S-O-M 1961

  CHI  5, MIL 2                                                   WP-Cardwell (1-0) LP- Spahn (1-1) CIN 7, STL 5                                                    WP-O'Toole (1-1) LP-Sadecki (0-1) SV-Brosnan (1) SFG 13, PHI 1                                                 WP-J ones (1-1) LP-Roberts (0-2)  PIT 7, LAD 3                                                    WP-Law (...

Game 1 of my NYY/KCA doubleheader was just plain ugly, that is, if you call 21 runs, 18 hits and 6 errors ugly. Since one of the teams was Kansas City, let's focus the following paragraph on those "6 errors." Andy Carey was a 2/22 3b in 1961, but somehow the dice told otherwise, as in the e22 column he rolled the same number in error check: 7. Three times. Twice in the 1st, one more time in the 5th. The other 3 boo-boos were made-made by Jerry Lumpe (twice) and Marv Throneberry (thankfully, once). Charlie Finley would've been so mad, he would've left back in Carey's hotel room, plane tickets to Hawaii. Not for R&R, as that was where the A's AAA farm club was in 1961. One-way, probably.  The Yanks sent 13 batters to the plate in the 1st, scoring 8 runs on 7 hits and 2 Carey errors. They would also bat around in the 5th and 7th. Elston Howard's big bat produced 2 homers, including a granny, while Lee Thomas contributed a homer of his own. The fabled ...

  CWS 10, DET 3                              WP- Wynn (1-0) LP-Bunning (1-1) WSH 8, CLE 6                                  WP-Sisler (1-0) LP-Allen (0-1) MIN 5-3, BAL 2-1                             WP1-Kaat (1-0) LP1-Brown (0-1)                                                                WP2-Moore (1-0) LP2-Wilhelm (0-1) Game 2 in 10 innings KCA 4-6, NYY  21-7                        WP1-Terry (1-0) LP1-Larsen (0-1)         ...

CHC 8, MIL 4                                 WP-Hobbie (1-0) LP-Willey (0-1)    Hobbie CG, HR (2)                        CIN 5, STL 1                                  WP- Jay (1-0) LP-Broglio (0-2)          Jay CG 4-hitter                       SFG  9, PHI 1                                 WP-Marichal (1-0) LP-Green (0-1)    Marichal 12  strikeouts LAD 10, PIT 4                               WP- Drysdale (2-0)  LP-Friend (0-2)...

DET 8, CWS 5                     WP-Aguirre (1-0) LP-Pizarro (0-1)      SV-Donohue (1)                                    CLE 12, WSH 8                    WP-Latman (1-0) LP-Kutyna (0-1)     SV-Allen (1)                               MIN 10, BAL 2                       WP- Kralick (1-0) LP-Estrada  (0-1)     Killebrew walked 5 times                                    KCA 5, NYY 0                       ...

My April 14th replay netted 2 gems, a Triple Play (2nd in 1961) and a 5-hit game (3rd in 1961). The TP was turned by Minnesota's Reno Bertoia in the 1st inning against the Orioles. Jackie Brandt led off with a single, then Dick Williams doubled Brandt to 3rd. Up stepped Brooks Robinson and... Now we know why the "Vacuum Cleaner" is the all-time leader in TP's hit into with 4. Bertoia's trifecta happened just after Cincy's Dick Gernert turned his against the Cubs. This was the year of the home run, but 2 TP's in the 1st week...  This has also been the week of the 5-hit game, leading off with KC's Leo Posada on Opening Day and Brooks Robinson's (remember him?) effort the following day. Pittsburgh's Gino Cimoli spearheaded a 17-run/22-hit attack with his 3-single, 2-double effort against the Dodgers and a shell-shocked Sandy Koufax, who departed the wreckage in the 5th. Thing about these 5-hit efforts, a home run has not played a part yet, but the...

  In my latest, but still continuing 1961 replay, the Washington Senators are 3-1. They dropped their opener to the White Sox, 5-3, but have reeled off 3 straight wins. The main reason for that? One bit of strategy that a future manager would employ some 10 years later across the road in Baltimore. For the record, said manager was managing in the Orioles' system in Wisconsin, so if a young Earl Weaver is reading this in Fox Cities, here's the strategy: Three. Run. Homer. Opening day against CWS, Dale Long, 3-run blast in 1st inning. Sens lose, 5-3. 3rd game of season, Gene Woodling, 3-run blast in 3rd inning. Sens win over CWS, 6-2. 4th game of season, Pete Daley, 3-run blast in 6th inning against CLE. Tribe scalped, 6-4 The victims of this 3-run strategy, Early Wynn (Long), Bob Shaw (Woodling) and Mudcat Grant (Daley). Yet, this dependence on homers with 2 runners on base has helped the expansion Sens to a 3-1 mark so far. The dice rolls will eventually come back down to earth...

CHC  5, MIL 1                                     WP-Anderson (2-0) LP-Buhl (0-1)        Williams HR (2nd)                  STL 8, CIN 6                                       WP-McDermott (1-0) LP-Brosnan (0-1) SV-Mc.Dan. (1) PIT 17, LAD 1                                     WP-Gibbon (1-0) Koufax (0-1)     Sandy started this one?                                               SFG 9, PHI 4               ...

  DET 9, CWS 6                 WP-Mossi 1-0 LP-McLish 0-1 SV-Fox 2            Cash batting .538                 WSH 6, CLE 4                  WP-Burnside 1-0 LP-Grant 0-1        Long, Daley homer for Sens  BAL  8, MIN 0                    WP-Fisher 1-0 LP-Stobbs 0-1           Fisher CG, 10 strikeouts                                                                        Only games scheduled  DET 9-12-1 CWS 6-8-1 Tigers scored 8 in 3rd inning, highlighted by Fernandez 3-run homer. Landis...

  Johnny Callison injured himself in the Phils-Dodgers opener, putting himself on the injury list. His replacement, veteran OF Lee Walls, turned out to be very valuable, hitting a league-leading 3 homers, while driving in 6 runs to pace the Phils offense. Callison's injury was a 2-game injury, which means he'll be back in RF against SF, meaning Walls may have to add to his league-leading total via spot starts or pinch-hitting. With Callison exiting the injury list, here's who's currently on it, some brand-names on that list starting with a Yankee: Johnny Blanchard 10 games Duke Snider 7 games Hal Smith (STL) 3 games  Bob Cerv 2 games Dick Groat 2 games Ed Bailey 1 game Gordy Coleman 1 game Wally Moon 1 game. 

  Chicago Cubs 7, Cincinnati 4                          WP-Elston 1-0 LP-Purkey 0-1 SV-Schultz 1 Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 3                                  WP-Burdette 1-0 LP-Gibson 0-1 Pittsburgh 3, San Francisco 1                          WP-Haddix 1-0 LP-Sanford 0-1   LA Dodgers 6, Philadelphia 3                           WP-Craig 1-0 LP-Buzhardt 0-1 CHC 7-11-0 CIN 4-10-3 Cubs score 5 in 8th on four hits, 2 errors, sending 10 men to the plate. Ernie Banks, 3-for-5 with 2 doubles. CIN 1B Dick Gernert turns triple play in 2nd.      MIL 5-6-1 STL 3-8-1 Braves score 5 in 8th off Gibson, Mickey McDermott, key hit a 3-run triple by Charlie Lau. Complete game for Burdette, who struc...

Batting Average- Leo Posada KCA .667 (6-9) Yogi Berra NYY .625 (5-8) Brooks Robinson BAL   .555 (5-9) Runs Scored- Brooks Robinson BAL 4 Home Runs- Jim Gentile BAL 2  RBI- Jim Gentile BAL 5 Stolen Bases-Luis Aparicio CWS 2 Jake Wood DET 2 Doubles- Tony Kubek NYY 2 Pitching Leaders-Strikeouts Bob Turley NYY 9 Steve Barber BAL 8 Juan Pizarro CWS 6

Detroit 6, Cleveland 5 (12)                                           WP-Donohue 1-0 LP-Latman 0-1           Washington 6, CWS 2                                                  WP- McClain 1-0 LP-Shaw 0-1 Minnesota 4, New York 3                                             WP-Pascual 1-0 LP-Turley 0-1 SV-Moore 1 Boston 4, Kansas City 2                                               WP-Fornieles 1-0 LP-Daley 0-1 DET 6-13-1 CLE 5-8-1 Rocky Colavito single scores Bubba Morton with winning run in 12th...