So yesterday, I finished adding Stan Williams to my list of greatest relief seasons of all time. Today, I'm here to tell you Stan was virtually unhittable in the postseason. Stan never allowed a run in the World Series. Or in the postseason, period.
Stan was a member of the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers, who found themselves in the Fall Classic after beating Milwaukee in a two-of-three playoff series. Stan pitched three scoreless innings for the win in the clincher. For that, he was rewarded with the win.
But how about the World Series. Well, against the White Sox, Stan did a lot of standing around. Especially in the first four games. But by game five, despite the 11-0 rout by Chicago in game one, Los Angeles needed just one more win to take it all.
They sent out lefty Sandy Koufax to bring it all home (At home). Sandy was dandy. He allowed just five hits and one run (On a double play). But after 6 1/2 innings, the crowd of over 90,000 watched as their team trailed 1-0. So Duke Snider hit for Koufax in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Dodgers did not score.
Stan pitched the last two innings and tried to pick up where the great Koufax had left off. He didn't get off to a good start as Jim Rivera walked. Bob Shaw, the pitcher working on the shutout, got Jim to second with a sac bunt. Luis Aparicio grounded out, moving Rivera to third. Nellie Fox walked, but Jim Landis flied out to deep centre.
The Dodgers looked like they'd win the game in the bottom of the frame as they loaded the bases with only one out. However, Carl Furillo popped to third and Don Zimmer flied to left. Williams got 'em 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, fanning Sherman Lollar. But Los Angeles were retired 1-2-3 themselves by reliever Dick Donovan. Chicago had another shutout, 1-0. The Dodgers won the sixth game in the Windy City, but Williams did not pitch.
The next time the Dodgers made it to the World Series was 1963, and Williams pitched game one. Only, he was pitching against Los Angeles. He'd been traded to the New York Yankees in the offseason for Moose Skowron. Koufax pitched game one, and was awesome. When the game ended, he'd fanned a record (Since broken) 15 batters.
Williams found himself pitching in relief again. Again, in relief of a Hall-Of-Fame lefty. Whitey Ford had started the game. But with New York down 5-0 after 4 1/2, Hector Lopez batted for Ford with the bases loaded. Koufax fanned him to end the threat.
So Williams pitched the top of the sixth for the Bronx Bombers. He had to hold the fort. He sure did. He got his ex-teammates 1-2-3 in the sixth. New York got another two men on in the bottom of the frame, but could not score. Williams allowed a single in the top of the seventh, but fanned three batters without allowing the Dodgers to score. Koufax got New York in order that inning, however. Williams matched that with a 1-2-3 eighth, fanning two more.
Phil Linz batted for Williams and fanned. The Yankees, however, scored twice on a two-run home run by Tom Tresh to make it 5-2. That, however, was the only scoring the mighty Yankees got off Koufax. Williams had pitched three shutout innings, fanned five and given up only one hit. He watched the rest of the series as the Dodgers went on to a sweep.
His next postseason experience was not until 1970. Now on the Minnesota Twins, he pitched another three innings in game one of the ALCS. Another three shutout innings. Williams allowed only two hits. However, the Twins lost to the Baltimore Orioles in this contest, 10-6. The Orioles made it look easy in game two, winning 11-3. Stan pitched another three shutout innings. This time, the Orioles got no hits. It did not matter. The Orioles went on to a sweep with a win in game three. Stan Williams did not pitch in that game.
Stan was a member of the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers, who found themselves in the Fall Classic after beating Milwaukee in a two-of-three playoff series. Stan pitched three scoreless innings for the win in the clincher. For that, he was rewarded with the win.
But how about the World Series. Well, against the White Sox, Stan did a lot of standing around. Especially in the first four games. But by game five, despite the 11-0 rout by Chicago in game one, Los Angeles needed just one more win to take it all.
They sent out lefty Sandy Koufax to bring it all home (At home). Sandy was dandy. He allowed just five hits and one run (On a double play). But after 6 1/2 innings, the crowd of over 90,000 watched as their team trailed 1-0. So Duke Snider hit for Koufax in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Dodgers did not score.
Stan pitched the last two innings and tried to pick up where the great Koufax had left off. He didn't get off to a good start as Jim Rivera walked. Bob Shaw, the pitcher working on the shutout, got Jim to second with a sac bunt. Luis Aparicio grounded out, moving Rivera to third. Nellie Fox walked, but Jim Landis flied out to deep centre.
The Dodgers looked like they'd win the game in the bottom of the frame as they loaded the bases with only one out. However, Carl Furillo popped to third and Don Zimmer flied to left. Williams got 'em 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, fanning Sherman Lollar. But Los Angeles were retired 1-2-3 themselves by reliever Dick Donovan. Chicago had another shutout, 1-0. The Dodgers won the sixth game in the Windy City, but Williams did not pitch.
The next time the Dodgers made it to the World Series was 1963, and Williams pitched game one. Only, he was pitching against Los Angeles. He'd been traded to the New York Yankees in the offseason for Moose Skowron. Koufax pitched game one, and was awesome. When the game ended, he'd fanned a record (Since broken) 15 batters.
Williams found himself pitching in relief again. Again, in relief of a Hall-Of-Fame lefty. Whitey Ford had started the game. But with New York down 5-0 after 4 1/2, Hector Lopez batted for Ford with the bases loaded. Koufax fanned him to end the threat.
So Williams pitched the top of the sixth for the Bronx Bombers. He had to hold the fort. He sure did. He got his ex-teammates 1-2-3 in the sixth. New York got another two men on in the bottom of the frame, but could not score. Williams allowed a single in the top of the seventh, but fanned three batters without allowing the Dodgers to score. Koufax got New York in order that inning, however. Williams matched that with a 1-2-3 eighth, fanning two more.
Phil Linz batted for Williams and fanned. The Yankees, however, scored twice on a two-run home run by Tom Tresh to make it 5-2. That, however, was the only scoring the mighty Yankees got off Koufax. Williams had pitched three shutout innings, fanned five and given up only one hit. He watched the rest of the series as the Dodgers went on to a sweep.
His next postseason experience was not until 1970. Now on the Minnesota Twins, he pitched another three innings in game one of the ALCS. Another three shutout innings. Williams allowed only two hits. However, the Twins lost to the Baltimore Orioles in this contest, 10-6. The Orioles made it look easy in game two, winning 11-3. Stan pitched another three shutout innings. This time, the Orioles got no hits. It did not matter. The Orioles went on to a sweep with a win in game three. Stan Williams did not pitch in that game.
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