It was the man who caught Bob Gibson, Ray Sadecki, Curt Simmons, etc. that led 'em all in batting average in 1964. But, Tim McCarver, who passed away this February, had one magnificent World Series that year for the St. Louis Cardinals. It seemed, though, that he was sort of upstaged by two New York Yankees, each of whom had a very good Fall Classic in their own right. There was Bobby Richardson, which was expected (Think 1960-61), and Phil Linz (Most unexpected, since he was only there due to an injury to Tony Kubek).
But McCarver was certainly a big star by this point. .288. 9 home runs, 55 runs driven. Still, while that certainly is very good, even among St. Louis Cardinals, you'd have thought, "What about Ken Boyer?" 119 RBIs to his name. Tops in the majors in '64. There was Bob Gibson, 'nuff said. There was Lou Brock, who hit .348 for St. Louis. There was Curt Flood, in centre, who batted over .300. There was shortstop Dick Groat, there was first basemen Bill White. Were they all better that McCarver? Well, some of their stats were, sure. White had 105 RBIs himself.
Gibby won 19. Second, surprisingly, on the staff, to Ray Sadecki. Curt Simmons had played on the 1950 pennant-winning Philadelphia Phillies. Here, fourteen years later, he help St. Louis overcome both Philly and Cincinnati to get his team back into the World Series.
It all started as Busch Stadium, the original one. And originally called Sportsman's Parks. Well, there were many fine sportsmen on both teams for this Fall Classic, so the old name was appropriate.
Well, when Whitey Ford starts for the New York Yankees, you know you are facing an uphill battle. Ray Sadecki had managed to survive the first, but Ford had some trouble. The Cards got on the board first via a Ken Boyer's sacrifice fly, and then things seemed to fall apart.
A two-run home run by Tom Tresh gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the second. It's like Tresh's blast turned on the floodgates. With one out, Boyer's younger brother Clete singled. And then stole second. Whitey Ford singled. 3-1, New York. The game was rapidly slipping out of the Cardinals' hands. Clearly, the were not prepared for the Yankees' onslaught. They had no doubt scouted Ford the pitcher. But had they scouted Ford the hitter?
Ford the base runner needed some work. Phil Linz, 0-1, walked. Bobby Richardson, also 0-1, singled. Before Tim McCarver could grab a bat, he was seeing and believing what the Yankees were doing. One thing Whitey Ford should not have done was try to score. Lou Brock gunned it to McCarver at the plate. Ford was out. Roger Maris fanned, and the Cards were lucky to get out of the inning down just two runs.
St. Louis got one run back in their half of the second, but McCarver was retired. Tim hit a triple the next time up, but was stranded. Three straight hits by the visiting team in the top of the fifth got the two-run lead back.
A lifting bottom of the sixth got the Cardinals back on track, and drove Whitey Ford from the game. Mike Shannon absolutely crushed one of Whitey's pitches, deep to left for a home run that soared over the scoreboard in left. Nearly 500 feet.
Ford was still in the game, and the score was tied. But not for long. Tim McCarver got his second extra-base hit, driving a shot between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle for two-bases. Ford was lifted for Al Downing. St. Louis scored twice more.
So it was 6-4 St. Louis in the top of the eighth, but back came the Yankees. Johnny Blanchard batted for Downing, who had settled down and gotten St. Louis 1-2-3 in the seventh. The momentum of the game appeared to be heading the Bronx Bombers' way, especially when Blanchard doubled with one out. Phil Linz grounded out, and maybe reliever Barney Schultz had settled down, too? He'd given up a hit and a walk in the seventh, having taken over from Sadecki.
Bobby Richardson was up. Two outs, man on second. Clutch single. Pinch runner Mike Hegan scored. One run ballgame. Schultz survived another hit before getting out of the jam.
But in the home half of the eighth, the Yankees seemed to collapse. First, Clete Boyer made a rare error. Rollie Sheldon, the new pitcher, threw a passed ball to our boy, Tim McCarver. McCarver ended up drawing a bases on balls.
For some reason, Barney Schultz batted for himself. Sure, he was the closer, but this was a one-run game and some valuable insurance was on the table. All Schultz did was line it to Sheldon. McCarver was too far off first. The Yankees got what looked like a huge double play.
But after an intentional walk, St. Louis came alive. The new pitcher was Pete Mikkelsen. Curt Flood greeted him with a single. That scored Mike Shannon. Lou Brock followed with a shot to left, good enough for two bases. The score was 9-5. When the Yankees went down in order in the ninth, the Cards had themselves a win.
There'd been times in the game where St. Louis hadn't been afraid to turn on the jets. The ran, ran, ran, and were rewarded. The team had speedsters in Brock and Flood. And their catcher would show off his wheels before this Fall Classic was over.
So, McCarver had contributed somewhat. What about Phil Linz and Bobby Richardson. While McCarver was hitting .667 (2-3), the two Yankees weren't quite there. They were a combined 2-9 with just one RBI.
So in game two, it was Bob Gibson. And Bob was great. After walking Phil Linz, he went into beast mode. Richardson, strike three. Roger Maris, got one blown by him for strike three. So did Mantle. Elston Howard batted to lead off the second. Same result.
St. Louis, however, were retired 1-2-3 in the first and second, before getting a run off Mel Stottlemyre in the third. New York appeared to wake up in their half of the inning. Linz and Richardson got back-to-back hits (Single and a double) to keep the inning alive. But Gibson got Maris out.
The Cards scored a run on Curt Flood's grounder. The Yankees got it back in the top of the fourth. In the sixth, Bob Gibson came undone.
It all started when Mickey Mantle walked. Elston Howard was retired, but then Joe Pepitone was hit by a pitch. Or was he? Tim McCarver and Gibson were not pleased, and both gave the umpire their opinion that Pepitone had not been hit. So did manager Johnny Keane.
Was Gibby affected? Tom Tresh sent a bouncer into left. The old Yankee magic was working wonders this game. Fate seemed to be on their side.
In the seventh, they needed no such luck. Phil Linz had no problems with Gibson on this day. Already 1-2 with a bases on balls, he singled to start the inning. Gibson threw a wild pitch. Linz made it all the way to third. Bobby Richardson singled, with the bat exploding on impact. Roger Maris singled. Mickey Mantle grounded out. Richardson scored on the play. The Yankees had a big lead, 4-1.
St. Louis tried to get at least one back in their half of the inning. They appeared to have a rally going. With one out, Tim McCarver was up. He sent one to the gap in right centre. Mantle's knees had been bothering him all year, so he was in right. Not that Maris didn't have the wheels to play centre. He sure did. And he made an excellent catch to deny McCarver two bases.
The Cards managed to score in the bottom of the eighth, but in doing so, they removed pitcher Bob Gibson for a pinch hitter. Within a half-inning, the decision backfired.
Barney Schultz looked to stop the Yankees, but had all sorts of problems last time out. Here, it didn't take New York long to make it obvious the reliever was in over his head. Linz greeted him with a home run. Richardson lineup out, but the rally continued. Maris, single. Mantle, double. It was 6-2 for New York. They didn't ease up. They scored twice more in that round.
So, three outs away from defeat, McCarver would bat one last time. Dick Groat sent one to right that got past Héctor López (subbing for Mantle) for three bases. Though it was 8-2 for the Yankees, at least the Cardinals' catcher could get an RBI. With a single to centre of Stottlemyre, McCarver did just that. This only briefly gave St. Louis life. Mike Shannon hit into a double play. Pinch hitter Charlie James fanned. New York had won, going away.
"In victory, the tall youngster [Mel Stottlemyre] had important help from several sources," wrote Bob Burns, "particularly fill-in shortstop Phil Linz, the reformed harmonica virtuoso. He wore out the Cardinals with three hits and a walk, including a homer."
And now St. Louis would be going away to Yankee Stadium for games three, four and five.
The Cardinals started Curt Simmons, who pitched one awesome game. The Yankees tagged him for a run in the bottom of the second, but that's all they got against the Cards' lefty. The home team got two hits of him scoring on him that frame. For the other seven innings Simmons threw, the Yankees had two hits of him.
McCarver tried to help his battery mate. He'd walked and advanced to third in the top of the second himself, only to be stranded. In the fifth, though, Tim singled past Joe Pepitone. The ball continued to right field, where Mantle misplaced it. McCarver, follwing the lead that Flood and Brock had set, motored into second. Shannon lined out. Dal Maxvill sent a grounder the Richardson got to, and tossed it to Pepitone. Two away, McCarver to third. It was time for Simmons to do the helping. He sent a ball to left. Clete Boyer got a piece of it, but not enough. The hit scored McCarver and the game was tied.
Jim Bouton, the Yankees' starting pitcher, had a rough fifth, but it wasn't all his fault. The next inning, the Cardinals got something going against him again. In fact, McCarver had a chance at an RBI of his own. After Brock grounded out, St. Louis started to connect. Bill White singled. Ken Boyer gave it quite a ride to Tom Tresh in left. With two away, Dick Groat kept the rally going with a double. McCarver was next, but now the Yankees knew he was a dangerous hitter. So, they put him on first, and then Shannon forced him at second.
After Linz was retired to lead off the home half of the sixth, Richardson singled. Maris flied out, but Mantle doubled. Just like in the top of the frame, it was the Yankees' catcher that came up with two runners on scoring position, two down. And the Cards did what the Yankees did to them: They walked Elston Howard intentionally! Tresh popped out.
McCarver appeared to be a cinch first out in the top of the ninth, but Linz made an error. Mike Shannon bunted the Cardinals' catcher into scoring position. Pinch hitter Carl Warwick walked. Another substitute, Bob Skinner, was sent up to hit for Curt Simmons. Skinner, a member of the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates team that overcome Richardson and company four years earlier, hit a shot to centre. It took Roger Maris all the way back to the warning track before he caught it. Flood lined out to Mantle in right.
And The Mick played hero in the Yankee half of the inning. His walk-off home run made the Yankees' 2-1 winners. They were also ahead by that in the series.
So game four matched lefties Al Downing against Ray Sadecki. The Cardinals didn't get the ball out of the infield against Downing in the top of the first. Flood, leading off for St. Louis, sent a liner that hit off the pitcher's glove. But Phil Linz made a fine play to get the swift St. Louis runner at first. The next two batters grounded out to him. Sadecki needed a Linz in his half of the first.
Phil Linz got it all going. First, he'd helped with his glove. Now, he got a two-bagger that went to right. Bobby Richardson was next up, and St. Louis appeared to have Linz hung up on a pickoff play by Sadecki. But Ken Boyer's throwing error meant Linz was now on third for Richardson. Bobby wasn't like his 1961 self here. Another RBI as he doubled to left, right past Linz and Boyer.
Well, the Yankees didn't let up. Maris single. Mantle single. Mickey got a little too aggressive, trying to stretch his single to a double. He was nailed at second. Manager Johnny Keane had seen enough for Sadecki. The call went for pitcher Roger Craig. Elston Howard greeted him with a run-scoring single. Three runs, five hits, one error. Not a good start for St. Louis. What a start for Linz and the Yankees. He'd gotten a double, scored, and had three assists.
Craig, though, was one of those pitchers who was better than his win-loss record would indicate. And, he was the most experienced of the Cardinals' pitching staff when it came to the World Series. He'd pitched there in 1955, '56 and '59 for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers.
So, in the second inning, he went to town on the Bronx Bombers. Craig struck out the side, adding to his whiffing of Tresh in the first to give him four K's. Linz himself looked at one that just caught the outside corner, ending the second inning.
So, if the pitching was better for the St. Louis Cardinals, what about the hitting. Tim McCarver tried to get it going in the third. His average was now .444 (4-9). He sent Downing's first pitch to centre, where Maris got to it. It was the first putout by a Yankee outfield. The Cardinals put two men on, but Maris ended up with his third putout of the inning before any runner could get to third.
So Richardson led off the second, trying to get the Yankees going against Craig. But all he could do was ground out on a 2-2 pitch. Craig ended up walking two batters, but like Downing got out of the inning before anyone made it to third.
In the fourth, Craig fanned Tommy Tresh, but then the Yankees appeared to wake up. Joe Pepitone drew a walk (Roger's third in just three innings at this point). Clete Boyer singled. Linz could very well bat, assuming Downing didn't hit into a double play. Well, the pitcher fanned on three pitches, the last of which was a fine curve. Linz (1-2) was staring at two more RBIs possibly, though. And if he just got on, Richardson could add to his total, as well.
So Linz took a ball. Linz looked like he was about to get hit by the next pitch, and leaned back. The pitch, however, broke in for a strike. 1-1. "Craig has had real good breaking stuff here," noted Curt Gowdy. Linz then swung and missed, and was behind in the count. The next pitch was a terrific curveball, low and away. Linz swung, and missed. That would prove to be a grand missed opportunity for the Bronx Bombers.
Shannon himself fanned against Downing to get the fifth frame going. McCarver seemed to have a disadvantage against the Yankee lefty. The home team played him to pull. Strike one, taken. The 0-1 pitch was bounced to first. Pepitone made the play unassisted. The Cards ended up being retired 1-2-3 (Four the fourth time in this contest). They just seemed to be unable to catch up to the Yankee pitcher's heaters and curves.
So Richardson (1-2, 6-16 overall) would bat, but only to lead off the home half of the fifth. The first pitch from Craig was knee-level, strike. Foul. 0-2. Craig tried to finish him off with a curve, having whiffed many-a-Yankee out with it all afternoon with it. But it missed to the outside. The 1-2 pitch was where Bobby wanted it. He sent a rocked to left. Ken Boyer, redeeming himself from his throwing error in the first inning, jumped up and snagged it, taking away a sure hit! A big play, as it helped Roger Craig to a 1-2-3 inning of his own.
So it was on the top of the sixth, and St. Louis had to get it going. Carl Warwick batted for Craig, and singled. Flood followed suit. Brock flied out to Maris. Dick Groat the did what you don't do with a man on first, he sent a roller to second. Groat was slow, and Linz was covering the bag at second, awaiting the toss. For some odd reason, the ball got wedged in the webbing of Richardson's glove, his toss went wide to Linz, who was dumped for good measure by Flood. The inning should have been over, or at the very least the infield should have gotten at least the force at second. Instead, the bases were loaded.
"The fault of the play, Richardson thought, was his," wrote David Halberstam, "but in addition it was a reflection in his inexperience in working with Linz." Tony Kubek, the regular Yankees' shortstop, had suffered a sprained wrist when he angrily punch the a door late in the season. "He [Richardson] and Kubek knew each other," Halberstam continued, "and if if Kubek had been there he might have made the adjustment at they would have at least gotten the man at second."
So the slumping Ken Boyer was up. A two-seam fastball missed low and away for a ball. Howard, just as observant as his Cardinal counterpart, postulated the situation, and "...feeling the shirts in the background were making it difficult for the [Cardinals] batters to see Downing's lightning pitches, called for another fastball," wrote Peter Golenbock, "But Downing shook him off, insisting on a changeup."
Linz, at short, didn't like the call for a changeup. Halberstam said that Linz thought a fastball or curve was a better idea. "Downing, he thought, was a power pitcher and had the advantage with poor visibility and a right-handed batter facing Death Valley [It was 461 feet to dead centre] in Yankee Stadium. A change, he thought, subtracted from that edge." Linz went as far to consider calling a time-out, presumably to discuss how Boyer should be pitched to. But Phil resisted.
The 1-0 to Boyer was not a good one. It didn't have the movement, so it was more like a slow fastball. Boyer hit it into the stands in left, fair by no more than 6-8 feet. Suddenly, it was 4-3, St. Louis. Downing averted further trouble, getting the next two batters out. The Cardinals catcher would have to wait until the seventh to bat, being in the on-deck circle when the last out was made.
So, New York had some work to do. They were still, of course, very much in the ballgame. The Cards, meanwhile, wanted to build on the lead. The momentum was all theirs, and would stay that way as new pitcher Ron Taylor retired the Yankees in order in their half of the sixth. Tim McCarver would make sure Taylor kept a level head.
So, there Tim was leading off the top of the seventh. Ball one from Downing. Ball two. All threw a fastball, but it was ball three. Ball four inside. Not a bad way to start the inning by McCarver. Dal Maxvill was next, and Downing was replaced after throwing him two more balls. The new pitcher was Pete Mikkelsen, who St. Louis had roughed up in the opening tilt. Maxvill would swing at what should have made the count 3-1. Mikkelsen missed the next pitch anyways, so the count was full. Maxvill grounded out to Richardson, who had no trouble with this play. But once again, New York could not get the man at second. McCarver had the intuition to take off on the 3-2 offering. Bobby's only play was first.
So, McCarver was a base hit away from giving his team some important insurance. Alas, the next batter was Taylor, who Mikkelsen fanned. When Curt Flood grounded out, a promising inning was over for St. Louis.
Taylor the pitcher was every bit as good as Roger Craig. 1-2-3 went New York in their half, with Linz trying to bunt his way on. Richardson tried his luck the next inning, but could only ground out. Ralph Terry had come in for Pete Mikkelsen, who was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the bottom of the seventh. McCarver would finally get his first hit of the afternoon, but nothing came of it. Mikkelsen and Terry had picked up Al Downing almost as well as Craig had picked up Ray Sadecki.
But Ron Taylor ended up with four shutout innings, as St. Louis held on to win, 4-3. McCarver would have a big day ahead of him. He was catching someone named Bob Gibson again.
Now, the one thing St. Louis didn't want to do was fall behind again early. The bullpen wasn't going to be able to help out Gibby on this day. So, could the Cardinals get to Mel Stottlemyre early? They had one dandy of a chance in the top of the first. Curt Flood drew a walk. Lou Brock looked at a third strike. Although Bill White also fanned, again Ken Boyer helped out a bad situation. But oddly enough, all he did was reach on catcher's interference. Dick Groat coaxed another bases on balls of Stottlemyre. So now, in an inning where the Yankee catcher had made a big mistake, it was up to his couterpart on the Cardinals to make 'em pay. Alas, it just wasn't in the cards for Tim McCarver. Stottlemyre, appearing to be better than he was in game two, fanned him. He'd stolen a page from Roger Craig and Bob Gibson's book. The who side struck out.
Now, speaking of Gibson, he was back for another try. On this day, Phil Linz was not the problem. However, only on this day did Linz struggle against Gibby. Furthermore, there was still Bobby Richardson to deal with. After fanning Linz, Bob Gibson gave up a single to Richardson in the first. Roger Maris hit into a double play.
The concern, for McCarver, had to be his pitcher's wildness bout. The Yankees did not score in the second, but Gibson was wild. He walked a man. He hit a man. He walked another man (albeit intentionally), before finally getting that third out. But to load the bases against a team like the Yankees, while not giving up a hit, is the equivalent of beating yourselves.
The Cardinals' pitcher appeared to settle down, as it appeared as though Gibson / Stottlemyre II was shaping up to be a pitcher's duel. Gibson got Richardson out the next time he faced him. But Stottlemyre was equal to the task, and had McCarver like Gibson had Linz, 0-2.
The fifth inning started out oh-so-innocently. Dal Maxvill took a called strike three. Bob Gibson, though, was not your average pitcher. He hit, he fielded, he ran. Here, he singled to left, nearly making it to second as he stumbled at first. Richardson got a roller from Flood. Once again, he couldn't come up with it, as it took a bad hop. Brock singled, 1-0 St. Louis. Runners on first and third, one away. Richardson appeared to make up for that, as he took Bill White's roller and got it to Linz. For one. To first for two, it seemed. Linz threw the ball in the dirt, where first basemen Joe Pepitone made an amazing recovery of the low ball with his glove, and it was a close play at first that could have gone either way. The call was safe, however, and the Cards had that insurance for Gibson.
Gibson was in the zone. In the Yankees' half of the fifth, he fanned got Tom Tresh to fly out. He fanned Clete Boyer. Then, Stottlemyre kept the inning alive with a surprising single. But Bob then fanned Phil Linz.
McCarver singled off Stottlemyre in the top of the sixth wit one away. The rally died as Mike Shannon hit the ball to Linz at short. Linz-Richardson-Pepitone. On to the bottom of the sixth. Bobby Richardson started the home half of the inning with a single. Were the Yankees finally in business? No. Bob Gibson got the next three batters out.
Stottlemyre, who'd pitched well, was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh, but the vaulted Bronx Bombers couldn't get anything going against the Cardinals. When new pitcher Hal Reniff took over in the top of the eighth, it was St. Louis that appeared to have something going. With one away, Dick Groat singled. Tim McCarver sent Reniff to the showers when he followed suit. Pete Mikkelsen hopped in from the bullpen. And as he had in the previous contest, he shut down the Cardinals. The next two batters went down on a strikeout and a groundout.
Gibson got Linz, Richardson and Roger Maris in the bottom of the eighth, but Mikkelsen matched that with a fine 1-2-3 inning of his own in the top of the ninth. It was up to the Yankee bats to get it done.
Well, they did. And error and a two-run home run by Tresh tied it. But if the home team thought they'd pull it out, they were sadly mistaken. Mikkelsen walked Bill White to start the tenth. Ken Boyer put down a perfect bunt. The Cardinals didn't want to waste this golden opportunity. Dick Groat was up there to get the men over. But Groat had no luck with Pete Mikkelsen's prize pitch, a sinker, he was not able to get the bunt down, and missed it. Bill White was going on the pitch, and now was caught. He appeared to be going back to second as Elston Howard gunned it to Linz, only to have White turn 180 and gun towards third. White beat the throw. Groat, in any event, forced Boyer at second, so there were runners on the corners with one out.
Tim McCarver was back up. He'd upped his World Series performance to .438 (7-16). The situation here seemed logical for manager Yogi Berra to bring in Steve Hamilton, a tall left-handed pitcher, to face the Cardinal catcher. Hamilton, who was so athletic he played two seasons in the National Basketball League, was throwing in the Yankee bullpen, waiting for the call. Mikkelsen, futhermore, often threw the ball low, which was where McCarver liked it. Tim himself figured New York would go to the bullpen for their ex-NBA player. The stats show, however, that lefties hit .275 off Hamilton in 1964, whereas Mikkelsen held them to just a .253
Berra stuck with Mikkelsen. But McCarver worked the count in his favour, 3-1. The next pitch was what he was looking for, a fastball. Tim fouled it off. Was the opportunity gone? The batter certainly thought so. The odds of him getting another good pitch to hit hard seemed remote. But, Mikkelsen made the fatal mistake of throwing McCarver a sinker, in which Tim smashed to right. The ball sailed.
Tim's first reaction was, the ball was deep enough to score White from third. Then, he saw Mantle stop running hard for it. By the time he got to first, the Cardinals' catcher realized, he'd hit a home run! A big one, as St. Louis now led 5-2. It was a delightful moment.
"For two years," Halberstam wrote, "he had been struggling to meet his own standards, to be a real professional, and it had not been easy, a kid catcher with a veteran pitching staff. He badly wanted that acceptance of his teammates, and it had been a hard learning process. Now, as he crossed the plate, Groat, the old pro, was bantering with him, and Bill White, the judge, had a huge smile on his face, as if to say, 'Well, son, you really did it for us today, you're all right." Gibson, who rarely said much in victory, was looking at him with a very warm smile, and McCarver remembered thinking that this was an unusually happy Gibson. It was his own coming of age, McCarver later decided."
Of course, there was still the matter of the bottom of the tenth. Gibson cruised through pinch hitter Mike Hegan and Phil Linz, but leave it to Bobby Richardson to keep the game going. The Yankees were up to six hits and Richardson had half of them. And Bobby had nine hits in just five games. On the next pitch, Roger Maris popped up in foul territory, with Ken Boyer making a fine catch by reaching into the stands.
The Yankees were sure disheartened, but headed on the road in any event. They knew they were a long way from a beaten team. It seemed like St. Louis kept coming up with big hits in key moments, and now it was time for them to get some big lumber on the ball
Curt Simmons took the ball in a rematch of game three against Jim Bouton. However, Curt had liked the conditions, cold, in the third contest better than this. His team scored a run in the bottom of the first. Simmons, though, had given up the tenth his in this Fall Classic to Bobby Richardson in the top of the first. Phil Linz was looking to get back to contributing. Curt got him on a liner to start the game. Simmons fanned Maris and Mantle back-to-back to end it.
The Cardinals certainly got off on the right foot. Tim McCarver added a single in the bottom of the second, so as not to be overshadowed by Richardson. But Bobby again singled in the fourth, only to again be stranded. Linz was 0-2 at this point, and so too, were Maris and Mantle. However, that would soon change.
McCarver, meanwhile was 2-2 by the end of the fourth. And the St. Louis catcher was up to ten hits. But he didn't score or knock in a man with either of his hits. In the top of the fifth, he watched, helplessly, as Jim Bouton himself tied the game with a single. Phil Linz connected solidly, flying out to Lou Brock in deep left. He was the last out in the Yankees' half of the inning.
With the Cardinals' offence sputtering, it was time for the visitors to take advantage. Bobby Richardson was finally retired in the top of the sixth, and it took Simmons just one pitch to do it. But then the wheels came off the chariot for St. Louis. Maris hit a 2-2 pitch out of the park. The Yankees were ahead for good. Next pitch, Mantle did the same.
Simmons would hold the fort from there, and he left in the seventh. The bullpen imploded. McCarver didn't help as he went 0-2 the rest of the way. In the eighth, Linz finally came through. He only singled, but this stared a huge rally. Richardson got him to second with a bunt. Eventually, he scored on Elston Howard's single. Tresh followed with a walk. Mantle, Howard and Tresh were on when Joe Pepitone cleared the bases with a four bagger. The grand slam made it 8-1 for the visitors.
St. Louis managed to get a run in the eighth. Linz and Richardson were retired as part of a 1-2-3 ninth. McCarver was the first out as the Cardinals batted in their half of the last inning. Eventually, St. Louis tacked on another run, but it was too little, too late.
So, the 1964 World Series came down to the seventh game. Bob Gibson against Mel Stottlemyre.
Gibson had little problem with Linz and Richardson in the first. In the second, he escaped a bases-loaded jam. Gibson's pal Tim McCarver drew a walk in the second, but nothing came of it.
Linz singled in the third, but Richardson hit into a double play. New York was struggling to get that big hit off Gibson. And Gibby's battery mate took over the contest in the bottom of the fourth!
St. Louis had runners on first and second, nobody out. McCarver hit a grounder towards the gap in right. Pepitone made a great stop of it, and got it to Linz at second for the force. But when Linz tried to double up McCarver, his throw missed the mark. The end result was a run, and now a runner on first. Mike Shannon singled McCarver to third. This set up an amazing moment. The Cards pulled of a double steal. In doing so, their catcher became the first at his position to steal home in the World Series. But nearly thirty years later, Tim didn't think so much about it.
"Yeah," McCarver would say in game five of the 1992 World Series, "but it was tainted. It was the back end of a double steal."
Still, it gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead over New York. Bob Gibson was pitching with two-days' rest, so he might need every help that presented itself. Stottlemyre, too, was on two-days' rest. Now that, coupled with the fact he'd jammed his shoulder covering first on the failed double play this inning, was showing. By the time the home half of this frame ended, it was 3-0, St. Louis.
New York tried to get it back Linz seemed like just the man to get some runs across against Gibson. With only one away, and two men out, he sent a sinking shot to right. But Mike Shannon made a great catch, then doubled Tom Tresh off the bag!
The Cardinals were firing on all cylinders, and there was nothing the Yankees could do to stop them. Al Downing took over in the fifth for New York, but he couldn't stem the tied. Lou Brock greeted him with a home run on the first pitch. Billy White singled. Ken Boyer doubled. Rollie Sheldon tried his luck with St. Louis. Even when you got them out, it didn't help. Dick Groat grounded out, making it 5-0, and moving Boyer to third. Back up was their amazing catcher, McCarver. He flied to Mickey Mantle in right, but Boyer beat the throw, and the game was a real rout! And their catcher had a run scored and a run driven in. Gibson and McCarver, not a bad pair! Better still for them both, the game was now a laugher! They could ease of the pedal from here.
At least, that's how it looked, until Richardson came up in the top of the sixth. Suddenly, Bob Gibson looked like a tiring pitcher. Three straight balls to the Yankees' second basemen. Then, the pitcher brought the count to 3-2. But Bobby (the batter) would win this round. He sent a slow roller to third. There was no play for Boyer. Roger Maris was up. Gibson nearly fanned him, but Maris singled to right on a 2-2 offering. Mickey Mantle found Gibson's second pitch to his liking. He absolutely crushed the 0-1 to deep left for a three-run home run. But, hadn't Richardson started the Yankees back with his single? Regardless, it was now a close game, 6-3.
So just like that, the momentum was back on the Bronx Bombers' side. St. Louis went down 1-2-3 in their half of the sixth. Gibson got the first two men out in the seventh, but then Richardson was back for more. He singled. The hit was a record-setting thirteen by Bobby. Maris rocketed one of Gibson's pitches to right field, but right at Shannon.
The home team got one run back in the seventh, and New York needed to get another rally going soon. In the eighth, Tim McCarver got another chance. We finally got that McCarver / Hamilton matchup that should have taken place in the top of the tenth inning in the fifth contest. No matte, here it was. Tim won it, singling to centre. His batting average in the 1964 World Series was now an amazing .478! And Tim didn't stay at first too long. An error by Clete Boyer saw resulted in Shannon on first, McCarver on second. A bunt got runners to second and third.
Bob Gibson was the batter, and it would seem fitting that St. Louis would score one last run, with McCarver driven home by his pal. Alas, Pete Mikkelsen came in. Gibson hit the ball to third. Clete Boyer got to it. McCarver made the mistake of trying to score on it. Boyer tossed to Elston Howard at home. Do you remember what I wrote
here about this sequence of events?
"Howard ran towards the trapped runner, and then fired the ball back to Boyer as McCarver headed back to third. Shannon was also heading there, from second. The toss from Elston Howard actually ended up hitting McCarver. Boyer quickly picked up the ball as McCarver started back towards home. Mikkelsen had gone to the plate to make sure home was covered. Shannon, himself briefly trapped between second and third, had headed back to second. Shortstop Phil Linz had moved to third. Boyer was after McCarver, and fired to Mikkelsen at home. Pete got the ball and chased Tim McCarver back towards third base. Mikkelsen, to Linz. The shorstop slapped the tag on Tim McCarver. Two away."
Flood lined out, ending a promising eighth.
Still, Gibson and company needed just three more outs. Due up for the Bronx Bombers: Tresh, Clete Boyer and Mikkelsen (Who of course would not bat for himself), all that stood in the way!
Tresh fanned. But Clete Boyer, who's brother Ken had hit a home run earlier, joined his sibling in the home run trot. The solo shot made it 7-4, St. Louis. The hit also meant Linz would bat one more time. Meanwhile, Gibson fanned Johnny Blanchard, who was batting for the pitcher. Gibson faced Linz for the final out, as Richardson was in the on-deck circle. Would he get a chance?
The first pitch was fouled. The next pitch was what Linz had been waiting for. He hit it to deep left. Brock leaped up to try and catch it. But to no avail. Phil had himself a home run. The Yankees had three home runs this game off Bob Gibson, including two this inning. Phil Linz had two home runs himself in this series. More importantly, the Yankees were suddenly in striking range of the Cardinals, who had led 6-0 after five. "[The] Yankees, battling back," said Joe Garagiola over the radio, "like they've been battling all year. The Cardinals, battling to win this game, like they've been battling all year."
The man who started the Bronx Bombers on their comeback was back up. Richardson was back up. Thirteen hits in thirty one at-bats. Against Gibson alone, the Yankees' second basemen was 7-13 (.538). But manager Johnny Keane stuck with Gibson. Fans began to climb on top of the outfield walls. A quick announcement came over the public address system, that the game would be halted until the fans cut it out. Ball one to Richardson. Strike one. Gibson delivered again. Richardson popped it up. Dal Maxvill made the catch! The Cardinals had won this exciting World Championship.
It had been a very exciting World Series, one in which you wouldn't have bet the farm as to who would come out on top. There'd been the big guys expected to deliver, like Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ken Boyer, Mickey Mantle and Jim Bouton.
But what about Tim McCarver, Bobby Richardson, and Phil Linz? Well, they certainly gave fans thrills all the way in this very entertaining Fall Classic. McCarver topped 'em all in batting average and on-base percentage. Richardson set a still-standing record. And Linz, well, let's just say he did a lot more than play the harmonica in 1964. The three men hitting the baseball in the World Series? That had been music to everyone's ears!
References
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