World Series game #2

TRIVIA QUESTION: Only two of the regular starters for the 1961 Yankees failed to hit double figures in home runs. Who were they?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: In the 1960 Series the Yankee powerhouse scored 38 runs in their three wins over Pittsburgh. During those three games the Yanks didn't hit for power. They only belted four homers in the three wins, three by Mickey Mantle and the other by Bobby Richardson. 

Since this is 2017 World Series Week, we'll be taking a look at the matching World Series games of the 1960's. Each of the next 10 blogs will deal with a corresponding game where possible. This blog deals with the second game of the 1961 series while the next will deal with Game 3 of the 1962 series and so on. If the 2017 series is shorter than seven games we'll continue the series on here.

                                                 
                                                        1961 (Game Two)
                                       Cincinnati Reds at the New York Yankees

Game two of the 1961 World Series was a real pitchers duel with two guys few fans beyond little kids collecting baseball cards would remember. Joey Jay of the Cincinnati Reds was a decent pitcher. He did win 21 games in both 1961 and 1962 but other than that his career was rather unremarkable. His lifetime ERA was 3.77 and even in those 21-win years he gave up a lot of runs. His biggest down fall in his 99 career wins were walks and gopher balls. He average giving up a homer per 10 innings, which when combined with a 1.3 WHiP, can be pretty devastating.

The Yankees Ralph Terry was another steady but unremarkable pitcher. He also had his two best seasons in 1961 and 1962. In "61 he was 16-3 with 3.15 ERA and two shutouts. The following year he was overworked. While pitching 299 innings and giving up 40 homers he leading the league in the number of batters faced. He was on the mound a long time in winning 23 games.

 
In Game Two of the 1961 series these two pitchers faced off and matched each other pitch for pitch. Through three innings each pitcher had given up a lone single. Terry broke first however. In the fourth, an error on a ground ball by usually sure handed Clete Boyer at third opened the door. Gordy Coleman belted a high drive to right center which cleared the wall at Yankee Stadium, giving the Reds a 2-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the fourth New York came right back after a walk to Roger Maris, Yogi Berra went deep to tie it at 2-2.

In the fifth the Yankees woes continued with a pair of two out singles by Elio Chacon and Eddie Kasko with Chacon motoring to third. With Vada Pinson at the plate Terry fired off a pitch Elston Howard couldn't handle and it got by him for a passed ball, Chacon scored to make it 3-2. 

Meanwhile Jay was striking out Yankee hitters (he ended up with six) despite issuing six walks. In the sixth after a double by Wally Post and an intentional walk to Gene Freese, Johnny Edwards got one of his two hits to drive home Post to make it 4-2.
 
In the eighth the roof caved in. Luis Arroyo was now pitching and he issued a lead off walk to Frank Robinson. Gordy Coleman hit a weak ground ball in front of the plate which Arroyo threw down the right field line. Robinson scored all the way from first. Before the inning ended there was a misjudged flyball to left which went for a three base error, an intentional walk and another RBI double by Edwards. The game was pretty much over with the Reds leading 6-2.

Jay had pitched a remarkable game going the distance while giving up two runs on just four hits, despite walking six. Terry went seven and only gave up two earned runs walking two and striking out seven. Yankee D failed him. Berra, Boyer and Arroyo committed errors and a passed ball by Howard let in a run as well. Of the four runs he allowed only two were earned and only one of the two Arroyo allowed was earned, despite his own key error. 

The Yankees won 109 games in 1961 and are a team considered by many as the Second Best Team of All Time, second only to the 1927 Yankees. They would not be deterred. Despite the 6-2 loss in Game Two, they would go on to win the series in five games. They got revenge in the final game beating Joey Jay 13-5, knocking him out with four big runs in the first inning capped by a Johnny Blanchard dinger. 

Terry would fair little better giving way in the third after giving up three earned runs. Bud Daley relieved him and went the rest of the way for the win.  The Reds would use eight pitchers in the game. This time the errors were committed by the Reds. Three errors led to two unearned runs but when you score 13 total and the other guys only score five, it kinda doesn't matter.  

Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon. 

World Series Game #1

 

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: The Yankees scored 38 runs in their three wins in the 1960 series. Mantle and company were known for their power. In those three wins, how many home runs did the Yankees hit?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: In 1968, the year of the pitcher, the Detroit Tigers starting pitchers completed 59 games, 28 by Denny McLain who won 31games. The team only had 29 saves and both Pat Dobson and Daryl Patterson tied for the lead with seven each.

 

Since this is 2017 World Series Week, we'll be taking a look at the matching World Series games of the 1960's. Each of the next 10 blogs will deal with a corresponding game where possible. This blog will deal with the first game of the 1960 series while the next will deal with Game 2 of the 1961 series and so on. If the 2017 series is shorter than seven games we'll continue the series on here.

                                                        1960 (Game One) 

                                       New York Yankees at Pittsburgh Pirates

Game one of the 1960 World Series was remarkable for a number of reasons. Off the top, it marked the first time Pittsburgh had been to the big dance in 35 years. The Yankees were the team of the previous decade and a new one was underway. The question most asked, "could they continue their winning ways?" Most importantly however, this game is marked by a little known fact. 

Everyone who follows baseball remembers Bill Mazeroski's walk off home run in the last inning of the seventh game to win it for Pittsburgh. A series otherwise dominated by Yankee home runs and bats. Few people remember Mazeroski also hit what was the game-winning home in Game One, when the Bucs beat the Yanks 6-4. 

It was certainly what New York was looking for in a hitters game except for the final score. They pounded out 13 hits to the Pirates six. Roger Maris and Elston Howard both homered, lead off hitter Tony Kubek slapped three hits as did Maris. Maris homered in the first to give New York a 1-0 lead off Vern Law. The Deacon, as he was known, won 20 games for Pittsburgh in 1960. 

 

In the new age of baseball on television, pitching however faltered. Art Ditmar didn't make it out of the first inning as the Bucs Bill Virdon started things off with a walk. Virdon, a future manager with the Yankees, promptly stole second and advanced to third on an error by Kubek at short. NL Batting Champion Dick Groat doubled in Virdon, Bob Skinner singled in Groat and with one out Skinner stole second, then scored on a single by Roberto Clemente. Jim Coates relieved Ditmar and brought the inning to an end, but the Bucs led 3-1.

Law sailed along until the fourth when a single by Moose Skowron drove home a run, making it 3-2. In the bottom of the fourth after a one out walk to Don Hoak, Mazeroski promptly belted an offering from Coates deep over the left field wall. It gave the Pirates a 5-2 lead and few in Forbes Field (including Mazeroski) realized it was a sign of things to come. They could not have realized either this homer put the Pirates ahead for good; thus the game winner.

In the sixth Maz would single and come home on a hit by Virdon giving the Pirates their sixth run. New York scored in the ninth on Howard's two run home run but by then it was all over. Fireman Roy Face pitched the final two innings in relief of Law to save the win for Pittsburgh.

 

 

The rest of the series was the things legends are made of. New York would go on to outhit, outscore, out homer and basically annihilate the Pirates in their three wins, 16-3, 10-0 and 12-0. Even in the decisive seventh game they scored 9 rungs, but with Maz's homer in the bottom of the ninth the Pirates scored 10. It was the only time Pittsburgh scored in double digits in the series.

Pittsburgh scored only 26 runs in the series. New York scored 55. The hits gap was 91-60 and the home run gap 10-4. Mazeroski hit half of those. Maz hit only 11 in the entire 1960 regular season. Mickey Mantle hit three while Maris and Skowron each banged two. When it came to pitching Whitey Ford won two complete nine-inning games with an amazing WHiP of 0.72. Pirate starters Law and 34-year old Harvey Haddix each won two games, 18-game winner Bob Friend lost a pair and little Elroy Face picked up three saves. Still it was Game One which set the tone for what had become an improbable World Series victory.

 

The seventh game in 1960 remains the only "walk off seventh game homer" in the history of the World Series. It's made Mazeroski a true legend and despite his amazing defensive credentials, it helped catapult him into baseball's Hall of Fame.

 

Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon. 

 

Whatever Happened to the NEXT Mickey Mantle?

TRIVIA QUESTION: The 1968 Detroit Tigers had a 31 game winner in Denny McLain, but who led the team in Saves?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: In 1962 the Cleveland Indians finished in sixth place, 43 games behind the pennant winning New York Yankees. Winning only 80 games that year, ace Dick Donovan won 20 of them while losing 10, he completed 16 of his 34 starts and tossed five shutouts. While his ERA was a respectable 3.59 over 250 innings his control was amazing. He walked only 47 batters over the season including five intentionally.  

Roger Repoz came up with the New York Yankees in 1964, hailed as the next Mickey Mantle. By June 1966 Yankee brass decided they would look for the next-next Mickey Mantle. Repoz possessed lots of power, a sweet swing, an amazing arm and strong prowess in the outfield and at first base. He was smooth. Despite those attributes his batting average left management cold. Remember, this was the 60's and the BA was important.

In his first full season with New York he hit .220 with 12 homers in 79 games. The following year he played in 138 games and hit fewer homers (11) and only batted .232. His strike outs were high but not abnormally high for a power hitter. Of course if he was supplying the power they projected, he might have stayed with the Bronx Bombers. 

The end for Repoz came in June, 1966. Relegated to pinch-hitting (43 at bats in 37 games) he was actually batting well.  His average was .349 but he didn't hit any home runs and he was striking out at a rate of one in six at bats. Defensively he played in almost every game at least as a late inning replacement and made just two errors in the outfield. Come June 8th however he batted for the last time as a Yankee. Batting for Mel Stottlemyre in the 8th he popped out to short. The next day the Yanks  sent the future Mickey Mantle to Kansas City along with Gil Blanco and Bill Stafford for catcher Billy Bryan and pitcher Fred Talbot. The great experiment was over.

For Repoz it wasn't the end. It was just the finish to a season which looked so promising.  With the Athletics he was competing for a spot with Joe Nossek, Larry Stahl and Mike Hershberger. All three were good defenders but with no power and journeyman batting averages in the .250 range. In his first game with the A's, inserted into the line-up in center field for Larry Stahl, he quickly banged out two hits against the Angels in a losing effort. He must have impressed someone in the Angel's brass. Despite going 5 for 24 the rest of the season against the Angels and despite batting a lowly .216 with 11 home runs for the A's, he was shipped to California the next season.

Midway through the 1967 season he was sent to the Angeles for Jack Sanford and Jackie Warner. June was usually a terrible month for Repoz. The Yankees traded him on June 10th, the A's traded him on June 15th and later in 1972 the Angeles traded him on June 10th. 

With California he seemed to gain new life. Over the next four seasons he hit double figures in homers three times including a career high 18 in 1970. His average never climbed above ..247 however and by the time his career came to an end in Anaheim, he decided Japan was the place he could finish out his career.  The Angels sent him to Baltimore who sent him to Triple A and by now he'd had enough. 

In five seasons in Japan, the former "Next Mickey Mantle" found his stroke. He slugged 122 homers, hitting a high of 36 for Yakult in 1976 and batted a foreign career .262. The amazing thing about Repoz however, was he probably fielded better than Mantle in their prime. In a major league career which covered 730 games he made a grand total of just 18 errors in nearly 2000 chances. Only 107 of those games were at First Base and that is where one third of those errors took place. In other words as an outfielder he played in 623 games and committed just 12 errors or one in every 52 games. He also threw out 27 base runners over that time. 

Roger Repoz had the sweet swing and he had the gun. He was never able to put it all together.
In 1971, Repoz became the first player in Major League Baseball history to compile an OPS of greater than .700 while putting up a batting average of under .200 and playing in a minimum of 100 games.


Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.

When the Cubs forced the Giants out of the Pennant Race

TRIVIA QUESTION: In 1962 what pitcher won 20 games for the American League Cleveland Indians who won a total of only 80 games?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: In Mickey Mantle's last game of his career it was an unusual twist because while Mantle, the great center fielder was playing first base, Joe Pepitone who would go on to be an outstanding Yankee first baseman, was playing center field that day. Pepitone would play nearly 100 games in the outfield that season, most of them in center.


Rarely do you see a team with four players hitting 133 home runs between them, but the 1966 San Francisco Giants were one of those teams. It was a team led by the aging Willie Mays (37) coming off a season when he hit 52 dingers, Willie McCovery (36), a young Jim Ray Hart (33) and catcher Tom Haller (27). Nobody else on the team hit more than nine homers in that season which saw the Giants battle down to the wire with the Dodgers and Pirates. All three teams were within three games of each other when the season ended.

Perhaps the season turned on the Giants right after taking two of three from Los Angeles in early September. The series ended with the Giants at 81 wins. They would finish with 93 wins but had to win 8 of their last 9 games to get there. After beating the Dodgers they lost 8 of their next 11 games. At the same time the Dodgers were winning eight straight.

The real conundrum began when the Giants went into their next series, hosting the lowly Cubs. An aging Ernie Banks was still anchoring an infield of Ron Santo, Don Kessinger and Glenn Beckert. The team overall was in transition welcoming Adolfo Phillips, Randy Hundley and Downtown Ollie Brown to the club. 

It all started when the Giants took on Chicago in San Francisco. Having taken two straight from the Dodgers who could blame the Giants for being over confident. Ace Juan Marichal was taking the mound against a young rookie Ken Holtzman. Marichal was working on his fourth 20 win season of the six he tossed. Both pitchers were sailing along with the Cubs leading 1-0 at the end of 7. Then the roof fell in.

In the top of the 8th with one out Beckert walked. Marichal hit Billy Williams to put runners at first and second. With Ron Santo at the plate, Beckert tried to steal third and Jim Ray Hart made an error. Beckert scored. Santo struck out but Ernie Banks singled home Williams to make it 3-0. Both runs were unearned.

In the 9th, with one out Adolfo Phillips doubled off Lindy McDaniel who had replaced Marichal. Pitcher Bill Hands flied out but Kessinger hit a sharp ground ball to short which Jim Davenport booted for an error. Beckert then drove them both home with a hit. Before the inning ended the Cubs had scored again and the final was Cubs 6 - Giants 0.

The Giants had committed five errors in the game including two by Davenport and all this behind their best pitcher, against a Cubs team which lost 103 games and finished in last place 36 games out of first. Five of the runs were unearned.

The Giants would lose their next two games to the Cubs 12-3 and 4-3 before picking up a 2-0 win over Chicago. The Giants would go on to lose five of their next eight before going on a tear to finish the season, losing out to the Dodgers by 1.5 games. As the Giants went into their tail spin the Dodgers went 14-5 before playing .500 ball down the final stretch. The fact the Giants won 8 of their last 9 was the only thing which kept it close. 

Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.
 

BEST OF: MIckey Mantle's Last Game

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ON THIS WEEK AFTER CHRISTMAS WE DECIDED TO SHARE WITH YOU AN UPDATED VERSION OF OUR "BEST OF" WHICH IS "MICKEY MANTLE'S LAST GAME."

This column first appeared on October 22, 2017. Next week we are back to our regular schedule with "The Best Hitting Pitcher of the 1960s" and regular trivia questions as well.

 
It was 75 degrees with a slight breeze at Boston's Fenway Park at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon on September 28, 1968. The Red Sox were taking the field and the New York Yankees were coming to bat. Not everyone knew this was going to be the last time the great Mickey Mantle would put on a uniform and play for the team which fans knew he belonged. He belonged in history.

(UPDATED: Mantle's final Yankee Stadium home run was in an Old Timers Game as seen in the video above.)

The great center-fielder who succeeded Joe DiMaggio way back in the early 1950's had been relegated to first base in recent years. His legs shot, his speed non-existent and his powerful bat carrying less oomph than ever. Years of drinking, injuries and battling had robbed the Mick of his prowess. Those who were not fans said he was only known for "arguing with the umpires," while those who watched him admired his great talent.

The Sox were sending ace Jim Lonborg to the mound in this next to the last game of the regular season. The Yankees were long out of the race and would finish fifth. The Red Sox would finish fourth, four games ahead of the Yankees.

Lonborg, the 22 Game winner who picked up the Cy Young Award the previous season was struggling too. He was trying for win no. 7 against 9 losses. The Red Sox won the pennant in 1967. This was 1968. This was the year Carl Yastrzemski came off his Triple Crown season when he hit .326 to win the batting title with the lowest average ever, .301. It was The Year of the Pitcher.

Mantle had battled injuries in his final season. This was nothing new. He was oft injured almost to legendary status. This year however, he was going to play in an amazing 144 games for the second year in a row. This after the 1966 campaign when he was limited to barely more than 100 games. It wasn't a bad season for any player. But Mickey Mantle wasn't just any player. He was The Mick. He'd bat 547 times, belt 18 home runs but only hit .237.

On this Saturday he started at first base and batted third behind Horace Clarke and Jake Gibbs. Clarke led off the game with a walk. Gibbs followed with a fly out to left. With Mantle at the plate, Clarke stole second. The Mick, batting left handed against the right handed Lonborg, then hit a weak pop up to shortstop Rico Petrocelli in short left field. Then Roy White struck out looking.

That was it, the last at bat for Mantle, Before he could hit a second time, Andy Kosco came into replace him. In the 8th inning Kosco belted his 15th home run of the year to make it 3-2 Red Sox. Joe Pepitone would also homer and in the end the Yanks bested the Sox 4-3. Longborg went all the way to lose it, Lindy McDaniel picked up the win in relief.

The final out recorded when Petrocelli grounded out to shortstop Tom Tresh who tossed it over to Kosco at first. That home run by Kosco was also his last as a Yankee. Over the winter New York shipped him off to the Dodgers for pitcher Mike Kekich. So Petrocelli not only ended the game but caught the final ball ever hit by Mickey Mantle.

For Mantle it brought an unceremonious end to an illustrious career. His final stat line wold read:
over 18 years, 536 Home Runs, 1509 RBI, 1676 Runs Scored, and a lifetime .298 Batting Average. He hit .300 or better 10 times and made the All Star team in every year but one. The lone season he didn't make the team was 1966 when he played only 108 games. He even made it in his final season. A three time MVP he led the league in homers four times and in 1956 won the Triple Crown, batting .353. Twice he eclipsed 50 homers and in 1961 would likely have beaten Roger Maris and Babe Ruth for the single season HR title, but an illness ended his season early despite his 54 homers.

While The Mick was an extraordinary player, on this day though he was just ordinary and when it came to Mickey Mantle, ordinary was better than most, but not good enough for him. So it came to an end. Only 25,534 people saw that game at Fenway and no doubt most of them didn't realize they were watching the end of an era.

Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon. 

Mr. Hard Luck Pitcher

TRIVIA QUESTION: What key pitcher did the Angels trade to get Don Mincher, Jimmie Hall and Pete Cimino from the Twins?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:  John Kennedy has a 12 year career in the big leagues but only played in the post season twice. He was the Dodgers defensive third baseman in 1965 and 1966, facing the Twins and the Orioles in the World Series.
 
You've heard the expression "you have to be good to lose 20 games?" Well in 1967 the Angels' George Brunet was so good he lost 19. When it comes to hard luck pitchers, Brunet had probably the hardest luck season ever and it was for a team which was fighting for a pennant nearly all year. He was the guy most responsible for keeping them there.

The season started out reasonably. The lefty Brunet started the season opener against the Detroit Tigers, facing Denny McLain. Brunet pitched a three-hitter, going the distance and the Angels won 4-2. He walked two, struck out nine and the only Tigers to get a hit were Jim Northrup, Gates Brown and Dick McAuliffe. A single, a double and Swingin' Brown hit a home run. 

The Angels backed him with 10 hits, three each from Jim Fregosi and Don Mincher who also homered. McLain lasted all of four innings. Mincher was the team slugger finishing with 25 homers on the season.

From there it went downhill fast. Brunet continued to pitch well. By seasons end however, he was 11-19 but heartbreak went with every one of those losses. In 37 starts the Angels scored a total of 84 runs, or 2.27 runs per game. In seven of those games the team backed him with only one run and three times they were shut out. His 3.31 ERA and 1.17 WHIP were amazing, and considering he pitched 250 innings while only giving up 203 hits and 19 home runs, Brunet should have won 20 easily. 

Brunet by this time was 32 years old and had been in the big leagues since 1956 when he came up with Kansas City. It was only the second time he'd won in double figures, achieving the task the previous year, winning 13 of 26 decisions for California. 

The year 1967 was extremely difficult. They were in it until the end finishing 84-77, seven and a half back of the Red Sox in fifth place. Brunet pitched the final game of the season in relief and picked up a save. Both Ricky Clark and Jim McGlothlin (other starters) both won 12 games and finished over .500, Minnie Rojas saved 27 and pitched more than 120 innings in relief. Brunet was the main guy though and despite the devastation of 1967, he came back in 1968 to pitch even better.

1968 was the year of the pitcher and Brunet lowered his WHIP to 1.05, his ERA was at 3.38, gave up less hits per inning walked fewer batters (68 in 245 innings) and at age 33 had perhaps his finest season finishing 13-17, still under .500.

He never won in double figures again, pitching three more seasons mostly in relief. In 1971 at age 36 he pitched his final seven games with St. Louis. He finished 0-1. His record of 69-93 belies the fact that in 1968 his 13 wins with the Angels were 13 of the teams 67 victories as they finished one notch above bottom dwelling Washington.

If there was ever a more hard luck pitcher than George Brunet, you'd be hard pressed to find one.

Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon. 

The Rare Error of Roberto Clemente

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: In a career which spanned 12 years in the big leagues, how many times did Dodger third baseman, John Kennedy play in the post season?

TRIVIA ANSWER FROM LAST COLUMN:  Johnny Bench twice hit at least 40 home runs in a season for the Cincinnati Reds. He hit 45 in 1970 and 40 two years later.

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It was the rarest of rare events when Roberto Clemente made a major error. It was even more unusual when it cost his team a game. However, that was exactly what happened on August 14th, 1965. It was a memorable night to begin with because it was right in the middle of the Watts Riots and it happened at Dodger Stadium. Attendance was only 29, 237, mainly because people were afraid to leave their homes. The city was on fire and people were dying. Baseball however, witnessed one of it's great pitching match-ups and a game which few will remember except those who were there. I was.

Sandy Koufax squared off against Don Cardwell. The former in his prime, the latter heading toward the end of a decent career. The Bucs were headed for sixth place in a ten team league. The Dodgers would go on to defeat the Twins in the World Series. For Koufax he was looking for win no. 21 in a season where he would dominate again.

The Pirates were a good hitting team as usual back then, but a team in transition. Clemente was still in his prime and batting .342 and was backed by Donn Clendenon's 28 homers, Willie Stargell's long taters and the amazing defensive play of Bill Mazeroski and Gene Alley up the middle. Catching Cardwell that night was journeyman, Jim Pagliaroni.

For Los Angeles it was the switch hitting infield of Parker, Gilliam, Lefebvre and Kennedy and the speed of Willie Davis backed by Lou Johnson and Ron Fairly. Johnny Roseboro as usual was catching Koufax.

The game was scoreless and a real pitchers dual. I remember Mazeroski getting the Bucs' first hit, a single in the second. With two out in the bottom of the second Davis hit a shot to deep right field. Clemente, the ever graceful outfielder, leaned into the ground level box seats and robbed Davis of a home run. Without that the Dodgers would have had a 1-0 lead and the game would have ended in nine. Not to be.

To show you this was the 1960's, with two out in the top of the tenth and the game scoreless, Pirate manager Danny Murtaugh let Cardwell, the pitcher, bat. He struck out. The Dodgers would have their chance in the bottom of the tenth.

The inning began harmlessly. Roseboro flied out to Clemente followed by Kennedy also hitting a line drive out to Clemente. Then came the ultimate mistake. With two out in the bottom of the 10th, Cardwell walked Koufax. The mortal sin in baseball is to walk the opposing pitcher. Koufax was not a great hitter and manager Walt Alston chose to let his ace bat. Wes Parker followed with another walk and Murtaugh did not take Cardwell (who would pitch a no-hitter in his career) out.

Jim Gilliam hit a line drive to Clemente in right. The Great Roberto charged in for what looked like a routine final out. The ball hit off his glove and bounced away for an error. Koufax, running on contact, scored easily despite a good throw to the plate. Dodgers win 1-0.

It was an amazing game, both pitchers throwing 10 innings and a lot of unusual things you will never see again, or even before that. It was a night to remember  and both men are now in the Hall of Fame. 

Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.