World Series: Did You Know

Bobby Richardson is tied with eleven other for hits in a Fall Classic (Five game October Finale). I guess that makes lacking an RBI and only two runs scored all the more puzzling.

Richardson had taken over second base after Billy Martin was traded way in the 1957 season. Martin had the reputation for coming up big in the World Series. Would Richardson do that? He'd been great in 1960, knocking in an incredible twelve runs. The Yankees, though, lost the Fall Classic to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bobby Richardson have given it his all.

And a year later, he would himself largely in the background as the New York Yankees cruised to another pennant. The team was known for its sluggers like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Elston Howard, Yogi Berra and Moose Skowron. Even a bench-warmer like Johnny Blanchard hit 21 home runs. For Bobby, it would be his fourth Fall Classic. How would he stick out like a sore thumb this time around on a devastating Yankees attack?

There were plenty of players on both the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds in the 1961 World Series who either drove 'em home, or touched the dish. This was one area that Bobby Richardson would have to take a big backseat. Cincinnati had some sluggers, too, you know. Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, Wally Post, Gene Freese, and Gordie Coleman. Jerry Lynch appeared in just 96 game that year for the Reds, but still hit thirteen home runs.

Well, in games Whitey Ford pitched, there were not any Reds players that touched home, so no RBIs for any Cincinnati players.

One of those games in question was the opening act. Whitey Ford was at his best for the New York Yankees. Ford loved to pitch at Yankee Stadium. Having won 25 games in the regular season, the left-handed ace of New York was looking for a win or two here in the Fall Classic. Just like the previous season.

Ford set the Reds down on just one hit and two strikeouts in the first, and usually what happened is the Yankees showed the opposition the way. Bobby Richardson greeted starter Jim O'Toole with a single to get the show on the road. New York would show you how it's done on offence.

Tony Kubek followed with a walk, and Roger Maris was up. Maris had 61 home runs and 141 RBI in '61, so he was certainly a man to fear. But O'Toole pitched well to him, and got the Yankee outfielder to pop out. Elston Howard was retired on a fly to centre. Richardson was getting tired at second base.

Moose Skowron walked, and the bases were now loaded. If you're Bobby Richardson, you had to figure there would be a lot situations like this: Ninety feet away from another run scored!

Yogi Berra was next, a veteran of many a World Series. But he popped out to end the bottom of the first.

In the third, Richardson again led off. And again singled. Tony Kubek popped out. Roger Maris hit into an inning-ending double play. Were the Yankees beating themselves?

Whitey Ford wasn't about to let anything close to that happen. Cincinnati managed but two hits off Whitey, who went all the way and pitched his third consecutive shutout in the Fall Classic.

It had to be tough on Richardson. He added a single in the seventh, ending the day 3-4, and no other Bronx Bomber got more than one hit. It was key home runs by Elston Howard and Moose Skowron that accounted for the only two runs of the ballgame.

In game two, Bobby Richardson made it 4-5 at the dish in the World Series by singling. The next three batters hit the ball on the ground, and no runs scored. Cincinnati started the game better, as Gordy Coleman's two-run home run finally got them some offence.

Yogi Berra got it back with a two-run blast of his own in the fourth. Richardson tried to keep the momentum going. The game was still tied 2-2 in the bottom  of the fifth. Bobby came up with Clete Boyer on first and only one out. Richardson hit a grounder, but the throw to second to try and force Boyer was too late. Tony Kubek and Roger Maris fanned against Joey Jay, who pitched a splendid ballgame for Cincinnati.

The Yankees' second basemen might not have expected to bat in the seventh, as Jay was making quick work of the New York bats. With two away, Héctor López batted for the pitcher, and drew a bases on balls. This gave Richardson one last chance to do something. However, the inning came to an end as Bobby hit into a force.

The Reds won the game, 6-2, making up for their lack of offence in the opening tilt. The World Series headed to Crosley Field for games three, four and five.

The Yankees, though, seemed to like Crosley. Ford would surely pitch there, either games four or five. The challenge for New York, would be winning at least one other game in Cincinnati.

It was a back and forth affair. The Reds would grab the lead, the Yankees would tie it. Bobby Richardson started off slow, but like his team he'd finish strong.

It was Bob Purkey who started for the Reds. He seemed to have Bobby Richardson and the Yankees' number. Richardson's number. It was in this game that Mickey Mantle returned to the New York lineup. He'd gotten a bad needle from a doctor that did more harm than good.

Richardson did not get the ball out of the infield first two times up. In the sixth, he got a hold of one, but Bobby was out on a liner. Cincinnati led, 1-0, so they needed the old motor to get going. The offence had hit a snag after that early game two Yogi Berra blast.

Speaking of Berra, he tied the game in the top of the seventh, only to had Cincinnati retake the lead in the bottom of the frame. Johnny Blanchard came up to bat for pitcher Bud Daley, who'd relieved starter Bill Stafford. Two down, bases empty. Blanchard was clutch, tying the game 2-2 with a solo home run. 

So Richardson was next, and he kept the rally alive. He stoked a single to turn an 0-3 day into a 1-4 one. Better. And Bobby was determined to get the big bats of Maris, Mantle, Howard, Berra and Skowron something to work with. But Tony Kubek batted next. So Richardson swiped second. Kubek flied out.

The Reds came up in the bottom of the frame, only to be stifled by reliever Luis Arroyo. Luis kept 'em in check. You kinda figured that when the Yankees got around to their lumber next inning...

The Yankees took the lead in the top of the ninth, as Roger Maris hit a solo home run of his own. The 3-2 stood, and New York showed Cincinnati that even with two or three runs they were dangerous. But they needed their second basemen to be more dangerous at the dish.

The visiting team received a huge shot of confidence in the fourth contest. Whitey Ford was back for more. The lineup was strong. They needed a spark first. Bobby Richardson led off against Jim O'Toole in the first. The Cincinnati pitcher picked up where he left off in the first game, getting Richardson in an 0-2 hole. Then Bobby flew out.

But, O'Toole would not be as good as he'd been in the opening tilt. New York had gotten just six hits off him, and Richardson found the Cincy pitcher to hit liking. The Reds were not liking the double that the Yankees' second basemen hit in the third. It advanced Moose Skowron to third. A hit by Tony Kubek and it's 2-0, New York. Tony Kubek flew out.

The Yankees weren't discouraged by this missed opportunity. The broke the ice in the fourth. The run didn't come with an RBI, as Elston Howard hit into a double play.

The Reds didn't waste much time in threatening to tie it. In the bottom of the frame, Eddie Kasko led off with a single. Whitey Ford faced Vada Pinson next. In this lefty-lefty matchup, Pinson went the other way, sending one that looked liked it might drop in for a hit.

But here came Yogi Berra! Berra for years had been behind the dish calling pitchers for Ford. Here, he saved his pitcher from giving up a hit. Yogi made an excellent running catch just short of the foul line in left. When Frank Robinson was then hit, the catch became huge. Ra

Wally Post was up next, and Jim Coates began to throw in the bullpen for New York. Post lashed Whitey Ford's second pitch to him, Wally did what you don't want to do: He hit into a 6-4-3 double play! But Bobby Richardson didn't come out of the situation unscathed. Frank Robinson came at him hard.

"...Bobby Richardson was spiked at second, completing a double play," wrote Peter Golenbock in Dynasty. "and blood was soaking through his stockings. He stayed in the game."

Skowron ignited another rally in the fifth. At least he appeared to. The count ran full. Mel Allen, calling the game alongside Joe Garagiola (Sr.), informed the home audience about Bobby Richardson's situation. As he described it, the camera switched to a shot of the Yankees' dugout, showing Bobby's situation:

"We've just had word that on the double play that the Yankees executed in the last of the fourth, Bobby Richardson, the pivot man, got cut on the foot as [Frank] Robinson slid into him. And he's getting some treatment in the dugout. He's sitting there bare-headed, you see his his bear foot on his left leg."

Skowron got a single. But then Jim O'Toole proved why he was one tough pitcher. He was 19-9 in 1961, and got Clete Boyer to hit into a double play.

But once again, the Yankees weren't discouraged. Whitey Ford had a run to work with, but why couldn't he help on offence?  The Reds fans gave him a polite applause as he took up his stance in the batter's box. The Yankees could A-Ford Whitey to help on offence. Ford got ahead in the count 3-1. Allen, calling the game on television for NBC in his unequalled style, noted Bobby Richardson's return:

"Richardson has been treated for the cut that he received, and takes his on-deck position."

The game was still in Whitey Ford's hands, both as a pitcher and here in his attempt to extend the top of the fifth. If Ford could get one, then the Yankees had one hot bat next. Whitey Ford needed to make it happen.

His two-out walk started a rally. Our boy was back at the dish. The first pitch from Jim O'Toole was low and away, ball one. This at bat was big, as Bobby Richardson was the difference between a quick inning and a long one. Catcher Darrell Johnson, who had once played for the New York Yankees, went out to the mound to talk to O'Toole. According to Garagiola, it was possibly out of concern of that the pitcher was being a little too much on the careful side of things. Johnson had felt that way in the opening tilt of this Fall Classic.

And Bobby Richardson kept the top of the rally alive with a clutch single, just to the right of Jim O'Toole. And just to the left of shortstop Eddie Kasko. Mel Allen's voice again told an important detail of it. "...The seventh hit of the series for Bobby Richardson, who leads all the players." The man next two him said that both Richardson and Eddie Kasko's contributions were "Two of the best kept secrets".

Tony Kubek didn't let his team down, cashing in Ford with a single. Roger Maris tried for another home run, but skied it to Frank Robinson in right.

So a 2-0 lead for New York. It wasn't as if Cincinnati packed it in. Gene Freese batted in the Reds' half of the fifth, to be followed by Gordy Coleman and Darrell Johnson. It was possible the day was over for O'Toole, however, as he was the scheduled fourth batter. Jim Maloney was throwing, a sign that O'Toole would not bat for himself either here or in the sixth.

Freese fouled the first pitch off. As he did, Mel Allen announced that Maloney was no longer alone. Jim Brosnan begun getting loose in the Cincinnati bullpen next to him. Whitey Ford threw the next pitch inside, nearly hitting the batter.

Gene Freese and Whitey Ford had quite a battle. Ford got ahead 1-2, but then threw a ball. The next pitch from Ford was scorched to left, barley foul. The 2-2 was a curveball, taken inside, ball three. Freese fouled off three straight pitches before finally grounding out. It took Whitey ten pitches to get Gene out. But Ford needed just two pitches to get rid of Gordy Coleman.

Darrell Johnson kept the inning alive with a single, and when Dick Gernert grabbed a bat to hit for the pitcher, it marked the end of Jim O'Toole's day. Gernert forced Johnson at second to end the fifth. The Reds' bullpen had the tough job of stopping the Yankees' offence. They couldn't do the trick in the top of the sixth. Clete Boyer's two-run two-bagger doubled the lead to 4-0.

Just an inning later, the vaulted Yankee offence looked for more. Both starters were out of the game, but the New York bullpen held the fort from here on in. The Cincinnati relievers weren't so lucky. Richardson got it all going with a single, and took second on an error. Roget Maris was intentionally walked.

Héctor López, who'd replaced Mickey Mantle in the fourth inning, was next. He'd struck out last time up, but came up big here. Well, it was sort of the Reds who made things earlier. Namely, pitcher Jim Brosnan, who was also an author. His wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position. So could Hector come throught? Yes. His singled to centre meant a lot to Bobby Richardson. Richardson and Maris scored, and now it was a rout! 6-0, Yankees.

Although Elston Howard fanned, Yogi Berra was put on intentionally, and Moose Skowron crossed up that strategy. His single hit the pitcher, bouncing a hit off the pitcher into centre. While it scored a run, New York ran themselves out of possibly more. Berra was nailed at third, 8-5.

But, New York had the game in the bag. Brosnan settled down, getting Richardson and company 1-2-3 in the eighth. New York also was retired in order in the ninth. Their offence had sputtered early and late in this contest, so maybe it was the worst looking seven runs scored in a World Series game? Maybe, but it was not like their opposition did anything. Cincinnati got a walk and a single in the ninth, but did not touch home.

So the 7-0 white-washing by Whitey Ford and Jim Coates put New York in the driver's seat. They would have three chances to wrap it up. There was some bad news, though. Mickey Mantle was done for the Fall Classic, essentially. Yogi Berra would miss game five. Two-thirds out the outfield. Whitey Ford had left game four in the bottom of the sixth, having fouled a ball off his foot earlier in the contest. The injuries were mounting. And Roger Maris had one hit, total.

So, it would be up to the other guys to get this thing done. The Reds sent out Joey Jay to pitch game five, and keep Cincinnati alive. The problem for Cincinnati was, as Peter Golenbock would say years later in Dynasty, Jay hadn't left exactly left a good impression on New York. He'd held them to four hits and just two runs in a good outing in the second contest. But now, with his teams' back to the wall, Jay and the Reds would learn quickly what happens when the Yankees were clicking.

Bobby Richardson got it all going with a single on the second pitch of the afternoon to start the contest. The next two batters hit the ball well, but were retired. There was still Johnny Blanchard, playing in right field for this game. Sort of Mickey Mantle's replacement, as Roger Maris was playing centre.

Jay, to his credit, saw Richardson leaning towards second base. The pickoff play was fine by the pitcher, but first basemen Gordy Coleman didn't catch it like he could have. That would have been the third out!

New York had an opening with a man on second, and turned it into a chasm. Blanchard, two-run home run. Elston Howard hit a double. So did Moose Skowron. 3-0, Yankees. Jay, to the showers.

Jim Maloney, a hard-thrower, came in to reliever. But he didn't put out the fire. Héctor López, who was in this contest over Yogi Berra in left, hit a triple. 4-0. Clete Boyer hit a double. 5-0. This ballgame was over before the Reds could pick up a stick!

Maloney got Richardson out to start the second inning. But Tony Kubek singled and Roger Maris doubled. Now it was 6-0 and New York had five extra-base hits. When Blanchard followed with a bases on balls, Jim Maloney was through. Just like Cincinnati.

The home team did get three runs back in the bottom of the third. Bobby Richardson, who'd been retired by Bill Henry in the top of the frame, was just 1-3, but had scored the run that had put New York on top for good.

The Yankees weren't too happy that the Reds thought they could make a game of it. They loaded the bases in the fourth. Moose Skowron singled home two runs. Then, Héctor López hit a three-run home run on an 0-2 offering from Henry. Put in perspective, Skowron had three RBIs so far this afternoon, López four. Furthermore, Skowron had scored twice, López once. They were getting the RBIs and runs scored, whereas Bobby Richardson had to settle for his RBI and runs scored total, in five games. 

Sherman Jones got Cincinnati out of the inning. But now the Reds looked bad. It was 11-3 for the rude visitors.

Still another Reds' pitcher, Bob Purkey, pitched to Bobby Richardson in the fifth. Purkey had pitched well in game three, and got the Yankees 1-2-3 here. The this contest was the last competitive game of the 1961 World Series.

Cincinnati may have gotten three runs in the bottom of the fifth, but had to settle for two. Vada Pinson singled to the gap in right. Foolishly, he tried to test Roger Maris' excellent arm. Pinson was DOA at second. This was a big play. Ralph Terry had been relieved earlier in the contest by Bud Dailey. For Bud, this was his only bad inning, and some of it was his fault. The Reds didn't take full advantage of it.

A throwing error by Dailey and a two-run blast by Wally Post kept the inning alive, and made it 11-5. But it could have been 11-6. Cincinnati would not score again.

But all those two runs did was awake The Bronx Bombers again. Bob Purkey was just another average pitcher the second time around for New York, just like Joey Jay. They'd had their fifteen minutes in games two and three. But now, the second time around, the two pitchers discovered that even a crippled Yankee lineup was deadly.

Purkey walked Johnny Blanchard. Elston Howard reached on Eddie Kasko's error at short. Purkey fanned Moose Skowron, and appeared alright. But then Héctor López bunted. Purkey tried to keep New York at eleven runs and throw home. Blanchard beat the throw. A dozen runs for the Yankees. Keeping track, López had more RBIs (Five) than Bobby Richardson had all series (none). Even a pitcher would get in on the runs batted in act. Richardson could feel some shame, right?

Since all that bunt carnage ended with a run, and man on second and third, Bob Purkey walked Clete Boyer intentionally. Bud Dailey was up, so it seemed the inning was over. Nope. Dailey sent a fly to centre, scoring Elston Howard. Howard didn't have an RBI in this game, but had now scored three runs. What was Richardson thinking?

He was thinking, "A single here, and it's 14-5 for us".  López was still at second, and Boyer at first. An extra-base hit and it's 15-5. Bobby Richardson popped up to the catcher in foul territory towards third.

The Yankees did not score again. The thirteen runs had five different Bronx Bombers scored at least twice:

Kubek (2)

Blanchard (3)

Howard (3)

Skowron (2)

Lopez (2)

Shucks, Richardson was way back! 

He batted one last time in the eighth. Héctor López, having himself a great game, could only ground out after getting ahead in the count, 2-0. Clete Boyer, kind of flying underneath the radar today, was 1-2 with a pair of bases on balls. And an RBI. Here, the slick-fielding third basemen, who'd wowed everyone with his glove in the series, singled. Bud Daley bunted Boyer into scoring postion.

Our boy was back up. But only 1-5 with one run scored. Bobby Richardson would have to take a back seat to a number of players on this afternoon. He swung at a 1-0 pitch from Jim Brosnan, grounding out to Eddie Kasko.

The Yankees won, 13-5. But it's still odd to me. What a difference a year makes! Do you want to know how good Bobby Richardson was in the 1960 Fall Classic? By game six, he'd broken the record, held jointly by Yogi Berra (1956) and Ted Kluszeski (1959) and now included Willard Brown (1946 Negro Fall Classic), for "Most RBIs, one World Series, 12". To cap the irony, Mickey Mantle drove in two runs in the seventh contest in '60, brining his total to eleven. So Bobby had outshined them all in '60, plus hit .367. A year later, he'd hit even better, .391.

But no runs driven in!

References

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Gallagher, Mark. Explosion!: Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs. Arbor House, 1987. 

Houk, Ralph, and Robert W. Creamer. Season of Glory. Pocket Books, 1989. 

Mantle, Mickey, and Herb Gluck. The Mick. Doubleday, 1985. 

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