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Monday, October 18, 2021

The First Sweep of the Yankees in a World Series; 1963

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Bill Widmire or Chino, CA, who correctly identified Howie Bedell as the player who drove in the run with a fly-ball out to end Don Drysdale's scoreless streak at 58 2/3 innings. So many of you knew that.  It was one of his three career RBI and the only one he had that 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.  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:  How many of the 11 pitchers who actually pitched in the 1963 World Series played for California teams during their careers?
 
ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column:
Howie Bedell was the player who drove in the run with a flyball out to end Don Drysdale's scoreless streak at 58 2/3 innings. .

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 1963 World Series was one for the record books for many reasons. It was the first time ever the New York Yankees were swept in a four game World Championship Series. The Yanks who many times swept their opponents, did not win a game against the New York Giants in 1922 but that series actually went five games. Game Two ended in a 10-inning, 3-3 tie. In 1963 they would face their old rivals; The Dodgers. It was the Dodgers homecoming of sorts. It was their first time back to Yankee Stadium since leaving Brooklyn for the West Coast in the late 1950's.

New York was favored to win, after leading the American League with 104 victories while the Dodgers corralled 99 to take home the NL Pennant. The Yankees had the sluggers. Even with Mickey Mantle limited to 65 games and 15 dingers, the club still smacked 188 to finish second in the league in round-trippers.

Four players hit at least 20 home runs led by Elston Howard's 28. Roger Maris hit 23 and while not one Yankee had 100 RBI, they did score 714 runs which was again second in the AL. Mantle was the only player to bat .300 with a .314 average while an aging Yogi Berra (38) hit .293 in a very limited role.

And they were solid on the mound with two 20 game winners; Whitey Ford won 24 and Jim Bouton went 21-7. A young (22 year old) Al Downing was 13-5 and Ralph Terry won 17. The team ERA of 3.07 was only bested by one club and despite a tremendous bullpen, Yankee starters led the league in complete games with an amazing 59, led by Terry's 18. 


The bullpen was headed by Save leader Hal Reniff with 18, Steve Hamilton and Tom Metcalf each had ERA's under 3.00. To boot, Downing had four shutouts, Bouton six.  Downing was amazing as well in the K department, striking out 171 batters in 175 innings. 

Los Angeles was not a team of slouches by any means.  Not a power team the Dodgers were really in the middle of a run which featured speed and pitching. Maury Wills batted .302 and stole 40 bases, while Tommy Davis hit .325, clubbed 16 homers and stole 15 bases. Willie Davis stole another 25 and former Brooklyn Dodger Jim Gilliam stole 19. Frank Howard led the team in homers with 28 but amazingly only drove in 64 despite a .273 BA. Tommy D., would lead the team in RBI with 88.

The pitching staff is where the Dodgers chose to shine. Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax were at the top of their games, starting 82 games between them and completing 37 and combining for over 500 innings pitched. Koufax was 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA while Big D., was 19-17, 2.64 ERA. Koufax was unbelievable in another category which wasn't a big deal back then, WhIP. His was 0.87.
Johnny Podres won 14 and Bob Miller another 10, but the ace in the hole was closer Ron Perranoski who finished 16-3, 1.67 ERA with 21 Saves. The Dodgers still were no match for the slugging New Yorkers when it came to the plate. On the Mound give a very slight edge to New York, too.

But in a short series pitching usually holds sway and it was no different in 1963. Game One was on a Wednesday, which meant Koufax would open against Ford. If a series started on Saturday, it would be Drysdale because the devoutly Jewish Koufax would not pitch on Saturday. No worries in 1963.

Koufax was magnificent, giving up but six hits while striking out 15 Yankees on his way to a 5-2 win. Tom Tresh did homer but so did Johnny Roseboro who took Ford deep in a four-run second inning. 

In Game Two it was Podres turn to shine and he did. He went eight and a third before giving way to Perranoski to close it out. The Dodgers jumped on Al Downing for two runs in the first and in the fourth inning former Yankee, Bill Skowron clubbed a homer and when the dust settled the Dodgers were 4-1 winners. 

Following the Friday off day, Los Angeles sent Drysdale to the mound against Bouton. It was a classic match-up and the big man was never better. He allowed only three hits. Tony Kubek had a pair and Mantle had the other. He also struck out nine while walking one. Bouton was also outstanding except for one inning. He walked Gilliam, then wild pitched him to second before Tommy Davis drove him home with a double for the only run of the game, and a 1-0 Dodger victory.
Up three games to none, Manager Walt Alston brought back Koufax on three days rest. Again he was matched up against 24 game winner, Ford. It was going to be a tight battle and it was all about the most mistakes. Ford actually out-pitched Koufax. 

The game was scoreless until the fifth when Frank Howard blasted his only homer of the series to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until Mantle homered in the seventh to tie it up 1-1. It was then the big break came. Jim Gilliam led off the seventh with a ground ball to third baseman Clete Boyer who made a leaping catch of the high bouncer and threw directly onto first base for the apparent out. However, Joe Pepitone (apparently losing the ball in the white shirted background) couldn't handle the throw at first and the ball got by him down the line. By the time he got the ball, Gilliam ran all the way to third base. Willie Davis followed with a deep fly ball to center to drive home Gilliam on a sacrifice fly with the go ahead run. 
Koufax closed out the last two innings without the Yankees really mounting a threat and the Dodgers had their sweep. Koufax, who gave up only six hits, struck out eight and did not walk a batter was named MVP of the series with two wins. 

New York hit an anemic .171 in the series with only two home runs while Los Angeles didn't fare much better at .214 and two homers. Boyer and Tresh each struck out six times and Mantle, five. The key may have been; Yankee pitchers issued 11 walks.  New York was  outscored 12-4. Scoring an average of one run per game isn't going to win you any championships and that's how New York finished. 

The Yankees would be back in the Series in 1964 but despite taking the series to seven games, they still lost to the Cardinals, 4-3. It wouldn't be until 1976 the Yanks were blitzed again. This time by the Reds. However, in 1998 and 1999 they swept both series against the Padres and the Braves and added a 4-1 Series win the following year, winning 12 of 13.

 TRIVIA CONTEST; After reading this column you can enter the weekly trivia contest for a chance to win a Starbucks Gift Card. Enter via the following email. Send 1) your answer to the trivia question at the top of the column, 2) your name, address and email so where we know where to send the card if you win 3) any comment you have on the column. One winner will be selected at random each week based on correct answers with the odds being based on the number of correct entries.  Please cut and paste or enter the following email into your email system.
                             SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com  
 ==========================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"  for $15 Shipping Included 
 
Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 

Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column.    

Monday, October 11, 2021

Larry Jaster; Dodger Killer and World Series Cosmos Connection

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Steve Tighe of Monaca, PA, who correctly identified Dick Schofield as the 1960 Pirates infielder who had the same batting average during the regular season as he did in the world series; .333. ** 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.

===============================================================
NEW TRIVIA QUESTION:  In 1968 who drove in the run which ended Don Drysdale's consecutive shutout innings streak of 58 2/3?
 
ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column:
Dick Schofield as the 1960 Pirates infielder who had the same batting average during the regular season as he did in the world series; .333. Ducky went 1 for 3 in the Series, 34 for 102 during the regular season.

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.

Larry Jaster struck fear into the hearts of Dodger fans and hitters during the 1966 season but there was a World Series moment in time where Jaster made ironic history. First let's explore. He became known as the "Dodger Killer" or the "Creeper" because of the way he handled Los Angeles. Against the rest of the league he was well, rather pedestrian. And then there was that whole "Grand Slam" thing which you may be surprised to learn was more than just a World Series match up.

Jaster came to the Cardinals in 1965 as a reliever about to become a starter. The Redbirds had fine pitching including ace Bob Gibson, Nellie Briles and a young rookie by the name of Steve Carlton. Throw in Ray Washburn, Curt Simmons and Ray Sadecki and you had a formidable starting staff. Jaster got into four games, started three, completed all three, won all three and finished the season 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA.

On September 17, 1965 he made his debut in relief of Curt Simmons and tossed a perfect 1-2-3 inning. It was, as history would dictate, against the Dodgers. Before the season ended he would beat Houston twice and the Giants once. When 1966 rolled around he would take aim at the Dodgers.

On April 25th he squared off against Claude Osteen. Jaster tossed a 7-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none. He was 2-1. On the July 4th weekend he would face Los Angeles again, and again he tossed a shutout allowing just three hits in beating Don Drysdale. Jaster was now 3-2. Three weeks later he beat Drysdale again with a five-hit shutout, striking out eight to run his record to 6-2.
On August 19th, another shutout against the Dodgers. This time a five-hitter and he was now 8-3. On September 28th, in his final start of the season he faced rookie pitcher and future Hall of Famer, the late Don Sutton. Jaster ran his record to 11-5 with another shutout on four hits. Five straight starts against the Dodgers and five shutouts which combined with his one relief appearance the previous season means Jaster shutout Los Angeles 46 consecutive innings. Against the rest of the 1966 National League he was 6-5.

But it did not stop there because in the 1968 World Series Jaster came to grips with another legacy; the Grand Slam Home Run. He came in to relieve in Game 6; a game the Tigers would go on to win 13-1. The key was in a big 10 run inning, Jaster would face Jim Northrup. The significance might be lost on the average fan but not baseball historians.
Northrup came to the plate with the bases loaded against Jaster. Northrup led the majors in 1968 by hitting four Grand Slam homers. A remarkable feat when you consider the all time, life time record for Slams was set by Lou Gehrig with 23. Jaster, as history would have it, gave up two grand slams himself in 1968.

It was analytics on steroids. It was the perfect match up of the guy with the most grand slams versus the guy who gave up the most grand slams, on the biggest stage in the sport. The result was to be expected; Northrup blasted a Jaster pitch into the right field seats to clear the bases. It made the score 8-0 and Jaster was removed.

When the series ended Jaster was gone to Montreal and he set another milestone; he threw the first major league pitch in Canada. He would finish the season 1-6 and moved onto Atlanta where by the end of 1972 his career was over.

During the 1970 season it should be noted he was involved in another bit or irony. He was struggling and in a game against his old club, Montreal, he faced former Dodger Ron Fairly. Fairly hit a grand slam and a few days later Jaster was back in the minor leagues.

Jaster ended his career with a record of 35-33 and forever many places in baseball history.

TRIVIA CONTEST; After reading this column you can enter the weekly trivia contest for a chance to win a Starbucks Gift Card. Enter via the following email. Send 1) your answer to the trivia question at the top of the column, 2) your name, address and email so where we know where to send the card if you win 3) any comment you have on the column. One winner will be selected at random each week based on correct answers with the odds being based on the number of correct entries.  Please cut and paste or enter the following email into your email system.
                             SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com  
 ==========================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"  for $15 Shipping Included 
 
Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 

Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column.    

 

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.

===============================================================
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.

TRIVIA CONTEST; After reading this column you can enter the weekly trivia contest for a chance to win a Starbucks Gift Card. Enter via the following email. Send 1) your answer to the trivia question at the top of the column, 2) your name, address and email so where we know where to send the card if you win 3) any comment you have on the column. One winner will be selected at random each week based on correct answers with the odds being based on the number of correct entries.  Please cut and paste or enter the following email into your email system.

                             SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com  
 ==========================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"  for $15 Shipping Included 
 
Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 

Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column.