easy push overs. Here, the Pirates had to think sweep (New York had done just that to Pittsburgh in 1927, the Pirates last Fall Classic appearance prior to this) was the likely outcome. They overcame that fear with this win, and it was their slick-fielding second basemen that delivered the unlikely knockout blow!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Ford, Whitey, and Phil Pepe. Slick. New York: W. Morrow, 1987. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books, 2000. Print.
Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 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. 29 Sept. 2014.
Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 29 Sept. 2014. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
No comments:
Post a Comment