That's all, folks! Another mythical season is in the books!
154 Games:
1927 New York Yankees: 95-59
1953 Bklyn Dodgers: 59-95
Yanks Leaders
Babe Ruth 106hr 232rbi
Lou Gehrig 78hr 195rbi
Meusel 10hr 93rbi
Lazzeri 32hr 109rbi
George Pipgras 22-3
Urban Shocker 16-7
Myles Thomas 12-4
Dodgers Leaders
Robinson 7hr 118rbi
Snider 10hr 133rbi
Campanella 32hr 140rbi
Hodges 10hr 101rbi
Billy Loes 13-12
Carl Erskine 11-10
First 77: NY 44-33
Second 77: NY 51-26
After Game 130 the teams toured a little bit, visiting other classic ballparks of bygone days. They played five each in the Polo Grounds and the Baker Bowl (Philly). Then they hit Shibe Park (also Philly), Sportsman's Park (STL), Forbes Field (Pittsburgh) and Fenway Park. Then the two teams finished up the season by playing the final two at the brand new Yankee Stadium.
"This place is unbelievable!" Marveled the Babe. "The clubhouse is bigger than the field! Then again, they've shrunk the field." Then the Babe was a bit somber. "I see they've knocked down the old one across the street."
"Yeah Babe..." said Lou. "But before they did, that kid Jeter broke my record for hits as a Yankee. Class act."
"Him and you both, pal. And he wears number 2. Fits right into our lineup. When they retire his number, the Yanks will be out of single digits... except for 6."
"That should be Lazzeri." Said Lou. "Hey, Babe. I know you're sad about the old Stadium, but what do you think about the Yanks winning the World Series in their first year in the new one?"
"Just like us in '23." Said the Babe, brightening up again. "We should have brought you up sooner, kid. You hit .400-something when we did."
"You guys did fine." Lou answered. "I needed to work on my fielding."
"You'd have done fine, Lou." The Babe said back. "And you would have had the other teams shaking in their boots."
"We did okay in '27 and 28, Babe."
"Hey guys... can I ask you a few questions about the season you just finished?"
"Sure." Answered Gehrig.
"Shoot!" Said the Babe.
"You both exceeded your previous best totals by a long shot. Everyone else pretty much matched theirs. Any explanation?"
"The ballparks." Said Lou, right away. "They are a lot smaller."
"That's what I have been saying all along." Agreed the Babe.
"You both passed Hack Wilson's 191 RBIs."
"Hack was a great player." mused Lou.
"Yeah." Agreed the Babe. "Listen. I don't want to sound disrespectful to Hack, or anybody. Remember the 1932 Series?"
"Everybody does, Babe."
"That 'called shot?' Listen, if I hit that same ball in Yankee Stadium in '32, it ain't going out. Maybe it's a double... or a long out... or an inside-the-park job. Point is, if Lou and me play there all the time... or Ebbets in 1953... Ebbets was still 500 to dead center in '32... anyway, we would have hit a lot more homers. That goes for Jimmie Foxx, too. Shibe was 500 to center until 1930 and 468 afterwards."
"Lou..." I interjected. "They pulled in the fences at Shibe even more later on. That fifth ball you hit in 1932..."
"That one Al Simmons caught near the flagpole. I know what you're getting at. I would've had five homers that day."
"Yes sir!" Piped the Babe. "Lou, you were great!"
"Thanks, Babe. Remember?"
"Yep. McGraw retired that day after 30 years with the Giants. Pushed you off the front page."
"Listen..." Lou said quietly. "Yeah, maybe we would have hit more home runs. But we played when we played. Guys grow bigger these days. Who knows. I'm just proud that everyone still remembers us, and recognizes us. Our whole team was special. Our pitching... remember, we gave up the fewest runs that year."
"Yep..." the Babe nodded. "I think we we able to adjust to Ebbets better than Brooklyn was able to adjust to Yankee Stadium."
"It was like having a home field advantage for the entire season," added Lou."
"Okay guys. Let me ask you about the modern day sluggers..."
"They are great." The Babe said, immediately.
"Absolutely." Chimed in Gehrig.
"Who do you like?"
"Pujols." Said Lou. "He could push me off first."
"BULL!" Retorted the Babe.
"Thanks, Babe. But Pujols is great. Alex Rodriguez... Barry Bonds..."
"You like Barry?"
"Sure!" Interjected the Babe. "He would have been great in ANY era."
"But Babe, he even said 'we don't have to talk about the Babe no more'..."
"Hell, he's right!" Shot back the Babe. "Everyone knows about me. Lou and me and all the old greats... no one will forget us! Barry pushed himself and pushed himself. If he'd have had this guy here behind him..." And the Babe slapped Lou on the back. "Barry would have hit 100 homers the year he hit 73. And the next year when they walked him 200 times... think they'd have done that with Lou in the on deck circle? Hell... Barry would have hit 70 again!"
"And the Giants might have won a World Series or two." added Lou. "Another thing the Babe and Barry have in common that people might forget; Babe here took care of himself when he got older. Began working out in the winter of 1925, and never stopped... every winter."
"Thanks, Lou!" The Babe beamed. "At Artie McGovern's."
"The Babe hit 300 homers from '26 t0 '31. McGraw once said Hornsby was better. Rogers hit 302 in his entire career... in hitters parks." Lou continued slowly, for emphasis. "Babe here matched that in six years."
"Gee, Lou... thanks a lot. But the Rajah was great."
"Exactly, Babe. Exactly."
"Okay guys... let me throw out a couple names, and you give me your impressions."
"Go ahead." said Lou.
"Ty Cobb."
"Mean sumbitch." Said the Babe. "The greatest."
"Would have hit a lot more homers if he'd played in 1953." Said Lou. "People forget that. He hit 5 in two days in St. Louis."
"You guys both had your run-ins with Ty."
"Yeah, but we wound up okay later on." Smiled the Babe.
"Yep." Nodded Lou. "He said I was the best first-sacker he ever saw. How can you stay mad at a guy who says that about you?"
"Ted Williams."
"He could flat hit!" Lou said quickly. "Broke in my final year."
"And he loved it," added the Babe. "Like Lou and me."
"Willie Mays."
"How in the world did New York let the Giants go to Frisco with that kid?" Exclaimed the Babe.
"I was a Giant fan..." said Lou. "Used to watch them on Coogan's Bluff. But I would have paid to watch Willie play. He could go 0-for-4 and still beat you. But he didn't go 0-for-4 all that often."
"One final question. The 1976 Reds beat the 1961 Yankees, 85-77. Do you want to play them? Sort of get revenge?"
"I wanna play them." Said the Babe. "But not to get revenge. We don't have anything to prove. Neither do the '61 Yanks. The Reds were a great, great team."
"I agree." Said Lou. "I'm not going to run down either team. But I'll take the field against anybody with the '27 Yanks... or the '28 Yanks for that matter."
"We'll see what we can do, fellas. Thank you for your time."
"Whattaya kidding me, pal? Thank you!" Exclaimed the Babe.
"My sentiments exactly." Said Lou. "This has been a blast. Almost forgot how much fun this is. Joe Jackson is right. I'll play this game for nothing."
Highlights of Selected Games
Game 4: Ruth had 5 RBI, Gehrig two, and Lazzeri 4. But eight Dodgers drove in runs, and Brooklyn prevailed 16-13.
Game 15: The Babe hit three homers and knocked in seven. Yanks won 19-13.
Game 23: Ruth and Gehrig each knocked two out of the park. Ruth drove in six, Gehrig five, Meusel two, and Lazzeri one. Yanks 15-11. Carl Furillo had 4rbi for Bklyn.
Game 29: Ruth and Gehrig again hit two homers apiece. Ruth drove in five, Gehrig four as the Yanks won 15-6.
Game 38: The Yanks' Big Four ALL homer. Ruth leads the way with three. Lou has two. Ruth leads with 6 RBI... batters 2 thru 6 knock in 15 runs all told. in this game the Bombers trailed 6-5 after six. Then their famous 'Five O'clock Lightning strikes, scoring 2, 4 and 4 in the last three frames to win 15-6.
Game 39: For the second consecutive game the Babe hits 3 homers. He drives in 4 to pace a 9-2 New York win.
Game 87: Babe hits his sixtieth home run. Lou hits number 47. Thus both men match their actual 1927 HR totals in the 87th game of the season.
Game 92: The Babe Drives in seven. NY wins 16-8.
Game 98: Gehrig drives in eight, with three homers. Ruth chips in with 4rbi and two more bombs. Yanks win 14-7.
Game 99: The Yankees won 12-11. Every member of the starting line-up, including starting pitcher Dutch Ruether, drove in a run.
Game 100: Carl Furillo drives in 6 runs. TheDuke drivrs in 5 more. But with two out in the ninth, Gehrig hits a HR to tie the game 12-12. Pee Wee Reese wins it in the 11th for Brooklyn., 14-12, with a two run triple.
Game 101: Babe again hits three homers, and his 6 RBI pace the Yanks, who win 8-1.
Game 103: Gehrig hits his 60th homer. It's an inside the park, 3 run shot. Yanks win 8-5.
Game 106: Lou hits number 61. Robinson, Snider, Campy and Gil all drive runs in, as Brooklyn prevails 8-6.
Games 107 & 108: The Dodgers score 30 runs in two games, winning 13-6 and 17-6.
Game 124: Tony 'Poosh-em-up' Lazzeri pushes 6 runs across the plate, topping the combined efforts of Robinson, Campay and Hodges (5 RBI). But Junior Gilliam also knocks in 2, and Brooklyn edges the Yanks, 11-10.
Game 132: This game typifies the Dodgers season. The Dodgers trailed 7-0 after two innings. They fought back with 5 in the 3rd (7-5). But immediately th Yanks answered back with 5 of their own (10-5). Brooklyn again fought back doggedly; two each in the 5th and 6th (10-9). But the Yanks tacked on two more late to hang on, 12-9. The Dodgers were brave and great. The Yanks just always seemed to have an answer.
Game 144: With the season well in hand, the Babe hits three home runs for the 7th and final time of the season. He also drives in ten runs. The first of his home runs is number 100 on the season. Gehrig homers twice and drives in six. The Yanks win 17-3.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
27Yanks-53Bklyns... Yanks Clinch Season!
It took 126 games.
The 1927 Yanks are indeed all they are cracked up to be. They travelled forward throught time and visted 1953 Brooklyn. And in a 154 game match-up, the Murderers' Row boys proved murderous and merciless. The Brooklyn Dodgers fought hard and acquitted themselves nobly.
Game number 126, a hard fought contest in the Bronx, saw each of Brooklyn's Big Four come through... each with an rbi, trying to stave off defeat and elimination.
But they did neither. The Yankees of 1927 are simply too much. Babe Ruth did not homer in this contest. He did not hit or score. But his understudy, Ben Paschal drove one out instead. And six other Yankees had at least one run driven in as their attack sealed the season with a 9-4 victory.
130 games:
1927 Yanks 80-50
1953 Bklyn 50-80
Ruth 93hr 196rbi
Gehrig 69hr 160
Meusel 10hr 84
Lazzeri 31hr 95rbi
Pipgras 18-1
Shocker 15-7
Thomas 10-3
Robinson 7hr 102rbi
Snider 9hr 113rbi
Campanella 25hr 114rbi
Hodges 10hr 85rbi
Erskine 9-9
Loes 11-11
Labine 7-6
This is how the season has gone thus far:
After 4 games: Bklyn 4-0
After 30 games: NY 16-14
After 70 games: NY 39-31
After 100 games: NY 61-39
After 130 games: NY 80-50
As you can see, the Dodgers started off great. They won the first four at Ebbets Field. The fourth game was a sign of things to come... Bklyn prevailing in a 16-13 slugfest. The Yanks got homers from the Babe (2), Lou, Lazzeri and Dugan, but it wasn't enough.
After the Yanks finally won one, the teams shifted to Yankee stadium... the boy's played five game series in each park, alternating... and the Dodgers won the Yankee home opener as well, 8-7. As amother sign of things to come, Clem Labine, the Dodger reliever, picked up his his fourth victory! He was 4-0 after six games!
I remember thinking myself, "This could get very interesting." But then the 1-5 Yanks ripped off 8 straight. Then the Dodgers answered with another four straight. And I settled into my chair. Two heavyweights were going to slug it out. No backpedaling. No dancing. Just toe-to-toe, center of the ring brawling.
This was going to be real good, and real bloody.
After only 30 games the Yankees had scored ten or more three separate times... and lost all three. They'd also scored eleven or more four other times... and won all four.
It was games 41-50 where New Yourk first began to assert their dominance, winning 9 0f ten. But then, once again, Brooklyn bounced back taking 8 0f ten themselves. It was about this time that I decided to sit down the Babe, Meusel, and Dugan, and give some of the scrubs a chance to play. Babe had 45 0r 46 homers in the first 45 games, and was making a mockery of things. But with the scrubs in place, the Bronx steamroller kept right on going.
Game 61 proved to be the apex of the Yankee season... a 23-1 thrashing of the Dodgers at the Stadium. Ruth was still riding the pines. But his sub, Ben Paschal in RF, was himself in the middle of an incredible run. He drove in three, Earle Combs knocked in five, Mike Gazella plated three more (playing for Jumpin Joe Dugan at third), and Cedric Durst added another ribbie (in LF for Meusel). George Pipgras, the Yankees' fifth starter, improved to 8-0.
That HAD to shake the Brooks at least a litlle, getting knocked around by scrubs like that. But there was no dog in these Dodgers. They hung in there until game 70, when the Yanks first stringers all returned after a 25 game rest.
And that proved to be it.
The Bombers have gone 41-19 since then to put the thing away.
I will study the stats more intensely at the season's end. I know it lookks way out of whack for the Babe and Lou. I am also wondering why the Dodgers home run totals are low. But except for the Babe and Lou, everybody else's run production pretty much is in line with their actual seasons. I may go back and tabulate Carl Furillo's numbers. As I have already said, he might be the best seventh-place hitter in baseball history. And I will look at Gilliam's stolen bases... he seems to have swiped a lot. Speaking of stolen bases, here's an anomaly: Jackie has none. Zip. Bagels! (Damn, I'd love bagels right now!). I have no explanation. I though he'd go wild, since none of the three Yankee receivers had the defensive reputation of a Johnny Bench. I would blame it on the big scoring, but Pee Wee Reese and Gilliam are running. For that matter, so is Tony Lazzeri... he must have 20 or 30. But no Jackie. Jackie is batting third, right in front of the Duke. And since they are both having fine years, maybe Jackie is just content to rattle the pitchers and let Snider get his hacks in.
But as far as Babe and Lou, maybe that guy that wrote that book. "The Year Babe Ruth hit 104 Home Runs" was right. THe parks in Ruths times wer mostly much, much bigger. I have diagrammed a couple... even Yankee Stadium was 429 to deep RIGHT-center. That had to be tough on Ruth and Gehrig. Ruth played in the Polo Grounds from 1920-22. In either stadium, if you didn't pull it right down the line, it wasn't going out. Most parks were simply bigger in those days, including Ebbets, as the Babe pointed out.
So perhaps we are finding out what Ruth and Lou can do with modern day power alleys. Maybe I'll pit these guys against the modern day Reds. Unfortunately, the computer simulation game does not give you Yankee Stadium in the twenties, with the 429 deep right center, the 495 center, and the 460-470 left center. Heck, it was 415 straight-away left to the bull-pen! But it does give you the classic YS of 1947-73, with 461 to dead center... so teams still have to muscle up when they come to visit.
We'll see how the season goes. I'll probably give Babe a shot at 100 homers and 200 ribbies, then sit him down. I'll probaby give Lou a crack at 200 ribbies too. I want to put Paschal back in. He's good! And I want to see how far fifth-starter George Pipgras can take his season. If he has a shot at 30 wins, I might go to a four-man rotation to give him his chance... 18-1!
See you at the end!
The 1927 Yanks are indeed all they are cracked up to be. They travelled forward throught time and visted 1953 Brooklyn. And in a 154 game match-up, the Murderers' Row boys proved murderous and merciless. The Brooklyn Dodgers fought hard and acquitted themselves nobly.
Game number 126, a hard fought contest in the Bronx, saw each of Brooklyn's Big Four come through... each with an rbi, trying to stave off defeat and elimination.
But they did neither. The Yankees of 1927 are simply too much. Babe Ruth did not homer in this contest. He did not hit or score. But his understudy, Ben Paschal drove one out instead. And six other Yankees had at least one run driven in as their attack sealed the season with a 9-4 victory.
130 games:
1927 Yanks 80-50
1953 Bklyn 50-80
Ruth 93hr 196rbi
Gehrig 69hr 160
Meusel 10hr 84
Lazzeri 31hr 95rbi
Pipgras 18-1
Shocker 15-7
Thomas 10-3
Robinson 7hr 102rbi
Snider 9hr 113rbi
Campanella 25hr 114rbi
Hodges 10hr 85rbi
Erskine 9-9
Loes 11-11
Labine 7-6
This is how the season has gone thus far:
After 4 games: Bklyn 4-0
After 30 games: NY 16-14
After 70 games: NY 39-31
After 100 games: NY 61-39
After 130 games: NY 80-50
As you can see, the Dodgers started off great. They won the first four at Ebbets Field. The fourth game was a sign of things to come... Bklyn prevailing in a 16-13 slugfest. The Yanks got homers from the Babe (2), Lou, Lazzeri and Dugan, but it wasn't enough.
After the Yanks finally won one, the teams shifted to Yankee stadium... the boy's played five game series in each park, alternating... and the Dodgers won the Yankee home opener as well, 8-7. As amother sign of things to come, Clem Labine, the Dodger reliever, picked up his his fourth victory! He was 4-0 after six games!
I remember thinking myself, "This could get very interesting." But then the 1-5 Yanks ripped off 8 straight. Then the Dodgers answered with another four straight. And I settled into my chair. Two heavyweights were going to slug it out. No backpedaling. No dancing. Just toe-to-toe, center of the ring brawling.
This was going to be real good, and real bloody.
After only 30 games the Yankees had scored ten or more three separate times... and lost all three. They'd also scored eleven or more four other times... and won all four.
It was games 41-50 where New Yourk first began to assert their dominance, winning 9 0f ten. But then, once again, Brooklyn bounced back taking 8 0f ten themselves. It was about this time that I decided to sit down the Babe, Meusel, and Dugan, and give some of the scrubs a chance to play. Babe had 45 0r 46 homers in the first 45 games, and was making a mockery of things. But with the scrubs in place, the Bronx steamroller kept right on going.
Game 61 proved to be the apex of the Yankee season... a 23-1 thrashing of the Dodgers at the Stadium. Ruth was still riding the pines. But his sub, Ben Paschal in RF, was himself in the middle of an incredible run. He drove in three, Earle Combs knocked in five, Mike Gazella plated three more (playing for Jumpin Joe Dugan at third), and Cedric Durst added another ribbie (in LF for Meusel). George Pipgras, the Yankees' fifth starter, improved to 8-0.
That HAD to shake the Brooks at least a litlle, getting knocked around by scrubs like that. But there was no dog in these Dodgers. They hung in there until game 70, when the Yanks first stringers all returned after a 25 game rest.
And that proved to be it.
The Bombers have gone 41-19 since then to put the thing away.
I will study the stats more intensely at the season's end. I know it lookks way out of whack for the Babe and Lou. I am also wondering why the Dodgers home run totals are low. But except for the Babe and Lou, everybody else's run production pretty much is in line with their actual seasons. I may go back and tabulate Carl Furillo's numbers. As I have already said, he might be the best seventh-place hitter in baseball history. And I will look at Gilliam's stolen bases... he seems to have swiped a lot. Speaking of stolen bases, here's an anomaly: Jackie has none. Zip. Bagels! (Damn, I'd love bagels right now!). I have no explanation. I though he'd go wild, since none of the three Yankee receivers had the defensive reputation of a Johnny Bench. I would blame it on the big scoring, but Pee Wee Reese and Gilliam are running. For that matter, so is Tony Lazzeri... he must have 20 or 30. But no Jackie. Jackie is batting third, right in front of the Duke. And since they are both having fine years, maybe Jackie is just content to rattle the pitchers and let Snider get his hacks in.
But as far as Babe and Lou, maybe that guy that wrote that book. "The Year Babe Ruth hit 104 Home Runs" was right. THe parks in Ruths times wer mostly much, much bigger. I have diagrammed a couple... even Yankee Stadium was 429 to deep RIGHT-center. That had to be tough on Ruth and Gehrig. Ruth played in the Polo Grounds from 1920-22. In either stadium, if you didn't pull it right down the line, it wasn't going out. Most parks were simply bigger in those days, including Ebbets, as the Babe pointed out.
So perhaps we are finding out what Ruth and Lou can do with modern day power alleys. Maybe I'll pit these guys against the modern day Reds. Unfortunately, the computer simulation game does not give you Yankee Stadium in the twenties, with the 429 deep right center, the 495 center, and the 460-470 left center. Heck, it was 415 straight-away left to the bull-pen! But it does give you the classic YS of 1947-73, with 461 to dead center... so teams still have to muscle up when they come to visit.
We'll see how the season goes. I'll probably give Babe a shot at 100 homers and 200 ribbies, then sit him down. I'll probaby give Lou a crack at 200 ribbies too. I want to put Paschal back in. He's good! And I want to see how far fifth-starter George Pipgras can take his season. If he has a shot at 30 wins, I might go to a four-man rotation to give him his chance... 18-1!
See you at the end!
Monday, April 5, 2010
27 Yanks - 53 Dodgers (100 Games)
(AP) Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, August 1953.
"So what do you think of Ebbets Field now, Babe?"
"Damn! Wanna know why me and Lou are hitting so many homers. They've shrunk this place! When I pitched in 1916, centerfield here was 500 feet. Left field was 400-plus! That Zach Wheat? He was a damn good left fielder! Had to be... it was HUGE back then. They didn't have any of these stands in the outfield back then!" And the Babe pointed out toward left center. "Right field was still easy, but center, left center and left field? Even I would have to nail one to get it out in them days!"
"That's fascinating, Babe. I did not know that."
"Yes sir. You know something, son. Cobb was right... as much as that sunovabitch went at it with me, he was right. Bringing in all the fences was wrong. It's okay to hit home runs if you're a real home-run hitter. But these fences with 350-360 foot power alleys? C'mon, keed! The BATBOY could reach those on a good day!"
"You know, young fellow, I have played here before!"
"No kidding, Babe." I answered back.
"No... NO... I mean in real life! In 1916! Pitched 14 innings against the Dodgers. Beat Sherry Smith 2-1. Knocked in a run in that game to tie it. Then pitched until the cows came home. So did Sherry. He battled us hard right to the end."
"Damn! That's right, Babe! Didn't you win 23 that year?" The Babe grinned.
"NOW you're startin' to wake up. But thanks for remembering that, son. And by the way... do you remember who played in the outfield for Brooklyn?"
"Zach Wheat?"
"Well yeah. You are right. But I wasn't thinking about him. I was thinking about a long-talkin' sonovagun named Stengel. Remember him?" The Babe grinned again.
"Sonofagun yourself, Babe! That's RIGHT!"
"Yeah. Casey kept asking us what our loser's share was gonna be. But we licked them four outta five, so I still don't know!" THe Babe roared with laughter. But when he settled back down he continued. "That Casey... he knew what he was doing. He hit two homers against us in the '23 Series. One of them a 1-0 game winner. He was good."
"No kidding, Babe." I answered back.
"No... NO... I mean in real life! In 1916! Pitched 14 innings against the Dodgers. Beat Sherry Smith 2-1. Knocked in a run in that game to tie it. Then pitched until the cows came home. So did Sherry. He battled us hard right to the end."
"Damn! That's right, Babe! Didn't you win 23 that year?" The Babe grinned.
"NOW you're startin' to wake up. But thanks for remembering that, son. And by the way... do you remember who played in the outfield for Brooklyn?"
"Zach Wheat?"
"Well yeah. You are right. But I wasn't thinking about him. I was thinking about a long-talkin' sonovagun named Stengel. Remember him?" The Babe grinned again.
"Sonofagun yourself, Babe! That's RIGHT!"
"Yeah. Casey kept asking us what our loser's share was gonna be. But we licked them four outta five, so I still don't know!" THe Babe roared with laughter. But when he settled back down he continued. "That Casey... he knew what he was doing. He hit two homers against us in the '23 Series. One of them a 1-0 game winner. He was good."
100 Games
Yanks 61-39
Bklyn 39-61
Ruth 72hr 156rbi
Gehrig 59hr 128
Meusel 8hr 60rbi
Lazzeri 23hr 75 rbi
Robinson 7hr 83rbi
Snider 7hr 91rbi
Campanella 18hr 94rbi
Hodges 8hr 67rbi
"So what do you think of Ebbets Field now, Babe?"
"Damn! Wanna know why me and Lou are hitting so many homers. They've shrunk this place! When I pitched in 1916, centerfield here was 500 feet. Left field was 400-plus! That Zach Wheat? He was a damn good left fielder! Had to be... it was HUGE back then. They didn't have any of these stands in the outfield back then!" And the Babe pointed out toward left center. "Right field was still easy, but center, left center and left field? Even I would have to nail one to get it out in them days!"
"That's fascinating, Babe. I did not know that."
"Yes sir. You know something, son. Cobb was right... as much as that sunovabitch went at it with me, he was right. Bringing in all the fences was wrong. It's okay to hit home runs if you're a real home-run hitter. But these fences with 350-360 foot power alleys? C'mon, keed! The BATBOY could reach those on a good day!"
"Speaking of good days... you knocked in seven runs the other day!"
"Yeah, but the Dutchman knocked in eight!" The Babe crowed. "Lou is getting hot. He knocked out 3 HRs. Then the next day, three more! And that was at the Stadium... not Ebbets!"
"That's right, Babe. That was in games 98 and 99. In game 100, Lou hit another one in the bottom of the ninth to tie it 12-12... his 7th homer in three games. Did you see Snider tip his cap in CF?"
"Yep. Lou tipped his cap like I said, and Duke tipped his in return. Two classy guys. But we lost it in the eleventh. Can't win them all."
"You guys are winning plenty, Babe. These Dodgers are a great team. They won 105 in 1953."
"Yeah. They are plenty good. But we are a lot deeper. Remember when I sat out for 25 games? Paschal played like me!"
"Yes... Ben had 20 rbi in those twenty-five games."
"Yeah, and that Cedric Durst... do you know who he played with? Ted Williams. Out in San Diego!"
"San Diego?"
"Yeah! Ted broke in with the Padres in the Pacific Coast League in '36. And Cedric was there."
Yankee Pitching Leaders (100 Games):
George Pipgras 13-1
Urban Shocker 12-5
Myles Thomas 9-2
Bklyn:
Carl Erskine 8-5
Clem Labine 7-4
"So Babe... do you think you'll have this thing wrapped up by Labor Day? You guys only need 17 more wins."
"Yeah, we're doing pretty good. We'll see. Maybe I'll sit out a few after we clinch it... IF we clinch it. I am still surprised we are doing THIS good. Like I said, these Bklyn boys are good."
"Do you know Jackie Robinson doesn't have a stolen base? After 100 games?"
"Ain't that somethin'? But that kid in front of him... that rookie..."
"Gilliam?"
"Yeah... HE's stealing everything but the team bus! He's gonna be a good one. Hell, he is a good one. He can play anywhere... hit... field... run. We'll take him if the Dodgers don't want 'im. But Jackie... I guess with all those bombers coming up behind him, why try to steal second?"
"On the other hand, your second-sacker is stealing lots of bases. I didn't know Lazzeri could run!"
"Tony could do everything. And remember, he's hitting sixth. That's why he's stealing so much. All of our bombers have already batted. But if Tony played in a lot of parks beside the Stadium, he'd hit 30-40 homers a year."
"Do you think you'll reach 100 homers this year, Babe?" The Babe grinned once more. "I might knock in 200, keed! After all these years I'm gonna beat Hack Wilson. HE played here too. I guess that's what makes Ebbets special. EVERYBODY stopped here one time or another."
"I'll see you in a few games, Babe. If you clinch it early, maybe you can sit with us and watch the rest of the season." The Babe's grin widened. And there was a twinkle in his eyes.
"After the victory party keed! I hope you like ribs and beer!"
Why I Am Not A Mets Fan...and Never Will Be
Note: This is in response to an article I just stumbled across, tripped over, and then kicked angrily at, called "Citi Field Will Look A Little Different", by Adam Rubin, which can be found at ESPNNewYork.com. Mr. Rubin wrote a fine article. I have no bone to pick with him. But he said some of the fans were rubbed the wrong way about the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. This, in turn, rubbed ME the wrong way. Hence, my response.
So the Jackie Robinson Rotunda rubbed some of you the wrong way? So the management lowered the height of the centerfield fence because the Mets couldn't hit home runs?
GEEESH!
To those of you fans who liked the Rotunda, bless you.
To the rest of you...
HEY! MET FAN! Jackie Robinson was a DODGER? REALLY? I hate to shake your already crumbling world... but I got news... or rather, old history for you. GIL HODGES was a Dodger! So was his pitching coach, Rube Walker. Yep! Walker was behind the plate when Bobby Thomson won the pennant, won the pennant, won the pennant (Russ Hodges... NYGiant announcer... no relation to Gil). So was Casey Stengel! So was Duke Snider (who was also a Met). Yogi was, is, and always will be a Yankee, even though he won 25% of your pennants and owns a Mets World Series ring!
Look at your ball cap! Not the black one, the real one... the one the Mets wore when they were born, and when they won the World Series in 1969. LOOK AT IT! Do you know how that cap was designed? The NY was a tip of the cap to the old NYGiants! And the blue? BROOKLYN DODGER BLUE! That's right! And if you don't believe it, as that venerable Dodger-Giant-Yankee-Met Casey Stengel would say, you can look it up!
You changed the name of the Ebbets Club to the Champions Club? Uh, why? Listen, the Brooklyn Dodgers were in the World Series during the fifties (1952,3,5,6) as often as You've been in your entire existence (1969,73,86,00...Oh-oh! How'd that last one turn out?)
Your Hall of Fame is in mothballs? So is your world series victory dance! I know your HOF has 21 players. Look at your outfield fence! I've never seen it, so you tell me! Are there 21 retired numbers out there? Who! Tom Terrific, okay. He was. Who else?
I'll tell you who else! Three Dodgers and your old ballpark, that's who else!
I bet if you squint hard enough, you will see a number 42 out there somewhere. See it? Yeah, there it is! That number was retired by all of baseball. I saw the ceremony on TV. I believe Rachel Robinson was there. So was Bud Selig... one of the things he got right. And I believe they did that celebration on the Shea Stadium turf... on April 15, 1997...not at Dodger Stadium in LA! And as I remember it, I had tears, wishing Jackie could see this, and hoping that somewhere, he could.
That, my friends, was the single greatest night in Shea history. Better even than Willie Sey Hey saying goodbye to America, tipping his look-like-NYGiant cap... like the one he was wearing when he made The Catch (though it flew off when he made The Throw)! Better even than the two World Championship victory celebrations.
So some of you are out off by the entrance being dedicated to a Dodger? Grow up. The world is a little bigger, and a whole lot better, because of number 42. And in case you weren't paying attention on April 15, 1997, Jackie no longer belongs just to the Dodgers. He belongs to all of us. You don't want that big number 42, just ship it on over to the Bronx. We'll keep it, and when Mo Rivera finally retires and takes his rightful place among baseball immortals, we'll have two 42's in our outfield, to go along with our two number 8's and our number 37...and so on...and so on!
Oh. I almost forgot. I just took another look at that wall. Below the 37, and 14 and 41 and 42 and SHEA... there;s another number... 364. THREE-SIX-FOUR!
You need to lower the height of your outfield fence? What in the name of Campy Campanella is going on here? What is this, tee-ball? You don't need to mess with the fences! You need to hire some hitters!
GEEEEESH!
Mets Fans! I hate to be the bearer of old news. Shea Stadium was a yawner... one of the cookie cutter stadiums that everybody woke up and realized had screwed up baseball... just like Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, The Vet in Philly, Riverfront in Cincy, Busch 2 in STL, and on and on. When they built Camden Yards, the reason everybody went gaga over it was because it looked like a ballpark again! It was a smash hit, and soon everybody wanted one. And everybody got one! Busch 3 has all the character of Sportsmans Park/Busch 1, PNC Park in Pittsburgh is gorgeous... the one in SF (can't remember the name because it changes annually) is beautiful... and Citi Field, fro what I have seen is great. Don't know about the sight lines, the creature comforts, the food... that's what makes a ballpark great or lousy. But your owner got it right. Baseball is unique among American sport; how it honors its history and its heroes. I also read that you guys got an overhanging grandstand in right field inspired by the old Tiger Stadium! I sat in Tiger Stadium the final year of its existence... 107 years of baseball was played there! I sat in that upper deck in right, where you could snatch a home run before the waiting right fielder could (we did it to Albert Belle that day)! That's fun! That's baseball!
So the Jackie Robinson Rotunda rubbed some of you the wrong way? So the management lowered the height of the centerfield fence because the Mets couldn't hit home runs?
GEEESH!
To those of you fans who liked the Rotunda, bless you.
To the rest of you...
HEY! MET FAN! Jackie Robinson was a DODGER? REALLY? I hate to shake your already crumbling world... but I got news... or rather, old history for you. GIL HODGES was a Dodger! So was his pitching coach, Rube Walker. Yep! Walker was behind the plate when Bobby Thomson won the pennant, won the pennant, won the pennant (Russ Hodges... NYGiant announcer... no relation to Gil). So was Casey Stengel! So was Duke Snider (who was also a Met). Yogi was, is, and always will be a Yankee, even though he won 25% of your pennants and owns a Mets World Series ring!
Look at your ball cap! Not the black one, the real one... the one the Mets wore when they were born, and when they won the World Series in 1969. LOOK AT IT! Do you know how that cap was designed? The NY was a tip of the cap to the old NYGiants! And the blue? BROOKLYN DODGER BLUE! That's right! And if you don't believe it, as that venerable Dodger-Giant-Yankee-Met Casey Stengel would say, you can look it up!
You changed the name of the Ebbets Club to the Champions Club? Uh, why? Listen, the Brooklyn Dodgers were in the World Series during the fifties (1952,3,5,6) as often as You've been in your entire existence (1969,73,86,00...Oh-oh! How'd that last one turn out?)
Your Hall of Fame is in mothballs? So is your world series victory dance! I know your HOF has 21 players. Look at your outfield fence! I've never seen it, so you tell me! Are there 21 retired numbers out there? Who! Tom Terrific, okay. He was. Who else?
I'll tell you who else! Three Dodgers and your old ballpark, that's who else!
I bet if you squint hard enough, you will see a number 42 out there somewhere. See it? Yeah, there it is! That number was retired by all of baseball. I saw the ceremony on TV. I believe Rachel Robinson was there. So was Bud Selig... one of the things he got right. And I believe they did that celebration on the Shea Stadium turf... on April 15, 1997...not at Dodger Stadium in LA! And as I remember it, I had tears, wishing Jackie could see this, and hoping that somewhere, he could.
That, my friends, was the single greatest night in Shea history. Better even than Willie Sey Hey saying goodbye to America, tipping his look-like-NYGiant cap... like the one he was wearing when he made The Catch (though it flew off when he made The Throw)! Better even than the two World Championship victory celebrations.
So some of you are out off by the entrance being dedicated to a Dodger? Grow up. The world is a little bigger, and a whole lot better, because of number 42. And in case you weren't paying attention on April 15, 1997, Jackie no longer belongs just to the Dodgers. He belongs to all of us. You don't want that big number 42, just ship it on over to the Bronx. We'll keep it, and when Mo Rivera finally retires and takes his rightful place among baseball immortals, we'll have two 42's in our outfield, to go along with our two number 8's and our number 37...and so on...and so on!
Oh. I almost forgot. I just took another look at that wall. Below the 37, and 14 and 41 and 42 and SHEA... there;s another number... 364. THREE-SIX-FOUR!
You need to lower the height of your outfield fence? What in the name of Campy Campanella is going on here? What is this, tee-ball? You don't need to mess with the fences! You need to hire some hitters!
GEEEEESH!
Mets Fans! I hate to be the bearer of old news. Shea Stadium was a yawner... one of the cookie cutter stadiums that everybody woke up and realized had screwed up baseball... just like Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, The Vet in Philly, Riverfront in Cincy, Busch 2 in STL, and on and on. When they built Camden Yards, the reason everybody went gaga over it was because it looked like a ballpark again! It was a smash hit, and soon everybody wanted one. And everybody got one! Busch 3 has all the character of Sportsmans Park/Busch 1, PNC Park in Pittsburgh is gorgeous... the one in SF (can't remember the name because it changes annually) is beautiful... and Citi Field, fro what I have seen is great. Don't know about the sight lines, the creature comforts, the food... that's what makes a ballpark great or lousy. But your owner got it right. Baseball is unique among American sport; how it honors its history and its heroes. I also read that you guys got an overhanging grandstand in right field inspired by the old Tiger Stadium! I sat in Tiger Stadium the final year of its existence... 107 years of baseball was played there! I sat in that upper deck in right, where you could snatch a home run before the waiting right fielder could (we did it to Albert Belle that day)! That's fun! That's baseball!
All Things Must Indeed Pass
Ebbets Field. The Polo Grounds. Yankee Stadium. 2116 Morris Avenue. These things share at least one commonality. All were standing, alive and well when I came into this world. And all are now gone, moved onto the next, where I shall hope to see them again.
Ebbet's Field and the Polo Grounds were destroyed by the same wrecking ball, which was made up to look like a Giant baseball. Both parks were turned into apartment complexes. 2116 Morris Avenue is the opposite... an apartment complex that was turned into a park... though not necessarily for baseball. Actually, the apartments at 2116 Morris Avenue were not complex at all. But then again, everything was simpler back then, wasn't it? Three baseball teams and one World Series in New York. Always. Forever. Every year. Year after year. Easy, wasn't it?
But then... a whirlwind of spinning, changing, complex times...whoosh! WHOOSH! The Giants and Dodgers... whoosh! Off to foreign pastures quicker than you could say 'Willie-and-Duke'. And then 2116 Morris Avenue went, a victim of old age and new expectations.
And finally the House That Ruth Built. Someone suggested in 1923 that the place... the palace where the Yanks were soon to play... be called Ruth Field. Of course, that suggestion was laughed out of the room. And 87 years later, the Stadium bearing the nickname that will never die, itself is being laid to rest.
It had to happen of course. It's somewhat sad, of course.
Happily, the Yankees christened the NEW palace the same way they christened the old one, with a World Championship banner. Everybody complained at the beginning of the year that home runs were flying out to right field at a ridiculous rate. People couldn't explain it. The new stadium was a carbon copy of the old one.
I thought personally that it was the Bambino, blowing the baseballs hard towards the right-field stands, letting everyone know that Ruthville was still here... that the Babe approved of the Yanks new digs. But the baseballs were flying out for both sides! Surely the Bambino wouldn't be helping the enemy, would he?
I visited another blog the other day, called the River Avenue Blues. They were discussing (or perhaps disgusting) Yankee ticket prices. Apparently the price of a $4.00 boxed seat (in 1967), now goes for a cool $250.00. If that is the case, this is good news, because that means they've reduced it from $400 in 2008. At either rate, I did some shopping around. For that same $250 you can get four equivalent tickets to a Phillies game just 90 miles or so south. Of course, the tickets in Philly are probably going, going, gone, but so what? If Mr. Hardhat can take his wife and 2.2 kids (.2 kids get in for free) to a game for affordable prices... go man, go! Meanwhile, I will repeat what I said on that blog that day. I used to see Mantle for a dollar (General Admission... also a thing of bygone days). And at today's rates, Mantle will be back at Yankee Stadium before I will.
I still follow the Yanks though... root hard... die-hard... watching them on my laptop for nominal prices. I just read that Joe Gerardi is now wearing number 28, since the Yanks won Championship number 27 last year. Good on you, Joe! Show that spirit and spunk! If you get to number 37, they should take Stengel's jersey down and let you use his! Of course, if you get to number 37, Joe... you'll be out in Monument Park yourself... and in the HOF as well.
Go Joe!
Ebbet's Field and the Polo Grounds were destroyed by the same wrecking ball, which was made up to look like a Giant baseball. Both parks were turned into apartment complexes. 2116 Morris Avenue is the opposite... an apartment complex that was turned into a park... though not necessarily for baseball. Actually, the apartments at 2116 Morris Avenue were not complex at all. But then again, everything was simpler back then, wasn't it? Three baseball teams and one World Series in New York. Always. Forever. Every year. Year after year. Easy, wasn't it?
But then... a whirlwind of spinning, changing, complex times...whoosh! WHOOSH! The Giants and Dodgers... whoosh! Off to foreign pastures quicker than you could say 'Willie-and-Duke'. And then 2116 Morris Avenue went, a victim of old age and new expectations.
And finally the House That Ruth Built. Someone suggested in 1923 that the place... the palace where the Yanks were soon to play... be called Ruth Field. Of course, that suggestion was laughed out of the room. And 87 years later, the Stadium bearing the nickname that will never die, itself is being laid to rest.
It had to happen of course. It's somewhat sad, of course.
Happily, the Yankees christened the NEW palace the same way they christened the old one, with a World Championship banner. Everybody complained at the beginning of the year that home runs were flying out to right field at a ridiculous rate. People couldn't explain it. The new stadium was a carbon copy of the old one.
I thought personally that it was the Bambino, blowing the baseballs hard towards the right-field stands, letting everyone know that Ruthville was still here... that the Babe approved of the Yanks new digs. But the baseballs were flying out for both sides! Surely the Bambino wouldn't be helping the enemy, would he?
I visited another blog the other day, called the River Avenue Blues. They were discussing (or perhaps disgusting) Yankee ticket prices. Apparently the price of a $4.00 boxed seat (in 1967), now goes for a cool $250.00. If that is the case, this is good news, because that means they've reduced it from $400 in 2008. At either rate, I did some shopping around. For that same $250 you can get four equivalent tickets to a Phillies game just 90 miles or so south. Of course, the tickets in Philly are probably going, going, gone, but so what? If Mr. Hardhat can take his wife and 2.2 kids (.2 kids get in for free) to a game for affordable prices... go man, go! Meanwhile, I will repeat what I said on that blog that day. I used to see Mantle for a dollar (General Admission... also a thing of bygone days). And at today's rates, Mantle will be back at Yankee Stadium before I will.
I still follow the Yanks though... root hard... die-hard... watching them on my laptop for nominal prices. I just read that Joe Gerardi is now wearing number 28, since the Yanks won Championship number 27 last year. Good on you, Joe! Show that spirit and spunk! If you get to number 37, they should take Stengel's jersey down and let you use his! Of course, if you get to number 37, Joe... you'll be out in Monument Park yourself... and in the HOF as well.
Go Joe!
The Polo Grounds
These were the dimensions of the Polo Grounds from 1923 until 1957. In case you can't squint, it's 279, 447, 483, 440, 258ft, left to right. Willie made The Catch in the 1954 Series just to the right of the center field cut out, which led to the clubhouses.What is less known is that Joe DiMaggio made a similar catch as a rookie, in the 1936 Series against the Giants. It was the final out of game one, I think. The Yanks were leading big... something like 18-4. According to a Joe D. biography I read by Richard Ben Cramer (and since corroborated by other reports), Hank Lieber of the Giants hit a bomb to straight away center. Joe turned, ran full tilt toward dead center, and caught the drive near the clubhouse. Since it was the final out, Joe continued running up the clubhouse steps with ball in glove. Then he turned to face the field. He remembered that FDR had attended the game, and that they had announced that everyone ought to remain seated until the President departed. So Joe turned around, still with ball in glove, and stood at attention as FDR was driven past him. According to author Cramer, FDR saluted rookie Joe. I believe FDR was also at the 1932 World Series game in Chicago when the Babe called his shot. I've read reports of FDR laughing heartily as the Babe circled the bases... proof to me that something happened on that field that day! And proof to me that FDR had it goin' on!
Note: Diagram referenced from Andrew Clem's Baseball. No copyright infringement is intended. I would gladly go to the Polo Grounds myself to take pictures and measurements. But some imbecile tore it down. Idiot!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
1927 NY Yankees vs 1953 Bklyn Dodgers
Okay Baseball Fans!
I'm still smarting from the 61Yanks defeat at the hands of the 76Reds! So I decided to go back in time and match two squads famous for launching baseballs in to the stratosphere!
The 1927 New York Yankees!
The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers!
Both of these line-ups are salty! I'm a Yankee fan, of course. But these Brooklyn Dodgers... Carl Furillo hit .344 that year, and he is the seventh place hitter! Why? Umm... Robby, the Duke, Campy and Gil Hodges! That's why! All with 100-plus ribbies! All above .300... Hodges hit sixth... SIXTH... and knocked in 121! Campy hit fifth and was the NL MVP! Duke knocked 42 outta the park. And of course, Jackie tormented pitchers with his baserunning when he wasn't driving in Pee Wee Reese and a young fellow named Junior Gilliam.
And of course, the Yanks are the stuff legends come from. When I told the Babe about this season... and he began to understand the concept, he said, "Wait a minute! Do you mean we are going to play half the season in Ebbet's Field? In Brooklyn?" I nodded. The Babe began to grin. His grin got wider. And he broke into laughter. "Do you remember what I said in the '32 Series about Wrigley Field?" "Yep! You said that you'd give half of your salary-". "HALF MY BLANKETY-BLANK SALARY... IF I COULD HIT IN THIS DUMP ALL YEAR!"
The Babe beamed. Then his voice lowered again. "You guys are gonna run out of baseballs. This is going to be fun. You know I coached at Ebbet's in '38. MacPhail talked to me about getting activated. Damn near went for it too."
"Yeah Babe. I read about that. But you were way past forty then. You're gonna be 32 during this season. Gehrig will be 23-24. And the rest of the '27 gang will be there. But Babe... these Dodgers are good... way better than that 1938 squad."
"Yeah... they got a lot of colored fellows... about damn time. I used to play against 'em after the season... Paige, Smoky Joe Williams... Biz Mackey. We played Newark, Hilldale... even saw Cool Papa Bell in St. Looie in 1927. If we had him in '27...damn!"
"Their clean-up hitter, Duke Snider, wears no. 4 because his boyhood idol was Lou."
"That right?" The Babe mused. "Good for him. I'll tell Lou." Then the Babe started to grin. "I'll tell Lou to tip his cap to Duke... as he rounds the bases after another home run!"
And the Babe roared in laughter once more.
Well, I have played half of the season! And the Babe's confidence was fully justified. Half of a season when these two played was 77 games. So I will cut the chatter and sho you the results in tabular form. I hope you are sitting down when you read theses numbers. Here goes!
77 Games
1927 NY Yankees........ 44-33
1953 Bklyn Dodgers... 33-44
Dodgers three thru six hitters ('big four'):
Jackie Robinson........ 4 hr 65 rbi
Duke Snider............... 5 hr 65 rbi
Roy Campanella........ 8 hr 68 rbi
Gil Hodges..................4 hr 51 rbi
Now the Yanks 'big four':
Babe Ruth.........51 hr 114 rbi
Lou Gehrig........ 41 hr 85 rbi
Bob Meusel......... 6 hr 52 rbi
Tony Lazzeri..... 18 hr 56 rbi
This is no misprint. And I am in no way rigging these games to turn this into batting practice for the Babe and Lou. But as ridiculous as these numbers are, I have to tell you more. I sat the Babe DOWN for 25 games! He, Bob Meusel and Joe Dugan got a 25-game rest! I plugged in Ben Paschal in RF, Cedric Durst in LF, and Mike Gazella at third. At the time the Bambino had 45 or 46 bombs (in 45 games!) and over 100 rbi. So I sat these guys down. I'd have sat Gehrig down too, but you know how he hated to miss games! The Yanks were 28-17 at the time.
Guess what? It didn't matter! This was one nasty, great, ferocious team. The three subs played great. Ben Paschal knocked in 20 runs in 25 games. Gazella knocked in 12, and actually played much better defense than Jumpin Joe Dugan. And the Babe hit three homers and knocked in six as a pinch-hitter! I did not put him in... the computer makes all substitutions. And the Babe was walked a lot too... the fans, even in Brooklyn booed a lot, knowing they were only going to see the Babe once a game coming off the bench.
So the Babe's numbers would be even higher. He's back in the line-up!
As odd as his numbers and Lou's are... the Dodger hitters are even weirder... all of their Home run totals are way down... but their run production is right on time... as is that of Meusel and Lazzeri. Robinson went .329-12-95, the Duke .336-42-126, Campy .312-41-142, and Gil .302-31-122... see why Furillo (.344 21-92) hit 7th? This was one rugged line-up! But anyway, these guys are all having typical rbi years, as are Lazzeri (102 in '27) and Meusel (103 in '27). Lazzeri's home runs are up, but that does not surprise me... he is benefitting from Ebbet's field more than anybody... Tony hit 18 in 1927, but left center was more than 470 when he played, and dead-center 495. The left-center-field power alley in Ebbets is 353feet! Tony didn't crow loudly like the Babe did, but his eyes got as big as saucers when he saw that wall!
Poosh 'em up has equalled his 1927 output for home runs (18) already, but his RBI pace is typical for him... he once hit 60 homers in the PCL, so give him a 'normal' ball park and his numbers will undoubtedly rise!
If the Yankees continue to manhandle the Dodgers, maybe I will pit them against the 76Reds. I have other match-ups in mind... maybe a DiMaggio Yankees team against a Williams Red Sox team. I know these two teams actually played, but i might like to see how Joe would handle 77 games at Fenway, as well as Ted aiming at the YS right field porch for half a season! But we'll see.
And the Dodgers aren't going away. Brooklyn has not backed off one bit. In fact, Brooklyn opened the season with four straight wins. Then both teams took turns getting red hot. After thirty games they were virtually tied. Then at game 41 the Yanks took control, ripping off five straight. That's when I benched the Babe, Meusel and Dugan. The Murderer's Row responded by taking four of five!
That 9-1 stretch, part of a larger 16-4 run, is what has the Yanks in charge at the halfway break. But the Dodgers immediately fought back, taking 8 of 10 themselves. So I do not expect the Bums to go quietly.
From a pitching standpoint, a few surprises. Waite Hoyt, the ace of the Yankee staff is getting knocked around(4-7). But George Pipgras, the fifth starter, is 10-0!
On the Brooklyn side, their ace, Carl Earskine is their big winner, 7-3. But tied with him for wins is their relief ace, Clem Labine,at 7-4.
One line score is worth printing in its entirety:
Bklyn - 000 000 001 - 1 6 1
Yanks- 125 805 02x - 23 24 0
New York's record in ten game increments:
10G 5-5
20G 11-9
30G 16-14
40G 23-17
50G 32-18
60G 34-26
70G 39-31
77G 44-33
I'm still smarting from the 61Yanks defeat at the hands of the 76Reds! So I decided to go back in time and match two squads famous for launching baseballs in to the stratosphere!
The 1927 New York Yankees!
The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers!
Both of these line-ups are salty! I'm a Yankee fan, of course. But these Brooklyn Dodgers... Carl Furillo hit .344 that year, and he is the seventh place hitter! Why? Umm... Robby, the Duke, Campy and Gil Hodges! That's why! All with 100-plus ribbies! All above .300... Hodges hit sixth... SIXTH... and knocked in 121! Campy hit fifth and was the NL MVP! Duke knocked 42 outta the park. And of course, Jackie tormented pitchers with his baserunning when he wasn't driving in Pee Wee Reese and a young fellow named Junior Gilliam.
And of course, the Yanks are the stuff legends come from. When I told the Babe about this season... and he began to understand the concept, he said, "Wait a minute! Do you mean we are going to play half the season in Ebbet's Field? In Brooklyn?" I nodded. The Babe began to grin. His grin got wider. And he broke into laughter. "Do you remember what I said in the '32 Series about Wrigley Field?" "Yep! You said that you'd give half of your salary-". "HALF MY BLANKETY-BLANK SALARY... IF I COULD HIT IN THIS DUMP ALL YEAR!"
The Babe beamed. Then his voice lowered again. "You guys are gonna run out of baseballs. This is going to be fun. You know I coached at Ebbet's in '38. MacPhail talked to me about getting activated. Damn near went for it too."
"Yeah Babe. I read about that. But you were way past forty then. You're gonna be 32 during this season. Gehrig will be 23-24. And the rest of the '27 gang will be there. But Babe... these Dodgers are good... way better than that 1938 squad."
"Yeah... they got a lot of colored fellows... about damn time. I used to play against 'em after the season... Paige, Smoky Joe Williams... Biz Mackey. We played Newark, Hilldale... even saw Cool Papa Bell in St. Looie in 1927. If we had him in '27...damn!"
"Their clean-up hitter, Duke Snider, wears no. 4 because his boyhood idol was Lou."
"That right?" The Babe mused. "Good for him. I'll tell Lou." Then the Babe started to grin. "I'll tell Lou to tip his cap to Duke... as he rounds the bases after another home run!"
And the Babe roared in laughter once more.
Well, I have played half of the season! And the Babe's confidence was fully justified. Half of a season when these two played was 77 games. So I will cut the chatter and sho you the results in tabular form. I hope you are sitting down when you read theses numbers. Here goes!
77 Games
1927 NY Yankees........ 44-33
1953 Bklyn Dodgers... 33-44
Dodgers three thru six hitters ('big four'):
Jackie Robinson........ 4 hr 65 rbi
Duke Snider............... 5 hr 65 rbi
Roy Campanella........ 8 hr 68 rbi
Gil Hodges..................4 hr 51 rbi
Now the Yanks 'big four':
Babe Ruth.........51 hr 114 rbi
Lou Gehrig........ 41 hr 85 rbi
Bob Meusel......... 6 hr 52 rbi
Tony Lazzeri..... 18 hr 56 rbi
This is no misprint. And I am in no way rigging these games to turn this into batting practice for the Babe and Lou. But as ridiculous as these numbers are, I have to tell you more. I sat the Babe DOWN for 25 games! He, Bob Meusel and Joe Dugan got a 25-game rest! I plugged in Ben Paschal in RF, Cedric Durst in LF, and Mike Gazella at third. At the time the Bambino had 45 or 46 bombs (in 45 games!) and over 100 rbi. So I sat these guys down. I'd have sat Gehrig down too, but you know how he hated to miss games! The Yanks were 28-17 at the time.
Guess what? It didn't matter! This was one nasty, great, ferocious team. The three subs played great. Ben Paschal knocked in 20 runs in 25 games. Gazella knocked in 12, and actually played much better defense than Jumpin Joe Dugan. And the Babe hit three homers and knocked in six as a pinch-hitter! I did not put him in... the computer makes all substitutions. And the Babe was walked a lot too... the fans, even in Brooklyn booed a lot, knowing they were only going to see the Babe once a game coming off the bench.
So the Babe's numbers would be even higher. He's back in the line-up!
As odd as his numbers and Lou's are... the Dodger hitters are even weirder... all of their Home run totals are way down... but their run production is right on time... as is that of Meusel and Lazzeri. Robinson went .329-12-95, the Duke .336-42-126, Campy .312-41-142, and Gil .302-31-122... see why Furillo (.344 21-92) hit 7th? This was one rugged line-up! But anyway, these guys are all having typical rbi years, as are Lazzeri (102 in '27) and Meusel (103 in '27). Lazzeri's home runs are up, but that does not surprise me... he is benefitting from Ebbet's field more than anybody... Tony hit 18 in 1927, but left center was more than 470 when he played, and dead-center 495. The left-center-field power alley in Ebbets is 353feet! Tony didn't crow loudly like the Babe did, but his eyes got as big as saucers when he saw that wall!
Poosh 'em up has equalled his 1927 output for home runs (18) already, but his RBI pace is typical for him... he once hit 60 homers in the PCL, so give him a 'normal' ball park and his numbers will undoubtedly rise!
If the Yankees continue to manhandle the Dodgers, maybe I will pit them against the 76Reds. I have other match-ups in mind... maybe a DiMaggio Yankees team against a Williams Red Sox team. I know these two teams actually played, but i might like to see how Joe would handle 77 games at Fenway, as well as Ted aiming at the YS right field porch for half a season! But we'll see.
And the Dodgers aren't going away. Brooklyn has not backed off one bit. In fact, Brooklyn opened the season with four straight wins. Then both teams took turns getting red hot. After thirty games they were virtually tied. Then at game 41 the Yanks took control, ripping off five straight. That's when I benched the Babe, Meusel and Dugan. The Murderer's Row responded by taking four of five!
That 9-1 stretch, part of a larger 16-4 run, is what has the Yanks in charge at the halfway break. But the Dodgers immediately fought back, taking 8 of 10 themselves. So I do not expect the Bums to go quietly.
From a pitching standpoint, a few surprises. Waite Hoyt, the ace of the Yankee staff is getting knocked around(4-7). But George Pipgras, the fifth starter, is 10-0!
On the Brooklyn side, their ace, Carl Earskine is their big winner, 7-3. But tied with him for wins is their relief ace, Clem Labine,at 7-4.
One line score is worth printing in its entirety:
Bklyn - 000 000 001 - 1 6 1
Yanks- 125 805 02x - 23 24 0
New York's record in ten game increments:
10G 5-5
20G 11-9
30G 16-14
40G 23-17
50G 32-18
60G 34-26
70G 39-31
77G 44-33
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The Goose Should Have Gotten in Sooner!
163rd Game of the Season... a Hall of Famer at the plate. And one on the mound. Ninth inning. Two outs. Two runners on. One run game. The man at the plate a multiple batting champion, a former MVP, thinking no doubt about tying or winning the game, and with it, the American League East Championship. The man on the mound? By his own testimony, thinking about fishing somewhere in Colorado, fairly soon... perhaps tomorrow... if things don't go well right now.
The man at the plate wiggles his bat slowly, awaiting the pitch. The man on the mound squints toward the catcher, pretending to look for a sign... even though everybody in the park, and everybody watching on TV, pretty much knows what's coming. Gas!
And the pitch. GAS!
The batter swings... and it's a pop-up! The ball soars high over the infield, drifting toward the leftside of the infield. The third-baseman looks skyward and awaits. The ball drifts downward into his glove. Clutching the ball, the third-baseman leaps with joy, and then heads toward the mound... along with all of his teammates, to mob the Hall-of-Famer on the mound and celebrate their AL Eastern division title.
If you recognize this scenario, you know who the participants were. Goose Gossage threw the final pitch of the 1978 regular AL season to Carl Yaz, who popped up to Graig Nettles at third to end a historic season.
Goose Gossage had 310 lifetime saves. That's a whole bunch.
Trevor Hoffman and Mo Rivera each have over 500, with Hoffman being the all-time leader, toiling, I might add, with a distinctly inferior team for his career (and with a superior save percentage... fodder for another article).
But of course, this is comparing yesterday's apples with today's oranges.
Consider the 163rd game above.
Everyone... I mean, EVERYONE, remembers the Bucky Friggin Dent home run, a three run bomb (actually a fly ball that would have been an out in YS). But what people may forget is that this magnificent 163rd game was an exciting, exhilarating microcosm of the entire exciting, exhilarating season. For my money, THIS was the 1978 World Series... the two best teams in baseball, slugging it out like Ali-Frazier... for six long months.
The Red Sox got off to an early lead, as they did during the year. Then the Yanks surged ahead, 5-2, as they did during the year. The Red Sox could have wilted... but instead, they got off the mat, like Ali did, and fought back, closing the gap to 5-4.
Then, in the seventh, game the Yanks premier set-up man. Goose Gossage.
That's right, boys and girls! 163rd game. Red Sox on the bases. The GAME on the bases! Seventh inning. And the Yankee skipper, himself a Hall of Fame pitcher, Bob Lemon, summoned the Goose. And why not. Who would YOU have waved in? Correct-a-mundo!
And of course, Goose put down the rebellion. And pitched the eighth. And the ninth. And as I said, the Red Sox did not go quietly. But thanks to the Goose, they went home.
Goose did not save 50 games a year. Nor forty. I am not even sure if he hit thirty. But I do know, without looking up the stats (which I shall do later), that the Goose pitched more innings in some seasons then, than some starters do now! The Yankees, and other teams, did not pay Gossage to rack up stats. They paid him to stamp out fires... by any means necessary. And that he did.
If Gossage were pitching today, perhaps he'd have 500 saves. I don't know. I don't care. But if the Yanks had used their bullpen in 1978 the way lots of managers use their bullpens today, there might have been nothing for the Goose to save in the ninth inning of the 163rd game of the 1978 regular season.
Goose was the best.
The man at the plate wiggles his bat slowly, awaiting the pitch. The man on the mound squints toward the catcher, pretending to look for a sign... even though everybody in the park, and everybody watching on TV, pretty much knows what's coming. Gas!
And the pitch. GAS!
The batter swings... and it's a pop-up! The ball soars high over the infield, drifting toward the leftside of the infield. The third-baseman looks skyward and awaits. The ball drifts downward into his glove. Clutching the ball, the third-baseman leaps with joy, and then heads toward the mound... along with all of his teammates, to mob the Hall-of-Famer on the mound and celebrate their AL Eastern division title.
If you recognize this scenario, you know who the participants were. Goose Gossage threw the final pitch of the 1978 regular AL season to Carl Yaz, who popped up to Graig Nettles at third to end a historic season.
Goose Gossage had 310 lifetime saves. That's a whole bunch.
Trevor Hoffman and Mo Rivera each have over 500, with Hoffman being the all-time leader, toiling, I might add, with a distinctly inferior team for his career (and with a superior save percentage... fodder for another article).
But of course, this is comparing yesterday's apples with today's oranges.
Consider the 163rd game above.
Everyone... I mean, EVERYONE, remembers the Bucky Friggin Dent home run, a three run bomb (actually a fly ball that would have been an out in YS). But what people may forget is that this magnificent 163rd game was an exciting, exhilarating microcosm of the entire exciting, exhilarating season. For my money, THIS was the 1978 World Series... the two best teams in baseball, slugging it out like Ali-Frazier... for six long months.
The Red Sox got off to an early lead, as they did during the year. Then the Yanks surged ahead, 5-2, as they did during the year. The Red Sox could have wilted... but instead, they got off the mat, like Ali did, and fought back, closing the gap to 5-4.
Then, in the seventh, game the Yanks premier set-up man. Goose Gossage.
That's right, boys and girls! 163rd game. Red Sox on the bases. The GAME on the bases! Seventh inning. And the Yankee skipper, himself a Hall of Fame pitcher, Bob Lemon, summoned the Goose. And why not. Who would YOU have waved in? Correct-a-mundo!
And of course, Goose put down the rebellion. And pitched the eighth. And the ninth. And as I said, the Red Sox did not go quietly. But thanks to the Goose, they went home.
Goose did not save 50 games a year. Nor forty. I am not even sure if he hit thirty. But I do know, without looking up the stats (which I shall do later), that the Goose pitched more innings in some seasons then, than some starters do now! The Yankees, and other teams, did not pay Gossage to rack up stats. They paid him to stamp out fires... by any means necessary. And that he did.
If Gossage were pitching today, perhaps he'd have 500 saves. I don't know. I don't care. But if the Yanks had used their bullpen in 1978 the way lots of managers use their bullpens today, there might have been nothing for the Goose to save in the ninth inning of the 163rd game of the 1978 regular season.
Goose was the best.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Aloha!
Waikiki circa 1990.
Diamond Head in background.
Diamond in foreground.
Vintage NY Giant cap up top.
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