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Who Needs Rest?
by Harold Friend Yankee4@Bestweb.net
Additional articles
on Suite101
About the author: Simply put,
Harold is a science teacher who loves baseball.
Actually, he is a self described "baseball fan who
became a science teacher because he couldn't hit or
throw." He has been involved with the New York City
Education system in various capacities since 1962
and he received his doctorate in science education
from NYU in 1968. He credits Casey Stengel with
being responsible for his first baseball "degree,"
and in 1998, Joe Torre and Don Zimmer saw to it
that he received the advanced version. For that he
says, "I cannot thank them enough."
It was October 8, 1958, exactly two
years to the day that Don Larsen had pitched the
only perfect World Series game. But this October 8
was different. On this October 8, the Yankees were
trying to tie the World Series against the
Milwaukee Braves at 3 games apiece.
Milwaukee had won Games 1 and 2,
the Yankees, behind Hank Bauer's two home runs and
Don Larsen's pitching, won Game 3, but Warren Spahn
beat Whitey Ford in Game 4 to give the Braves a 3-1
Series lead. The outlook wasn't brilliant for the
Yankees but Bob Turley's arm and Elston Howard's
glove and guts staved off elimination in Game 5.
The Yankees beat the Braves 7-0, which brings us to
Game 6 in Milwaukee.
Whitey Ford started for the
Yankees. Yes folks, the same Whitey Ford who
started and pitched seven innings in Game 4 started
Game 6 on two; repeat that, two, not five, not
four, not three, but TWO days rest. How things have
changed.
Ford pitched briefly and
ineffectively but the Braves failed to take full
advantage. In the Yankees first, Hank Bauer,
batting third in the order, hit a bases empty home
run off Braves starter Warren Spahn to stake Ford
to a one run lead. Yes, you read that correctly.
After pitching a complete game shutout in Game 4,
Warren Spahn started Game 6 on two days rest. As
Red Barber might say to Phil Rizzuto, "Do you think
Spahn and Ford were good pitchers?"
Trailing by a run, the Braves tied
the game in their half of the first when Henry
Aaron singled, scoring Red Schoendienst from
second. The Yankees failed to score in the second
but the Braves scored once in the bottom of the
second to take a 2-1 lead and might have gotten
more but fortunately for the Yankees, they didn't.
Mantle
led off with a single, Howard singled and Mantle
advanced to third when Braves center fielder Billy
Bruton made an error on the play.
With one out, Wes Covington singled, Andy Pafko
singled, sending Covington to third, and Spahn
singled, scoring Covington with Pafko stopping at
second. Ford then walked Schoendienst to load the
bases. Stengel relieved Ford of his duties and
brought in Art Ditmar. An interesting sidelight is
that two years later, in 1960, Stengel would choose
Ditmar over Ford to open the World Series against
the Pirates, a move that gave Yankees owners Dan
Topping and Del Webb the excuse they needed to
dismiss Stengel in order to create the opening
necessary to install Ralph Houk Yankees
manager.
But
on this day against the Braves, replacing Ford with
Ditmar was the right move. The Yankees right-hander
got Johnny Logan to hit a fly ball to left fielder
Elston Howard. Pafko tagged from third and Howard
threw him out at the plate, keeping the Braves lead
at one run.
That lead held up until the sixth.
Mantle led off with a single, Howard singled and
Mantle advanced to third when Braves center fielder
Billy Bruton made an error on the play. The extra
base was critical because Mantle scored the tying
run on a Yogi Berra sacrifice fly.
Ryne Duren came in to pitch for the
Yankees in the bottom of the sixth. Now, Duren was
the Yankees best relief pitcher. In 1958, as today,
a team has or wishes it had a top relief pitcher to
stop opponents' rallies. The other relief pitchers
were usually youngsters who were not yet full time
starters, such as Zach Monroe (who never made it)
or veterans such as Virgil Trucks who had been
starters and still had enough pitch a few innings
in certain situations. "Closers" didn't exist and
the term "save" was used loosely in a variety of
situations. In 1958, relief pitchers "preserved"
victories.
Duren pitched long and effectively,
not allowing a run in the sixth, seventh, or eighth
innings. In the top of the ninth, Duren, one of the
worst hitters, even for pitchers, in baseball
history (lifetime batting average of .061) was
scheduled to lead off. Remember, this was Game 6 of
the World Series, a loss meant the Series was over,
the Yankees were on the road, and game was tied.
What did Stengel do? He let Duren bat, of course.
Duren struck out, the Yankees failed to score
against Spahn, who was still pitching in the ninth
inning after only two days rest, and Duren went out
to face the Braves in the bottom of the
ninth.
Three left handed batters were
scheduled for Milwaukee. Wes Covington struck out,
Billy Bruton struck out, and Warren Spahn, a good
hitting pitcher with home run power, was allowed to
bat and he struck out.
Duren, a right handed relief
pitcher was working in his fourth inning, three
left handed batters were scheduled, and Duren was
not replaced. Spahn had pitched nine innings on
only two days rest and was allowed to go into the
tenth inning. What a field day for the second
guessers of 2003, but just think of what the second
guessers of 1958 would say about the "experts" of
2003.
But
the Yankees are the Yankees and Gil McDougald led
off the tenth with a home run to break the tie.
Spahn retired Bauer and Mantle but Howard, who is
vastly underrated and almost an afterthought to
Yankees fans because of Dickey and Berra, got a two
out single. It would be a single that was needed to
win the game. Berra followed with another single
and Spahn was done.
Stengel wasn't fooling around and
it wasn't 21st century baseball. In came the
pitcher who had shut out the Braves in Game 5.
Stengel brought in Bob Turley...
Don McMahon, the Braves "closer," came in to face
Bill Skowron. McMahon was a big, six foot two, two
hundred and twenty two pound pitcher who threw fast
and wild. Skowron singled in Howard to give the
Yankees a two run lead. Duren was now the scheduled
batter with two runners on base. What did Stengel
do? He let Duren bat and of course, Ryne struck out
again.
Bottom of the tenth. Duren had been
in there since the sixth. Schoendienst led off the
inning by grounding out to McDougald at second, but
Duren walked Johnny Logan to bring the tying run to
the plate. Logan took second on defensive
indifference and Eddie Mathews, who was having a
terrible Series, struck out, leaving it up to Henry
Aaron.
Aaron singled, scoring Logan and
bringing up Joe Adcock, the potential winning run,
to the plate. Adcock singled Aaron to third and
that was it for Duren. Stengel wasn't fooling
around and it wasn't 21st century baseball. In came
the pitcher who had shut out the Braves in Game 5.
Stengel brought in Bob Turley on Wednesday after
Turley had pitched a complete game shut out on
Monday.
The
scheduled batter was catcher Del Crandall, a right
handed hitter. Braves manager Fred Haney pinch hit
for Crandall. Frank Torre, who had platooned at
first base with Joe Adcock and hit .309 during the
regular season, was the pinch hitter.
The
tension couldn't be greater. Runners on first and
third, two outs, the Yankees leading by a run and
the Braves a long hit away from becoming World
Champions for the second straight year.
Turley went to the stretch, checked
the runners at first and third and delivered the
pitch. Torre was fooled slightly and hit a looping
line drive near second base. It looked as if it
would be a single to center that would tie the game
when seemingly out of nowhere, Gil McDougald
appeared. He caught the hump back line drive easily
to preserve the Yankees one run lead
forever.
The
Series was tied at 3 games each. In Game 7, Turley
relieved Don Larsen with one out in the third
inning with the Yankees leading, 2-1. Turley
pitched the rest of the game, giving up a game
tying home run to Del Crandall in the sixth but
getting a chance to be the winning pitcher when,
with two outs and no one on base in the Yankees
eighth, Berra doubled, Howard hit yet another
critical single into center to score Berra, Carey
singled to third and Bill Skowron hit a three run
home run to left. Turley pitched two more scoreless
innings and the Yankees won their 18th World
Championship. So much for not being able to pitch
effectively with less than four days rest.
What would have happened if the
1958 World Series took place in 2003? Is there a
manager around who would have done what Stengel and
Haney did? How many modern pitchers could do what
Spahn, Ford, Duren, and Burdette did? The answer is
many of them could if they were only given the
chance. What a pity.
Sources:
http://www.retrosheet.org/
http://www.baseball1.com/faqs/glossary.html#S
The Pinstripe Press:
https://www.angelfire.com/ny5/pinstripepress
The Highlander:
https://www.angelfire.com/ny5/thehighlander
Copyright © 2002-2003
Pinstripe Press. All Rights Reserved.
This online newsletter is not affiliated with the
New York Yankees.
The opinions expressed solely represent the
contributor's.
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The Highlander
Vol.9 October 2003
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Fast Facts:
Jim Abbott
In the heat of the 1992
pennant race, this one armed pitcher
tossed a 4-0 no-hitter against the
Cleveland Indians!
"I wish I'd never see them
again. I wish they'd disappear from the
league. Then we'd be winners."
Red Sox ace
Pedro Martinez on the Yanks
Trivia:
Whitey Ford (236 wins) is
one of three Yankees to win more than 175
games while pitching for the Bronx
Bombers. Name the other two.
Answer In Next Issue. Have
a trivia question? Email it to us and
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