Baseball in the 1960's: October 2022

Monday, October 31, 2022

The First Year The Mets Did Not Lose 100

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Rich Klein of Grand Prairie, TX, who correctly identified Clete Boyer and Tom Tresh as the two NY Yankees who led the the team in batting average in the 1962 World Series. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST: By answering the TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY you are automatically entered into a weekly drawing for a Starbucks Gift Card. Please enter via brillpro@gmail.com and please put your mailing address in with the answer so we can send you the gift card in the mail.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Clete Boyer and Tom Tresh were the two NY Yankees who led the the team in batting average in the 1962 World Series.

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NOTE; At the top right corner of the side bar you will see a link to daily sports scores. We made an agreement with Baseball 24 in a mutual sharing situation.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: In what year did the Beatles perform at Shea Stadium?

If you were a long suffering New York Mets fan, 1966 was a real milestone. It marked the first time in their short history the Amazin's DID NOT lose 100 games in a season. Doubly important, it was the first time in their history the Mets DID NOT have a 20 game loser on the mound.

It was the first time a manager other than Casey Stengel took over the club for a full season. Wes Westrum actually replaced Stengel in 1965 after 95 games and 31 wins. Westrum's record was to lose three times more than he won, finishing 1965 with a 19-48 record and the club lost 112. But in 1966 things finally started to improve for New York's NL team.

It was only a one season bailout, so don't get me wrong, this was not the full Monty so to speak of turn arounds. It was a brief foray into NOT losing 100 games, but instead losing just 95. The team scored 587 and gave up 761. They finished last in nearly every important hitting category and next to last in others.

Of the 10 teams in the NL, the Mets finished 10th in hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, slugging average, OPS, at bats and total bases. They were ninth when it came to On-Base percentage, stolen bases and runs scored. They were third (their highest offensive marks) in caught stealing and Hit By Pitch.

On the pitching side, the club finished last in innings pitched, walks, strikeouts and Saves, but not in losses. Only the Chicago Cubs (103 losses) finished lower than the New Yorkers. Mets' pitchers did finish ninth in Wins, ERA, Shutouts, Hits allowed, Runs allowed, Earned Runs allowed and Home Runs allowed.

However, for the first time in Mets's history they did not have a pitcher lose 20 games. Jack Fisher lost 14 and Jack Hamilton dropped 13. Two Mets starters actually had winning records. Dennis Ribant was 11-9, Bob Shaw 11-10.

In their history to this date the Mets had these 20 game losers;

1962 Roger Craig 24, Al Jackson 20
1963 Roger Craig 24
1964 Tracey Stallard 20
1965 Jack Fisher 24, Al Jackson 20.

The 1966 Mets did finished last in eight of the top offensive categories and ninth in two more and on the pitching side they were last in four categories and ninth in seven others. Still it was a great improvement for the New York faithful who finished second in the NL, as 1.9 million people walked through the turnstiles.

Ron Hunt led the hitters at .288, while Ed Kranepool whacked 16 homers to lead the team and tied with Cleon Jones with 57 RBI. And a 19 year old kid named Nolan Ryan pitched a total of three innings, striking out six and walking only one. His first K was Pat Jarvis, the pitcher.

Never fear the Mets were back to their old ways in 1967, finishing 59-103 with Salty Parker taking over for Westrum for the final 11 games, before ushering in the Gil Hodges era.

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Monday, October 24, 2022

Ralph Terry Ends Giants World Series Hopes

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Tim Nathan of Berkley, MI, who correctly stated Dick Stuart hit 33 homers in Japan in one season. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Dick Stuart's best homer total in one season outside the USA was 33 in Japan.

NOTE; At the top right corner of the side bar you will see a link to daily sports scores. We made an agreement with Baseball 24 in a mutual sharing situation.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: In the 1962 World Series which two players, normally known for their defense, led the Yankees in batting average for the series?

In the 1960's if you asked most people who was the ace of the Yankee's staff and a stalwart in a World Series, most people would probably say Whitey Ford. In 1962 it was another long time major leaguer; Ralph Terry.

Terry had an awesome 1962, winning 23 games to Ford's 17 and leading the team in innings pitched with 298. He walked but 57 batters and struck out 176. All figures which outdistanced Ford. Perhaps, his most amazing feat was a 1.05 WHiP to Ford's 1.21.

It was in the World Series where he really stood out. That cool October day when Game One against the Giants began in San Francisco's Candlestick Park, it was Ford who got the call. He did not disappoint and neither did his Bronx Bomber teammates, responding with six runs as they defeated Billy O'Dell and the Giants 6-2. The six runs would be the second most scored by a winning team in the series which was supposed to be a slug-fest. In Game One Clete Boyer homered and Roger Maris drove in a pair, which was pretty much all the Yanks needed.

Terry got the start in Game Two but Yankee bats went silent, managing only three hits off Jack Sanford. A Willie McCovey homer was all the Giants needed as Terry gave up only six hits but two runs. San Francisco tied the series a 1-1.

New York came back in game three to back the four hit pitching of Bill Stafford 3-2 and take a one game lead in the best of seven series. Ford got the call in Game Four and lasted six good innings before giving way to the relief corps. The Yankee staff gave up a total of seven runs in losing 7-3, to bring the series even again at 2-2.

Terry took the mound for his second start in Game Five and was neck and neck with Sanford until the eighth. Tom Tresh, batting third, got his second extra base hit of the night; a three run blast to put the Yanks ahead for good. Despite striking out 10, Sanford was on the losing end and Terry went the distance with an eight hitter.

New York hoped to close it out in Game Six but Ford was not up to it and the Giants were not going away. Whitey gave up five runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings and was gone along with the Yankee fans desire to avoid a Game Seven. San Francisco stayed alive with a 5-2 win.

Pitching on five days rest (he went the distance on October 10th), Terry faced the Giants in Game Seven on October 16th. Over 43,000 people filled Candlestick to see Terry take on Sanford again. It was a Tuesday afternoon in October and as anyone knows October near the Bay can be treacherous. The temperature was in the 60's with a 20 mile per hour wind - the wind tunnel so to speak in those days.

The game was scoreless until the fifth when Moose Skowron led off the inning with a single. Boyer followed with a single sending Skowron to third with nobody out. Sanford then did the unthinkable; he walked the opposing pitcher to load the bases. Lead off man Tony Kubek hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop Jose Pagan who quickly turned the double play allowing Skowron to score, making it 1-0.

It was a good move by the defense figuring one run would not make the difference. Unfortunately for the Giants it did. Terry was masterful until the ninth. The ninth inning involved one of the most memorable plays in World Series history.

Matty Alou led the Giants off with a bunt single. Brother Felipe and Chuck Hiller struck out. With San Francisco down to it's final out, Willie Mays banged a double off Terry, sending Matty to third and bringing up the dangerous McCovey. McCovey had tripled earlier in the game and today never would have gotten to swing the bat. Orlando Cepeda, just as dangerous but batting a lowly .158 in the series, was on deck.

With the game on the line McCovey smashed a wicked line drive which second baseman Bobby Richardson grabbed for the final out. The game and the Series was over and Terry had pitched two complete games, winning two including the final Game Seven.

Terry allowed just four hits, striking out four and did not walk a batter, going 2-1 in the Series with a 1.80 ERA. He gave up only five runs in 25 innings and walked just two batters in leading New York to a 4-3 Series victory.

Followers

Monday, October 31, 2022

The First Year The Mets Did Not Lose 100

Monday, October 24, 2022

Ralph Terry Ends Giants World Series Hopes