Common Denominator: Rico Petrocelli

"Put the squeeze on Harmon Killebrew for his first major league putout. Caught the popup on the last day of 1967. Caught the popup off the bat of Mickey Mantle in his last plate appearance."

Rico Petrocelli had joined the Boston Red Sox to stay in 1965. His actual major league debut had come on September 21st of 1963. September was to be a day that Rico would be most remembered for.

But there he was in the top of the third inning, as Boston was facing Minnesota at home. The Twins were closer to greatness than the Red Sox were, alas. Boston's big gun was Carl Yastrzemski, who took over from some chap named Ted Williams in 1961. Yaz would stay with Boston until 1982, and it was Jim Rice, another Hall-of-Famer who would be behind Rico (Now a third basemen) when he joined the team in 1974.

So Rico would brush shoulders with greatness a-plenty in his career.

But in 1963, it was just a one-off, perhaps. Petrocelli made the catch off Harmon Killebrew for the second out in the top of the third frame, and pitcher Bill Monbouquette fanned Don Mincher to end it. Petrocelli had gotten into the offence in the bottom of the second, doubling home Russ Nixon to get Boston on the board. The game was all Minnesota, who won easily, 13-4.

So Rico had to spend 1964 in the minors. The next year, he back on the Red Sox, hitting thirteen home runs and finding the Green Monster an inviting target at Fenway Park. The rookie, and his team, would make steady progress.

'64 saw a new face on Boston in Tony Conigliaro, who wasted no time in proving he belonged in the bigs. Tony hit 24 home runs as a rookie. Then, as Rico hit a modest total the next year, Tony C. lead the league with 32 round-trippers. The Red Sox had quite an outfield to compliment Conigliaro, who was stationed in right. Yaz, left. Lenny Green in centre, who hit .276.

Rico's progress was steady. He would hit between twelve and eighteen home runs from his sophomore year until 1968. It wasn't until the end of the decade that he put together an eye-popping year. There had been little trouble in holding down his position at short for Boston. And his numbers were more than good enough for job security.

But the bad news was Rico's team. Petrocelli's Boston Red Sox lost 100 games in 1965. Then 92 more in 1966.

Then came 1967.

Things just seemed to click for the Red Sox that year. You had Carl Yastzremski in left, who carried the team in his shoulders that year. Home runs? 44. Tops in the league (Well, tied with Harmon Killebrew). RBIs? 121. Topps in the league. Batting average? .326. Tops in the league. Yaz had himself a Triple Crown. Did I mention the left fielder also led the league in runs scored and on-base percentage? It was that kind of year.

Boston wasn't without setbacks, however. Tony Conigliaro twice got hit by pitches that season. The first hadn't been too bad, back in the spring. But then Jack Hamilton of California hit him in the left eye in August, damaging both his vision and his cheekbone, which was fractured. Tony would miss the rest of 1967. All of 1968. It was debatable whether Conigliaro would ever come back, so Boston went out and got Ken Harrelson to fill in the void.

And with pitcher Jim Lonborg sailing along, it appeared that Boston had a real shot at their first pennant since 1946. They'd had heartbreak not long after that. After losing to St. Louis in a tough World Series in '46, the Boston Red Sox had just narrowly lost out on a return trip to the Fall Classic in both 1948 and '49. The team would fall on hard times in the 1950s, and the 1960s hadn't appeared to offer anything different. It was crucial for the Red Sox to cease the moment in '67.

That, they did. Leading the Minnesota Twins 5-3 on the last day of the season, it was Jim Lonborg looking for win # 22 of 1967. He'd come a long way from just 9-17 as a rookie in 1965. But now, with Tony Conigliaro back with the team on the bench for some inspiration, the kids that had come up from the mid-sixties were hitting their stride. 

On this wonderful day, the first of October, Boston was merely looking to complete a tie for the American League pennant. But really, with so little to look forward for the longest of time, just seeing Lonborg and Yaz work their magic in 1967 had to be something for the Fenway faithful.

Rico Petrocelli, for his part, had a hit and a bases on balls on this afternoon. No RBIs or even runs scored. But, you know what? No one remembers that. Jim Lonborg gave up a single to Ted Uhlaender to start the top of the ninth, but erased him on a double play. When Rich Rollins up, the Red Sox fans were on the edge of their seats.

And you should have seen it when Rollins popped up to shallow left. There was Rico Petrocelli with the squeeze. Everyone was happy in Boston. And even happier when the California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 later that day. The Red Sox had the pennant!

The Red Sox, if you were wondering, basically had a rematch of the 1946 World Series at hand. The St. Louis Cardinals would be a tough opposition. Pitching, they had Bob Gibson. Hitting, they had Lou Brock.  And like 1946, the October Finale went the distance. Rico, Yaz and Jim Lonborg rallied the Red Sox from 3-1 down in the Fall Classic, to game seven at home. Petrocelli started off slow, but was the man in the sixth contest, swatting two home runs. And it was one awesome bottom of the fourth inning in that game. Down 2-1, Boston ended up 4-2 up by the time the inning had ended. Petrocelli, Yaz and Reggie Smith all took poor Dick Hughes outta the park.

You'd think that Boston would win, but Bob Gibson and Lou Brock had been lights out all year for the Cardinals. In this deciding game, Gibby was too tough. First two times up, Rico Petrocelli struck out. Bob Gibson was even helping out his own cause. He'd gone yard in the top of the fifth off Lonborg.

By the time Rico made it up to the plate for the third time, it was too late. The score was 7-1 for the visitors. A bit of a last-ditched rally was started by Petrocelli. He led off the bottom of the eighth with a double. Bob Gibson made a mistake by throwing a wild pitch. Dalton Jones, batting for Elston Howard (Acquired from the New York Yankees that season), walked. But Bob Gibson settled down, getting the next three men to hit grounders, limiting the damage to one run. Yastrzemski led of the bottom of the ninth with a single, and it was only the third hit of the ballgame for Boston. Bob Gibson got Ken Harrelson to hit into a double play and fanned George Scott. Petrocelli had to settle for just a .200 batting average to go along with his two round-trippers, and three RBI.

Well, the Red Sox had nothing to be a shamed of. They'd come a long way. When your the laughing stock of the league in 1965, and two years later make it to game seven of the World Series, you are heading in the right direction.

Boston clearly missed Tony Conigliaro in 1968, though. Plus, Jim Lonborg had a skiing accident. The team wasn't quite the same. However, it's not as if they weren't still a good, young ballclub.

It was just that the Detroit Tigers were even better than they'd been in 1967. A year later, led by Denny McLain's 31 regular season wins, they ran away with the pennant. While Boston was merely left in Detroit's wake, they were still good enough to win 86 games. Suddenly, it seemed like the American League, one year before division play began, was tight. Real tight. At least for second. Minnesota, with 79 wins, had to settle for seventh. Other teams, like Oakland, were improving. The Athletics, like the Red Sox, had once been easy pushovers. But no more.

Well, Boston did get an encouraging result from Ken Harrelson that season. Hawk put it all together: 35 home runs, 109 runs driven in! A .275 batting average is just fine by a slugger. Yaz was still Yaz. He hit 23 home runs and was the only regular player in the American League that year to top .300. It was a year when offence was so low, the All-Star game ended 1-0, the only run scoring on a double play. The Junior Circuit hit a collective .230 in '68. Each team averaged fifteen shutouts.

Well, the way 1968 went down, it wasn't quite the way a Red Sox rival player wanted to go out. Another team that improved from 1967 was the New York Yankees. Funny, back in 1964, the team had won 99 games, and then took Bob Gibson and company to a game seven of their own. Mickey Mantle was doing it all to keep the aging Yankees going. He hit three home runs in that Fall Classic.

But age and injuries got to not only Mantle, but the rest of the Bronx Bombers. Plus, a lot of the veterans had been traded away come 1968. The team had finished below .500 three years in a row.

It seemed, though, a bit like old times for New York that season. Though their cross-town buddies the Mets won 73 games (Which, believe me, was huge), the Yankees could once again laugh at them.

As the season winded down, New York didn't seem that good. They seemed just about .500 or lower. Actually, the Yankees were just 70-70 on September 4th. Then, they caught fire.

The team somehow won ten games in a row to serve notice that the dog days were behind them (And two season later, the Bronx Bombers were up over 90 wins). They couldn't be taken lightly any more. The first place Tigers brought them down to earth by beating them all three games of a series. Then the Red Sox did the same right after.

New York had to settle for just going 1-2 vs. Cleveland from September 24th to 25th, managing only a doubleheader split. When Boston beat them badly, 12-2 at Fenway, on the 27th, it appeared that the Yankees were just playing out the string.

So the Yankees were merely 81-79 as they took the field on September 28th. However, they'd officially clinched .500 on the season, and seemed to want to remind the Red Sox that 1967 was last year. This year, things were more level for the two clubs.

Jim Lonborg was back on the hill for Boston. 1967 really was, last year. How the mighty had fallen! Jim was 6-9 on the season. Batting third on New York, was Mickey Mantle. The first basemen had some issues that season, battling the affects of eighteen long seasons in the bigs.

Mantle would finish 1968 hitting just .237. He wasn't happy about that. "...to think you're a .300 hitter and end up at .237 in your last season, then find yourself looking at a lifetime .298 average - it made me want to cry," he would say years later in his 1985 book, The Mick. However, it's not as if there weren't any highlights.

The big issue with Mantle is, his knees were so bad by this point he couldn't really be effective in double headers. Even if the first game was a great game, there would be little more from number seven in the nightcap.

There was still some jump left in him. Mantle stole six of eight bases for a 75 percent success rate. Not bad for a 36-year old with bum knees. But, ask yourself why he could only play first base? Even if he could have run, his arm wasn't what it once was, either. As far back as 1962, he started playing some games in right field. His last season playing 100 games in centre, his position he'd held with New York since 1952, was 1964. That season saw Mickey play all seven World Series games in right, while Roger Maris took over in centre. One key part of the The St. Louis Cardinals' scouting was to run on Mantle's arm, which they felt wasn't so strong. But oddly enough, all these problems aside, Mantle played 93 games in centre two years later. Plus four more in left. He didn't make a single error.

'66, however, was the last year Mickey played any position in the outfield. He moved to first base the following year, and Joe Pepitone went to centre. Not that Pepi adjusted to it very well.

Well, Mickey managed to hit 22 more home runs on a Yankee team that wasn't much worth writing home about that season. That upped his total to 518 home runs. Was there reason to come back? He'd hit a more-than respectable .288 in 1966, adding 23 home runs in only 108 games. Eleven of his games that year were strictly as a pinch-hitter.

But the batting average dropped to just .245 in '67. However, that didn't tell the entire story. Mantle was able to get into 144 games that season, quite an improvement. That wasn't the only are Mickey was better in. He also scored 63 runs compared to just 40 in 1966. True, his RBI total fell by one from 56 to 55, but Mickey's on-base percentage actually went up from .389 to .391. A big reason for that was the bases on balls. Mantle went from just 57 in 108 games to 107 in 144 games. Mantle would finish second in that stat to Harmon Killebrew's 131. In addition, #7 would finish fifth in on-base percentage, trailing Hall-of-Famers Carl Yastrzemski, Al Kaline, Killebrew, and Frank Robinson.

So I guess it depends on how you look at it. Mantle's eye was still sharp, evidentially. Defensively, he wasn't going to be the help he'd been back in his glory years. Mantle was a gold-glove winning centre fielder in 1962, taking home his third regular season Most Valuable Player that year.

Yaz upped his on-base percentage from .418 in 1967 to .426 the next season, even though his batting average was just .301. Mickey Mantle might have regretted coming back, but eye stayed sharp. Only Carl Yastrzemski had more walks (119) than Mantle in 1968. Mickey finished with 106 free passes.

Okay, so the batting average was a lousy .237. Lousy, when the league average was .230? Well, okay, Mantle was a better-than-average hitter? Perhaps. His on-base percentage was .385 in '68, and only Yaz and Frank Robinson were higher.

Impressively, the Yankees' first basemen got into games. June 2nd, July 7th and September 13th were the only times that season where Mantle played a relatively full opener and batted more than once in the nightcap of a doubleheader. The knees just weren't going to allow it.

This was probably most frustrating to Mickey on May 30th. In the first game of a doubleheader against Washington, he was about ten years younger: 5-5, 2 home runs, 5 runs batted in, 3 runs scored! Amazing, for a 36-year old. The problem was, it was just one game, one win. Mantle was needed in the second game, which New York lost 6-2, the only time you saw Mantle was in the on-deck circle as Gene Michael batted in the bottom of the ninth. There were two outs, and a man on first. But Darold Knowles made Michael his third strikeout victim of the inning, and the contest ended. New York managed ten hits against the Senators, but didn't get enough clutch blows.

It wasn't long after that Mantle actually made a fine double play against California. It was on June 7th.  Second game of DH, ironically. Mickey sat out the first game, which New York won, 4-1. So, what about the nightcap? It was in this contest where Jim Fregosi of the California Angels was on third base with no one out and Roger Repoz was on first. Top of the eight inning. The batter, Don Mincher, hit a grounder to first. Mantle looked home, where Fregosi headed. Jim was trapped! Mickey ran across the field...Tossed to Bobby Cox, the third basemen...Bobby tagged Jim on the back with the ball in his right hand. Ropez decided to salvage third. Too late. Cox tossed to third base where Mantle was happy to greet Ropez with the tag!

See it at 30:46 of this vid below:

Not a bad play, says I. Alas, despite hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, all this from the great number seven was not enough. It was California with a 8-4 win.

Mantle couldn't have been too happy come September. When the Yankees lost 6-3 to the Baltimore Orioles on the fourth, it looked bad. Mickey was staring at a 0-4 day, dropping his batting average on the season to just .223.

You know what? The Mick actually helped key the ten-game winning streak I mentioned earlier. Although only able to play in seven the contests, it was one last effort on Mantle's part. A bit of a team slump followed. However, Mickey's average was back up to .245 by September 20th. It was on that day that Mickey went yard for the second straight day. Number eighteen on the season and number 536 on his career. Against Boston and pitcher Jim Lonborg. But after hitting five home runs in August, The Mick had to settle for just two in September. The surge of September 7th to 20th saw Mantle hit .486, drive in six runs, score eight and walk seven times compared to just six strikeouts. His on-base percentage in the eleven games was .558.

So New York cooled off, and so did Mantle. Rico Petrocelli, by the way, was not even in the lineup in the 4-3 Red Sox win on the 20th. Meanwhile, Boston was doing alright. They upped their record to 84-72 by beating New York 5-1 on the 22nd. But here is where it was the Red Sox turn to cool off. Mickey Mantle might not have had any problems with the Washington Senators, at any point in his career, including 1968, but Boston sure did. 6-5 and 10-2 losses followed before the Red Sox salvaged the last contest, 1-0.

On the 27th of the month, Rico's team beat Mickey's team 12-2 at Fenway. Neither player had an RBI, but Petrocelli scored two runs. Now the Yankees were just 81-79 compared to the Red Sox, 86-74.

September 28th, 1968. Mel Stottlemyre vs. Jim Lonborg.

Stottlemyre had once been the ace of the Yankees' staff. He'd come up late in the 1964 season, helping New York to a pennant courtesy of a 9-3 record. Then he became the ace in '65, as he won 20 games. Whitey Ford, who'd retire two seasons later, also won 16 contests that year. Al Downing was not too bad at 12-14. However, Jim Bouton was just 4-15, after winning 18 contests in '64.

Bill Stafford, who'd won 14 games in 1961 and '62, and had bounced back from a tough (4-8) 1963 to go 5-0 the next year, tried to return to his role as a starter. It was a case of "Good ERA, bad win-loss record". Stafford, if you eliminate his 1963 season, always had a very good earned run average: 1960 (2.25), 1961 (2.68), 1962 (3.67), 1964 (2.67)! He didn't always get good run support, as you'd think those numbers would produce better than records of 3-1, 14-9, 14-9 and 5-0, right? Well, for Bill Stafford, his team wasn't helping him in 1965. ERA? 3.56. W-L record? Just 3-8. The kid (He was only 26) was just 43-35 despite a career earned run average under 3.50. New York would trade him to Kansas City the next season. It seemed like Stafford symbolized what Yankee pitchers went through in the declining years.

It was bad for Stottlemyre, too. He went from a twenty-game winner to a twenty-game loser in '66 (12-20). Then, Mel was just 15-15 despite 2.96 earned run average in 1967. Al Downing was just 14-10 despite an ERA of of 2.63. They were the only two aces left left from the glory years come next season, unless you want to count Jim Bouton. Bouton had been as equally frustrated as Bill Stafford had been. Good earned run average, 2.69 in '66, and only a 3-8 record. Jim's arm had been damaged, and he was only able to appear in 53 games in his last three years with the Yankees.

Stottlemyre had been rolling along all year. The kid was bound and determined to hold this adrift ship together. It was a grand effort on his part. By September 13th of 1968, he was a twenty-game winner. Mel didn't stop there. He made the Cleveland Indians look like a "AAA" club on 24th. 9 innings, 4 hits, a 5-1 win.

So Mel's outing on the 28th would see him going for win number 22 on the season. Jim Lonborg had fallen a long way for the Red Sox, but would try and stop him.

New York, eager to end their 1-9 stretch coming into this afternoon contest (Which started at 2:04), wasted no time in getting men aboard. It was Horace Clarke that looked at ball four. Jake Gibbs flew out to Carl Yastzemski in left. The putout is scored "7". Speaking of which...

Mickey Mantle was next. The Fenway Faithful gave him a standing ovation, no doubt sensing the end. Lonborg got ahead of him with a fastball that Mantle swung on and missed. Mantle clearly was past it, as he you could see the pain he was in after he swung.

But still, The Mick battled. The next pitch was on the outside (Mantle was batting from the left side of the plate, of course, which Lonborg a right-handed pitcher). A few pickoff attempts by the pitcher before the second pitch kept Clarke at first, but the New York second basemen was bound and determined to get into scoring position.

Mantle caught up to the next pitch, fouling it out of catcher Russ Gibson's hand. It is too bad that Gibson was behind the plate, as this occasion would have been fitting if it were Elston Howard catching for Boston. But all the ex-Yankee had done recently had been playing on September 8th, 11th and 27th (The 12-2 Boston win over New York). But of those contests, only the game on the 8th saw Ellie, now 39 years old, play port to stern. Howard would next appear with Boston on the 30th of September, but only as a defensive replacement behind the plate.

Jim Lonborg missed outside again, evening the count at 2-2. Horace Clarke took a big lead off first, and was off and running as the next pitch was thrown. Mickey Mantle popped it up in shallow left-centre, just to the left behind second base. Rico Petrocelli back-peddled, and settled under it for the catch with the sun blaring down on him.

Roy White batted next, and Clarke stole second. No matter. Lonborg fanned White.

"Ralph [Houk] sent Andy Kosco in to replace me," the Yankee star would write in The Mick, "I sat back and watched the kid limber up. I knew I had reached the end of the line."

While Mantle was out of the game, the Yankees would make him proud. Rico Petrocelli, ironically, popped out to short left his first time up, where shortstop Tommy Tresh made the catch. Mel Stottlemyre retired the Red Sox's shortstop all three times up. New York trailed, however, 3-0 after five innings.

Stottlemyre would leave the game for a pinch hitter, despite allowing just three runs on three hits. So with the big slugger and ace out of the equation, New York seemed doomed.

In the top of the seventh, Roy White and Joe Pepitone walked. Tom Tresh, who was battling leg injuries himself that got his batting average for 1968 below .200, gave it a ride to centre. While Reggie Smith made the catch, both runners advanced. The Yankees were poised to get on the board. Bill Robinson then gave it a bit of a ride to right, which Ken Harrelson made the catch on. But again, both runners advanced. The shutout was gone and Joe Pepitone was on third. And now with two outs, Bobby Cox doubled home Pepi. 3-2. Two runs on just one hit.

This was where conceivably, New York could have let Mel Stottlemyre bat for himself, as Cox represented the tying run. But there was no way that the Yankees would allow their ace to hit in a one-run game. Mel had once hit an inside-the-park grand slam (In 1965), but would watch as Rocky Colavito grabbed some lumber.

Rocky was up for the last time himself in the big leagues. Jim Lonborg fanned him. It would be up to Lindy McDaniel to keep New York in this. McDaniel did the job.

But what the visiting team needed was two more runs. Andy Kosco did what Mantle would have wanted him to do: He blasted a game-tying home run in the eighth! Meanwhile, the Yankees' star reliever had himself a pair of 1-2-3 innings. How would this afternoon contest end?

Joe Pepitone, of all people, would do the honours. He hit a home run off Jim Lonborg in the top of the ninth. New York had the lead for good. Rico Petrocelli was the last out of the game, grounding out to Tom Tresh at short. Mickey Mantle's replacement would make the last putout of the game, as Lindy McDaniel had his third 1-2-3 inning!

The two teams played again the next day, and again it was New York with a 4-3 win. So the Yankees finished 1968 with a record of 83 wins. Not bad. Andy Kosco would go 2-4 at the dish, filling in for Mickey Mantle just fine. Rico Petrocelli, for his part, would double and later score in the eighth inning, as the home team tried to overcome a 4-1 deficit. 

Rico Petrocelli would finish 1968 with just 12 home runs and 46 RBI. Every batter in the American League seemed to have an off-season that year. But Petrocelli would rebound big time the next season, setting a shortstop record by hitting 40 home runs (Not until Alex Rodriguez hit 57 in 2002, would any one else just to the left of second base top that). He continued to play for the Red Sox until being released by Boston in the spring of 1977.


References

Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.


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

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000.


Halberstam, David. October 1964. Villard, 1994.

--------------------- Boston Red Sox Nation. Triumph Books, 2005.


Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. HarperCollins, 1994.



Mantle, Mickey, and Herb Gluck. The Mick. Doubleday & Company Inc., 1985. Print.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1992.

--------------. The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989, St. Martin's Press, 1990.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Publications International, 1993. 

Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, https://sabr.org/. 05 Mar. 2023.

Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. Chronicle Books, 1995.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 05 Mar. 2023.

YouTube, Google, www.youtube.com/. 05 Mar. 2023.

World Series: Did You Know

The battery played a role for Oakland's 1972 win.

Charles O Finley's Oakland Athletics seemed to have a breakout year in 1971, as their ace Vida Blue won 24 games. The team itself seemed primed to overtake Baltimore as the American League representive in the Fall Classic. The 101 win season came to an end in a sweep at the hands of the Orioles in the American League Championship Series.

But 1972 changed the landscape.

Blue was just 6-10 that season, but his earned run average was 2.80. It was Catfish Hunter who led the team with 21 wins. The big stat that the Cincinnati Reds, the team that would face Oakland in the World Series that year, had to be aware of was this: Any pitcher who started at least 14 game for the Athletics that year had an ERA under 3! Another starter, Joe Horlen, albeit with just six games pitching from inning one on, posted an ERA of exactly 3.00.

The team's bullpen was great, too. Darold Knowles had an earned run average of just 1.37, and went 5-1. Bob Locker was even better, 6-1. Knowles saved 11 games, Locker 10. But the team's big guy in the bullpen was closer Rollie Fingers. Fingers finished 1972 with 11 wins and 21 saves. Gary Waslewski would be left off the postseason roster, but had an earned run average of just 2.04 in eight appearances.

There was also a notable player on the disabled list for Oakland come October, Reggie Jackson. He was not "Mr. October" yet, but it was clearly a big loss. Reggie was second on the team in home runs with 25. He'd suffered a hamstring injury during a double-steal in the fifth contest of the ALCS.

So after edging Detroit in the ALCS, it was Cincinnati vs. Oakland in the Fall Classic (The two teams would meet again eighteen years later). 

So what about the catcher for the A's. Dave Duncan hit just .218 in the regular season, but had also hit 19 home runs. There was also Gene Tenace, who'd hit 5 home runs in 82 regular season contests. But he wasn't hitting for an average. In the ALCS, Tenace appeared in all five games, hitting .059. He'd hit just .225 in the regular season.

I, for one, am shocked that manager Dick Williams would choose to stick with Tenace in the World Series. Cincinnati didn't even bother to scout him prior to the October Classic. And they'd pay dearly for it.

The first two games were played at Riverfront Stadium. Gene would catch Ken Holtzman for the opening tilt. Holtzman had won 19 games in 1972, but had lost his only ALCS appearance.

Holtzman's afternoon was short, but he pitched well. He got the side 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first. His pal Gene Tenace came up in the next inning with George Hendrick on first and two away. Gary Nolan, the Reds' pitcher, threw him a 2-1 pitch that at the letters. Tenace deposited the offering over the wall in left. The A's had a quick 2-0 lead for Ken Holtzman to work with. He'd need those two runs.

The Reds, you see, woke up in the bottom of the frame, and had a man on third when Gary Nolan fanned to end that. The A's would watch as the Reds tied the game two innings later, but just when Gary Nolan appeared to be settling down, Tenace had another surprise for him.

Blasting another one to left, the Oakland catcher made it two times downtown in two plate appearances, becoming the first player to do that in the World Series (Andruw Jones of Atlanta would join him in 1996). This, however, was the last time the Athletics would cross the plate in this game.

Ken Holtzman raced through the fifth frame, getting the side 1-2-3, including a strikeout of Hall-of-Famer Joe Morgan (In which Tenace couldn't handle, and would have to go to first for the K 1-2). In the top of the sixth, Johnny Bench, Cincinnati's counterpart to Tenace behind the dish, greeted Holtzman with a leadoff double. The pitcher would next be seen testing the showers at Riverfront Stadium.

So closer Rollie Fingers came in, and he and Tenace worked some magic. Fingers got out of the sixth, standing Bench at second, fanning two. Dave Concepcion led off the next inning for Cincinnati, and singled. He was then caught stealing. The inning was an eventful one for Oakland. Fingers put a man on via a walk. Vida Blue came in to relieve Fingers. Blue threw a wild pitch. He walked a man. Finally, with Pete Rose on second and Joe Morgan on first, Blue got Bobby Tolan to pop out.

Vida got Cincinnati out 1-2-3 in the eighth. But the ninth inning was a struggle as the Reds had the tying run at third when the last out was recorded.

So Oakland had needed all they could from three pitchers this afternoon. Ken Holtzman was solid in five innings, getting the win. Rollie Fingers got the hold for a fine 1 2/3 inning. Vida Blue ended up with a save before he could win his first World Series game. An odd accomplishment for a starting pitcher. Gene Tenace hit two home runs, and seen all three pitchers from behind the plate.

Game two was more the Catfish Hunter show than anything else. The Oakland pitcher was superb, limiting Cincinnati to just six hits and one run. One out away from a shutout in the ninth, Hal McRae's single spoiled that. It was also the last batter Hunter would face. Fingers hopped in from the A's bullpen, getting pinch-hitter and former Cardinal Julian Javier to pop out to first. Gene Tenace didn't seem so tough in this game, however, as three Reds' pitcher held him to 0-4.

Oakland was coming home up 2-0. But any thoughts of a sweep would quickly vanish. Worse still, the A's offence was trending in the wrong direction. The Reds blanked 'em, 1-0. So they'd scored 3, 2 and 0 runs through three games.

Saving Oakland from this trouble had been their pitching. Blue Moon Odom, Vida Blue and Rollie Fingers held Cincinnati to just four hits. However, they were overshadowed by the opposition's pitching. Jack Billingham and Clay Carroll had stopped the Athletics on just three hits.

So the A's needed a bounce-back in the pivotal fourth contest. It was back to Ken Holtzman. Ken had won the first game of the series, but probably wanted to go more than five innings. His start not only was better, but it seemed to rub off not only on Gene Tenace, but some of his other teammates, too.

The Reds got runners to second and third in the top of the first, but Holtzman made sure none of them scored. The game remained scoreless as Cincinnati starter Don Gullett matched Holtzman in a scoreless game. That is, until Gene Tenace came back up in the bottom of the fifth.

Gullett had gotten Tenace to ground out in the third. Two innings later, the pitcher wasn't so lucky. Though Gene came up 0-9 since his second long ball in game one, it was time for more four-bagger heroics.

The hit itself was just a solo shot, so Oakland had a slim 1-0 lead. But Ken Holtzman protected it until the top of the eighth. That's when Dave Concepcion got things started for Cincinnati with a leadoff single. Julian Javier, again pinch hitting, bunted Concepcion into scoring position. Pete Rose was retired on a grounder, but the tying run was now ninety feet away from home.

Dick Williams took Ken Holtzman out of the game. It had been a magnificent start for Ken: 7 2/3 innings, five hits allowed! Would it be enough?

Joe Morgan was the next batter. The new pitcher was Vida Blue again. In this lefty-lefty situation, it was the batter that would coax a bases on balls from the pitcher. Bobby Tolan followed with a clutch double, and suddenly, Oakland trailed 2-1.

Come the ninth inning, the score was still the same. Rollie Fingers came in to pitch after Tony Perez opened the inning with a single. Fingers picked off Perez and managed to get the next two batters out. That set the stage for an amazing bottom of the ninth.

Pedro Borbon, working his second inning of relief, got off on the right foot by retiring Mike Hegan. That is always big, as getting the first batter out usually means the other team isn't going to have a big inning. Oakland, however, didn't need a big inning. They needed just one run. They ended up doing better than that.

Gonzalo Marquez stroked a pinch-hit single to get the tying run aboard. Allan Lewis ran for him. Gene Tenace was back up, having fanned against Don Gullett last time up. But here, the Oakland catcher singled.

No pinch runner was used for Tenace, but Don Mincher batted for second basemen Dick Green. Mincher had played in the World Series with the Minnesota Twins seven years earlier, so he had experience in the Fall Classic. The move by Dick Williams to call on Mincher to pinch hit paid dividends.

Mincher would stroke one to centre. Lewis scored. Tenace made it to third. Now, the winning run was ninety feet away.

It would be a third pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth. The A's also wanted to avoid an inning-ending double play. So pitcher Blue Moon Odom, who'd stolen four bases that season, came in to run for Mincher.

Oh, and the pinch hitter was Ángel Mangual. Mangual would grab all the next-day's headlines. He sent a grounder to right that made it to the outfield, and Gene Tenace crossed home.

This seemed to be the end of the 1972 World Series. Oakland now led 3-1, with game five at home. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that this Fall Classic wasn't heading back to Cincinnati. The Athletics battery had been too strong. So strong that Vida Blue was just coming out of the bullpen. Would he ever get a start?

But the Reds, who'd lost the 1970 World Series to the Baltimore Orioles, would end up being one of the very best teams of the decade. They had character players. And they had guys like Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench.

Rose was the first batter of game five, and hit a home run. Gene Tenace overcame that with a three-run shot in the bottom of the second. It was 3-1 Oakland, in the series and this contest. Tenace was up to four home runs in just five games. This tied a single World Series record at the time. Ironically enough, the very man who missed this entire extravaganza, Reggie Jackson, would break it five years later.

Catfish Hunter appeared to have things under control until the top of the fourth. Another blast, this time by Denis Menke, cut the margin to just a run, 3-2. Oakland was quick to respond.

Sal Bando opened the bottom of the fourth with a walk. George Hendrick bunted him into scoring position. The Reds, who had not scouted Gene Tenace, were now fully aware of the problem with pitching to him. So they put him on. The move backfired, however, as Oakland manager made a smart move of his own. Having had great success with pinch hitters in their last at bats of the previous contest, A's manager Dick Williams sent up another here early.

Gonzalo Marquez singled. Bando scored, and Tenace hustled to third. A big inning was brewing!

At least it was until Pedro Borbon got them out of it. Allan Lewis was inserted as a pinch runner for Marquez, as this inning was really resembling the bottom of the ninth inning of the previous contest. Catfish Hunter was now up. To try for a fifth run of the contest, Oakland tried a suicide squeeze. However, Borbon threw a strike past Hunter, and Tenace was a dead duck. It was a huge play.

Lewis had advanced to second on the play, so Catfish Hunter had a chance to cash in a fifth run in any event. But all Hunter could do is fly out. He wouldn't be around much longer.

Cincinnati got rid of Catfish in the top of the fifth. They scored a run with two away, before Rollie Fingers put out the fire. It was still 4-3 for the home team.

But Oakland's offence stalled. Reds' reliever Tom Hall easy got through the fifth and sixth inning, keeping Cincinnati within a run. Bobby Tolan's single in the top of the eighth cashed in the fourth Reds' run, tying the contest.

Fingers stayed in the game, but the Reds now had his number. Cesar Geronimo singled to start the ninth. Ross Grimsley got him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Dave Concepcion reached on an error. Pete Rose singled home the go-ahead run.

There was one last chance for the Athletics to tie it. And ironically, more batteries were included.

Gene Tenace go on via a bases on balls. Ted Kubiak failed to get him to second on a bunt attempt. However, this led to a series of moves that got a forgotten man on Oakland into this game.

Jack Billingham, a tall left-handed pitcher (And like Vida Blue, normally a starter), entered the game for Cincinnati, trying to preserve the contest and sent it back to Riverfront Stadium. Oakland then brought in a pinch runner, Blue Moon Odom, to run for Tenace.

So there would also be a pinch hitter, as pitcher Dave Hamilton was the scheduled batter. Dave Duncan had been a regular on Oakland during the regular season, but given what Tenace had done so far, there was no way he'd be catching. Still, here in a very big situation, he singled. Odom motored towards third.

This put the Athletics into a situation where any extra base hit would win the 1972 World Series for Oakland. The batter would be Bert Campaneris, who had once played all nine positions in one game back in 1965. The inning was becoming a chess match between the two managers. Don Gullett, who'd pitched well the previous game, was now warming up in the Reds' bullpen. Presumably, he would come in to face Matty Alou (They were both lefties). However, the game never got to that point.

Campaneris popped up to right. It was second basemen Joe Morgan who scrambled into foul territory to make the catch for the second out. Morgan lost his footing. So Odom at third sought to take advantage of it by racing home. Cincinnati's second basemen bounced right back up. Morgan's throw beat the runner to the plate. The double play meant the Reds had won the game, and would head home.

Obviously, it was still a "must win" situation for Cincinnati. Yet, this was the one rout in this Fall Classic.

Vida Blue did finally start, and for a while he seemed to have it. The Reds got to him in the bottom of the fourth via Johnny Bench. The Cincinnati catcher hit a knee-high fastball outta here. But Oakland quickly recovered from that setback.

In the top of the fifth, Sal Bando again got his team off on the right foot in an inning. Oakland would pound the ball, but Gary Nolan would get the next two batters out. First, Ángel Mangual appeared to have enough to get Bando home as he hit one to left. It seemed like extra bases until Pete Rose jumped at the wall and hauled it in. Gene Tenace was next. A moment of humour then happened as the batter sent a foul ball into the broadcast booth. "We got a World Series souvenir right herein the booth!" said Oakland's radio announcer Monte Moore. Moore would then see a surprising star below him try and deliver again. Bob Locker was loosening up for the visitors. With the count 1-2, Gary Nolan threw Gene Tenace a curveball that nearly resulted in a wild pitch. Johnny Bench blocked it, holding Sal Bando at first. Gene Tenace would get a hold of one, and sent it to centre on a 2-2 pitch to centre. Bobby Tolan went back to the warning track, and was able to settle under it. But the A's were getting to Nolan. It seemed quite possible that both pitchers would soon be gone. Vida Blue would hit after Dick Green, and there was the possibility that Dick Williams would pinch hit for him.

Green did his part, doubling to the gap in right, and we had ourselves a tie ballgame. Vida Blue would then bat for himself, but not against Gary Nolan. Sparky Anderson brought in a new pitcher, even though there was two away, and the light-hitting (Vida hit just .044 in 1972) pitcher up.

Blue drew a walk from Ross Grimsley, as Oakland was having themselves a good inning. They'd score a run, they'd hit the ball hard, and now had runners on first and second. Bert Campaneris ended the fun by popping out.

The Reds scratched out a tie-breaking run in their half of the inning. Hal McRae was cashed in via a grounder and sacrifice fly. Cincinnati was ahead for good. Vida Blue kept battling, but on this day, the Reds seemed to have the book on him and nearly every other Athletics pitcher who appeared.

Blue actually got the first two batters out the next inning, and Oakland seemed safe. However, Bobby Tolan ended any thoughts of a 1-2-3 inning as he singled. Blue threw a high ball to Johnny Bench, who took it. 1-0. Oakland was holding Tolan on first, and with Vida Blue being a left-handed pitcher, the odds of a stolen base here seemed slim. Ball two outside. Bob Locker was summoned from the bullpen by Dick Williams to put out this fire. However, Tolan added some gasoline to it by swiping second on the next pitch, which was ball three. Locker threw a deliberate ball four.

The strategy backfired on Oakland, however. Tony Perez came up with a single, having himself a terrific Fall Classic. It was 3-1 for the home team. This insurance run made the rest of the game a lot easier for Cincinnati. 

Gene Tenace was still hitting the ball well. He came up with a man on first in the top of the seventh. Tenace fouled a potential strike three with the count 1-2 (The pitch, though, was a ball two if Gene had taken it). But Johnny Bench couldn't hold on to it. Tenace got under the next one, but it was just a short fly to centre.

In the ninth, things went a little better. The trouble was, the game was over. The only real rout of the 1972, the scored was a laugher, 8-1, for Cincinnati as the defiant Oakland Athletics came up one last time in the ninth.

With two out and the bases empty, Ángel Mangual collected his second hit of the game. Gene Tenace followed with his first base hit of the afternoon. But Ted Kubiak forced Mangual at third, and the 1972 October Finale was heading to a seventh and deciding game.

It was Blue Moon Odom vs. Jack Billingham. But Dave Duncan would finally get his first start behind the plate in the World Series. But what about the hot bat of Gene Tenace? Well, he was in the lineup at first, replacing Mike Epstein, who wasn't hitting.

The stage was quickly set for the new first basemen. Ángel Mangual had made it all the way to third on an error. Tenace came up with two away, but delivered a clutch single.

The game stayed 1-0 Oakland until the bottom of the fifth. That's when Cincinnati tied it on a Hal McRae sacrifice fly. Catfish Hunter had taken over on the hill as the Reds had loaded the bases. Hunter averted any further trouble as Pete Rose sent one to the gap in right. That's where Ángel Mangual caught it on the warning track.

Hunter had really done the job, plus the momentum could carry over. Due up in the top of the sixth inning was speedster Bert Campaneris. Campy singled. A bunt and a grounder brought Tenace back to the dish. And the first basemen drove home his second run of the contest with a double. On the second pitch from Pedro Borbon, Tenace got an offspeeder, and delivered a clutch double to break the tie.

Sadly, this was Gene's last contribution to the Oakland Athletics in 1972. He parted for pinch runner Allan Lewis. Sal Bando followed with a double, and Lewis scored. Oakland had all the runs they needed.

Still, the Athletics loaded the bases, and failed to get another run. They could have broken the game wide open. It was merely a two-run lead. Hunter had to pitch his way out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth as Cincinnati got runners to second and third. Denis Menke ended the inning by flying out.

But Pete Rose sent Catfish Hunter to the showers in the bottom of the eighth. Pete singled to start the inning. The new pitcher was Ken Holtzman. Joe  Morgan greeted him with a double. The Reds had the tying run at second. Rollie Fingers came in to pitch. A popup and intentional walk brought Tony Perez to the playe. Perez delivered, hitting a sacrifice fly. The Reds had their second run of the ballgame.

But Rollie Fingers was through with giving the Reds anything. The Athletics' bullpen ace got Dennis Menke out after Johnny Bench surprised everyone by stealing second.

In the ninth, Fingers got the first two men out. Darrel Chaney batted for pitcher Tom Hall. Rollie hit Tom, bringing Pete Rose to the plate. When Rose flied out to left, Oakland had the 1972 World Championship.

A quick look at the battery of Oakland for the 1972 reveals they were clicking. Rollie Fingers was 1-1 with two saves and an earned run average of 1.74. Vida Blue got just that one start, took the loss and posted an ERA of 4.15. However, Blue picked up a save and showed potential in the clutch. Ken Holtzman won a game, made two other appearances, and had a 2.13 earned run average. Catfish Hunter was the best among Athletic starters. He won 2, lost none, and posted a 2.81 ERA.

Perhaps most surprising were Blue Moon Odom and Gene Tenace. White Odom, you'd see him out there more than you might have expected just any other pitcher. He appeared twice as a pinch runner. In the two other games, where Blue Moon pitched, he posted a 1.59 earned run average. True, he'd lost his only decision, but had kept Oakland in it.

But how about Tenace? Four home runs. Nine RBIs. No one else on Oakland had more than one home run and one run batted in. Tenace even topped all Athletics in runs scored with five. This marvelous performance helped Oakland capture it's first major professional sports championship. So it was no small feat. It was true a first.

The A's would return to the Fall Classic the next two years. And come away with a three-peat.


References

Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1992.

--------------. The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989, St. Martin's Press, 1990.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Publications International, 1993. 


“1972 World Series.” Baseball Wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, https://baseball.fandom.com/wiki/1972_World_Series. 28 Feb. 2023.

Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, https://sabr.org/. 28 Feb. 2023.

Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. Chronicle Books, 1995.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 28 Feb. 2023.


“They Were There: The TGG Interview with Joe Rudi.” This Great Game, This Great Game, 31 July 2020, https://thisgreatgame.com/joe-rudi/. 28 Feb. 2023.


YouTube, Google, www.youtube.com/. 28 Feb. 2023.

World Series: Did You Know?

Edd Roush was only second on Cincinnati in RBI in 1919. During the regular season, Edd had led the Reds with 71 RBI.

It was a meager total. Another player, who's totals seemed meager, very meager, was Pat Duncan. Duncan had only 17 RBI in the regular season, but in just 31 games played. The Cincinnati would soon turn to these two men to get 'em across the dish.

Both would have a great Fall Classic against the Chicago White Sox. Were the White Sox trying?

Well, eight members of this squad, which was pretty much the same as the one that had won it all two years later, were banned from baseball after the 1920 season. Some of the players had taken money from gamblers. This alone, tends to take away from the efforts of the Reds, which is unfortunate. 

It seemed like the game would be tough for Cincinnati. The visiting Sox seemed to have something going in the first. But thanks in large part to Roush, the Reds survived it, unscathed.

Shano Collins led off the sixteenth edition of the World Series with a single. A bunt by Eddie Collins, who was not related to Shano, ended up as just a force at second. Buck Weaver was next. Chicago tried a hit-and-run play, but for some reason Buck just took the pitch. Collins was erased at second. Weaver, though, was still up. He rocketed one that the Reds' centre fielder showed off his leather on. With a spectacular one-handed grab, Roush had robbed Weaver of a double. 

Roush, playing in front of his fans at Redland Field, must have had a big grin on his face the first time up in the opening tilt. There was Jake Daubert on first. The Reds had a 1-0 lead on the White Sox, and Edd Roush wanted to extend that. But then, Daubert then got caught stealing. So much for an opportunity to drive in an insurance run. With two away, Edd drew a bases on balls of Chicago pitcher Eddie Cicotte, and then stole second. This gave the aforementioned Pat Duncan a chance at an RBI himself, but Cicotte got him to ground out.

Chicago countered with a run in the top of the second, so Cincinnati didn't get to enjoy the lead long. Chick Gandil got a single to centre, but Roush sure made an effort to catch it.

Cincinnati's big inning came in the bottom of the fourth. It was Pat Duncan that got it all going with a one-out single. The Reds were about to blow open this opening tilt to this awesome extravaganza!

With two out, Greasy Neale kept the inning alive with a single. This brought catcher Ivey Wingo to the dish. Ivey had failed the first time up, but here, he gave the Reds the lead for good with a clutch two out single. The scoring had merely begun. By the time the inning was over, the home team had put a "5" on the scoreboard. The game was effectively over. Eddie Cicotte had been routed.

The Reds didn't stop there. The new pitcher was Roy Wilkinson. In the fifth, he got Edd Roush out on a long fly to centre. He'd given it quite a ride back in the third. Despite hitting the ball so well, Roush did not end up getting a hit this game. But Pat Duncan was a man on a mission. Proving he belonged in the Fall Classic, as a Red regular, he singled. Nothing came of it, but when Duncan batted again two innings later, something did!

Cincinnati had already scored one run that frame, and were looking for more. Edd Roush laid down a bunt to third. Buck Weaver, the Chicago third basemen, picked it up. But his throw to first took Chick Gandil into Roush, who was scrambling to first. Contact was made between the Roush and Gandil, the end result a dropped ball. The error opened the door for Pat Duncan.

Pat could only hit into a fielder's choice which erased Roush, but it scored Heinie Groh. Remarkably, enough the home team continued to pour it on. They scored a ninth run in the eighth, and looked to Edd Roush for more.

Pitcher Dutch Ruether had added a run-scoring single to make it 9-1. But Morrie Rath then retired for the second out. The Reds then manufactured two more runners to load the bases, without the benefit of a hit. Jake Daubert was hit by a pitch. Heinie Groh walked.

Alas, all Edd Roush could do was force Groh at second. There was no more scoring in the contest. It was a laugher.

The Reds trotted back out the next day, to try and make it two straight over the White Sox. Edd Roush drew a walk off Lefty Williams in the last of inning two. Lefty, who's first name was actually Claude, pitched a pretty good game. Cincinnati would have to make due with just four hits.

They did not get one in the last of the second. Pat Duncan lined to second basemen Eddie Collins. The legendary second basemen doubled Roush off first.

So it became clear early on that Lefty Williams was "on". Both he and Eddie Cicotte would later be kicked out of baseball for their part in throwing this World Series. However, each would later imply that they had tried, at least in their second and third starts of the 1919 Fall Classic. So maybe we shouldn't say that what Roush, Duncan or any of the Reds accomplished is tainted.

Williams pitched well this game, too. However, perhaps the issue was not that he couldn't give up a hit. Rather, it was his control that was the the enigma.

The Reds had two men on via (you guess it) walks in the bottom of the fourth. Up stepped the Cincinnati centre fielder. Edd Roush came through for the visitors with a single, cashing in Morrie Rath. Roush, though, may have hurt a potential big inning. He was caught stealing.

It was up to Pat Duncan to keep this inning alive. He drew Williams' third free pass of the inning. The Reds took advantage, adding a second and third run of the frame on Larry Kopf's triple. It was 3-0. However, it could have been 4-0.

Cincinnati had to wait three innings to score again. And again it was an inning that featured a walk by Edd Roush. Pat Duncan bunted him into scoring position. Eventually, Roush scored a run (The Reds' last of the ballgame) on a Greasy Neale two-out single.

The run was big. Chicago rallied with two runs of their own in the top of the seventh to break the shutout. Roush, though, appeared to have his second hit of the ballgame (To go along nicely with a pair of bases on balls) in the bottom of the eighth.

Heinie Groh became the sixth Red to read first off Lefty Williams via ball four. This put one on with one out. So Edd Roush sent one to shallow centre. It appeared to be a hit, and Cincinnati seemed destined for another run or two.

That is, until Happy Felsch arrived. Rushing in, the Chicago centre fielder made a spectacular catch (Ironically, Felsch himself was later implicated in the scandal). The end result was Groh doubled off first.

Slim Sallee pitched a fair ballgame for Cincinnati, although he allowed two singles in the ninth before getting the last out. When the series moved to Chicago, the Reds' momentum seemed to dissappear.

Dickie Kerr, the left-hander for the White Sox, had no involvement in the fixing of the 1919 Fall Classic. It seemed, also that his team was trying their best in the third contest.

The very man that put the fix together, Chick Gandil, singled home two runs in the bottom of the second. Before that, Pat Duncan had come up with a one-out single in the top of the frame. There was a bit of a suspicious play that followed. Larry Kopf hit a ball that Swede Risberg took too long with. They got the out at first, but Duncan had made it to second in time. But the Reds failed to take advantage of it, stranding Duncan at second when Greasy Neale grounded out to Eddie Collins.

Heinie Groh led off the third with a walk. Edd Roush then grounded out, but it worked like a bunt, as Groh was now at second. Pat Duncan took a rip at a pitch and sent it to left. But this time, Swede Risberg was there. The shortstop not only made the catch, he doubled Groh off second, ending the the top of the fourth. A Risberg triple would lead to an eventual third Chicago run in the bottom of the frame.

The Reds were essentially beaten right there and then. Kerr pitched amazing. Cincinnati got just one more hit. They were frustrated by the superb effort by the Chicago lefty, who ended the game in style. The last fifteen Cincinnati batters were sent back to the dugout in frustration. Roush was scheduled to bat next as Heinie Groh grounded out to end the contest.

So Dickie Kerr had a three-hit shutout. Edd Roush and Pat Duncan were a combined 0-6.

Game four of this best-of-nine affair was big. It turned into a superb pitchers' duel. Jimmy Ring started for Cincinnati, and had some trouble. Edd Roush was one awesome centre fielder. However, he couldn't come up with Joe Jackson's hit to centre. Joe ended up on second with a leadoff two-bagger. The next two men were retired via a sac bunt and a pop up. Ring seemed safe, but walked Swede Risberg to keep the inning alive. Swede made the Reds pay by stealing second. The White Sox had two men in scoring position. Ring walked catcher Ray Schalk intentionally. Eddie Cicotte, the opposing pitcher, actually made quite bid for a hit, but a fine play by Morrie Rath at second ended the inning.

The next inning saw Chicago have Eddie Collins on third and Joe Jackson on first with two away. Again, Jimmy Ring made sure to get the next batter to hit it on the ground. Happy Felsch was retired 5-3.

So Ring had survived two tough innings. Though he settled down after that, he'd need some help from his left fielder to keep Chicago at bay.

With one out in the top of the fifth, it was Pat Duncan with a hard grounder to Cicotte. While the pitcher got to it, his throw to first missed the mark. Duncan had done little, but now was on second base. And Pat would score as Larry Kopf hit the ball to left. Joe Jackson fielded it and threw it home to stop Duncan. But, Eddie Cicotte made a bad play on the ball, redirecting it out of catcher Ray Schalk's position behind the dish. The costly mistake not only scored a run, but meant another runner was at second. Greasy Neale doubled to left over Joe Jackson's head to cash in a second Red run. It actually appeared as though Cincinnati would get more. Red-hot catcher Ivey Wingo was next. Wingo was 1-1 in this contest (To go along with 1-3 in the opening tilt), with another base hit on the way. But Ivey couldn't come through in the biggest moment for him in this game, only grounding out. Neale advanced to third, so there was still a chance for more. But Reds' manager had to let pitcher Jimmy Ring bat, and he too, grounded out.

Cincinnati had all the offence they needed, however. But Pat Duncan would find a way to contribute in other ways. With one away in the bottom of the sixth, he robbed Happy Felsch of extra bases by making a great catch. Just a few feet shy of the stands in left. 

Poor Edd Roush didn't get to do much, sadly. He failed to get a hit in three times up at the dish. Pat Duncan was also held hitless. The final score was only 2-0 for the visitors. The teams combined for just eight hits.

But it was all about great timing when it came to the Reds. The fourth game was big.

Edd Roush came up with a man on second in the top of the first. Two outs. He hit a grounder to Chick Gandil at first. Lefty Williams got over to cover the bag. The pitcher received the ball before the batter made it to first, for the putout. The play ended the inning.

Chicago looked to get it going in the bottom of the first. The White Sox had runners on the corners. But with one out, Joe Jackson popped to third. So two men were on, but now two were out. The batter was Felsch, who would hit the ball well all series, but not always get the results. Here, he lofted one to short left, where Pat Duncan put the squeeze on it.

The game seemed to evolve into a strikeout affair. Williams fanned two in the top of the second (Including Pat Duncan), but the Reds were inspired by pitcher Hod Eller's own exploits. At one point, the Cincinnati starter fanned six batters in a row!

Edd Roush reached on an error by shortstop Swede Risberg in the fourth, then stole second (Catcher Ray Schalk couldn't come up with a pitch when Roush broke). All this with two away. The Reds' centre fielder was making what looked like an easy 1-2-3 inning for Lefty Williams, interesting. Pat Duncan sent one to Joe Jackson in left, and that was it.

Roush would play the hero role in this contest, or maybe co-hero with his pitcher. The Reds would use a big sixth inning to go ahead of the Sox. 

Hod Eller had started it all with a double. This was somewhat a result of poor managing. Chicago manager Kid Gleason had his centre fielder, Happy Felsch, playing Eller a bit towards right. This created the space needed for the Cincinnati pitcher to drop one it. This was the start of a huge rally. Happy Felsch then made a throwing error, and suddenly Cincinnati had a man on third, no outs. Morrie Rath brought Eller home with a single. A bunt and a walk brought Roush back to the dish, and the centre fielder of Cincinnati did not disappoint.

Edd turned on a Williams pitch, and sent it to centre. It appeared to fool Felsch. The misjudgment resulting in him seemingly having butter fingers, or a butter glove. The triple by Roush plated both Morrie Rath and Heinie Groh. 

Well, not everybody thought that Groh was safe. Catcher Ray Schalk of Chicago was sure thought Heinie was DOA at the dish. All that anger resulted in him bumping into someone of authoritative measures who was also behind the plate. Needless to say, Schalk was ejected for bumping home plate umpire Cy Rigler. Byrd Lynn came in, and Pat Duncan came up with a way to challenge the new catcher.

Duncan again sent one to left for the second out. Roush tagged and scored when the catcher for Chicago couldn't handle the heave from Joe Jackson. It was 4-0 for the visitors.

Roush started a mild rally in the eighth when he reached on an error by Eddie Collins. Pat Duncan followed with a walk. Lefty Williams had departed the game when Eddie Murphy batted for him in the bottom of the seventh. And new pitcher Erskine Mayer couldn't stop the bleeding.

Larry Kopf got the two runners into scoring position with a bunt. And then Greasy Neale grounded to short, Edd Roush scoring the fifth (And final) run of the ballgame. Hod Eller completed the shutout, and it seemed Cincinnati now had a stranglehold on the series. Roush had driven in two and scored as many runs. Pat Duncan had to settle for just one RBI.

So going into the potential clincher in the sixth contest at Redland Field, Pat Duncan had played outstanding. He'd only joined the Reds in August, but now was proving he belonged in left for Cincinnati. Roush was Roush in centre, but was hitting just .133. However, looking at the RBI totals from the first five games, Duncan was a little short of them. Driving in 17 in just 31 regular season games was impressive. But here, Pat had just two in five games. Normally, the World Series was a best-of-seven affair, as this was the first extended Fall Classic since 1903 (Although 1912 had a tie, making it eight contests).

Roush's three RBIs actually looked good when you look at his batting average, but he'd wowed the Chicago White Sox with his glove. And the White Sox hadn't seen it all from Roush yet. His fielding in the sixth contest was amazing.

Heinie Groh was on second in the bottom of the second. Roush singled to short. However, Groh overran third base, and Swede Risberg nailed him there. A potential big inning came to an end on that miscue.

Roush would get a second attempt at greatness in the third, and heroically extended the inning by taking one for the team. The hit by pitch took away an RBI chance for Edd, as Jake Daubert had singled earlier in the inning, then stole second as Roush batted.

And Pat Duncan delivered a clutch hit. His two-out double to right scored both Daubert and Edd Roush, and the Reds were off and flying against the White and pitcher Dickie Kerr. Duncan wasn't just waving his bat this game. In the top of the fourth, he took a base hit away from Buck Weaver.

The Reds saw Duncan doing it all, and they in turn touched home two more times in the bottom of that inning. 4-0, and the champagne was all but on ice.

The White Sox appeared to have a big rally going in the bottom of the fifth. But they still hadn't figured out a way to eliminate the great Reds' centre fielder as a factor. The bases were loaded, and only one out. And the batter was Eddie Collins. The future Hall-of-Famer sent one to centre that cashed in Swede Risberg. However, Dickie Kerr ran from first to second after the catch, not realizing that Ray Schalk had remained there. So when third basemen Heinie Groh received the toss from centre, he noticed Kerr's flight towards second. Groh motored over and applied the tag on the Chicago pitcher. That play meant Edd Roush to collect an assist to go along with his putout. The double play got Cincinnati out of a potentially big inning. They still led, 4-1.

Pat Duncan extended the Cincinnati half of the inning, but only when centre fielder Happy Felsch muffed his fly. Larry Kopf grounded out to end the fifth.

The sixth inning was a lost one for the Reds. The White Sox had their biggest inning of the Fall Classic (So far) by crossing home three times to square it. Schalk capped it by sending home Felsch with a single.

Cincinnati, although at home, failed to score again. Dickie Kerr didn't pitch anywhere near as well as he had in game three, but was conceiving to nothing. Roush ended the seventh by hitting into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play (Started by fixer Swede Risberg, ironically).

But if the bat of the Cincinnati centre fielder had ended one half of an inning, then his glove turned the trick as the game moved to the eighth. Chicago had Joe Jacksons on second and Chick Gandil on first. Risberg flied to centre, and Roush got even with the White Sox shortstop. He not only robbed Risberg of a hit, but he doubled Jackson off second! With that the Reds' centre fielder became the first outfielder to turn a pair of double plays in the same World Series contest!

But the defence of Chicago didn't make many mistakes the rest of the way. Kerr had a tough eighth inning as Cincinnati got two more men on via base hits. Cincinnati couldn't get either home. 

Jimmy Ring had relieved Dutch Ruether in the top of the sixth inning, and pitched a whale of a game. It looked as though Dickie Kerr would finally crack at any moment. Edd Roush himself came up with Heinie Groh on first in the bottom of the eighth. Roush never got to finish his plate appearance as Groh was caught stealing.

And Chicago rode the wave of the momentum created by Groh's attempt to pilfer second. They scratched across a run in the top of the tenth, then watched as their courageous pitcher retired the side in order. Dickie Kerr had extended the Fall Classic for Chicago. It took him 128 pitches.

Oddly, enough, the winning RBI came off the bat of Chick Gandil, the supposed ring-leader of the fix. Though he'd driven home five runs in the 1917 World Series, Gandil had only 60 in the 1919 regular season. The game-winning run driven in by Chick in the top of the tenth in this game six gave him four RBIs. This means he was threatening to lead this extended Fall Classic in that statistic. He actually had as many as Pat Duncan. Edd Roush was stuck at three. There was still a Fall Classic to win by Cincinnati, and some RBI work to be done by Roush and Duncan.

Still, the situation seemed in the Reds' hands, as they were at home for the next contest. Cincinnati had a second chance to clinch at home in game seven. Chicago sent Eddie Cicotte (0-2) out to the hill. The problem was Cincinnati sent Slim Sallee out to finish the White Sox off. However, the Reds should have known Sallee was not the man to get it done. He'd surrendered ten hits in the second contest.

Here, Chicago pounced on him. By the top of the fifth, it was 4-0 for the visitors. The big blow in the game was Happy Felsch's two run single that inning. As for the Reds' bat, they were being stymied. Cincinnati had one hit and one walk.

Greasy Neale got a one-out single in the bottom of the inning. Ivey Wingo was next. The catcher, who only got into three World Series games, was one tough out for Chicago. He was batting .500 coming into this game. The reason I'm bringing Wingo up is that Cincinnati would waste his fine game. Wingo walked for the second time here in the fifth, which could have led to a big inning.

Instead, Dutch Ruether was sent up to hit for pitcher Ray Fisher. Reuther, the pitcher, had hit .261 in the regular season, plus had pitched well in the first contest. But here, all he could do was pop out. Morrie Rath was then retired. The mini rally did mean, however, that the two big guns on the Reds would hit in the sixth.

Heinie Groh hit a one-out double, and it appeared Cincinnati was in business with Edd Roush up. The Reds' centre fielder could only hit one back to the mound. Groh made it to third, but now there were two away.

Just when things were looking bad, it was the bat of Pat Duncan that came through. Pat made it three games in a row with at least one RBI by singling Groh home. The shutout was gone, and Duncan was up to five runs driven in.

It's not as if Cincinnati went quietly after that. Actually, it was the Chicago bats that were silence on a superb relief outing by Dolf Luque. His pitching seemed to give the Reds hope.

With one away in the bottom of the seventh, Wingo made it to first on his third bases on balls of the afternoon. Then, with two away, Morrie Rath singled. Jake Daubert grounded out. From there, the last chance the Reds had to win this game came in the ninth.

Ivey Wingo and Sherry Magee singled with two away. But then Morrie Rath flied out to end it. So Roush and Duncan had been held to just one hit and one RBI.

It seemed like, aside from their RBI totals, Edd Roush and  Pat Duncan were in slumps. Roush was hitting .130 and Duncan just .227. Compare that to:

Greasy Neale, .360

Ivey Wingo, .571

Dutch Reuther, pitcher, .667

Neither Wingo or Reuther would appear in the eighth contest, which was back in Chicago. 

The vesting Reds decided it early.

Left Williams was back, and would retire the leadoff batter, Morrie Rath, to start the contest. This was the only batter Williams got out.

Jake Daubert singled. So did Heinie Groh. The Chicago bullpen got going as Bill James started to throw. Catcher Ray Schalk approached Williams. Most likely, this was to give James more time to get loose. It was obvious the White Sox starting pitcher didn't have it.

And then it was Edd Roush getting the scoring going with a two-run double. When Pat Duncan followed suit, it was 3-0, Cincinnati. Lefty Williams threw one more pitch, a ball. Bill James replaced him on the mound. James would end up not walking Larry Koft. Before the inning ended, Cincinnati had added another run.

Heinie Groh came back up with two away in the top of the second. He ended up collecting his second hit to keep the inning alive. That was all Edd Roush needed. Roush singled. Though Groh scored, Roush ran past first and was erased before he could scamper back.

It was 5-0, and Chicago did not score until the third inning. Joe Jackson's home run was just a solo shot. Cincinnati kept hitting Bill James well, as they got two singles that led to nothing in the top of the fourth. But it got the Reds to the big artillery come the next frame. Roush in fact, would lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, but James retired him. Pat Duncan didn't get the ball out of the infield for the second out, but Cincinnati still ended up tacking on a sixth run.

Edd Roush wasn't finished. He came back up again the next inning. Bases loaded. One away.

And two more runners would score thanks to Roush, who made it 3-4 at the plate with a single. Pat Duncan followed with a single of his own, which made it 9-1. Would the 1919 World Series end the same way it started?

Nah, Cincy wanted more.

A mini-rally died in the seventh with no scoring by the Reds. But again, it helped Edd Roush. Once again, he would lead off an inning. Roush took one for the team, as Roy Wilkinson (Who'd relieved Bill James in the top of the sixth) hit him.

Duncan bunted. Larry Kopf popped out for the second out, and it appeared that the inning would be for not. However, Greasy Neale walked and Bill Rariden singled. Roush scored!

So Cincinnati was feeling pretty good. Ahead 10-1 after 7 1/2. The bottom of the eighth was a frustrating adventure for the visitors.

Chicago made a comeback attempt. They scored twice on a Jackson double. But it appeared to be over when Happy Felsch was retired for the second out. Chick Gandil extended the inning, however, with a triple. Then the inning should have ended as Swede Risberg hit a harmless fly to centre. Edd Roush couldn't come up with it. Gandil scored, unearned. Ray Schalk was retired to finally end the eight inning.

Due up for Cincinnati in the top of the ninth was Morrie Rath, Jake Daubert and Heinie Groh. Roush batted after Groh, but would he get a chance?

Rath started the inning out on the right foot with a single. Daubert got a sac bunt down, and now Groh was looking at an RBI opportunity. Groh flied out to centre.

It was up to Roush to get 'er done. Alas, he grounded out to Buck Weaver at third.

The good news was, of course, the Reds were three outs away from champagne. But starting pitcher Hod Eller hit pinch hitter Eddie Murphy. Nemo Leibold hit one to centre. It seemed like a hit. A big inning for Chicago loomed.

At least, that was until Edd Roush got his glove on it. A great catch, and some redemption for Edd for his error the previous inning.

Eddie Collins followed with a single. The catch by Roush was huge by this point. Buck Weaver flied out to right. Murphy strode into third after the catch. With Joe Jackson back up (2-4 with 3 RBI). Collins stole second, and the pressure on Hod Eller mounted. But Jackson would ground out, and Cincinnati had won the 1919 World Series.

Although Hod Eller had won two games (Dickie Kerr, too), plus Greasy Neale finished with a .357 batting average (Topps among all Reds' regulars), the big Cincinnati guns were clearly two-thirds of their outfield. While Pat Duncan had to settle for a .269 batting average, he'd end up leading all players in RBIs in the Fall Classic, with eight.


References

Cook, William. The 1919 World Series: What Really Happened? Kindle ed., McFarland, 2001. 

Dunn, Jay. “Jay Dunn: A Look Back at the Infamous 1919 World Series Scandal.” Trentonian, MediaNews Group, 19 Aug. 2021, https://www.trentonian.com/2019/05/08/jay-dunn-a-look-back-at-the-infamous-1919-world-series-scandal/. 27 Feb. 2023.


Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1992.


--------------. The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989, St. Martin's Press, 1990.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Publications International, 1993. 

Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, https://sabr.org/. 27 Feb, 2023.

Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. Chronicle Books, 1995.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 27 Feb, 2023.

Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. 

Ward, Geoffrey C., et al. Baseball: An Illustrated History. Updated edition. Knopf, 2010.

World Series: Did You Know?

Jim Palmer's shutout in the second contest of 1966 was his first at the major league level. Palmer had many "firsts" crossed off his major league career by the end of the regular season in '66, but a shutout was not one of them. He'd even hit his first major league home run in May of 1965, his rookie season.

Palmer was just 5-4 in '65, as the Baltimore Orioles were loaded with pitching depth. He'd pitch here and there, but not regularly. How ironic, considering the very man on the wrong end of his shutout in the second game of the World Series a year later could relate to that!

But in 1966 things were different for Baltimore. They had a strong starting staff. They had a great bullpen. Jim Palmer took his game to the next level, whereas the Orioles experiment with John Miller didn't go as planned. Miller had been great in the bullpen for Baltimore in 1965, but a year later, wasn't much as a starter.

So, that opened the door for Palmer. He'd been only 5-4 the year before. Here, in 1966, he went 15-10 in 30 appearances. All of them were starts. Jim's earned run average was 3.46, down from 3.72 from 1965. There was progress. But there was also competition if Palmer wanted to be the ace of the Orioles' staff. You have Dave McNally. You had Wally Bunker. You had Steve Barber. None of those guys won more than thirteen games, however. So many Palmer was better than all of them?

Well, Dave McNally sure didn't look like the ace of the staff when the Fall Classic got going. The Orioles must have been underdogs to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers had Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and a rookie named Don Sutton. There was also the underrated Claude Osteen, who went 17-14. Drysdale, who'd start the opening tilt, was just 13-16.

It seemed like a contest of which pitcher was worse. The big Dodger righty just didn't have it. But neither did McNally. The Baltimore Orioles led 3-0 and 4-1, but the Los Angeles Dodgers seemed to wake up in the bottom of the second and third with comeback attempts. The bottom of the third spelled the end for Dave McNally. Fortunately, reliever Moe Drabowski put a stop to a bases loaded LA rally, holding them scoreless for the last 6 2/3 innings.

So Dave McNally hadn't looked too sharp in the first game. While he'd only given up two hits, Dave walked five batters in just 2 1/3 innings pitched. Drabowski, by comparison, allowed just two bases on balls. The good news was that Los Angeles only managed three hits the entire game. Their bats were in a slump that would last the entire 1966 World Series. But if Baltimore's pitchers were wild, LA could take advantage. They had some speedsters on the basepaths named Maury Wills and Willie Davis.

So this was no doubt on Baltimore's checklist for the second contest. Keep those two batters off the bases. But there was also the trouble with Sandy Koufax. While Jim Palmer won an impressive 15 games, Koufax was from another planet: 27 wins and a fifth straight ERA title!

So that's what confronted Palmer in the second contest. The Dodgers, playing at home, could easily ride the brilliant pitching of Koufax to many-a-win. And in many-a-win for LA, Sandy would only need about one or two runs.

Well, Jim Palmer was up to the task. He took Maury Wills' hard grounder, and knocked it down. The ball bounced to the pitcher's right. But not too far. The result was a quick 1-3 putout to get the leadoff batter out in the bottom of the first. Part of a fine 1-2-3 inning.

The second inning wasn't so good. Ron Fairly, who'd been with the Dodgers since 1958 (And was a part of the three Los Angeles World Series triumphs since then), drew a walk to start the inning. Palmer fanned Jim Lefebvre for the first out. But the next batter was Lou Johnson. Lou always seemed to come up big when Sandy Koufax needed him to. He'd scored the only run in Sandy's perfect game on September 9th, 1965 vs. Chicago. Then he'd hit a home run to put LA up for good in game seven of the World Series that year. Now, here in the second contest in '66, Johnson doubled to right. Just like that, the Los Angeles Dodgers had two runners in scoring position with only one out.

John Roseboro was retired on a pop up. A crucial out. Palmer then walked Wes Parker, his second free pass of the inning. This one was intentional, though. That brought up the light-hitting Sandy Koufax to the plate. Koufax's hitting was nowhere near his pitching prowess. He popped out.

That had been a rough inning. But things were suddenly looking up for Jim Palmer. He kept not only Maury Wills and Willie Davis off the bases in the bottom of the third, he had another 1-2-3 inning.

If you were wondering how Koufax was faring with all this going on, it was just another typical Sandy outing - until the fifth, that is. The Dodgers pitcher had allowed one hit and one walk through four. Koufax had even shown Baltimore what happens when you get on: Following Luis Aparicio, single off him in the first, the LA pitcher picked him off! So Koufax had faced thirteen batters in four innings. Essentially, the great Dodger was picking up where he'd left off a year earlier. Koufax had thrown shutouts in games five and seven on the 1965 World Series. He was up to 22 consecutive scoreless frames in the Fall Classic.

Palmer, though, had another 1-2-3 inning of his own in the bottom of the fourth. He was giving the Orioles momentum. It carried over to the fifth frame. Baltimore surprised the Los Angeles fans' by scoring three times on two hits and three errors (All by Dodger centre fielder Willie Davis). Jim, as it turns out, had all the run support he needed. The O's didn't stop there. They scored a four run off Sandy Koufax in the sixth, but it was the only earned run the Dodgers' lefty would allow. Sandy averted further trouble by getting Andy Etchebarren to ground into an inning-ending double play with the sacks full. No one knew it at the time, but Sandy Koufax had faced his last major league batter.

The rest of the game wasn't much of a sweat for the Orioles' pitcher. Jim Palmer finished the game with a four-hitter. Baltimore got him two more runs, and Los Angeles lost 6-0. The Dodgers finished the game with a total of six errors.

Jim didn't make another appearance in the 1966 World Series. Wally Bunker edged Claude Osteen 1-0 in game three. Dave McNally made his second start a lot better than the first, and out-dueled Don Drysdale in a rematch from the opening tilt, 1-0. Sandy Koufax had been slated to go in the fifth contest, but now his team had been swept!

True, Moe Drabowski had started the Dodgers down the hole of bad hitting, but Jim Palmer got the starting pitching of Baltimore on a roll in this short series. Palmer might have had to share the spotlight with a terrific reliever and fellow starter Wally Bunker in throwing "0's" for the O's, but this was his first blanking at the big league level.

Palmer didn't really get much of a chance to savior the shutout, though. The Orioles came down to earth in 1967, and so did Jim. He nearly shutout the Minnesota Twins on April 13th, Palmer's first start of '67, then seemed to reach new heights as April turned into May. Jim's first start of the new month saw him go six strong innings and hold Detroit to just one run. Then, the big moment. May 12th. Jim Palmer of the Orioles against Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees.

The game stayed close, for a while. But a four-run uprising in the top of the fifth turned a 1-0 lead into a five-run cushion. Baltimore strafed the New York bullpen for nine more tallies in a 14-0 laugher. Whitey Ford, by the way, would last three innings, giving up just one run. He was beginning to experience shoulder pain, and had precisely one last major league game in him. But nonetheless, Whitey's earned run average in 1967 was just 1.47 after this loss. So Palmer beat an old pro who could still bring it.

Same scenario as had last Fall. This shutout, though, was one-hitter by the Baltimore star.

Ford wasn't the only pitcher who was hurt, though. Palmer himself would not do much in 1967, going just 3-1. Stiffness in his shoulder led to a demotion to the minor leagues. It took stints at Miami and Rochester to get back to the bigs in September.

The Orioles slump continued on into 1968. Palmer didn't make it back, despite time in Rochester, Elmira and Miami. However, Baltimore made a move that seemed to help Jim Palmer in the long run. Manager Hank Bauer was fired, and was replaced with Earl Weaver. Jim was back with Baltimore in 1969, he went 16-4, and remained an Oriole until his 1984 retirement.

References

Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.

Fonseca, Lew, director. The World Series of 1966. Major League Baseball Productions, 1966.

Grabowski, John F. Sandy Koufax. Chelsea House, 1992.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1992.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Publications International, 1993. 

Reichler, Joseph. Baseball's Great Moments. Bonanza A Rutledge Book, 1987.


Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, https://sabr.org/. 20 Feb, 2023.

Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. Carol Pub. Group, 1992. 

Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. Chronicle Books, 1995.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 20 Feb, 2023.

Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. 

Ward, Geoffrey C., et al. Baseball: An Illustrated History. Updated edition. Knopf, 2010.

World Series: Did You Know?

You know what doomed Oakland in 1988? Davis and Hatcher, plus a light's out pitcher. You know what doomed Oakland in 1990? Davis and Hatcher, plus a light's out pitcher.

The Athletics made up for losing the 1988 World Series by sweeping the San Francisco Giants the next year. Oakland didn't exactly stop there. In 1990, they were back in the Fall Classic for a third straight season. They swept the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.

So, the opposition was the Cincinnati Reds (91-71). The Reds polished off Barry Bonds and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series. Looking ahead to the Fall Classic, were they overmatched?

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Their best player was Eric Davis, who was (At least for a time) a great overall player. The slugger had gotten three Gold Gloves in centre field. He'd hit 34 home runs and driven in 101 runs in 1989.

The problem was, in 1990, Davis came down a bit. He hit only .260, and his HR and RBI were down. Eric was still a feared slugger, but if you hit .174 in the NLCS, is Oakland gonna be worried about you? There still was his prowess as a slugger.

Eric wasn't alone with the big bat. Chris Sabo, at third base, hit 25 home runs. Paul O'Neill, future Yankee star, hit 16 home runs in right field. Billy Hatcher had only five home runs, but hit .276. The completed the outfield.

So Hatcher led the entire outfield in batting average. And he'd had some great postseason experience. His old team, Houston, had extended the 1986 New York Mets to six games in the NLCS. Four years later, Billy hit .333 with a home run at that same stage vs. Pittsburgh.

Maybe the biggest obstacle Cincy was facing was the pitching of Oakland. Sure, they still had guys like Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, plus they'd added Ricky Henderson. But what about Dave Stewart? He'd won 20 games again in 1990, plus no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays that season. The no-hitter may have been his first. But the 20 wins? Fourth straight season for Stew.

So Stewart went up against Jose Rijo in the opening tilt. Jose was quite a pitcher. Though he'd struggled with the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics, he was back to torment one of his old teams. It seemed as though Rijo might be a better pitcher than Dave Stewart. Since arriving in Cincinnati, his earned run average was below three for six consecutive seasons. Sort of a bit like J.R. Richard, his career got derailed right when he was in his prime, sadly. But, no matter what he'd do the rest of his career, Jose's 1990 World Series performance was one for the ages.

First, Rijo went out and whipped Dave Stewart 7-0 in game one. That 4.38 earned run average in the NLCS quickly gave way to a superb outing in the big showdown, eh? 

With Billy Hatcher on (via a bases on balls) in the bottom of the first inning, it was Eric Davis that provided Jose Rijo with all the offence he'd need. A two-run home run. Hatcher was going to have a big night.

In the third, he doubled home Billy Larkin, going to third on the throw home. Then Hatcher scored on a Paul O'Neill grounder. 4-0.

Count on Hatcher again to help in the fifth. Dave Steward had been removed for a pinch hitter in the top of the inning. The new pitcher was Todd Burns. So, after Barry Larkin was retired, it was Billy Hatcher with another hit, a double that hugged the left-field line. Paul O'Neill walked. Eric Davis was back up. He stroked a single to left. 5-0 for the home team.

Hal Morris then grounded out, but both runners advanced. The game was now essentially over, but there remained two questions: How many runs would Cincinnati score? Could Rijo pitch the shutout?

Well, Chris Sabo singled home two more runs, and that concluded the scoring in this opening tilt. However, the Reds tried for more as Joe Oliver got himself a two-out single. Sabo made it to third. But with runners on the corners, Oakland brought in a new pitcher, who did the job. Gene Nelson faced Mariano Duncan. With the count 2-0, Duncan got a hold of one and sent it to left. But instead of scoring two more runs, all that happened was Ricky Henderson made a catch, almost with his back to the fence.

Rijo himself had some issues in the fifth. Oakland had loaded the bases with two away. In perhaps the biggest moment of the game (Or the series), it was Jose retiring big Mark McGwire on a popup to end the threat. By the way, it had been Doug Jennings who hit for Dave Stewart, delivering a single. Not only did this not lead to any runs, but it was a big plus for Cincinnati to get Stewart out of the game. A bit of Oakland's aura left with Dave Stewart.

Rijo himself found other ways to contribute. Just as Orel Hershiser had two yeas earlier against the Athletics, the Reds' ace pitcher was using his bat, too. He singled on the first pitch in the bottom of the sixth. However, a double play followed. Billy Hatcher was still hitting hot. So far, two hits, a walk, and three runs scored. Billy fell behind 1-2, fouled off two pitches, and then hit it down the third base line. Carney Lansford came up with it some how. No matter, Hatcher made it three hits as he beat the throw to first.

Paul O'Neill walked to keep the rally going. Eric Davis had two on with two out. He'd delivered the big blow earlier in the first frame, with two away. This time, he failed to deliver. It really didn't matter. Jose Rijo had pitched seven shutout frames, went 1-3 at the dish, and Cincinnati had first blood. 

Game two was closer. Oakland wasted no time in scoring in the top of the first, but the defiant Cincinnati team erased that with two of their own in their half.

After Barry Larkin led off with a double, there was Billy Hatcher back up. Continuing on his fine play in this Fall Classic, Billy again came through. Again with two strikes on him. Hatcher went down the first base line this time, the ball sliced to right. But this ended up being a run-scoring double. Hatcher was up to three doubles already.

The next two batters did not get hits, but they produced a run. Paul O'Neill flied out, Hatcher made it to third. Eric Davis grounded out, but it cashed in Billy, and the Reds had the lead.

Oakland might have been discouraged, but they pushed across three runs to take care of that trouble in the top of the third. It seemed like only a momentary solution, however, as Billy Larkin led off the bottom of the inning. He had Hatcher behind him, so getting on could mean a big inning.

Well, it was Larkin with a single. Hatcher then, you guessed it, hit a double. It was just a ground-rule two-bagger to the gap in left, alas. So Larkin had to stop at third. The rally died, alas.

The next inning was a better one for Cincinnati. They scored a run, and had a man at second for Larkin. Just get on! No, Barry grounded out.

So Billy Hatcher would lead off the bottom of the fifth. There would be no double this time, but this at bat illustrated how things were going to keep going Billy's way. He bunted, the ball hitting the ground hard and going to the left side of the infield. Well, Hatcher was safe at first. Six consecutive hits. This tied a World Series record, previously held by only Goose Goslin and Thurmond Munson. Hatcher would leave those two names in the rearview mirror before the night came to an end.

But, nobody is perfect. Bob Welch had given up three runs so far. But the fifth inning came to a quick end as he picked off Billy Hatcher at first. That was the second out. Eric Davis was the third.

Welch was still pitching in the bottom of the eighth, and the score was still 4-3, Oakland. But here's where Billy Hatcher did one better than Goslin and Munson. Actually, Hatcher did better than double. He stoked a leadoff triple. Jose Canseco, trying to play through an injured back, had made a valiant effort to catch the ball, but had gotten a late start on it. Jose merely got a piece of it.

A walk to Paul O'Neill and the Reds suddenly had the go-ahead run at first. They wouldn't get that runner home, but Glenn Braggs' clutch single off new pitcher Rick Honeycutt tied the ballgame.

Cincinnati was buoyed by Hatcher's heroics. They even looked poised to win the contest in the bottom of the ninth (Reliever Rob Dibble had gotten held Oakland scoreless in the top of the inning). Billy Hatcher and his teammates sensed victory.

Two quick outs seemed to put out any of those thoughts, the second on a fine catch by Ricky Henderson in left. But Barry Larkin was back up, and singled. Billy Hatcher was back up! Barry Larkin was thinking about getting into scoring position. Oakland tried to keep him close. On a toss to first, the result was an error by first basemen Mark McGwire, and the winning run now at second.

Now, in a way, Billy Hatcher had a shot at hitting for the record. Or collecting his fifth hit on the contest. The Athletics, however, wisely walked him. Dennis Eckersley, who normally only came in to close a game, started throwing. He would not appear in this inning, however, as Paul O'Neill was a left-handed hitter. Tony La Russa, the Oakland manager, let Rick Honeycutt stay in, to keep it a lefty-lefty matchup. O'Neill gave it a ride to centre, but Dave Henderson had it.

Rob Dibble held the A's scoreless in the top of the tenth. Eric Davis faced Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the inning and grounded out. However, this was the last out Oakland got. Three straight singles won the game for the Reds!

It was on to Oakland for games three, four and possibly five. The first contest there was crucial.

The A's sure knew this. They were looking to get back in the series. Cincinnati was trying to put a stranglehold on it, and stuck quickly. They knew that it was Rijo and Stewart II in the fourth contest. A win here and Jose Rijo could put an end to this thing in game four.

Barry Larkin led off the game with a single. Oakland was in trouble right off the bat! Guess who was next? Why Billy Hatcher. Hatcher actually did something bad: He hit into a 6-4-3 double play! Paul O'Neill and Eric Davis followed with singles in an inning that ended with no scoring, so the twin-killing by the Athletics was huge. 

But then, Chris Sabo got a big hit by the Reds in the top of the second. A four-bagger. The home run broke the ice, but seemed to wake up the A's. Their bats had been cold in the first contest, better in the second, and still greater here in the early going. 

Harold Baines smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame, and Oakland was up, 2-1. But rather than set the tone, this long ball seemed to wake up Cincinnati.

With one away in the third, Billy Hatcher was back up. His single ignited the biggest inning in the 1990 World Series. After Paul O'Neill reached on an error, it was Eric Davis with a game-tying single. The Reds never looked back. Chris Sabo's three-run home run highlighted a seven-run third for Cincinnati. Billy Hatcher grounded out to end it, but his team was up 8-3.

The Athletics actually came back with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. Ricky Henderson hit a home run. It was only a solo shot. Tom Browning had given up three runs in just two-plus innings, but settled down. His team didn't exactly put their bats away.

In fact, Chris Sabo was looking to make it three home runs in three plate appearances. In the top of the fourth, he came up with two men on and just one out. He gave it quite a ride to centre, a bit to the right. Dave Henderson made the catch, and Paul O'Neill tagged. He motored on to third, putting runners on the corners. The Reds, however, did not score.

Hatcher was retired again in the fifth inning, but it actually was the last time Oakland would do that. In the eighth, the Reds' centre fielder kept the inning alive for Cincinnati by singling. Paul O'Neill was up, and Oakland pitcher Todd Burns threw a wild pitch. O'Neill walked, which gave Eric Davis a chance to widened the lead more. There'd been no scoring in this contest since the third inning. But all Davis could do was ground out to end that.

Cincinnati ended up with an impressive 8-3 win. But Billy Hatcher had a bad game. The nerve of him to get retire three times! How would that carry over to the fourth game?

Dave Stewart wasn't the type of pitcher that looked at a 3-0 deficit and decide to not care. No, today Cincinnati would see the real Dave Stewart.

Dave Henderson went a little to right to take Barry Larkin's fly. That was the first out of the ballgame. But next was Billy Hatcher. 9-12 at the dish with two walks. That's a batting average of .750 and an on-base percentage of .786.

The first pitch was at the letters, maybe higher. Home plate umpire Ted Hendry called it a strike. Hatcher realized with different umps comes different strike zones. He fouled off the next pitch, and was in a hole, 0-2.

Well, Hatcher got on again, but the painful way. Stewart hit him on the left hand. Hatcher stayed in the game, but didn't help. He was caught stealing. You don't want to make things too easy for Stewart.

Momentum was quickly Oakland's, and it would stay that way for a while. Cincinnati couldn't catch a break. The Reds put a "0" on the board in the top of the first, but the A's put a "1" on in their half.

And the way they did it hurt Cincinnati. Eric Davis caught Ricky Henderson's fly in left for the first out. But then things turned bad. Willie McGee hit one to the gap in left. Davis tried to catch it, but his attempt at a diving catch resulting in an injury. Just like that, two of the big reasons for a 3-0 series lead were walking wounded in the fourth contest. It was the bottom of the first inning.

Eric Davis had damaged his rib cage and additionally suffered a kidney laceration. That 1-0 lead at the end of just one frame was looking big.

Glenn Braggs batted for him in the top of the second, but Stewart got him. Herm Winningham would replace Billy Hatcher in the bottom of the inning. The Reds would have to either win it here the hard way, or come back in one of the three remaining games and get it done. As it turns out, Eric Davis was done for the series. Hatcher's injury was just day-to-day, should the Fall Classic continue.

Oakland looked poised for the knockout blow against Jose Rijo, as they got two men on. The A's would ultimately fail to score. The Reds were still very much in the ballgame, but Dave Stewart looked so poised.

Chris Sabo had a single in the top of the second, and another three innings later. In the top of the seventh, he doubled. None of his hits led to any scoring, and Dave Stewart allowed only two other hits by Cincinnati.

So the score was still 1-0 for the home team after seven. But Jose Rijo was matching Stewart. Or, in terms of his allowed, besting him. Oakland got two hits that led to their run in the first. They did not get another the rest of the contest.

And in the eighth, the opening the Reds were looking for, arrived. Barry Larkin and Herm Winningham (Who ended the game 2-3, not bad as Hatcher's replacement) opened it with singles. Winningham's single was a surprising two-strike bunt, which caught the Athletics off-guard. Paul O'Neill himself bunted, trying to move both runners over. The A's bullpen got going. Rick Honeycutt (Who'd worked 1 2/3 innings in this series) and Dennis Eckersley started to loosen up.

Dave Stewart was pitching great, but his fielding let him down here. Stewart picked up the ball and went to Willie Randolph covering first. The pitcher's peg to first was off the mark, so when Randolph caught it, the Oakland second basemen went from covering first, to off the bag. Well, that's how first base umpire Randy Marsh saw it. Replays show that while Dave Stewart's throw was a tad wide, Willie Randolph's foot was on the bag when he put the squeeze on the ball. The play was crucial, as now Cincinnati had the bases loaded with no outs, instead of second and third, one away. (Tony La Russa argued, in futility) Of course, this also meant there was a force at second, third and home. The A's could take advantage of that. They could concede the run, but two ground balls and the inning would be over with no more than one run across for the victors. 

Glenn Braggs hit into that force. At second. But Larkin scored the tying run. So with runners now on the corners in this 1-1 contest, Hal Morris was up. Morris sent a fly to Willie McGee that was deep enough to score Herm Winningham! The visiting Reds were up, 2-1.

Rijo, his spirits no doubt heightened, raced through the home team 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame. The MVP trophy beckoned. Dave Stewart, fighting to the end, retired the Reds in order in the top of the ninth. He'd pitched brilliantly. 

But Jose Rijo fanned Dave Henderson to start the last of the ninth, and Dave Stewart and his teammates were two outs away from a loss. A sweep! Rijo, however, would once again be denied the opportunity to finish the game. Randy Myers, looking for his fourth save of the 1990 postseason, was summoned from the Reds' bullpen to put the finishing touches on the baseball season.

Jose Caneco grounded out. Two away. Billy Hatcher had donned a neato t-shirt in the Reds' dugout, having returned from the hospital (X-rays revealed a bad bruise, but no breaks). He watched as Carney Lansford popped it up foul. But it did not find the seats. Todd Benzinger caught it very close to the Cincinnati bullpen. Their relivers, who'd been excellent all series' long, caught a close view to the last out of this surprising Fall Classic. 

But that bullpen would have to take a backseat to Billy Hatcher, Eric Davis, and Jose Rijo.



References

“Breakdown of the Oakland Coliseum Seating Chart.” From This Seat, From This Seat, https://www.fromthisseat.com/index.php/blog/19895-breakdown-of-the-oakland-coliseum-seating-chart#:~:text=The%20Oakland%20Athletics'%20bullpen%20is,of%20sections%20105%20and%20106. 

Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. 

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball 1992. St. Martin's Press, 1992. 

Nemec, et al. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. https://www.baseball-reference.com/. 19 Feb. 2023.

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 19 Feb. 2023.

YouTube, Google, www.youtube.com/. 19 Feb. 2023.