Lou Brock hit at least one home run in every World Series he played in. I guess that was one way the other team kept him off base! He was one leadoff hitter that drove in fear into the minds of Cardinals' opponents. But he could also go deep if needs be.
Facing the Yankee's Al Downing in the bottom of the 4th inning of game 7 of the 1964 World Series, St. Louis was already up 3-0. Downing had just come in to relieve Mel Stottlemyre. Brock greeted him the hard way. He belted his very first pitch to deep right center for a home run. Sparked by that, St. Louis scored twice more to make it a 6-0 game.
That home run and three runs in that inning proved crucial. The Yankees came back with three of their own in the top of the 6th inning via a Mickey Mantle home run. And New York got two more runs (via the long ball) to St. Louis' one, so this blowout turned into a nail biter! But at the end of the game, the Cardinals were World Series winners, 7-5.
Brock didn'y have to wait as long to get his first home run in his next World Series. Well, one game earlier! It was 1967, so it was a wait of three years. This time, the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox. Brock got four hits in game one, helping St. Louis win, 2-1. But none of those hits were a home run.
After going hitless in game 2, Lou came back with two hits in game three and two more in game four! But, no long balls. St. Louis now led the 1967 Fall Classic, three games to one!
The Cards lost game five at home, so the Series would return to Boston. Worse still, Brock was held hitless again. The common denominator in both games was Jim Lonborg, who tossed a 1-hitter and a 3-hitter. But obviously, Brock would face someone else in game six.
Game six was an interesting one. Boston had to use Gary Waslewski to start. Just 2-2 in the regular season, it looked like the world's longest longshot. And early home run by Rico Petrocelli gave Boston the lead. Brock drove in the tying run and Curt Flood got an RBI of his own to put the Cards in front. Three more home runs by the Red Sox (including Petrocelli's second) gave Boston a 4-2 lead. But Gary left after 5 1/3 innings after giving up two walks in the sixth inning. John Wyatt came in for the Sox and got the next two men out.
With one out in the top of the 7th, Bob Tolan pinch-hit for Cardinal pitcher Nelson Briles (the game three winner). Tolan drew a walk. The score was still 4-2, Boston. But not for long!
Brock came up and hit a tremendous home run to knot this thing, 4-4. It was the most important home run Brock had probably ever hit to date, under the circumstances. Could St. Louis win a game where they had allowed four home runs?
Alas, it was not to be. The Red Sox came right back with four runs in the bottom of the frame to put this one away, and force a game seven. Brock failed to hit a home run, but it was St. Louis all the way, 7-2.
In the 1968 World Series, Brock made sure to go to the long ball early. This one came in the very first game.
It didn't look like it for a while, however. Denny McLain started for Detroit. Brock seemed to have his trouble with him. So did some of his teammates. Brock grounded out in the bottom of the first to start the game. The next two batters flew out.
In the bottom of the third inning, Dal Maxvill drew a leadoff walk off McLain. Bob Gibson, on his way to 17 K's, got a sac bunt to get him to second. Brock hit a ball back to McLain. Denny saw Max going to third and got him trapped in a rundown. Lou had to do something. He stole second. When the throw from catcher Bill Freehan went into centerfield, Lightning Lou was on third. But Curt Flood popped out to end that.
St. Louis finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Two walks and two singles made it 3-0, Cardinals. But Bob Gibson ended the inning by going down on strikes. Brock looked like he was not about to be part of the offence in this game.
McLain breezed through the next inning, despite Detroit commiting an error. Lou Brock could only ground out. That, however, proved to be it for Denny in this game. He hadn't pitched too badly. But Bob Gibson was simply too much for him and his teammates.
But what about Brock? Pat Dobson took over for the Tigers and pitched a scoreless sixth inning. Gibson, though, was keeping Detroit off-guard with his strikeouts. He was still working on the shutout!
Dobson then got the first two Tigers out in the bottom of the 7th. Looking at the way Bob Gibson was throwing, Lou must have known it was his last plate appearance of the afternoon, so he had to make it count. And did he ever!
Blasting a home run to deep right center, Brock had accounted for the last run of game one. Gibson took over from there, but he really had it all from the get-go. Detroit went down 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth inning. In the 9th, Hoot allowed a leadoff single by Mickey Stanley, but fanned the next three batters. St. Louis had game one, four-zip!
McLain had not heard the last from Lou Brock. The team's split the next two games, so game four in Detroit was crucial. On Denny's second pitch of the contest, Brock went deep again to right center. St. Louis scored again before the inning was over. It would prove to be all Bob Gibson would need.
Gibson hit a home run of his own in this game. Brock finished with two more hits and three more runs batted in. With a 10-1 win, St. Louis looked like they had the 1968 World Series wrapped up. They could not get the bundle home, ultimately!
Detroit won game six at home, despite three more hits from Brock. In game six, McLain looked like the 31-game winner he was in the regular season. Brock could go only 1-4. And in the deciding game, Mickey Lolich of the Tigers did what no one though possible: He beat Bob Gibson in a World Series!
Brock failed to get a long ball in the last three games of the 1968 World Series. Though the Cardinals had come up empty, Brock and Gibson had been the big stars for the second straight Fall Classic. Both, of course, had hit the long ball.
Leadoff hitters are usually the least threat to go deep. Even in the age of the DH, the number nine hitter can sometimes poise a bigger threat with the long ball that the number one hitter can. Although I never liked him (save for his brief tenure with the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays) when he played, Ricky Henderson was always exciting to watch. He'd steal the base. But he could also hit the long ball with such frequency that sometimes I had to remind myself he was "just" the leadoff hitter. Lou Brock was like that. He could go deep, but not just in the postseason. And he had the flair for the dramatic with those. It would tie the game. It would give St. Louis the lead. It would be on the first or second pitch. It would start a rally. It would finish off the other team. They would even make Bob Gibson's job a little easier! The home run has always been my favourite way to watch a team score. A leadoff hitter's job is to get on base and score. Hey, why not do that with one foul (or in this case, fair) swoop? It is the World Series, you know. No use wasting time!
Enders, Eric. "The Expansion Era." 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print. pp. 160-163.
Golenbock, Peter. "1964." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print. pp. 529-539.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1964. Major League Baseball Productions, 1964. DVD.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1967. Major League Baseball Productions, 1967. DVD.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1968. Major League Baseball Productions, 1968. DVD.
Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. "Yogi And The Last Hurrah." All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print. pp. 183-192
Facing the Yankee's Al Downing in the bottom of the 4th inning of game 7 of the 1964 World Series, St. Louis was already up 3-0. Downing had just come in to relieve Mel Stottlemyre. Brock greeted him the hard way. He belted his very first pitch to deep right center for a home run. Sparked by that, St. Louis scored twice more to make it a 6-0 game.
That home run and three runs in that inning proved crucial. The Yankees came back with three of their own in the top of the 6th inning via a Mickey Mantle home run. And New York got two more runs (via the long ball) to St. Louis' one, so this blowout turned into a nail biter! But at the end of the game, the Cardinals were World Series winners, 7-5.
Brock didn'y have to wait as long to get his first home run in his next World Series. Well, one game earlier! It was 1967, so it was a wait of three years. This time, the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox. Brock got four hits in game one, helping St. Louis win, 2-1. But none of those hits were a home run.
After going hitless in game 2, Lou came back with two hits in game three and two more in game four! But, no long balls. St. Louis now led the 1967 Fall Classic, three games to one!
The Cards lost game five at home, so the Series would return to Boston. Worse still, Brock was held hitless again. The common denominator in both games was Jim Lonborg, who tossed a 1-hitter and a 3-hitter. But obviously, Brock would face someone else in game six.
Game six was an interesting one. Boston had to use Gary Waslewski to start. Just 2-2 in the regular season, it looked like the world's longest longshot. And early home run by Rico Petrocelli gave Boston the lead. Brock drove in the tying run and Curt Flood got an RBI of his own to put the Cards in front. Three more home runs by the Red Sox (including Petrocelli's second) gave Boston a 4-2 lead. But Gary left after 5 1/3 innings after giving up two walks in the sixth inning. John Wyatt came in for the Sox and got the next two men out.
With one out in the top of the 7th, Bob Tolan pinch-hit for Cardinal pitcher Nelson Briles (the game three winner). Tolan drew a walk. The score was still 4-2, Boston. But not for long!
Brock came up and hit a tremendous home run to knot this thing, 4-4. It was the most important home run Brock had probably ever hit to date, under the circumstances. Could St. Louis win a game where they had allowed four home runs?
Alas, it was not to be. The Red Sox came right back with four runs in the bottom of the frame to put this one away, and force a game seven. Brock failed to hit a home run, but it was St. Louis all the way, 7-2.
In the 1968 World Series, Brock made sure to go to the long ball early. This one came in the very first game.
It didn't look like it for a while, however. Denny McLain started for Detroit. Brock seemed to have his trouble with him. So did some of his teammates. Brock grounded out in the bottom of the first to start the game. The next two batters flew out.
In the bottom of the third inning, Dal Maxvill drew a leadoff walk off McLain. Bob Gibson, on his way to 17 K's, got a sac bunt to get him to second. Brock hit a ball back to McLain. Denny saw Max going to third and got him trapped in a rundown. Lou had to do something. He stole second. When the throw from catcher Bill Freehan went into centerfield, Lightning Lou was on third. But Curt Flood popped out to end that.
St. Louis finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Two walks and two singles made it 3-0, Cardinals. But Bob Gibson ended the inning by going down on strikes. Brock looked like he was not about to be part of the offence in this game.
McLain breezed through the next inning, despite Detroit commiting an error. Lou Brock could only ground out. That, however, proved to be it for Denny in this game. He hadn't pitched too badly. But Bob Gibson was simply too much for him and his teammates.
But what about Brock? Pat Dobson took over for the Tigers and pitched a scoreless sixth inning. Gibson, though, was keeping Detroit off-guard with his strikeouts. He was still working on the shutout!
Dobson then got the first two Tigers out in the bottom of the 7th. Looking at the way Bob Gibson was throwing, Lou must have known it was his last plate appearance of the afternoon, so he had to make it count. And did he ever!
Blasting a home run to deep right center, Brock had accounted for the last run of game one. Gibson took over from there, but he really had it all from the get-go. Detroit went down 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth inning. In the 9th, Hoot allowed a leadoff single by Mickey Stanley, but fanned the next three batters. St. Louis had game one, four-zip!
McLain had not heard the last from Lou Brock. The team's split the next two games, so game four in Detroit was crucial. On Denny's second pitch of the contest, Brock went deep again to right center. St. Louis scored again before the inning was over. It would prove to be all Bob Gibson would need.
Gibson hit a home run of his own in this game. Brock finished with two more hits and three more runs batted in. With a 10-1 win, St. Louis looked like they had the 1968 World Series wrapped up. They could not get the bundle home, ultimately!
Detroit won game six at home, despite three more hits from Brock. In game six, McLain looked like the 31-game winner he was in the regular season. Brock could go only 1-4. And in the deciding game, Mickey Lolich of the Tigers did what no one though possible: He beat Bob Gibson in a World Series!
Brock failed to get a long ball in the last three games of the 1968 World Series. Though the Cardinals had come up empty, Brock and Gibson had been the big stars for the second straight Fall Classic. Both, of course, had hit the long ball.
Leadoff hitters are usually the least threat to go deep. Even in the age of the DH, the number nine hitter can sometimes poise a bigger threat with the long ball that the number one hitter can. Although I never liked him (save for his brief tenure with the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays) when he played, Ricky Henderson was always exciting to watch. He'd steal the base. But he could also hit the long ball with such frequency that sometimes I had to remind myself he was "just" the leadoff hitter. Lou Brock was like that. He could go deep, but not just in the postseason. And he had the flair for the dramatic with those. It would tie the game. It would give St. Louis the lead. It would be on the first or second pitch. It would start a rally. It would finish off the other team. They would even make Bob Gibson's job a little easier! The home run has always been my favourite way to watch a team score. A leadoff hitter's job is to get on base and score. Hey, why not do that with one foul (or in this case, fair) swoop? It is the World Series, you know. No use wasting time!
References
Enders, Eric. "The Expansion Era." 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print. pp. 160-163.
Golenbock, Peter. "1964." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print. pp. 529-539.
Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1964. Major League Baseball Productions, 1964. DVD.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1967. Major League Baseball Productions, 1967. DVD.
Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1968. Major League Baseball Productions, 1968. DVD.
Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. "Yogi And The Last Hurrah." All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print. pp. 183-192
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 23 May. 2014.
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