Dick McAuliffe, who just passed away, came the closest of any Detroit Tiger to scoring a run on Bob Gibson in game one of 1968. The Tigers were simply up against a pitcher who was zoned in. The St. Louis Cardinals had the big right-hander who happened to lead the league in ERA that year. Oh, it was 1.12!
Bob Gibson fanned two batters in the first, including McAuliffe to start the game. In the second inning, Gibby was even better, fanning the side. He did not relent. His mound opponent, Denny McLain, however, was no stranger from winning. Denny had 31 to his name in 1968. He had a 1-2-3 first inning. Tim McCarver hit a triple to centre with one out the next inning, but Denny got Mike Shannon on a high rising fastball. Julian Javier then looked at strike three. McLain would not be an task for Gibby to overcome.
Don Wert singled with one out in the top of the third, but Gibby had no intentions of letting the Cards lose this game. McLain tried to bunt, but Gibson got him out on foul sac attempt. McAuliffe was next. He grounded to first to end the inning. The Cardinals looked like they had something going. Lou Brock, the big St. Louis speedster, not only stole third, but he made it third on a bad throw to second. Denny McLain got out of there unscathed. But the next inning, St. Louis took advantage of two walks issued by Denny, and scored three times on two singles and an error after. That was more than Bob Gibson needed.
He retired Tommy Matchick (Batting for McLain) in the top of the sixth on a groundout to first, making the putout himself and showing tremendous speed towards the bag. McAuliffe batted next. He wasted no time and singled to right on Gibby's first pitch. Mickey Stanley fanned for the tenth strikeout by the Tigers' hitters on the afternoon. But Al Kaline followed that with a two-out double to left. McAuliffe going to third on the play. Gibson, though, was just too tough. He ended the inning by getting Norm Cash to fan for his eleventh K.
McAuliffe batted just one more time in the top of the eighth. He was the last out in a 1-2-3 inning. Gibson surrendered a leadoff single to Stanley to start the top of the ninth, then finished off Kaline, Cash and Willie Horton on strikeouts, bringing his total to a World Series-record of seventeen.
McAuliffe and Detroit had much better luck in game two. They won 8-1 and he collected two hits and two RBIs. But his biggest hit was in the third contest at Tiger Stadium. Facing St. Louis' Ray Washburn in the bottom of the fifth, Dick McAuliffe got Detroit to within a run as he took him out of the park on a solo home run to right. That, however, proved to be the final run the Tigers scored. The Cardinals crossed home three more times to salt this away, 7-3. Gibson won game four, 10-1 over McLain. Things looked grim.
The Tigers managed to win the fifth contest behind Mickey Lolich's pitching. McAuliffe actually scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh on a single by Kaline. Detroit had trailed 3-0, but ended up winning it 5-3. In game six in St. Louis, it was all Detroit. They scored twice in the second, ten times in the third (Four of them on a grand slam by Jim Northrup). Dick McAuliffe got all that carnage going with a walk to lead off the inning. He was later walked intentionally that inning, only to come around and score for the second time on Kaline's single, which also scored Don Wert. The Tigers added another run in the top of the fifth when Kaline hit a home run of his own. McLain, with an 0-2 record in the 1968 World Series, won this easily, 13-1.
The Tigers went on to beat Gibson and the Cardinals 4-1 in the seventh and deciding game. Dick McAuliffe didn't do much. Neither team returned to the Fall Classic until the 1980s, so there was no rematch (Well, at least until 2006). Detroit became just the third team in baseball history (Since joined by the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1985 Kansas City Royals) to come back from three games to one down. McAuliffe wasn't the best player on Detroit, but scored some timely runs. And Detroit's biggest inning of the World Series in 1968 was started all by him. It was fitting, since during the regular he lead the American League in runs scored with 95.
References
Retrosheet. Web. 17 May 2016. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 17 May 2016.
Youtube. Web. 17 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/>
Bob Gibson fanned two batters in the first, including McAuliffe to start the game. In the second inning, Gibby was even better, fanning the side. He did not relent. His mound opponent, Denny McLain, however, was no stranger from winning. Denny had 31 to his name in 1968. He had a 1-2-3 first inning. Tim McCarver hit a triple to centre with one out the next inning, but Denny got Mike Shannon on a high rising fastball. Julian Javier then looked at strike three. McLain would not be an task for Gibby to overcome.
Don Wert singled with one out in the top of the third, but Gibby had no intentions of letting the Cards lose this game. McLain tried to bunt, but Gibson got him out on foul sac attempt. McAuliffe was next. He grounded to first to end the inning. The Cardinals looked like they had something going. Lou Brock, the big St. Louis speedster, not only stole third, but he made it third on a bad throw to second. Denny McLain got out of there unscathed. But the next inning, St. Louis took advantage of two walks issued by Denny, and scored three times on two singles and an error after. That was more than Bob Gibson needed.
He retired Tommy Matchick (Batting for McLain) in the top of the sixth on a groundout to first, making the putout himself and showing tremendous speed towards the bag. McAuliffe batted next. He wasted no time and singled to right on Gibby's first pitch. Mickey Stanley fanned for the tenth strikeout by the Tigers' hitters on the afternoon. But Al Kaline followed that with a two-out double to left. McAuliffe going to third on the play. Gibson, though, was just too tough. He ended the inning by getting Norm Cash to fan for his eleventh K.
McAuliffe batted just one more time in the top of the eighth. He was the last out in a 1-2-3 inning. Gibson surrendered a leadoff single to Stanley to start the top of the ninth, then finished off Kaline, Cash and Willie Horton on strikeouts, bringing his total to a World Series-record of seventeen.
McAuliffe and Detroit had much better luck in game two. They won 8-1 and he collected two hits and two RBIs. But his biggest hit was in the third contest at Tiger Stadium. Facing St. Louis' Ray Washburn in the bottom of the fifth, Dick McAuliffe got Detroit to within a run as he took him out of the park on a solo home run to right. That, however, proved to be the final run the Tigers scored. The Cardinals crossed home three more times to salt this away, 7-3. Gibson won game four, 10-1 over McLain. Things looked grim.
The Tigers managed to win the fifth contest behind Mickey Lolich's pitching. McAuliffe actually scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh on a single by Kaline. Detroit had trailed 3-0, but ended up winning it 5-3. In game six in St. Louis, it was all Detroit. They scored twice in the second, ten times in the third (Four of them on a grand slam by Jim Northrup). Dick McAuliffe got all that carnage going with a walk to lead off the inning. He was later walked intentionally that inning, only to come around and score for the second time on Kaline's single, which also scored Don Wert. The Tigers added another run in the top of the fifth when Kaline hit a home run of his own. McLain, with an 0-2 record in the 1968 World Series, won this easily, 13-1.
The Tigers went on to beat Gibson and the Cardinals 4-1 in the seventh and deciding game. Dick McAuliffe didn't do much. Neither team returned to the Fall Classic until the 1980s, so there was no rematch (Well, at least until 2006). Detroit became just the third team in baseball history (Since joined by the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1985 Kansas City Royals) to come back from three games to one down. McAuliffe wasn't the best player on Detroit, but scored some timely runs. And Detroit's biggest inning of the World Series in 1968 was started all by him. It was fitting, since during the regular he lead the American League in runs scored with 95.
References
Retrosheet. Web. 17 May 2016. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 17 May 2016.
Youtube. Web. 17 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/>
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