Julian Javier, one of the St. Louis Cardinals "other" stars of 1964, missed almost all of the Fall Classic that year with a hip injury.
Having also suffered from a sore back that year, he was only able to make a sole appearance in game one. The Cards did not need him again, I guess.
Having hit 12 home runs and knocked in 65 runs must have been encouraging. But his batting average was just .241, and that may have contributed to him being used so little, as well. The previous year, 1963, Javier had been an all-star and hit .265. His position at second base was taken by Dal Maxvill, who could play both short and second. But Maxill had only played 37 games that season. Dick Groat, one amazing player, was at short.
Javier's moment came in the bottom of the sixth inning of game one. St. Louis opposed the New York Yankees in that classic 1964 World Series. Down 4-2 against Whitey Ford, the Cardinals fought back that inning.
Ken Boyer got it going with a single. Elston Howard then could not get a hold of one of Ford's pitches and the speedy Ken motored into second. Ford did manage to fan Bill White for the first out, but it proved to be the last batter Ford got out. Mike Shannon launched a mammoth home run to left, which hit the "B" of the Budweiser signs. That tied the game, 4-4. St. Louis was not done as Tim McCarver hit a double between Roger Maris in centre and Mickey Mantle in right.
Al Downing took over for Ford and and got Charlie James, the pinch hitter, to pop out to Bobby Richardson at second. The Cardinals sent up another pinch hitter, Carl Warwick (batting for pitcher Ray Sadecki) to try his luck against the hard-throwing Yankee lefty. He managed to get a ball that just squeaked by Phil Linz, the shortstop, for a single that scored McCarver. That made it 5-4, St. Louis. Warwick very alertly took second on the throw home. Enter Julian Javier to pinch run for Warwick at second.
Curt Flood then sent a fly ball to left. Tom Tresh seemed to lose track of the ball. He would later say he lost it in the sun. At the last minute he turned to try and find it, but the ball hit the wall and bounced far enough away from him that Javier was able to score. Flood took third but would ultimately stranded as Lou Brock grounded out. St. Louis, though had a valuable insurance run and now led, 6-4.
Javier took second. The Yankees got a single and a walk to put the tying run at first before the side was retired in the top of the seventh. New York just kept coming at you. They never quit. Julian did not make a fielding play. The way New York was hitting the ball, he might not wanted one!
The Cardinals were retired in order by Downing in the bottom of the frame, and New York looked to tie it in the top of the eighth. With one out, Johnny Blanchard, who made almost a career out of pinch hitting heroics for New York in the regular season and postseason, batted for Downing and hit a double. Mike Hegan then joined Julian Javier in pinch running duties and came in to run for Blanchard. And like Javier again, Hegan soon scored.
Linz grounded out to Boyer at third. But Bobby Richardson, who made it a habit of hitting well in the postseason, singled to score Hegan. The lead was cut to one, 6-5. The Yankees, with some momentum, then got a single by Roger Maris. The hit was to Javier at second. Javier managed to keep it from going to the outfield, but could not stop Richardson from making it to third. Now, the tying run was ninety feet away, the go-ahead run was on first, and The Mick was at the dish!
Barney Schultz, who took over for Sadecki after his removal for a pinch hitter earlier, needed to get 'em out. Mantle send one to Julian, who threw Mickey out at first.
Mike Shannon started the bottom of the eighth for the Cardinals by making it to first on an error by Ken Boyer's younger brother Clete. Rollie Sheldon, one of the fine New York relievers, then threw a passed ball. A walk to McCarver put two on with nobody out. But manager Johnny Keane let Schultz bat for himself and Barney lined the ball back to Sheldon. Rollie not only caught it, he then whirled and fired to Joe Pepitone at first to complete a double play. McCarver had taken off and was in no position to scamper back to first in time. Shannon was still at second.
Javier was scheduled to bat next, but Bob Skinner hit for him. The Yankees decided to walk him intentionally. New York then brought in Pete Mikkelsen to pitch. But St. Louis sent Jerry Buchek to run for Skinner.
Curt Flood, the centerfielder, singled to left to score McCarver. When Lou Brock went the other way on a double to left, Buchek and Flood both scored to make it 9-5, Cardinals. That would be the final score.
St. Louis went on to win the World Series of 1964 in seven games. Julian Javier did not make it into another game. You never know if you are going to get another chance to play in the Fall Classic as a player, but Javier made it back to the Fall Classic in 1967, 1968 and again in 1972. They say there's nothing as sweet as the first time, but you do want to be there on the field when you win it all, right? Sometimes the first time can be bittersweet, too!
References
Anderson, Dave. Pennant Races: Baseball At Its Best. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Print.
Having also suffered from a sore back that year, he was only able to make a sole appearance in game one. The Cards did not need him again, I guess.
Having hit 12 home runs and knocked in 65 runs must have been encouraging. But his batting average was just .241, and that may have contributed to him being used so little, as well. The previous year, 1963, Javier had been an all-star and hit .265. His position at second base was taken by Dal Maxvill, who could play both short and second. But Maxill had only played 37 games that season. Dick Groat, one amazing player, was at short.
Javier's moment came in the bottom of the sixth inning of game one. St. Louis opposed the New York Yankees in that classic 1964 World Series. Down 4-2 against Whitey Ford, the Cardinals fought back that inning.
Ken Boyer got it going with a single. Elston Howard then could not get a hold of one of Ford's pitches and the speedy Ken motored into second. Ford did manage to fan Bill White for the first out, but it proved to be the last batter Ford got out. Mike Shannon launched a mammoth home run to left, which hit the "B" of the Budweiser signs. That tied the game, 4-4. St. Louis was not done as Tim McCarver hit a double between Roger Maris in centre and Mickey Mantle in right.
Al Downing took over for Ford and and got Charlie James, the pinch hitter, to pop out to Bobby Richardson at second. The Cardinals sent up another pinch hitter, Carl Warwick (batting for pitcher Ray Sadecki) to try his luck against the hard-throwing Yankee lefty. He managed to get a ball that just squeaked by Phil Linz, the shortstop, for a single that scored McCarver. That made it 5-4, St. Louis. Warwick very alertly took second on the throw home. Enter Julian Javier to pinch run for Warwick at second.
Curt Flood then sent a fly ball to left. Tom Tresh seemed to lose track of the ball. He would later say he lost it in the sun. At the last minute he turned to try and find it, but the ball hit the wall and bounced far enough away from him that Javier was able to score. Flood took third but would ultimately stranded as Lou Brock grounded out. St. Louis, though had a valuable insurance run and now led, 6-4.
Javier took second. The Yankees got a single and a walk to put the tying run at first before the side was retired in the top of the seventh. New York just kept coming at you. They never quit. Julian did not make a fielding play. The way New York was hitting the ball, he might not wanted one!
The Cardinals were retired in order by Downing in the bottom of the frame, and New York looked to tie it in the top of the eighth. With one out, Johnny Blanchard, who made almost a career out of pinch hitting heroics for New York in the regular season and postseason, batted for Downing and hit a double. Mike Hegan then joined Julian Javier in pinch running duties and came in to run for Blanchard. And like Javier again, Hegan soon scored.
Linz grounded out to Boyer at third. But Bobby Richardson, who made it a habit of hitting well in the postseason, singled to score Hegan. The lead was cut to one, 6-5. The Yankees, with some momentum, then got a single by Roger Maris. The hit was to Javier at second. Javier managed to keep it from going to the outfield, but could not stop Richardson from making it to third. Now, the tying run was ninety feet away, the go-ahead run was on first, and The Mick was at the dish!
Barney Schultz, who took over for Sadecki after his removal for a pinch hitter earlier, needed to get 'em out. Mantle send one to Julian, who threw Mickey out at first.
Mike Shannon started the bottom of the eighth for the Cardinals by making it to first on an error by Ken Boyer's younger brother Clete. Rollie Sheldon, one of the fine New York relievers, then threw a passed ball. A walk to McCarver put two on with nobody out. But manager Johnny Keane let Schultz bat for himself and Barney lined the ball back to Sheldon. Rollie not only caught it, he then whirled and fired to Joe Pepitone at first to complete a double play. McCarver had taken off and was in no position to scamper back to first in time. Shannon was still at second.
Javier was scheduled to bat next, but Bob Skinner hit for him. The Yankees decided to walk him intentionally. New York then brought in Pete Mikkelsen to pitch. But St. Louis sent Jerry Buchek to run for Skinner.
Curt Flood, the centerfielder, singled to left to score McCarver. When Lou Brock went the other way on a double to left, Buchek and Flood both scored to make it 9-5, Cardinals. That would be the final score.
St. Louis went on to win the World Series of 1964 in seven games. Julian Javier did not make it into another game. You never know if you are going to get another chance to play in the Fall Classic as a player, but Javier made it back to the Fall Classic in 1967, 1968 and again in 1972. They say there's nothing as sweet as the first time, but you do want to be there on the field when you win it all, right? Sometimes the first time can be bittersweet, too!
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.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1964.
Major League Baseball Productions, 1964. DVD.
Retrosheet. Web. 3 Sept. 2014. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 9 Sept. 2014.
St. Louis Cardinals / New York Yankees. Game 7, 1964 World Series., Busch Stadium, Missouri, 15 Oct. 1964. MLB.Com 2002, audio recording.
St. Louis Cardinals / New York Yankees. Game 7, 1964 World Series., Busch Stadium, Missouri, 15 Oct. 1964. MLB.Com 2002, audio recording.
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