Monday, June 30, 2014

World Series: Did You Know?

Billy Bruton, who missed the entire 1957 World Series with knee injury, led all hits in the next Fall Classic with a .412 batting average. Too bad his Milwaukee Braves came up a little short against the New York Yankees this time.

Billy didn't start game one, but did he ever come through later. He sent the home crowd home happy! With the score tied at three in the bottom of the ninth inning, Billy hit for Andy Pafko. Facing the Yankees' Ryne Duren, he went down on strikes. Ryne was on his way to five strikeouts in this game. But the Braves put two on before Duren got out of the inning.

Warren Spahn also had to get out of a bit of a toughie situation in the top of the tenth. Gil McDougald singled with two outs and Mickey Mantle walked. Elston Howard flied out to end that. The stage was set for some Bruton dramatics in the bottom of the frame!

Hank Aaron fanned to start things off for Milwaukee. But Joe Adcock singled. Wes Covington was retired on a fly to left. But Del Crandall singled to keep the inning alive. When Billy Bruton hit a single that landed past both Mickey Mantle and Hank Bauer in right-centre, the Braves had a dramatic 4-3 win.

In game two, with the Yankees up 1-0 going into the bottom of the frame, it was Bruton starting and hitting in the leadoff spot. He blasted a Bob Turley offering to right to tie the game. Before the inning was over, Milwaukee added six more runs. Bruton was the first and last batter of the inning. While Mickey Mantle went yard twice later and Hank Bauer added a long ball of his own, it was the Braves that took game two, 13-5.

Bruton added a single in the fourth, but was stranded. He also singled with two down in the bottom of he sixth, but nothing came of it. But in the eighth inning, Billy walked and came home (along with Red Schoendienst) on an Eddie Mathews' single.

When the 1958 World Series shifted to the Bronx for game three, Milwaukee seemed to lose their offence. They lost game three, 4-0. Bruton was out on an attempted bunt to lead off the game against Don Larsen. In the third inning, Billy walked, advanced to third on a single, but was stranded.

In the fifth inning, Bruton was out on a foul popup to third, but he was not done yet. While he failed to get a hit (and the Braves would finish the game with just six) he walked with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Milwaukee, losing 2-0 at the time, now had the tying run on first in Bruton. But Larsen retired Schoendienst to end that.

In the top of the ninth inning, it was Johnny Logan that drew a walk off reliever Ryne Duren. Casey Wise fanned and Bruton ended the game by hitting into a double play. New York won 4-0 and now trailed the World Series, two games to one.

Bruton, as in game one, did not start game four, but did see action. In the top of the top of the eighth, with Milwaukee leading 3-0, Johnny Kucks gave up a single to Hank Aaron that moved Eddie Mathews to third. When Wes Covington drew a two-out walk, the bases were loaded. Bruton came in to run. Kucks got out of there when Andy Pafko forced Billy at second.

Bruton stayed in the game at centre, but did not get a plate appearance. The Braves, however, won the game 3-0 and needed just one more win for their second straight Fall Classic triumph. But the one win never came.

In game four it was Lew Burdette vs. Bob Turley in a rematch of game two. Burdette was at this point, 4-0 against New York in the last two World Series.

Bruton led off the game with a walk. Schoendienst moved him to second with a bunt. But Billy got no further as Milwaukee's big guns, Mathews and Aaron, flied out.

Burdette seemed to have no problem with the Yankees as he got 'em 1-2-3 in the first two innings. Bruton came back to the dish in the top of the third, but Turley fanned him. Bullet Bob K'd the side despite allowing a single to Schoendienst.

Gil McDougald broke Burdette's spell with a home run to left in the bottom of the frame. It wasn't quite like Carlton Fisk's in game six of the 1975 Fall Classic, but it did hit the foul pole. This was all that Bob Turley would need as he put down the Braves in order in the next two inning. Burdette kept Milwaukee close.

Bruton singled to lead off the top of the sixth. But then came perhaps the play that was the turning point in the Series. Schoendienst flied out to shallow left, where Elston Howard made a fine catch. Bruton had motored towards second. Mantle, standing right next to Howard, quickly alerted Ellie of Bruton plight towards the second sack. The Yankees doubled up Bruton. Eddie Mathews hit a single, but when Aaron went down on strikes, the promising inning was over. New York was only up 1-0, but now they had just gotten a huge lift!

And in the bottom of the frame, New York drove out Burdette with six runs. Turley sailed through the rest of the game, although Bruton got a single in the eighth and Covington got one of his own in the ninth. New York won, 7-0. It was back to Milwaukee for game six.

Bruton did not start the game, and for a while it looked like they would not need him. Spahn, with a 2-1 lead, looked poised for his third win of this World Series. In the top of the sixth inning, Bruton came in to play centre for Pafko. But the Yankees tied the game on a sac fly by Yogi Berra which scored Mickey Mantle.

Ryne Duren came in again and fanned the side in the bottom of the frame. Bruton was the last out of the inning. Covington had singled with two down.

In the bottom of the ninth, with the score still tied at two, Duren again fanned the side, but this time, no one reached first. Billy Bruton was the second strikeout of the inning and fifth of the game by Ryne. Then, in the top of the tenth inning, New York scored twice to take a 4-2 lead.

Milwaukee almost won the game and series in the bottom of the frame, however. Aaron singled home a run, and when Joe Adcock followed with a single of his own, the fleet Aaron made it to third. A single would tie the game. A double would win the 1958 World Series for the Braves.

Bob Turley, the game five shutout winner, came in. Frank Torre was sent up to pinch hit for Del Crandall and Felix Mantilla came in to pinch run for Adcock. Covington was on deck. Torre got under it and sent a soft liner to McDougald at second. The Yankees had squared this Fall Classic at three game with a 4-3 win.

Bruton batted in the second spot in the deciding game seven. Red Schoendienst started the bottom of the first with a single. Bruton waked. Frank Torre got them to scoring position with a bunt. Aaron walked and Covington grounded out. 1-0, Braves. Bruton was on third. A walk to Mathews loaded the bases, but the Braves could only get that one run.

Burdette, after a 1-2-3 top of the first, gave up two runs the next inning. Mathews made two costly errors at third. The Yankees loaded the bases, got a groundout and a fly ball to take a 2-1 lead.

Bruton singled to start the top of the third inning. When Aaron singled with one out, it knocked Don Larsen out of the game. Turley came in to pitch. It was his third straight appearance. A groundout by Covington moved both runners into scoring position, but Crandall also grounded out to end the inning.

The Yankees themselves put two runners on in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Burdette got out of that. The Braves needed two runs, now. But with Bullet Bob going strong, it looked like an impossible task.

The game's next twelve batters were retired in order, including Bruton in the bottom of the fifth on strikes. But just when it was beginning to look hopeless for Milwaukee, they finally got another run!

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, it was Crandall, who sort of seemed due for a big hit (having fanned three times in game six and once here so far), hitting a long ball to tie it. Series tied at three, score tied at two, after six inning in game seven!

But Turley got all three batters (including Bruton) to ground out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Then, in the top of the eighth, New York put this game away.

With two outs, Yogi Berra got a double, and then Elston Howard singled him home to make it 3-2, Yankees. But they were not done. Andy Carey's single moved Elston to third. Moose Skowron's three-run home run made it 6-2, effectively ending the 1958 World Series.

Turley had a 1-2-3 bottom of the 8th, then almost got some more runs in the top of the ninth. You can never have too many runs in the World Series, eh?

Don McMahon got the first two Yankee batters on strikes in the bottom of the frame. But then Gil McDougald singled and Mickey Mantle drew a walk. Yogi Berra ended the inning by grounding out to Schoendienst at second.

Mathews led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk, but Turley settled down. Crandall flied out to Howard in left. Johnny Logan also flied out to Howard. But Joe Adcock batted for McMahon and singled to left. Mathews, now on second, looked over at Tony Kubek and they had a chat over their terrible performances in the World Series: Kubek, .048 and Mathews .160!

They both couldn't suppress a grin at that!

Red Schoendienst was at the dish with two on and two outs. Bruton was the next scheduled batter. But when Schoendienst flied out to Mickey Mantle in centre, New York had come all the way back from three games to one down to win the 1958 Fall Classic.

Bruton could take some solace in that he finally got to play in the World Series. Coming so close the year before (and having your team win) must have been hard on him. But with this appearance (and it would prove to be his only World Series) Billy Bruton certainly made the most of it!


References

Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Gallagher, Mark. Explosion!: Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs. New York: Arbor House, 1987. Print.

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print.

Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.

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.

Retrosheet. Web. 30 Jun. 2014.  <www.retrosheet.org>

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 30 Jun. 2014.

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