In Jim Palmer's first Fall Classic game, he was the winning pitcher. Sandy Koufax was the losing pitcher. In his last Fall Classic game, Palmer was again the winning pitcher and Steve Carlton was the losing pitcher. Jim beat two lefty legends.
Palmer was just the youngest pitcher to throw a World Series shutout in 1966. But look who he had to do it against? Sort of like an exclaimation mark on the shutout when you're a kid and you shutout the team that The Legend pitches for! The Los Angeles Dodgers must have been coming back to the dugout, talking about Big Jim!
Palmer was nine days shy of his 21st birthday when he took the hill in game two of the 1966 World Series. His Baltimore Orioles had won game one, 5-2, and were looking to make it two straight going home. But the Dodgers had Koufax, and no intention of falling behind 2-0.
But someone forgot to tell that to Palmer!
In the bottom of the second (And following a 1-2-3 top of the frame by Koufax), Ron Fairly led off with a walk. After an out, Lou Johnson (Who'd hit the game-winning home run in game seven of the 1965 World Series) hit a double. After another out, then came another walk. Palmer then stared down, The Legend. Koufax was not going to be pinch-hit for in this situation, of course, so why wouldn't he bat. But with the amount of runs the Dodgers scored in this game, and this Fall Classic, who knows, maybe they should have. And with their fielding this game, it wouldn't matter who pitched, they were going to lose.
In any event, Sandy Koufax (Who'd gotten an RBI in the 1965 World Series), popped out to end that. Palmer seemed to settle down and got the Dodgers 1-2-3 in the next two innings. But in the top of the fifth, disaster struck Los Angeles.
Boog Powell singled. Koufax got the next batter. And then he should have gotten Paul Blair, who sent a fly ball to Willie Davis in centre. But Davis could not handle it, and Blair motored into second as Powell was on third. There was only one out.
Andy Etchebarren sent another fly to Davis, who again could not handle it. When he recovered the ball, he then threw wild to third, for his third error of the inning. Two runs scored. Koufax then fanned Palmer, but Luis Aparicio hit a double to left to make it, 3-0, Orioles. And all three runs were, of course, unearned.
Palmer surrended a single to Wes Parker, but got out of the bottom of the fifth unscathed. In the top of the sixth, the Orioles scored another run of Koufax, and this time it was earned.
Frank Robinson, who'd been acquired by the Orioles in the off-season, tripled. Brooks Robinson (No relation) fouled out to first, but Powell singled, and it was 4-0, Baltimore. Davey Johnson singled to right and took second, Robinson to third, as Ron Fairly made a throwing error. Koufax walked Paul Blair intentionally. The Dodgers made no mistake on their next fielding play, however. Etchebarren hit a grounder, and Los Angeles turned two. They were out of the inning, but now Jim Palmer had a nice lead to work with.
And he did just that. He continued the shutout over the course of the last three innings. Los Angeles did get a runner on in each, and Palmer threw a wild pitch, but he hung on. Koufax was through for the day when Ron Perranoski came in to pitch the top of the seventh. Baltimore scored two more runs. When the day was over, the Dodgers had committed six errors.
Baltimore went on to sweep the 1966 Fall Classic in four games, and Los Angeles was shutout in the third and fourth game. Palmer was a World Series winner, still only 20. But he'd be back!
Baltimore won again in 1970, and made the Fall Classic in 1969, 1970 and 1979. They came up empty in those trips, but in 1983, they were back.
Palmer was a little past it, but he was still and Oriole pitcher. The Orioles were opposed by the Philadelphia Phillies, and it was all square after two games in Baltimore. On to the City Of Brotherly Love. But there is no love among opposing pitchers, no matter how good you both are! At this stage in baseball, all the matters is who wins!
But in this game, it was Philadelphia, at home, up 2-0 and looking to go up two games to one. They even got O's started Mike Flanagan out of game, as he left for a pinch hitter. But now they'd have to deal with Palmer, who was pitching in a game played on October 14th, the day before his 38th birthday. Jim had been on quite a journey in his career! It was the bottom of the fifth.
He got the first batter to face him. Joe Morgan on a pop fly. But Sixto Lezcano singled, and now Palmer was in real trouble. The batter was Mike Schmidt, considered by many to be the best third basemen of all time. Palmer got him to pop up to the catcher. When Gary Matthews grounded out to third, the inning was over. And Baltimore was about to wake up.
Dan Ford took Steve Carlton deep for a solo job in the bottom of the frame. In the bottom of the sixth inning, it was the Phillies that looked like the better team. They got two runners on before Palmer got Carlton out to end the inning.
In the top of the seventh, Carlton got the first two batters out. It was still 2-1, Philly, and things looked good. But the coast, which looked clear, soon turned up a bunch of O's! The kind that hurt you!
Rick Dempsey doubled. Benny Ayala batted for Palmer and Charlton threw a wild pitch. Ayala singled to left to score Dempsey. When John Shelby singled and Ford reached on an error, Ayala scored. And wouldn't you know it, it ended up being the winning run! The Orioles, who'd lost the opening game of this Fall Classic, were now up, two games to one!
Palmer did not return to the hill, and Baltimore went on to win this in five games. When Palmer struggled early on the next season, the Orioles cut him. An attempted comeback in 1991 led to nothing, so his appearance in game three of '83 ended up being his last Fall Classic appearance.
The World Series is a prestigious event, that you never know how many times you'll be there. Could be never, could be only once, or it could be many times. You never know how long you'll be there for. As fans, it's impossible to predict which of the two teams (If any!) will be back again, and when that will be. Sandy Koufax was on his way out in 1966 (It ended up being his last game), Steve Charlton lasted until 1988, but never made it back. Jim Palmer was there with them as they exited the big stage for the last time!
References
Burns, Ken, director. Ken Burns' Baseball. PBS, 1994. DVD.Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. “A Whole New Ballgame.” Baseball, season 1, episode 8, PBS, 27 Sept. 1994.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Fonseca, Lew, director. World Series, 1966. Major League Baseball Productions, 1966. Film.
Grabowski, John F. Sandy Koufax. Chelsea House, 1992. 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.
Reichler, Joseph. Baseball's Great Moments. Bonanza A Rutledge Book, 1987.
Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 25 Feb, 2015.
Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.
Ward, Geoffrey C., et al. Baseball: An Illustrated History. Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. Print.
Palmer was just the youngest pitcher to throw a World Series shutout in 1966. But look who he had to do it against? Sort of like an exclaimation mark on the shutout when you're a kid and you shutout the team that The Legend pitches for! The Los Angeles Dodgers must have been coming back to the dugout, talking about Big Jim!
Palmer was nine days shy of his 21st birthday when he took the hill in game two of the 1966 World Series. His Baltimore Orioles had won game one, 5-2, and were looking to make it two straight going home. But the Dodgers had Koufax, and no intention of falling behind 2-0.
But someone forgot to tell that to Palmer!
In the bottom of the second (And following a 1-2-3 top of the frame by Koufax), Ron Fairly led off with a walk. After an out, Lou Johnson (Who'd hit the game-winning home run in game seven of the 1965 World Series) hit a double. After another out, then came another walk. Palmer then stared down, The Legend. Koufax was not going to be pinch-hit for in this situation, of course, so why wouldn't he bat. But with the amount of runs the Dodgers scored in this game, and this Fall Classic, who knows, maybe they should have. And with their fielding this game, it wouldn't matter who pitched, they were going to lose.
In any event, Sandy Koufax (Who'd gotten an RBI in the 1965 World Series), popped out to end that. Palmer seemed to settle down and got the Dodgers 1-2-3 in the next two innings. But in the top of the fifth, disaster struck Los Angeles.
Boog Powell singled. Koufax got the next batter. And then he should have gotten Paul Blair, who sent a fly ball to Willie Davis in centre. But Davis could not handle it, and Blair motored into second as Powell was on third. There was only one out.
Andy Etchebarren sent another fly to Davis, who again could not handle it. When he recovered the ball, he then threw wild to third, for his third error of the inning. Two runs scored. Koufax then fanned Palmer, but Luis Aparicio hit a double to left to make it, 3-0, Orioles. And all three runs were, of course, unearned.
Palmer surrended a single to Wes Parker, but got out of the bottom of the fifth unscathed. In the top of the sixth, the Orioles scored another run of Koufax, and this time it was earned.
Frank Robinson, who'd been acquired by the Orioles in the off-season, tripled. Brooks Robinson (No relation) fouled out to first, but Powell singled, and it was 4-0, Baltimore. Davey Johnson singled to right and took second, Robinson to third, as Ron Fairly made a throwing error. Koufax walked Paul Blair intentionally. The Dodgers made no mistake on their next fielding play, however. Etchebarren hit a grounder, and Los Angeles turned two. They were out of the inning, but now Jim Palmer had a nice lead to work with.
And he did just that. He continued the shutout over the course of the last three innings. Los Angeles did get a runner on in each, and Palmer threw a wild pitch, but he hung on. Koufax was through for the day when Ron Perranoski came in to pitch the top of the seventh. Baltimore scored two more runs. When the day was over, the Dodgers had committed six errors.
Baltimore went on to sweep the 1966 Fall Classic in four games, and Los Angeles was shutout in the third and fourth game. Palmer was a World Series winner, still only 20. But he'd be back!
Baltimore won again in 1970, and made the Fall Classic in 1969, 1970 and 1979. They came up empty in those trips, but in 1983, they were back.
Palmer was a little past it, but he was still and Oriole pitcher. The Orioles were opposed by the Philadelphia Phillies, and it was all square after two games in Baltimore. On to the City Of Brotherly Love. But there is no love among opposing pitchers, no matter how good you both are! At this stage in baseball, all the matters is who wins!
But in this game, it was Philadelphia, at home, up 2-0 and looking to go up two games to one. They even got O's started Mike Flanagan out of game, as he left for a pinch hitter. But now they'd have to deal with Palmer, who was pitching in a game played on October 14th, the day before his 38th birthday. Jim had been on quite a journey in his career! It was the bottom of the fifth.
He got the first batter to face him. Joe Morgan on a pop fly. But Sixto Lezcano singled, and now Palmer was in real trouble. The batter was Mike Schmidt, considered by many to be the best third basemen of all time. Palmer got him to pop up to the catcher. When Gary Matthews grounded out to third, the inning was over. And Baltimore was about to wake up.
Dan Ford took Steve Carlton deep for a solo job in the bottom of the frame. In the bottom of the sixth inning, it was the Phillies that looked like the better team. They got two runners on before Palmer got Carlton out to end the inning.
In the top of the seventh, Carlton got the first two batters out. It was still 2-1, Philly, and things looked good. But the coast, which looked clear, soon turned up a bunch of O's! The kind that hurt you!
Rick Dempsey doubled. Benny Ayala batted for Palmer and Charlton threw a wild pitch. Ayala singled to left to score Dempsey. When John Shelby singled and Ford reached on an error, Ayala scored. And wouldn't you know it, it ended up being the winning run! The Orioles, who'd lost the opening game of this Fall Classic, were now up, two games to one!
Palmer did not return to the hill, and Baltimore went on to win this in five games. When Palmer struggled early on the next season, the Orioles cut him. An attempted comeback in 1991 led to nothing, so his appearance in game three of '83 ended up being his last Fall Classic appearance.
The World Series is a prestigious event, that you never know how many times you'll be there. Could be never, could be only once, or it could be many times. You never know how long you'll be there for. As fans, it's impossible to predict which of the two teams (If any!) will be back again, and when that will be. Sandy Koufax was on his way out in 1966 (It ended up being his last game), Steve Charlton lasted until 1988, but never made it back. Jim Palmer was there with them as they exited the big stage for the last time!
References
Burns, Ken, director. Ken Burns' Baseball. PBS, 1994. DVD.Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. “A Whole New Ballgame.” Baseball, season 1, episode 8, PBS, 27 Sept. 1994.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Fonseca, Lew, director. World Series, 1966. Major League Baseball Productions, 1966. Film.
Grabowski, John F. Sandy Koufax. Chelsea House, 1992. 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.
Reichler, Joseph. Baseball's Great Moments. Bonanza A Rutledge Book, 1987.
Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 25 Feb, 2015.
Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.
Ward, Geoffrey C., et al. Baseball: An Illustrated History. Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. Print.
