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.
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: Dick Stuart's best homer total in one season outside the USA was 33 in Japan.
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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.
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.
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.