Casey Stengel not only performed excellently in each of his three Fall Classics, but his hitting improved with the subsequent appearances in the postseason.
It all started for Stengel in the 1916 World Series. Playing on the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers up against the Boston Red Sox, Stengel wasted no time in taking centre stage.
Brooklyn, however, wasted his strong 2-4 performance in game one. The Dodgers came up short,
6-5. Stengel singled and scored in the fourth and did that again in the ninth.
Casey didn't play in game one, and the Dodgers lost again. Again by one run. So game three at Ebbets Field. Stengel got only one hit, but in this must-win game at home, the Dodgers did so, 4-3.
Alas, it was Boston that took the next two games. And although Stengel did little in both, managing just a pinch-running appearance in game four and going 1-4 at the dish in the last game, he ended the 1916 World Series with a .364 batting average. That was tops on both teams.
Stengel was then on the Giants in 1921. Having faced Babe Ruth the pitcher in 1916, Casey appeared ready to face the batter version of the Sultan Of Swat five years later. Although Stengel was his new team's (New York Giants) postseason roster, he did not appear. The Giants won the best-of-nine affair from the New York Yankees, 5-3.
Stengel was back in the World Series the following year, 1922, and so were the Yankees. The good news was another World Series ring for Stengel, in just five games (One tie). The bad news was a leg injury that limited him to just two of those games. Still, Casey was 2-5 in those, batting an even .400.
The two teams squared off again in 1923, and this time the Giants' weren't so lucky. Babe Ruth and company won it, four games to two. However, Casey was still the star, hitting .417. He also hit two home runs and led both teams in on-base percentage with a whopping .563. Only Ruth hit more home runs. Stengel was clutch, too. His walk-off, inside-the-park home run won game one. Casey's home run (This one went into the stands) in game three was the one tally of either teams, giving Art Neft a 1-0 win.
Stengel wouldn't play in another Fall Classic, as his career came to an end as a player later in the 1920s. Managing became his forte. And what a career he had there, with the Yankees from 1949-1960. During that time, New York won ten pennants and seven World Series. Because of that, it's usually forgotten when you think of Stengel. His playing career saw him play under a great manager in John McGraw. And when it came to the Fall Classic, McGraw's top player was none other than someone who'd make another name for himself as a manager years later!
References
Bishop, Bill. “Casey Stengel.” Casey Stengel | Society For American Baseball Research. Society For American Baseball Research. Web. 19 Apr. <https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bd6a83d8>.
Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. 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.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of
Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com
- Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
It all started for Stengel in the 1916 World Series. Playing on the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers up against the Boston Red Sox, Stengel wasted no time in taking centre stage.
Brooklyn, however, wasted his strong 2-4 performance in game one. The Dodgers came up short,
6-5. Stengel singled and scored in the fourth and did that again in the ninth.
Casey didn't play in game one, and the Dodgers lost again. Again by one run. So game three at Ebbets Field. Stengel got only one hit, but in this must-win game at home, the Dodgers did so, 4-3.
Alas, it was Boston that took the next two games. And although Stengel did little in both, managing just a pinch-running appearance in game four and going 1-4 at the dish in the last game, he ended the 1916 World Series with a .364 batting average. That was tops on both teams.
Stengel was then on the Giants in 1921. Having faced Babe Ruth the pitcher in 1916, Casey appeared ready to face the batter version of the Sultan Of Swat five years later. Although Stengel was his new team's (New York Giants) postseason roster, he did not appear. The Giants won the best-of-nine affair from the New York Yankees, 5-3.
Stengel was back in the World Series the following year, 1922, and so were the Yankees. The good news was another World Series ring for Stengel, in just five games (One tie). The bad news was a leg injury that limited him to just two of those games. Still, Casey was 2-5 in those, batting an even .400.
The two teams squared off again in 1923, and this time the Giants' weren't so lucky. Babe Ruth and company won it, four games to two. However, Casey was still the star, hitting .417. He also hit two home runs and led both teams in on-base percentage with a whopping .563. Only Ruth hit more home runs. Stengel was clutch, too. His walk-off, inside-the-park home run won game one. Casey's home run (This one went into the stands) in game three was the one tally of either teams, giving Art Neft a 1-0 win.
Stengel wouldn't play in another Fall Classic, as his career came to an end as a player later in the 1920s. Managing became his forte. And what a career he had there, with the Yankees from 1949-1960. During that time, New York won ten pennants and seven World Series. Because of that, it's usually forgotten when you think of Stengel. His playing career saw him play under a great manager in John McGraw. And when it came to the Fall Classic, McGraw's top player was none other than someone who'd make another name for himself as a manager years later!
References
Bishop, Bill. “Casey Stengel.” Casey Stengel | Society For American Baseball Research. Society For American Baseball Research. Web. 19 Apr. <https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bd6a83d8>.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
2005. Print.
Golenbock,
Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees,
1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 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.
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.
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.
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