Baseball in the 1960's

Monday, October 4, 2021

World Series Heroics Game One 1960

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Bob Ibach of Chicago, who correctly said three of the New York Yankees in last week's column highlight, were enshrined in the Hall of Fame. ** 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. YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. Don't forget to put your mailing address in with the answer so if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

Just a note to add; If you look at the top right hand 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. Hope its helpful to fans of several sports.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: In th 1960 World Series, which Pirate infielder had the exact same Batting Average in the Series as he did during the regular season?

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: There were three NY Yankee players enshrined in the Hall of Fame from last weeks column, however, ** it should be noted Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek is in the broadcasters awards section as well. The answer we were looking for though was three; Mantle, Berra and Ford. And as most of you pointed out, it's hard to imagine there are only three from that line-up.

It is almost time for the Fall Classic once we get through the Playoffs (which did not exist until 1969) so for the next couple of weeks we'll be looking back at some interesting World Series Games of the era.

(The highlight on this column comes at 6:31 of the above video which covers the entire series.)

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 Fall Classic in 35 years when they lost in 4 straight to the 1927 Yankees. The new 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 that 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 featured 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. It should be noted Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson was voted Series MVP (the only time a player on a losing team was so honored in the World Series). However, it must be remembered the voting for the MVP takes place before the game actually ends, and if it had occurred after the game, it's highly likely Mazeroski would have won that award.

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Monday, September 27, 2021

Bud Daley Puts the Yankees Over the Top TWICE; 1961

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Henry Menks, of Santa Fe, NM who correctly identified Sammy Ellis as the winning pitcher in Warren Spahn's last game. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: How many of the 1961 New York Yankee players are enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame?

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: The winning pitcher in Warren Spahn's last game was Sammy Ellis. Spahn made a brief appearance as a reliever for the Giants.

When you think of Yankee pitchers making their mark in the 1960s, you normally think of Whitey Ford.You don't think of Bud Daley. Daley however was the man who pitched the 1961 Yankees (the second greatest team of all time) into first place basically to stay. It was game 80 on the season. Just one month earlier he was toiling for the Kansas City A's. The A's traded him
to the Yankees for Art Ditmar and Deron Johnson. He was 4-8 before the trade. It was the beginning of two milestones for the lefty hurler in 1961.

(Bud Daley gets Vada Pinson as the final out of the 1961 World Series)

To put it nicely, almost any pitcher would have this claim to fame on Friday, July 7th evening in front of 29,000-plus at Yankee Stadium. The Bombers put 14 runs on the board against the Red Sox but it was Daley who was on the mound and went the distance. Bud worked quickly that game which went 2:45 despite 17 runs being scored.

He gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out three and the only deep ball he allowed was late in the game to catcher Jim Pagliaroni. Otherwise he kept Boston in check. The Yankees had a field day against four Red Sox pitchers. Gene Conley opened the game and lasted just one frame, giving up six runs. Arnold Earley went the next five and by the time he was relieved New York had scored 10 of it's 14 runs. Dave Hilman and Billy Muffett left their marks as well.

New York did what it did best but only Elston Howard homered. Bobby Richardson and Roger Maris each drove in three runs while Howard plated four more. Mantle had a couple of hits as did Bill Skowron.

While the club had won the two previous games, this win pushed them into first place. And aside from a couple days when they fell to second the Bronx Bombers pretty much clinched the AL Pennant. With this win they went on a 25-9 run, dominating the American League and heading into the World Series.

While their were many bigger names in pinstripes in 1961 including Maris and his 61 homers, Mantle's .317 and 54 HR along with Berra, Ford (25 wins) and Luis Arroyo (15-5, 29 Saves), it was a career 60 game winner named Bud Daley who put them on the train to the title in game 80. Daley finished the campaign 8-9 with New York and coupled with his 4-8 in KC, he ended the season 12-17. He picked up a win in two relief appearances in the World Series, including getting Vada Pinson to pop up as the final out in the 1961 Series.

The Orange County, California native was a two time all-star, winning 16 games in both 1959 and 1960.

Monday, September 20, 2021

Warren Spahn Wins 23 at Age 42

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Rich Klein or Grand Prairie, TX, who correctly stated the player whom Darrell Evans pinch-hit for was Claude Raymond (adding he of the unzipped fly in the 1966-67 Topps cards). The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was the winning pitcher in Warren Spahn's last game?

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: The player whom Darrell Evans pinch-hit for was Claude Raymond.

By the time 1960 rolled around, Warren Spahn had already won 20 or more games in a season nine times. He was 39 years old when the 1960 season began and no one could have foreseen the Braves hurler would add three more 20 win seasons to his total. No one in their right mind would expect him to match his single season record of 23 wins at the age of 42, in 1963.

The '63 season was a rather strange one for the Milwaukee Braves. The starting pitching was not bad but not spectacular, aside from Spahn. Spahn completed 22 of his 33 starts for 259 innings on his way to a 23-7 record. Overworked Denny Lemaster registered a 3.04 ERA but pitched 31 of his 46 games as a starter. His 11-14 record showed his overwork. The bullpen was a mess.

(Spahn's 300th win)
On the offensive side of the ledger, the usual suspects performed as usual. Hank Aaron had 44 homers again to match his uniform number, Eddie Mathews hit 23 and drew nearly as many walks (124) as hits (144).

After Aaron's .319, Joe Torre clocked in at .293 and Lee Maye hit .271, but the rest of the squad was mainly under .250. No one on the bench batted better than .236 and most were not good defenders.

So how in the world did the ace of the staff, 42-year old Warren Spahn win 23 of his teams 84 wins. The Braves finished 84-78 in sixth place.

The Braves could score runs in bunches and while there were a couple close games early on, Spahn was 4-1 by the end of April. Included was a 4-hit shutout of the Phillies. In May he was 3-2. June saw him pick up a 4-0 record with a pair of three-hit shutouts. Again he blanked the Phillies and then shutout the Dodgers, besting Don Drysdale 1-0.

July was a little sloppy for Milwaukee but the ace still managed a 2-2 record with another shutout, this time against the Astros. He was unstoppable in August taking it to a 5-0 record. September was magnificent with a 5-2 record. There was a 3-hitter to shutout the Cubs and then on the final day of the season, with nothing hanging in the balance, he bested the Cubs and Bob Buhl just eight days after blanking the Cubs and Larry Jackson. This time it was a three hitter 2-0 in 1:38.

He was pitching like he was double parked and ready to head on home. He did in grand fashion. Two years later he retired, having won only 13 more games, the final season with the Mets and Giants. He was 44 years old, and finished with 363-245 record. His 3.09 ERA was strong and his 363 wins is good enough for 6th all time, and of course Cooperstown.