It's almost World Series time, the best time of the year for a baseball fan. Every series produces memorable moments, but for sheer wackiness, nothing compares with 62 years ago.
The 1960 World Series matched Casey Stengel's New York Yankees with Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the series for the first time since being swept by the Murderers Row Yankees in 1927.
The Yankees set numerous records, including runs (55), hits (91), team batting average (.338) and run differential (28), outscoring the Pirates 55-27. If the series had a 10-run mercy rule, the Yankees would have won three games before the ninth inning.
The only thing the Yankees didn't do was win the series.
For some reason, Stengel did not start Ford, his Hall of Fame ace, in the first game at Pittsburgh's old Forbes Field. Pirate manager Danny Murtaugh started Cy Young winner Vern Law, who combined with relief ace Elroy Race for a 6-4 victory, the margin a two-run homer by Bill Mazeroski.
Mantle homered twice and the Yankees had 19 hits in a 16-3 Game 2 victory.
Ford pitched a 10-0 shutout in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium and Bobby Richardson had six RBIs with a grand slam and a bases loaded single.
Law and Face combined for a 3-2 victory to even the series. The Pirates followed with a 5-2 victory as Face retired all eight batters he faced the for the second day in a row.
Ford pitched another shutout and the Yankees resumed their offensive onslaught for a 12-0 victory in the sixth game at Forbes Field, setting up the dramatic Game 7.
Murtaugh made two lineup changes that paid huge dividends. Dick Stuart was the Pirates' only true power hitter. But he was in a series long slump (three for 20 with no extra base hits), so he was replaced at first base by Rocky Nelson. Even though Smokey Burgess was having a good series (six for 20), he was replaced behind the plate by Hall Smith.
Nelson gave the Pirates a quick 2-0 lead with a first inning homer off Bob Turley, the Game 2 winner and series MVP two years earlier. Up 4-0 through four innings with Law on the mound, the Pirates appeared on their way to an easy win. They weren't.
The Yankees scored one run in the fifth on a homer by Bill Skowron and had a run in and two on in the sixth when Face replaced Law seeking his fourth save. Berra, one of the the all time great clutch hitter, greeted Face with a three-run homer to give the Yankees the lead. They added two runs in the eighth for a 7-4 lead.
The bottom of the eighth was the wackiest half inning in the wackiest game in the wackiest series.
Bobby Shantz, the Yankees' diminutive (5-6) veteran southpaw, had pitched five shutout innings, but was undone by a bad bounce.
Gino Cimoli led off with a single pinch hitting for Face. Bill Virden followed with a grounder to short, the proverbial tailor made double play ball. But the ball bounced up, struck Tony Kubek in the neck, and both runners were safe. NL MVP Dick Groat followed with a single, scoring Cimioli.
Jim Coates replaced Shantz and retired the next two batters. Roberto Clemente hit a slow roller between the mound and first that Skowron fielded, but Clemente beat Coates to the base as Virden scored to make it 7-6.
Smith followed with a three-run homer.
Bob Friend won 18 games during the regular season, but was hit hard in the second and sixth games. Murtaught's only mistake was bringing him in for the ninth, hoping he could get three outs. He couldn't. Kubek was hit, Richardson and Mantle singled, cutting the deficit to 9-8 and putting runners at first and third with one out.
Harvey Haddix replaced Friend and Berra hit a sharp one bouncer to Nelson at first. A 3-6-3 double play would have ended the series, but Nelson stepped on first eliminating the force. Mantle had frozen a few feet off first and dove back safely as Richardson scored the tying run.
Ralph Terry took the mound for the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth and Stuart came out to the on deck circle to hit for Haddix. He wasn't needed.
Mazeroski hit the second pitch over the left field wall for the first ever series-ending walk off homer, giving the Pirates their first championship in 35 years.
With a record 12 RBIs, Richardson is the only player from a losing team chosen as series MVP. It was the wrong choice. All but one of his RBIs came in the games the Yankees won, and would have won easily without him.
The MVP should have been Mazeroski with a .320 average (8-25), game winning homers in the first and seventh games and a two-run double in Game 5.
In his 12 years as Yankee manager, Stengel won 10 AL pennants and seven World Series, but he was fired after the series. He resurfaced with the expansion New York Mets two years later, a disastrous epoch that produced 120 losses in 1962 and four straight last place finishes in the National League.
Murtaugh won another seven game series for the Pirates in 1971, and he again bested a Hall of Fame – manager, Earl Weaver.
