The White Sox Bomb the Bombers

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Roger Nelson was the last pitcher to beat Denny McLain in 1968 when he won 31 games. Nick Farver of Los Angeles correctly answered the question. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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. Please put your mailing address in with the answer so if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: What three pitching categories did Luis Arroyo lead the league in during the 1961 season? 

The 1961 New York Yankees were considered the second greatest team of all time. They ranked just behind the 1927 Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig led Yankees. So you figure they dominated but on May 28th they played the lowly Chicago White Sox and were hammered in a game where 23 runs were scored, but it was the Sox who led the way.

The game started innocently enough. Neither team scored in the first although Early Wynn did walk the bases loaded but got out without giving up a run. In the second the Sox Floyd Robinson hit a solo homer to give the south Siders a 1-0 lead. It would be the first of six blasts in the game.

Bob Turley was the victim in that second inning. He was also victimized a couple innings later when after a pair of walks and a ground ball booted by Bobby Richardson, Wes Covington took Turley way deep for a grand slam and a 5-0 lead.

The Sox scored again in the 5th, this time off Bill Stafford who had taken over for Turley. With the score 6-0 these Yankees were never out of it. In the 6th the Bronx Bombers sent 10 men to the plate, knocked out Wynn and tied the score 6-6. A Grand Slam homer by Bob Cerv did most of the damage. 

New York took the lead in the seventh with back to back homers by Yogi Berra and Bill Skowron and led 9-6. But these Sox would not be denied. In the eighth Chicago sent 9 men to the plate and scored four runs to take a 10-9 lead. In the ninth the Sox, with the aid of another Robinson homer, scored four more to put New York away 14-9. 

New York committed three errors leading to a pair of unearned runs.  Turk Lown won it and Luis Arroyo who blew the Save, lost it. The Sox were nine games under .500 while New York was 20-16.

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.

                              brillpro@gmail.com 
 ==========================================================
I've written more than a dozen books including at least two sports books. You can find these at my Amazon page or at my own website www.bobbrillbooks.com. Please take a look at the sports books, the western novel series or the "Tattoo Murder," which is a crime book set in Ventura, CA.

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 books after reading this column.  

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.

 

Denny McLain's Special Season

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Andre Rodgers was once traded in a deal for Alvin Dark who later became  a big league manager. Rick Slocumb of Fargo, ND correctly answered the question. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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. Please put your mailing address in with the answer so if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was the winning pitcher in Denny McLain's last loss of 1968?

You kinda new 1968 was going to be a special year for Denny McLain when after his first six starts he was 5-0 and the Detroit Tigers scored 31 runs behind him in those five wins. He got a no-decision in his first start which Detroit lost 4-3, but from then on McLain was on his way to 31 victories. It's a feat which hasn't come close to being achieved since.

 1968 of course was the year of the pitcher. With McLain topping the pitching world in the AL, Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale were doing similar things in the National League. Starting pitchers all over the majors were having unbelievable seasons. It led to the pitching mound being lowered the following season so pitches would be flatter and more hitting would take place. It worked.

As for McLain he didn't get his third loss until mid-July. By that time he was 18-3 with more than two months left in the season. Remember this was a time when pitchers threw on three days rest. Along with Mickey Lolich and Earl Wilson they formed the nucleus of the Tigers starters. 

 A week later he would win his 20th, beating the Orioles with a 3-hit shutout. He was 20-3. With three days left in July, he still had enough time to get in the rest of his 41 starts. He made the most of it, going 11-3 down the stretch and completed 29 of the 41 starting assignments. He also tossed six shutouts along the way in helping the Tigers win the pennant. 

It was an electric season for Motor City. McLain finished with a 1.96 ERA and gave up about 100 hits less than innings pitched.  

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.

                              brillpro@gmail.com 
 ==========================================================
I've written more than a dozen books including at least two sports books. You can find these at my Amazon page or at my own website www.bobbrillbooks.com. Please take a look at the sports books, the western novel series or the "Tattoo Murder," which is a crime book set in Ventura, CA.

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 books after reading this column.  

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.