Even the Braves

[petrel]

1963 World Series
October 22, 1963
Game 3

The New York Times, under the top flap of the front page, simply reported, "Giants 18, Yankees 6". The subheader was "Record setting game leaves Yankees reeling".

With the decisive Game 2 win, the oddsmakers noticed a shift in betting. Many bettors were going for the outside "Giants in four straight" bet, and some bookies were having to limit the bets or sell them to bigger bookies.

So, after a day off, Manager Casey Stengel faced a crowd that was, at best, inquisitive, and at worst, hostile.

"You have to remember that this is the Polo Grounds, one of the great baseball stadiums, and it's their last year there. Who wouldn't think that the Giants wouldn't play their best? I'd play that way if it were me.... And frankly, we lost sight of what we were trying to do. Even the best teams, when they get behind, they want to lie down and sleep. You can't lie down and sleep on the New York Giants. After beating them the last two years, they've been dreaming of putting a beating on us like that, and now, their dreams came true."

As for Manager Ralph Houk of the Giants, he preached cautious optimism. "It felt good. Two wins at home felt good, and it has to help, but you have to remember this is the New York Yankees we're playing. They have one of the deepest lineups in baseball, and great pitching. There's only one way to beat a team like that, and that's to play hard, and play hard every day."

For Game 3, Houk chose the #3 Giants starter, Ralph Beard (14-10, 3.92 ERA) to pitch against the Giants in Yankee Stadium. Despite his 14-10 record, Beard had had an ERA of under 4.00 for the last five years and had won a game in the 1962 World Series, the only game the Giants won that year against the Yankees. Houk hoped he could win again and put a lock on the series and give the Giants a 3-0 cushion.

As for Manager Casey Stengel, he would start Ralph Terry (18-5, 2.09 ERA, 115 K). Terry had been overlooked the year before in the powerful Yankees rotation despite an 18-8 record in 1962. However, he held no grudges against his manager. "This is a man who has done everything for me," he said, "and I'd walk through fire for him." Still, he privately hoped that he could show that he could have contributed to the World Series the year before just as much as any other Yankee pitcher. But to do that, he needed a win. "Wins," Terry said, "are Yankee currency. Until you win, you're not a true Yankee."


Ralph Terry, "True Yankee"

(* * *)

Immediately, the Giants had troubles with the umps. In the top of the first, with one out an Carmen Mauro on second, Mauro got the call to take third. The tag by Andy Carey just beat the throw from Gene Oliver by the slimmest of margins. The Yankee fans cheered, but Manager Ralph Houk almost went out to the field to contest the call.

Houk might have wished he had gone out the first time. Carl Yastrzemski doubled to left and was given the call to go for third. This time, the throw was from Bob Skinner to Andy Carey, and Yaz clearly failed to beat the tag. The Giants had two chances to put a man on third; and both times the man was tagged out.

It wasn't as if the umps were merely partial to the Yankees. Leadoff batter Johnny Temple tripled to left off Ralph Beard and Casey gave him the signal -- come on home! The cut-off throw was close, but Umpire Joe Paparella called Temple out at home to the dismay of the Yankee fans.

Jerry Lumpe of the Yankees would be the next person to test the patience of the umps. He singled to left, and while Bob Skinner was at the plate, he sprung for second. This time, Umpire Tony Venzon called Lumpe safe at second. This would be very important for the Yankees, because Roberto Clemente would single to right (and take second as well), scoring the first run for the Yankees. Yankees 1, Giants 0.

The second inning was uneventful.

So was the third.

And the fourth. Aside from Harmon Killebrew grounding into a double play with men on first and third to end the fourth, neither a Yankee nor a Giants got as far as second base. Ralph Terry had given up a pair of walks, and Ralph Beard had given up two singles and a double. After the high offense of Game 2, it looked as if a pitcher's duel might be in the making.

Once again, the Giants would attempt to manufacture runs. Ozzie Virgil doubled in the top of the fifth, and would once against test the ump at third. Umpire Tom Gorman wasn't impressed with the fortitude of the Giants, and once again, his call denied third base to the Giants. Either the Giants were not fast enough, either they couldn't beat the Yankee throws -- or it just wasn't going to be their day.

The Yankees would take advantage of the shift in momentum in the bottom of the fifth. With two out and Andy Cary at first, Jerry Lumpe singled to right, advancing Carey to third. Bob Skinner would then double off Ralph Beard through the right side, as all of the runners would cross the plate and the Yankees would lead by three. Yankees 3, Giants 0.

Ralph Beard of the Giants would have to be sacrificed for a pinch-hitter in the attempt to score some runs. Jack Lamabe (11-2, 2.17 ERA) would give up both a single and a walk in the bottom of the sixth, but the Yankees would not add to their run total.

Up to this point, Ralph Terry had only give up three hits in six innings. Ed Bauta (8-2, 1.45 ERA) came in for the Yankees and held the Giants off the bases in the seventh inning. Lamabe only gave up a single in the bottom of the second, and the Yankees led by three runs with two to go.

The top of the eighth proved no more fortuituous for the Giants than the seventh, as Dick Phillips, Ozzie Virgil and Joey Amalfitano were out in short order. But in the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees lead-off batter, Gene Oliver, would hit his second home run of the series into the right field seats! Yankees 4, Giants 0. Lamabe would hold the Yanks to a single beyond that , but the Giants would have to come up with four runs in the ninth.

It wouldn't happen. Ed Bauta had pitched two perfect innings of relief, and the top of the ninth was another work of wonder. Pinch-hitter Jimmy Hall grounded out and Carmen Mauro followed him for a ground-out. Earl Battey broke Bauta's perfect innings with a walk, but Carl Yastrzemski would ground out to Andy Carey at third, and the Yankees would win their first game of the series.

FINAL SCORE: Yankees 4, Giants 0.

(* * *)

The Yankees had put a sinking feeling in the pits of the stomachs of gamblers everwhere. Bookies just smiled at each other and said, "there wasn't no way nohow the Yanks were going to be swept by the Jints!"

For the Giants, it was a bitter defeat. Smart, clever baserunning had died on the basepaths. But Ralph Beard and Ed Bauta only gave up three hits altogether that day. Even if the Giants had gotten the calls the wanted, some reporters said, the Giants might still not have won. "The Giants forgot about that great Yankee pitching!"

[petrel]

1963 World Series
October 23, 1963
Game 4



The 4-0 shutout of the Giants in Game 3 gave Yankees fans some hope that they could tie the series up. Three games had been played, and the home team had won each time. It looked promising for the Yankees, but they still had to solve the problem of winning at the Polo Grounds.

Both teams moved back to their aces: the Giants hoped to go ahead 3-1; the Yankees needed their ace to tie it. Thus, Whitey Ford (21-8, 3.51 ERA, 178 K) would start Game 4. Ford knew how much of a challenge a Giants win at Yankee Stadium would be. "We haven't won a championship in 30 years," said Ford, "and everyone is counting on us." Little kids all over Manhattan begged their parents to let them stay up and watch Game 4 on CBS with the great Whitey Ford pitching.

As for the Yankees, this move by the Giants almost necessitated the return of Greg Hoover (21-11, 2.92 ERA, 175 K). The loss of Game 1 had reduced his World Series win/loss record to 2-2 and the proud Hoover couldn't have that. He also hated the fact that he wasn't a fan favorite of the Yankees -- despite his success, he was not considered humble enough to be a "true Yankee", he didn't have that mix of undefinable qualities that made a DiMaggio or a Gehrig. He had spoken -- privately -- of getting out of New York when his contract ended in 1964. "If the Yankee fans love you, they love you. If they don't love you, you could win 30 games a year and still never be good enough. But if you win a World Series -- then they're forced to love you. Because Yankees love winners."

(* * *)

The Giants started Game 4 with a bit of embarrassment to Greg Hoover. Hoover got the first two outs, but then game up a solo home run to Carl Yastrzemski that must have travelled at least 420 feet. "That one had wings on it," Russ Hodges, the Giants announcer said from the safety of his booth at Yankee Stadium. "Hoover can't afford to give up the long ball like that." Hoover had given up more home runs this season than Art Quirk and Ralph Terry combined. Giants 1, Yankees 0.

Meanwhile, Whitey Ford pitched an amazing inning in the bottom of the first. He started the inning to strike out Don Buford, then both Johnny Temple and Bob Skinner singled, putting runners on first and third.

But Roberto Clemente was caught looking for Ford's second strikeout. Gene Oliver, perhaps a bit more patient, walked to load the bases, bringing up Frank Thomas -- who was also caught looking at a Whitey Ford fastball. Ford had escaped the first with the bases loaded, but scored all three outs on strikeouts.

Greg Hoover, meanwhile, gave up another home run in the second -- this time to Dick Phillips, who also hit a long shot into left-center to add another Giants run. Giants 2, Yankees 0. If the two solo blasts affected Hoover, he didn't show it. He would strike out Ozzie Virgil and Joey Amalfitano of the Giants would fly out to end the top of the second.

However, Whitey Ford was still on fire. He would only give up a single to Andy Carey in the inning, and he would strike out both Harmon Killebrew and Don Buford. Whitey Ford now had five strikeouts -- and it was only after two innings! Hope sprang in Giants fans that Ford would have a masterful game.

The third inning was uneventful, but Ford struck out Gene Oliver to get his sixth K of the game after just three innings. Ford would then strike out both Frank Thomas and Andy Carey during a suspenseless fourth inning. Ford's strikeout total was eight strikeouts after just four innings, and ten strikeouts looked within reach to Ford.

(* * *)

In the top of the fifth, Ozzie Virgil led off for the Giants with a single, and Joey Amalfitano added a double to left field, scoring another Giants run. Giants 3, Yankees 0. Even though Hoover had given up three runs, he was still pitching very well. It would have been a 1-0 lead if Hoover hadn't given up two solo homeruns.

Whereas for Ford, the bottom of the fifth started out well. Greg Hoover, still in the lineup, started out with a fly out to center. Don Buford then walked, but was caught stealing second for the second out. So far, so good for Ford.

But Johnny Temple hit a double into the right field gap, and then Ford couldn't find the pitch that would get Bob Skinner out. Skinner walked, putting men on first and second. Then, Roberto Clemente worked the count to 3-2 before hitting a hard triple down the right field line. As Frank Robinson ran after the ball, both Temple and Skinker crossed the plate and the gap had been closed to two runs. Giants 3, Yankees 2.

However, Ford still only needed one out. Oliver started with an 0-2 count, but fouled off pitches when he got in trouble. Before Ford knew it, it was ball four and Oliver was standing on first.

Next up was Frank Thomas. It only took Thomas four pitches before he found the pitch he liked, which ended up somewhere in the Yankee bleachers in left field. Thomas had just hit a home run for 3 RBIs and erased the Giants lead. Yankees 5, Giants 3.

Bo Belinsky (4-1, 4.86 ERA) was called in to get the final out for the Giants. But he could do no better. Harmon Killebrew walked, and both Andy Carey and Greg Hoover (now in his second appearance in the inning) both hit singles to load the bases. Only Don Buford's strikeout saved the Giants from more damage.

In the top of the sixth, it didn't get better for the Giants. Carl Yastrzemski led off with a walk against Hoover, but when Roberto Clemente caught a "frozen rope" hard hit to right field, Yaz had to turn hard on his heels to make it back to first -- and he didn't make it on time. Then Frank Robinson struck out and the Giants rally was over.

In the latter innings of the game, the Giants didn't seem to find their ground. The Giants couldn't get a hit off Hoover in the seventh. Ed Bauta (8-2, 1.45 ERA) came in to set up McMahon at the top of the eighth, and only gave up a walk to Earl Battey. Claude Raymond (8-3, 4.50 ERA) would pitch the bottom of the eighth and give up a couple of hits to the Yankees, but the score would remain 5-3 in the Yankees favor going into the ninth.

In the top of the ninth, Don McMahon (5-3, 3.29 ERA, 29 saves) made his first appearance of the series for the Yankees. Bob Johnson would fly out to center, but Frank Robinson would walk and the tying run would be at the plate for the Giants.

Dick Phillips flew out to left field for the second out, and Manager Ralph Houk, looking for offense, sent in pinch-hitter Jimmie Hall to substitute for shortstop Ozzie Virgil at the plate. But Jimmie Hall would harmlessly pop up to shortstop Johnny Temple, and the Yankees walked away with the win.

FINAL SCORE: Yankees 5, Giants 3.

(* * *)

After being counted out by the press, the Yankees had evened the series. Manager Casey Stengel said, "This one is tougher. The Giants have hitting, have pitching, they have it all. I'm hoping we can win tomorrow's game and then win again at the Polo Grounds. We've won there before, we just have to get over the hill. I tell my players that if they win, they get to go home. It's been a long season."

As for the Giants, they knew that another loss to the Yankees could emotionally put them on the ropes. But they also knew that with the series becoming a best-of-three affair, that the final game of the World Series would definitely be played in the Polo Grounds. They had played 83 games including World Series games in 1963 at the Polo Grounds, and they were 68-15 on the year there. Even without the benefit of their success, the opportunity to win the Series at the Polo Grounds had many a Giants fan's heart atwitter.

[petrel]

1963 World Series
Game 5
October 24, 1963


Press pin for visiting media in Games 3, 4, and 5 at Yankee Stadium.

The World Series had closed to a best-of-three situation, with each team needing only two games to win the championship. This made Game 5 the critical game -- the loser of Game 5 would have to win two straight games afterwards to become World's Champion, and the Yankees wanted to avoid having to take on the Giants at home in must-win situations.

The visiting Giants would start John Fitzgerald (22-7, 3.02 ERA) again. Fitzgerald was the nominal winner of Game 2, but the true winner was the Giants offense, which scored 18 runs. Fitzgerald's ERA over the innings he pitched was 4.09, as as the Giants had scored a grand total of three runs over the last two games, he knew he couldn't let the Yankees get on base. He suspected that this was going to be yet another pitcher's duel, and he knew he wasn't an overpowering pitcher, working more with finesse than anything else. Furthermore, he felt a bit challenged now that the Yankees were expecting the Eephus to be thrown.

As for the Yankees, Art Quirk (26-4, 1.50 ERA) would start -- it would be a replay of Game 2, this time at Yankee Stadium. Quirk had lasted only 1 2/3 innings in his first outing, with only 42 pitches thrown, giving up 7 hits, 7 runs, and 4 earned runs. Quirk doubted he'd get a chance to start another World Series game; he knew he only had one chance to make up for that terrible first outing. "For me," he would say later, "Game 5 was really Game 7."

(* * *)

To John Fitzgerald, it seemed that he was right about the game being a pitcher's duel. He used the Eephus very sparingly -- throught the game the pitch was only seen a handful of times. The first and the second innings passed without much notice.

By the end of the third inning, the score was still 0-0. The Yankees had a couple of hits, and none of the New York Giants had even reached base. But in the top of the fourth, lead-off batter became the first Giant to reach base on Quirk, walking. One out later, Carl Yastrzemski would double down the first base line and the fast Mauro would run home all the way from first base for the first Giants run. Giants 1, Yankees 0. Bob Johnson and Frank Robinson would both fly out to Frank Thomas in center field, and Yaz would remain on second.

The Yankees would answer back in the bottom of the fourth. Bob Skinner led off for the Yankees, and Skinner took Fitzgerald's second pitch deep into left center field. Giants 1, Yankees 1.

Roberto Clemente would double after the home run to put another threat on base for the Yankees. Both Gene Oliver and Frank Thomas would ground out, but Clemente would advance to second, then to third on the groundouts. With two outs, Harmon Killebrew would then single down the third base line, scoring another run for the home team. Yankees 2, Giants 1.

Manager Ralph Houk knew that the Giants would need to manufacture runs any way they could. But he still had faith in Fitzgerald, and with two out in the top of the fifth and Joey Amalfitano at second, he kept Fitzgerald in the lineup. Fitzgerald flied out to Clemente in right, and a possible run was snuffed out for the Giants.

At the end of five innings, the Yankees maintained their slim 2-1 lead. Quirk was still on the mound for the Yankees at the top of the sixth, and it would really be a "Game 7" moment for Quirk. With his first two batters, Quirk had given up a single and a walk -- but two of the Giants had also grounded and popped out. Frank Robinson of the Giants then singled to left, and the bases were now loaded with Giants and two out.

Jimmie Hall was called in to pinch-hit for Dick Phillips, the Giants first baseman. Almost before Quirk knew it, the umpire had called "ball four!" and the tying run came in for the Giants. Giants 2, Yankees 2.

The next scheduled batter was Ozzie Virgil, the third baseman. Yet instead of Virgil, Manager Ralph Houk substituted pinch-hitting outfielder Rip Repulski. If Repulski got on, it could be the start of a big inning for the Giants.

But Repulski grounded to short on the second pitch that Quirk threw. Quirk had escaped the inning, but both teams were now tied 2-2.

(* * *)

Now it was time for John Fitzgerald's test. Andre Rodgers would have to substitute for Rip Repulski at third base. ("I hadn't played the infield since my sandlot days!" said Repulski, years later.) Fitzgerald found himself in the same situation as Quirk: Fitzgerald had given up singles to Roberto Clemente and Frank Thomas, but had gotten the other two Yankees out.

Andy Carey of the Yankees would punch a single through the left side to load the bases, bringing up Art Quirk in the batting order. Manager Casey Stengel switched Quirk out for Ralph Kiner, he of the 605 lifetime home runs. As a World-Series pinch hitter, Kiner was 3 for 10. But Kiner would harmlessly ground to second, and Fitzgerald would escape the sixth inning.

With the top of the seventh, Bill Kunkel (9-2, 1.67 ERA) would substitute for Quirk, who would get a no-decision. After getting the first two outs, Kunkel gave up singles to both Carmen Mauro and Earl Battey, bringing up Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz would ground to second, and Kunkel had held the Giants off.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ralph Houk would counter with Jack Lamabe (11-2, 2.17 ERA, 6 saves). Lamabe, however, got into trouble early. Don Buford led off with a single to first past Jimmie Hall. The next batter was Johnny Temple, who got his first hit of the ninth, a double, scoring Buford from first and putting the Yankees in the lead. Yankees 3, Giants 2.

Bob Skinner would be Lamabe's first out. But Roberto Clemente would get a base hit, a double that scored Johnny Temple from second. And Gene Oliver would follow up with another double, scoring Clemente and putting the Yankees ahead by three runs. Yankees 5, Giants 2. Mercifully for Lamabe, both Frank Thomas and Harmon Killebrew would fly out to end the inning.

The Giants could put nothing together in the top of the eighth. Bob Johnson walked, but Frank Robinson ended the inning on a 1-4-3 double play. Claude Raymond would come in to pitch for the Giants, and hold off Andy Carey, pinch-hitter Preston Ward, and Don Buford to end the eighth inning and give the Giants one more chance in the ninth.

In the top of the ninth, Don McMahon (5-3, 3.29 ERA, 29 saves) would pitch for the Yankees. McMahon had not give up a run in World Series competition in 1960, 1961 or 1962. He got the first two outs, but pinch-hitter Whitey Lockman singled up the middle, giving the Giants some faint hope. Carmen Mauro, however, would fly out to deep right, Clemente would be under the ball, and the Yankees would sweep the Giants at home.

FINAL SCORE: Yankees 5, Giants 2

(* * *)

For the Giants, it was a tough loss to take. They had gone into Yankee Stadium with a 2-0 lead, and left it behind 3-2. During their stay in the Bronx, they had scored a grand total of five runs in three games.

"Winning a World Series isn't easy," Manager Ralph Houk reminded his players. "You don't sweep teams like the Yankees. You have to fight them, punch them for every win you get."

The Yankee fans, however, were feeling great. "Momentum is on our side," they whispered to each other. There was one thing that the Yankees weren't whispering to each other: namely, that the Giants were finished and that the Yankees winning one of the two games at the Polo Grounds was some foreordained conclusion. "If we can win Game 6 or Game 7," said Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry, "no one could say that we didn't have competition, or that we didn't deserve to be champions!"

[petrel]

1963 World Series
Game 6
October 26, 1963
Part I

The World Series returned to the Polo Grounds for its last two (scheduled) games. The Yankees had a 3-2 lead in the Series, but both losses had taken place at the Polo Grounds.

All throughout, the Giants fans knew that these would be the last pro baseball games ever played in the Polo Grounds, and they were desperate for the Giants to leave their old stadium as champions.

Roger Angell had this to say about the Polo Grounds:

The Polo Grounds, which is in the last few months of its disreputable life, is a vast assemblage of front stoops and rusty fire escapes. ...Old-timers know and love every comer of the crazy, crowded, proud old neighborhood: the last-row walkup flats in the outermost lower grandstands, where one must peer through girders and pigeon nests for a glimpse of green; the little protruding step at the foot of each aisle in the upper deck that trips up the unwary beer-balancer on his way back to his seat; the outfield bull pens, each with its slanting shanty roof, beneath which the relief pitchers sit motionless, with their arms folded and their legs extended, like so many park bums; and the good box seats just on the curve of the upper deck in short right and short left-front windows on the street, where one can watch the arching fall of a weak fly ball and know in advance, like one who sees a street accident in the making, that it will collide with that ridiculous, dangerous upper tier for another home run.

According to Angell, most fans would remember the Polo Grounds as a hot, noisy, claustrophic place when it was filled to capacity, and given the choice between an old stadium and a new one, would choose the new one. "But, you know, we sure were happy in those days."

(* * *)

Game 6 would see the return of Ralph Terry (18-5, 2.09 ERA, 115 K) as Yankees pitchers, and his first appearance at the Polo Grounds ever. "It was like a cavern, and I almost hated it on site. I turned to Gene Oliver and I said, 'let's win this game and get the **** out of here'. Gene said, 'Ralph, you do your part and I'll do mine!'"

For the Giants, it would be Game 3 losing pitcher Ralph Beard (14-10, 3.92 ERA). Beard had actually been born Ralph William, but changed his name to Ralph Beard. He had thought of changing it back to William after the other Ralph Beard -- the University of Kentucky basketball star -- was banned from all professional sports as part of a point shaving scandal. But he kept the name, and he hoped that "someday, the basketball Ralph Beard will be known as 'the other Ralph Beard' and I'll be known as the one people mention first."

(* * *)

As Beard took the mound for the Giants, he almost found himself in trouble that first inning. He gave up singles to Johnny Temple and Bob Skinner, putting men on first and second. Temple would make it to third on a ground out by Roberto Clemente, but Gene Oliver would fly out to right.

But when Ralph Terry took the mound, his trouble started early. With two out and Earl Battey on first with a walk, Bob Johnson of the Giants hit Terry's first pitch over the right field screen for the first score of the game. Giants 2, Yankees 0. Terry would give up another hit before ending the inning, but the Yankees were automatically put in the role of playing comeback baseball.

The second inning was uneventful. Beard gave up a single and a walk, and as for Terry, he gave up a single to Ozzie Virgil, and Virgil was caught stealing second to end the inning.

In the third, the Yankees set the groundwork for a comeback. Beard would only give up one hit to the Yankees in the third -- a solo homerun to Roberto Clemente that landed in the left field bleachers and cut the Giants' knife-edge thin margin to one run. Giants 2, Yankees 1. The Giants, however, squelched that hope almost immediately. Carmen Mauro started the third with a single to second, and two batters later, Carl Yastrzemski hit a hard triple down the right field line, restoring the run that the Giants had lost to Clemente. Giants 3, Yankees 1.

Bob Johnson of the Giants followed with a triple on an 0-2 pitch count that brought another run across the plate. Giants 4, Yankees 1. With Johnson still on third, Ralph Terry would strike out Frank Robinson, but he would give up a single to Dick Phillips that brought the next run in for the home team. Giants 5, Yankees 1.

Manager Casey Stengel had seen enough. One walk to the mound and Terry had been yanked after just 2 2/3 innings. Very quietly, without speaking to any of his teammates, Terry walked back to the clubhouse and reluctantly listened to the radio. "There was no place to escape it."

Ray Sadecki (2-3, 3.18 ERA) was called up to the mound. Ozzie Virgil would add a single, but Joey Amalfitano would ground out to the third baseman. The Yankees had given up 3 runs on 5 hits and now were down 5-1.

Aside from Ralph Beard reaching second on a fielding error by Frank Thomas, the fourth inning was uneventful. In the bottom of the fifth, Ed Rakow (5-0, 2.71 ERA) came to substitute for Sadeki. It looked as if the Giants would add some runs to their lead, as Bob Johnson would single to start the bottom of the fifth and Frank Robinson would double to right, putting runners on second and third with no one out. But Dick Phillips would fly out to shallow left, Ozzie Virgil would strike out and Joey Amalfitano would finish the fifth with a harmless pop up to Jerry Lumpe at second base.

In the sixth inning -- everything changed. With Ralph Beard still on the mound Roberto Clemente doubled into the right field gap to start the top of the sixth. Up next was Gene Oliver, who singled to center to put men on first and third with no outs and Frank Thomas at bat.

Thomas sent Beard's second pitch -- "a short, sweet fastball" -- over the left field fence at the Polo Grounds and into the bleachers. Giants 5, Yankees 4.

Manager Ralph Houk, having seen Beard give up three hits in three batters, walked to the mound and sent Ralph Beard to that long, long walk to the center field clubhouse. Replacing him would be Jack Lamabe, "The Old Tomato" (11-2, 2.17 ERA) who would face Harmon Killebrew as his first batter.

"Killer was like a pitching machine, but for hittters," said Lamabe years later. "He could put the fear of God into any batter, and the Yanks were so good he batted seventh. He laid off a curve for a ball, and then my next fastball ended up right in his wheelhouse. I knew it was gone before it even reached him."

Killebrew would homer over the left field fence and tie the game. Yankees 5, Giants 5. Jack Lamabe recovered from the homerun. He would then go on to strike out Andy Carey, pinch-hitter Preston Ward (pinch-hitting for Ed Rakow) and Johnny Temple would be caught holding the bat for strike three. Lamabe had gotten out of the sixth with three straight strikeouts.

Bill Kunkel (9-2, 1.67 ERA) would finish off the sixth for the Yankees, giving up only one hit. The Giants would bring up Bo Belinsky (4-1, 4.86 ERA) and he would close off his part of the seventh.

The Giants came up in the bottom of the seventh with Kunkel on the mound. With one out, Johnny Temple lost his grip on a pop fly which fell right out his glove, putting Frank Robinson at first on the error. After Dick Phillips hit a fly ball for the second out, Ozzie Virgil singled down the first base line. Virgil held up at first while Robinson raced to third, and all the Giants needed was a single to take the lead. Manager Ralph Houk replaced Joey Amalfitano with Jimmie Hall as a pinch-hitter, but Hall would pop up to second and unlike Temple, Jerry Lumpe would not lose the ball. It was the third out, and the game was tied 5-5 after seven.

(* * *)

Andre Rogers came in to play second for the Giants. Bo Belinsky would strike out Gene Oliver and Frank Thomas, and walk Harmon Killebrew before Andy Carey popped up to end the top of the eighth.

Ed Bauta (8-2, 1.45 ERA, 5 saves) would pitch the bottom of the eighth for the Yankees. Whitey Lockman pinch-hit for Bo Belinsky to lead off for the Giants and put on a show of his own. First, he drew four balls to make it to first on a walk. Then, with no one out, Lockman took off for second and beat Gene Oliver's throw.

Carmen Mauro grounded to first for the first out and Lockman raced to third base. The Yankees brought the infield in to make the play at the plate if they had to. Earl Battey was the next batter, and he hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Jerry Lumpe. Lockman took off with the crack of the bat, and Lumpe rifled the throw to Oliver at the plate.

Lockman tried to slide in under the tag -- but Oliver nailed Lockman and killed the run as Yankees fans roared. Carl Yastrzemski would then fly out and the Giants chance to take the lead was over.

Claude Raymond (8-3, 4.50 ERA, 29 saves), the Giants closer, was called in to choke off the Yankees from scoring a run in the ninth. Raymond did his job, giving up only a walk to Jerry Lumpe as Bob Skinner flied out to left to end the top of the ninth.

Manager Casey Stengel brought in Don McMahon (5-3, 3.29 ERA, 23 saves). McMahon hadn't given up an earned run since September 17th against the Blues. Bob Johnson, Frank Robinson, and Dick Phillips would hit long, tantalizing fly balls but none of them would leave the Polo Grounds. After nine innings, the score was tied: Yankees 5, Giants 5.

[petrel]

1963 World Series
October 26, 1963
Game 6
Part II

(* * *)

As the game approached midnight, Raymond kept the Yankees off the bases in the top of the 10th, only giving up a walk in two innings pitched. Whereas in the bottom of the 10th, Ozzie Virgil singled up the middle for a base hits. Andre Rogers would strike out, and this would bring Claude Raymond up to the plate.

Rather than pull Raymond for a pinch-hitter from his depleted bench, Manager Ralph Houk sent Raymond up to bat. Raymond had had a grand total of three plate appearances as a batter -- earning a walk and bunting for a base hit two times.

Raymond would lay down a sacrifice bunt to Killebrew at first. This time, Raymond would not beat the throw and be out at first, but Virgil would be at second with two men out.

Then, a rare wild pitch from McMahon sailed over Gene Olivers head and Virgil raced to third. Facing Carmen Mauro with two out, McMahon kept his remarkable series streak alive as Mauro would pop up in foul terrtior, and the Giants remained tied after ten innings.

In the top of the 11th, Leo Salazar (9-1, 4.64 ERA) would come to pitch the inning for the Giants. The Yankees borrowed a page out of Ralph Houk's book. After Harmon Killebrew struck out, Andy Carey singled to right and Don McMahon would take his position in the batter's box. He also had only three plate appearances in 1963, and also had bunted twice for base hits.

McMahon bunted to third, and Ozzie Virgil would be forced to make the play to first, moving Carey to second. But there would be no wild pitch by Salazar, and Johnny Temple would fly out to center.

In the bottom of the 11th, Dave Giusti (3-0, 2.79 ERA) would come to bat. In his last appearance, he had given up 4 hits in just 2/3 of an inning. He would start the 11th by plinking Earl Battey with the ball and Battey would take first. Carl Yastrzemski would ground into the double play, and Bob Johnson would line out to end the 11th.

Salazar, still pitching for the Giants in the top of the 12th, would give Giants fans a scare. With two out, Gene Oliver would walk to put runners on first and second. But Salazar would strike out Frank Thomas to end the top of the 12th, and Houk was assured that Salazar still had the endurance to take the game further.

The bottom of the 12th was a disappointment. Frank Robinson grounded to second, and Giusti walked Dick Phillips, but Ozzie Virgil grounded into a double play to end the 12th inning.

(* * *)

As the game went into the 13th, with it after 1 am on the East Coast, both teams were exhausted. Leo Salazar would remain in for the Giants, and face Killebrew, Carey and Dave Giusti at the top of the 13th.

Harmon Killebrew struck out to begin the inning. The former 1962 Rookie of the Year remembered the pitch he threw -- a knuckleball.

"I was trying to save my strength when I threw him the knuckler. I hadn't used it much in the game, and I felt I should have used it a bit more." Carey hit Salazar's knucker right down the left field line, just barely fair. The ball rolled all the way to the 279 foot marker in left field and Carl Yastrzemski raced after it, his hat flying off. By the time he brought the ball to heel, Andy Carey was standing on third.

With one out, Manager Casey Stengel sent Dave Giusti to the plate. Giusti had been 1 for 4, with a double, but no successful bunt attempts during 1963.

"Watch my signs," Casey told Guisti as he took the plate. The Giants brought the infield in, not knowing whether Giusti would get the call to bunt or swing away.

Giusti bunted, a perfect sacrifice bunt in the dead zone between third, the pitcher's mound, and the catcher. Ozzie Virgil barely beat colliding with Salazar and made the only throw he could, to first, to get Giusti out. Johnny Temple would fly out to right to end the top of the 13th, but the damage was done. Yankees 6, Giants 5.

(* * *)

The entire season of the New York Giants came down to what happened in the bottom of the 13th inning. It was past 1 am and it seemed that no one had left the stadium. The fans were on their feet, cheering for the Giants to make something happen.

First up was Andre Rogers, a defensive replacement that had hit .222 in 9 AB all year. He would get good contact on Giusti's pitch, but it would end up in right field, and Clemente would catch the ball for the first out.

The question was who would pinch-hit for Leo Salazar. Manager Ralph Houk had two choices -- Rip Repulski, who was 35 and 2 for 5 on the year, or backup catcher Tom Gastall, an acquistion from the Athletics who had played as a regular before he was released and the Giants picked him up in time for the pennant drive.

Houk chose Gastall. Gastall would fly out to center, and the Giants had only one out left.

Carmen Mauro, the lead off batter, worked a 2-2 count by Giusti up to a ball three and ball four, and took his base, putting the tying run at first. The next batter was Earl Battey. Battey had been 2 for 5, with a walk and a hit by pitch.

Earl Battey took the first two pitches for balls before finding the one he wanted. He hit a base hit to right, and as Clemente made the throw to second to cut off Battey, Mauro had raced to third. One more hit and the Giants would either tie, or win!.

The next batter was Carl Yastrzemski. He had a .350 batting average, 43 home runs and was third in the NL with RBIs at 147. "He was the very last guy I wanted to face -- but at the same time, I felt good, because when do you ever get a chance like this?" he said.

Yaz took the first pitch for a called strike. Giusti's next pitch was an outside fastball, and Yaz took a hack at it.

The ball sailed into left field. It seemed to stay in mid-air forever, but Bob Skinner was under it. He grabbed it, and the dreams of the New York Giants...were over.

FINAL SCORE: Yankees 6, Giants 5 (13).

The New York Yankees are 1963 World Champions!!

(* * *)

It was 1:24 am when the final out of the game was made. By that time, most of the younger Giants fans were in bed. They would wake up to a very, very unhappy off-season.

"WE CONGRATULATE THE NEW YORK YANKEES AND THANK OUR GIANTS FANS FOR THEIR SUPPORT DURING THE 1963 SEASON. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE WITH US NEXT YEAR AT OUR NEW STADIUM, GIANTS STADIUM, FOR THE OPENING DAY OF THE 1964 SEASON. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE."

As the Giants fans had to deal with the bitter taste of defeat, one fan pulled out a trumpet and began to play "Taps", the moving funeral song for fallen soldiers. It seemed quite fitting.

As for the Yankees, Yogi Berra said "This one was sweeter than ever! I felt we really had to fight for that one!!" Yogi, now reduced to a back-up catcher, said that he didn't regret the good fortune of Gene Oliver, who hit .304 in the series with two home runs and five RBIs who was named MVP. Yogi, now 37, said "Sometimes you need a young fella behind the plate. We've always had great catchers on this club, and Oliver is the real meal ticket."

Even Casey Stengel had some kind words to say, "I just got a thrill in these old bones watching those old fellas bring it home. I'm 73 now, and I'd rather be out here than in a rocking chair or tilling corn in Missouri. These guys make me so young I forget myself!"

For Ralph Houk, the loss -- the third straight loss of the Giants to the Yankees -- was a bitter feat. "Giants fans deserve better than this," he said. "I don't know what to tell them. It's like a rock in your heart. Every one on this team feels the same way. All I know is you can't ever give up. You have to keep trying, and maybe since we couldn't close out the Polo Grounds for a championship, we'll ring in Giants Stadium with a World Series."

New York mounted police were ready for any sort of overly raucous celebration in the wee hours of Monday morning by Giants fans, who might seek to tear the stadium apart for souveniers. But instead, the Giants fans filed out quietly, almost reverently. "It was a funeral," said the Giants. "A funeral for the Polo Grounds. And the mother****ing Yankees were the goddamned pallbearers!"


"Memories...like the corners of my mind...."


"...misty water-colored memories...of the way we were...."

[petrel]

Late October 1963

With the Yankees wrapping up their fourth consecutive World Championship -- winning four straight World Championships and possibly entering the hearts of fans as The Greatest Yankees of All Times, the big news occurred just one day after the World Series when the Yankees twisted the knife one final time in the hearts of the Giants.

The next day, October 27th, 1963, Ralph Houk resigned as manager of the New York Giants. In three seasons as a manager, he had won the National League Pennant each year.

On October 28th, 1963, Ralph Houk found a new job -- as General Manager of that very same team that had beaten him, the hated New York Yankees. Roy Hamey had resigned as GM, and the Yankees snapped up Houk almost immediately, who really wanted to be back with the Yankees.

Giants fans screamed at the top of their lungs all over Manhattan. "TRAITOR!!" was the word of the day among Giants fans in the five boroughs of New York. But most of the acrimony was directed toward the hated New York Yankees, who really and truly had everything: they had the championships, they had the honors and awards, they had the players, they had Stengel, and now they had Houk who would probably replace Stengel as manager of the Yankees whenever he retired.

There was nothing left for the Giants to do but bemoan their fate. They had a new stadium, but nothing to fill it with, and now, not even a manager. As for the Yankees fans, this gave them one more reason to be smug and self-satisfied.

Frankly, in Boston, we were very happy for Ralph Houk. Anything to get him over to the other league. Now, maybe, the Braves had an improved chance of winning the pennant in 1964.

(* * *)

And now, the league leaders of 1963:

American League

Home Run Leader: Mickey Mantle, Red Sox, 50
Batting Title: Roberto Clemente, Yankees, .356
Runs Batted In Leader: Roberto Clemente, Yankees, 169
Stolen Base Leader: Luis Aparicio, Angels, 25

Earned Run Average Leader: Art Quirk, Yankees, 1.50
Strikeouts Leader: Todd Cotter, White Sox, 234
Win Leader Art Quirk, Yankees, 26
Save Leader: Webbo Clarke, Senators, 26

Some extra facts:
1. Clemente only had 36 HR, far away from the third jewel of a Triple Crown
2. Aparicio has been a league leader in stolen bases for five of the last seven years he's played. His 231 stolen bases are second among active players.
3. Quirk only had 98 strikeouts.

National League:

Home Run Leader: Frank Robinson, Giants, 46
Batting Title: Bob Johnson, Giants, .359
Runs Batted In Leader: Frank Robinson, Giants, 162
Stolen Base Leader: Lou Brock, Reds, 43

Earned Run Average Leader: Bill Monbouquette, Phillies, 2.43
Strikeouts Leader: Joel Cataldo, Orioles, 263
Win Leader John Fitzgerald, Giants, 22
Save Leader: Kevin Trevenot, Dodgers, 30

Facts:
1. Robinson finished with a .324 average, good for fifth in the National League
2. Brock leads baseball in stolen bases as a rookie with the Reds. Can't wait to see what he does with a few years under his belt.

(* * *)

With all of that in mind, we went into contract negotiations. Due to the Giants domination and the Braves swoon, we traded most of the players up for contract consideration in January. That only left a few.

Manny Mota wanted $1.35 million dollars, and upon retrospect, we felt it was a fair offer. So we submitted $1.050 million to the arbitrator. I'm happy to say that we won the offer.

Outfielder Jose Tartabull wanted $500,000 for two years. Since he had never played much, we offered him $350,000. His agent didn't like that, and raised the cost to $650,000. So we said "the **** with it" and let him go.

Don Mossi asked for $3.9 million but we felt the free agent market would bring that price down. somewhere closer to his previous $2.45 million. And he's 35 years old to boot. We decided to take the risk that Mossi would be signed elsewhere.

Jerry Stephenson has a lot of potential, with his first good Rookie-League year in 1963. But it would cost us $100,000 to keep him, and we agreed to that. He's an expensive "bonus baby" though!

(* * *)

Now the award winners:

American League:

Cy Young Award: Art Quirk, Yankees.

Quirk was 26-4 on the year with a 1.50 ERA, far and away the best ERA in baseball, 0.59 ahead of his closest competitor, teammate Ralph Terry. When Rookie of the Year Jim Proctor won one in 1959, he won another three years later. And this is only Quirk's second year!

Most Valuable Player: Roberto Clemente, Yankees.

Clemente won two jewels of the Triple Crown, is ridiculously popular in New York, and becomes the first Latino player ever to win the MVP.

Rookie of the Year: Dave Ricketts, Senators

Not very many good ROY candidates. Ricketts went .275 with a .310 ops and 10 home runs in 126 games.

National League

Cy Young Award:: John Fitzgerald, Giants

Quirk's counterpart in the Nationl League won 22 games and had a 3.02 ERA in his first full year as a starter. Bill Monbouquette should have been a candidate, but nothing helps like being on a pennant winner in the biggest city in America.

Most Valuable Player: Carl Yastrzemski, Giants

.350 BA, .468 OBP, .653 OPS. All-Star Appearance. Gold Glove Award. The Dodgers must be kicking themselves -- they had a chance to keep him. We didn't.

Rookie of the Year: Jimmie Hall, Giants

Their fourth outfielder: how do you break into a lineup of Yaz and Frank Robinson? You do what you can, and besides -- when a 26 year old wins ROY, you know there isn't much of a crop. .238 AVG and .321 OBP -- he couldn't play for the Braves, that's for sure!

And finally, the Gold Glove Winners:

American League

P: Claude Osteen, Seals (1)
C: Charlie Lau, Tigers (2)
1b: Frank Torre, Red Sox (1)
2b: Frank Bolling, Tigers (1)
3b: Pat MacGillegowie, Seals (1)
ss: Dick Howser, Blues (1)
OF: Glen Gorbous, White Sox (1)
OF: Johnny Blanchard, Blues (1)
OF: Mickey Mantle, Red Sox (5)

National League:

P: Cal Hogue, Cubs (1)
C: Danny Kravitz, Orioles (1)
1b: Bill Skowron, Cubs (2)
2b: Charlie Neal, Cardinals (1)
3b: Felix Torres, Cubs (2)
ss: Jack Kubiszyn, Brewers (1)
OF: Gary Geiger, Phillies (3)
OF: Carl Yastrzemski, Giants (3)
OF: Howie Goss, Reds (1)

For the first time in quite some time, not a single member of the Boston Braves was a major award winner. I find that very sad.

(* * *)

Ted Kluszewski, a first baseman for the Reds, Blues, Indians, Angels, Dodgers, and Pirates, retired at age 39. He racked up a .294 lifetime average and 386 lifetime home runs, good for 13th on baseball's all-time homeruns list. "Big Klu" would go to the All-Star Game five times and win three Gold Glover, the last in 1960. He had 653 lifetime walks and 521 lifetime strikeouts, making him one of the few players who walked more often than struck out.


Ted, in his last year.

He was known for his distinctive sleeveless look, as he cut the sleeves off his uniforms in 1948, because the sleeves were interfering with his swing. He had huge biceps, leading someone to say that he wasn't signed -- he was trapped.

Even though many times injuries left him unable to play a full season, he was one of the most feared hitters in baseball. Oddly enough, he recommended against young players lifting weights, as he had tried lifting weights when young but found that the mass they added to his body impaired his swing.

Bob Kelly, a pitcher for the Cubs, Dodgers, Braves and Orioles, retired at age 36. He finished with a 141-111 record and 3.39 lifetime ERA. Acquired from Brooklyn in 1956, he would be a vital part of the 1956 and 1957 Boston Braves World Championship teams. From 1956 to 1958, he was a three-time All-Star.
Bob Friend, an All-Star starting pitcher for seven straight years, from 1953 to 1959, retired at age 33. Friend would play for the Pirates, Yankees and Angels in a 13-season carrer, and finish with a 146-98 record and 3.25 lifetime ERA, with 1064 career strikeouts. He would win a Cy Young Award with the American League Champion New York Yankees in 1956.
George "Bo" Strickland, a shortstop for the Pirates, Indians, Tigers and Yankees, retired at age 37. He has been the Yankees full-time shortstop from 1955 to 1960, and an ankle injury took Strickland out of baseball this year. He would be on the 1960 through 1962 World Series rosters of the champion Yankees and go to All-Star Games in 1954 for the Indians and 1959 for the Yankees.

Don Ferrarese retired at age 34. He spent nine seasons in the major leagues, all with the Blues and the Angels. As a relief pitcher, he finished with a 34-46 record and a lifetime 4.52 ERA. He was an All-Star for the Blues in 1957.
Mel Clark, a part time right fielder for the Phillies, Reds, Pirates, Orioles and Tigers, retired at age 36 after thirteen seasons in the majors.
Al Smith, a right fielder for the Indians and the Athletics, retired at age 36. Playing for some of the worst teams in baseball, he retired with a .286 lifetime average, a .373 OPS and 102 lifetime home runs.

[petrel]

November 1963

As the free agent season started, baseball was shocked by a trade from the lowly Cleveland Indians:

Trades
to Senators: Jim Piersall (2b)
to Indians: Jim King (RF), Billy Hunter (SS), Gene Fodge (SP)

None of the Indians players acquired will probably ever see a Cleveland Indians uniform. The reason for this trade was sheer spite. Cleveland felt very embarrassed by Piersall's stunt of running the bases backwards, particularly when Commissioner Frick was visiting. Frick had some harsh words for William Daley, the Indians owner, and I suppose Daley felt pressured to trade Piersall.

(* * *)

A list of the top free agents in baseball:

Position Players:

1. Bill Mazeroski, 2b, $10.4 M/5 years -- he had his best hitting season ever last year as a Chicago Cub -- and now he wants twice his old salary. Is he worth it? --the Orioles are at least interested.
2. Donn Clendenon, 1b, $8.4 M/5 years -- in his first full season since 1958, he hit 35 home runs. Clendenon is very, very overpriced.
3. Norm Cash, 1b, $7.9 M/5 years -- a very good first baseman with more walks than strikeouts. Worth the money.
4. Danny Kravitz, C, $5.9 M/4 years -- good skills behind the plate and a decent OBP. Kravitz is working out a 4-year deal with the Dodgers.
5. Ken Hunt, CF, $5.8 M/5 years -- hit 26 home runs last year, but doesn't get on base like an outfielder should.
6. Ray Shearer, LF, $5.7 M/3 years -- utility outfielder plays a good season, has one good year, wants a ton of cash -- and he's 34!
7. Steve Diaz, LF, $5.6 M/2 years -- he hits home runs. That's it. He is a one-tool player, and that's it. Can't get on base. No arm. Can't hit. Can't field. Diaz is talking to the Red Sox. Let's hope for the Red Sox sake that it's just talk.
8. Harry Agganis, 1b, $5.4/3 years -- can get on base, but the market is flooded with first basemen.
9. Don Blasingame, 2b, $5.3 M/4 years -- broken hip sidelined him in August -- can he come back. The Braves are nominally interested.
10. Albie Pearson, CF, $5.1 M/4 years -- young, and can get on base, but should be hitting more home runs.

Pitchers:

1. Milt Pappas, SP, $9.2 M/4 years -- #1 draft pick in 1958. 74-78 record over six seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics. 3.50 lifetime ERA. 24 years old. He's suffered enough. Pappas and the Giants are in negotiations.
2. Claude Osteen, SP, $8.7 M/4 years -- #2 draft pick in 1958. 98-81 record with both the White Sox and the Seals. Gold Glove winner. The question is whether the Giants will sign Pappas or Osteen first.
3. Whitey Ford, SP, $7.9 M/2 years -- the Dodgers might sign Ford -- if they did, Ford will have only played for all three New York ball clubs.
4. Earl Wilson, SP, $6.3 M/3 years -- an All-Star last year, fairly good pitcher, the Giants might drive by with a ton of money.
5. Jack Fisher, SP, $5.0 M/3 years -- another 1958 draftee, this time a second rounder. 3.57 lifetime ERA with the Phillies. The Giants are talking to him, too.
6. Don Mossi, SP, $4.2 M/2 years -- we're seeing if we can drive Mossi's price down. Meanwhile, Mossi is chatting with the Detroit Tigers.
7. Mickey McDermott, SP, $4.0 M/2 years -- only pitched 99 2/3 innings with the Angels last year due to a 5.51 ERA.
8. Eduardo Camacho, $3.7 M/3 years -- had one of his best year last year, 3.55 ERA and 8-4 record over 114 innings.
9. Bill Tremel, $3.1 M/2 years -- 62-50 with lifetime 3.04 ERA. The Senators might make the call to hire Tremel.
10. Ruben Gomez, SP, $2.9 M/2 years -- has spent the last five years as an Oriole. 36 years old. Probably looking for a little more cash before retirement.

From there, I had to decide whom I wished to acquire.

I believed that the Free Agent market was probably the worst that I'd ever seen in ten years. I doubted that I could get the talent I wanted for the prices I wanted. My plans were to get three of the following goals accomplished:

1. Find a back-up catcher. After I traded Earl Averill to the Yankees, this left me with Joe Torre. Torre can hit for contact, but he had absolutely no backup on the bench, and I was forced to use Bill Freehan out of single-A. He was 3-14 in 4 games, a good kid, but not what we need. We're looking at Danny Kravitz or rehiring Lou Berberet as backup.

2. A third baseman who can hit more than Robinson. The market is bare. Our best bets are Ed Charles, who was the regular third baseman for the Red Sox last year, or Bill Mazeroski, who at $10.4 million will have to come down an awful lot.

3. A shortstop. The light-hitting Dal Maxvill isn't the man for the job. But what about Cass Michaels, the 38-year old All-Star over three decades. We would be the 11th team Michaels has played for, but I know the man is a great fielder, even at 38.

4. A pitcher to fill out the bench. Or moving one of my starters to fill out the bench. Right now, the dream acquisition is Whitey Ford, but I might resign Don Mossi or pick up Steve Ridzik for that extra spot.

In addition, I intend to employ the "Chicago Strategy" that the Cubs used last year. It involves keeping $5 million in reserve and signing a slew of free-agent acquisitions in May, when they're desperate to be signed. The Cubs rode that strategy to third place last year.

(* * *)

The market opened with the Giants deciding on signing Claude Osteen to an $8.7 million contract over four years. Then the Seals in San Francisco would sign two position players, center fielder Ken Hunt and infielder Don Blasingame, at a cost of over $11 million/year added to their budget. The Cubs added Harry Agganis to their already strong roster.

The very next day, on November 6th, the Cubs signed Danny Kravitz to a $5.9 million contract over four years. (They would also sign Bill Tremel as a pitcher.) This left Lou Berberet as our only candidate for catcher. Furthermore, we got the news that Ford and the Dodgers were close to a deal.

And indeed, Ford was signed the next day. But he didn't go to Brooklyn. From nowhere, the San Francisco Seals offered Ford a $7.8 million dollar deal over two years. Ford would replace Claude Osteen who was signed by the Giants. (The two teams might has well have traded). Ray Shearer also ended up in Baltimore with the Orioles.

I figured that the free agent signings would die down. But they didn't. For such a sad selection, the market had become red hot!

Bill Mazeroski ended up in a Baltimore Orioles uniform. Earl Wilson would end up pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The worst part, however, is that we got blindsided on two deals. Don Mossi, who we could have signed, was suddenly snapped up by our crosstown rivals, the Red Sox. And Cass Michaels, who I thought would be the steal of the draft, got stolen by the Orioles!

AAAAAGGGGGH. This left me with only Lou Berbert, Ed Charles, and Steve Ridzik as acceptable free agent acquisitions. Charles Sullivan was asking me to sign someone, and sign someone now, before there were no good players left in the market. I reminded him that we could always trade if we had to, and resolved to stick it out.

The next day, Norm Cash signed with Pittsburgh. But Ed Charles, the man I wanted to sign as a infielder, was suddenly snapped up by the Red Sox!! First Mossi, then Charles. I began to wonder if someone in our own offices had been hired by the Red Sox as a spy. I wouldn't put it past Tom Yawkey, not at all.

I couldn't wait any longer, or I might be shut out of the market completely.

(* * *)

Thus began a comedy of errors. I tried signing Lou Berberet, but Berberet (or his agent) knew I was in a desperate position and began putting the screws to me. Everytime I tried to get him to sign at a reasonable price, the answer was "not good enough". Finally, the agent said, "if you won't sign at a reasonable price, we'll just keep raising our offer." I told him that it would be best for Berberet to look elsewhere.

This left me with virtually no choices for catcher except through trades. But I needed someone to warm the seat. In any other year, Bob Schmidt wouldn't have had an outside chance of wearing a Braves uniform. But somehow, we signed him to a 3 year deal at $2.5 million a year. His agent was very happy, but we weren't.

Next, we went after Steve Ridzik. He also knew the market was drying up, and fast. He got $2.25 million out of us for two years. Not bad for a 34 year old pitcher.

(* * *)

Milt Pappas would sign with the Washington Senators, and I expect him to win a ton of games for them. Clendenon, through a wiley agent, somehow convinced the Giants to sign him -- I guess they now have money to throw away.

Around the world:

South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated following a military coup. General Duong Van Minh takes over as leader of South Vietnam.
The first episode of Doctor Who, "An Unearthly Child", is shown in the UK.
A plane crash near Montreal kills all 118 on board. For years, this will be the worst air disaster in Canada's history.

[abben]

Quite a climactic ending for a World Series. I was almost sure that Yaz was going to extend the game though, given all the hits he had made prior. At least the Giants know they swept the Off-Season Triple Crown by winning all three major player awards. And the Yankees winning 4 world series in a row and sweeping up Cy Young and MVP awards with young phenoms sounds eerily familiar.

On the winter dealings. You got Ridzik, but weren't you planning on getting both him and keeping Mossi? It looks like Ridzik is in Mossi's old place and you need a new guy.

Is Eduardo Camacho a starter/still available? If so, from the few details I read he sounds like a good deal perhaps to fill that gap.

[petrel]

There are a few reasons I'm holding off on Camacho:

1. He has a lifetime ERA of 4.93.
2. He only have about 49 percent "quality starts" last year, which to me indicates that the Orioles simply floated his win percentages with their bats, and
3. I'm still thinking of that "buy all Free Agents in May" policy that worked so well for the Cubs.

--Pet

[petrel]

November 1963
Interim

Among the younger generation, the "ultimate question" -- the question that locks you permanently in a place and a time -- is "Where were you during 9/11? When did you hear about it? What were you doing?" And every young man and woman, from child to ancient, can tell their own stories.

For the somewhat older generation, the question goes "Where were you when JFK was shot?"

So I'll tell my story. It was Saturday, November 22nd. I was working in the Braves front office at Commonwealth Avenue, but I was almost the only one. Phyllis was at home, and I was reading some minor league correspondence and preparing myself for the Winter Meetings.

I got a telephone call from Grey Bird. The Bird Man said, "Pet, there's a great steakhouse called the Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus, you should try their steak." The steakhouse was in Saugus, sort of in the northern part of the Boston area. I was hungry and I said, "Sure, I'll try it. Can I bring some friends?"

Grey Bird said yes, and I figured I'd call Phyllis and I'd call Chuck Sullivan and Mike Singer. Phyllis and Mike weren't home -- back then, no one had answering machines -- but Chuck was, and he wanted to try it out, too. So I got in my car and I picked up both Chuck and Grey Bird and we made it to Saugus at about noon.

Now whenever the three of us get together for an impromptu meeting of the Hot Stove League, we can sit there for over an hour. We told the waitresses to take their time bringing our steaks, we ordered some bread rolls and proceeded to talk shop.

By about 12:30 pm, they had our steaks ready and we began to chow down. I tipped the waitress and asked her if we gave her a big tip, would she mind if we just stayed here and chatted? She said "there's no problem", we ate our steaks and began talking.

I remember we were talking about first basemen, and about how Joe Cunningham was not performing well in the Braves lineup, but about how I was going to stay with him. Chuck said that I should try to trade for Frank Torre, who was playing for the Braves, and from there, we began talking about their strengths as fielders and wasn't it a shame that Torre had such a great season for the Red Sox?

The waitress came up to us with an odd look. It was about 1:40 or so and she said, "I don't know if you know this, but the President has been shot."

Grey Bird, who was always very opinionated, said, "well...is he hurt?" about as loud as I can remember.

The waitress said she didn't know, but she'd listen a little bit more and find out.

We figured that it was as good a time as any to wrap up the meal. Other patrons were talking about it, and I chatted briefly with the cashier (we didn't have credit cards in those days, either). We all got in my 1958 Cadillac Coupe de Ville and began to drive back home, looking for news on the radio.

Basically, they didn't know much of anything, only that he was in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, shots were fired at the car, and the President had most likely been taken to a Dallas hospital. I got Grey Bird home, then Chuck Sullivan, and I finally pulled up to the office at about 2:20 pm, made it into the owner's suite and flipped on the television set.

I didn't have to wait very long. About fifteen minutes later, Walter Cronkite on CBS News was handed a piece of paper and he read it.

"From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official -- President Kennedy died at 1:00 PM Central Standard Time, 2:00 Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago.... Vice President Lyndon Johnson has left the hospital in Dallas, but we do not know to where he has proceeded. Presumably, he will be taking the oath of office shortly and become the 36th President of the United States."


Walter Cronkite, somewhat shaken, delivers the news.

I didn't call Grey Bird, or Chuck Sullivan, or even Phyllis. I called my mother in Kentucky, to make sure that she heard the news. She virtually worshipped the man. Until the day she died, she had a little plastic framed picture of John F. Kennedy on her wall. The President was very popular in Appalachia.

(* * *)

Now, undoubtedly, the next question is "so, was Kennedy killed by Lee Harvey Oswald? Or was it a conspiracy?"

There were a whole slew of people who would have been happy if Kennedy had died.

1. The Soviets. The Soviets were embarrassed and weakened by the Cuban Missile Crisis; they might have had it in for the President. (Khruschev would be forced to retire one year later.)
2. The Cubans. Either right wing Cuban exiles (angry at the failure of Bay of Pigs) or the Cuban government (angry at the attacks on Cuban sovereignty.)
3. The Vietnamese. It was no secret that Kennedy turned a blind eye to the coup in Vietnam that resulted in the death of President Diem -- relations with the South Vietnamese government had been poor. Perhaps, it was revenge.
4. Right-wingers. Only one month earlier, UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson had been attacked by some nut in Dallas -- not with a gun though. But the John Birchers hated Kennedy.
5. Racists. After all, Kennedy was going to undo the "Southern way of life" with his desegregation policies.

Pick and choose. Take your pick, one group, or all of them together. Or maybe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, a theory that is as amazing as most of the B. S. I've heard about the Kennedy assassination.

(* * *)

Then, two days later, Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby in an underground garage in Dallas. I saw that one on TV, but not live. An NBC affiliate in Dallas taped it, and played it back on CBS.


So much for the answers to our questions.

(* * *)

For four straight days, all network programming was preempted and replaced with news regarding the Kennedy assassination. Lyndon B. Johnson had already been sworn in, and it was hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that he was now president.


The flag is folded.

Phyllis and I spent a lot of time watching things. I watched as much as I could, and I managed to catch the funeral. Phyllis cried during the funeral -- she was a good Catholic girl, she loved John F. Kennedy.

It was November 25th. A Monday. I closed the office that day. Later, I heard from Grey Bird that all around the country, even Boston, there were celebratory parties: for example, at Johns Hopkins University, where some of the medical students were very, very happy that Kennedy was dead and partied into the night in celebration.

Myself, I never heard about such things until years after. I suppose it's hard to explain. As they say, "you have to have been there", but the nation's troubles were not yet over.

[petrel]

December 1963

The big news in the month of December was another shot fired across the bow of the World Baseball Association.

The National League clubs had voted against any expansion to 12 teams. The American League had voted "in principle" to expand if the National League would expand. However, the National League clubs felt that a harder line should be taken against Branch Rickey and the WBA. No peace.

The news was released to the press by the National League office on December 7, 1963 -- "Pearl Harbor Day". That year, it was on a Saturday, and it was expected that the news would show up on page C12 and go unnoticed by the WBA until the following Monday -- and on Monday, all of baseball's owners and general managers would be in San Diego Califorina. (Myself, I would be leaving earlier, having missed the birth of the daughter of a couple of friends, Herb and Esther Margolis. Their little girl Ruth had been born and I hadn't had a chance to say "hi".)

I suppose the league offices felt that the WBA would be forced to come to us in San Diego for any redress of grievances, while we were all in the same place, all on the same page, unified.

However, the WBA outsmarted us. On December 8th -- Sunday -- they delivered the news that Atlanta, Georgia and Dallas, Texas would be delivered the 7th and 8th francises in the World Baseball Association. Rickey said, "we hope to start play in 1965". The Sunday sports page was usually a large section of the Sunday paper, and many local papers opened with the news on the first page of "Sports".

I supposed we'd have some time to talk about what to do in California.

(* * *)


Maywood Station, December 5, 1963: now you know why I'm in San Diego.

Instead, baseball didn't talk about anything. Everyone was "off the page". Some owners, like Walter O'Malley wanted to fight the new WBA tooth and nail (O'Malley despised Branch Rickey), and others, like John Fetzer, had a more patient, "let's see what happens next" attitude.

So we spent the time at the Winter Meetings in San Diego doing what we always did: hiring new staff, dealing with minor league matters and chatting.

In general, the minor league system was much more stable than it had been in recent years: two teams would jump from the International League to the Pacific Coast League, but both of the AAA leagues remained relatively stable. The Georgia-Florida League -- an A-class league -- folded its tent (it only had four teams), but all of the teams involved landed on their feet, including the Braves, who moved their A-Level franchise from Waycross, Georgia to Greenville, North Carolina.

As a humorous note, the New York Yankees always wanted their minor league teams to be called the "Yankees". As many minor league teams were in the South, this caused a bit of a problem. The South Atlantic League ("Sally") changed its name to the Southern League, and the Yanks had had a failing team there with the name the Augusta Yankees -- in Georgia! The team would move to Columbus, South Carolina in 1964, and solved the name problem: they would be called the "Columbus Confederate Yankees!"

(* * *)

As a side note, there were no significant uniform changes, except for one: the Chicago White Sox adopted a powder-blue colored road uniform:


White Sox 1963 vs. 1964.

Around the world:

The Warren Commission is founded to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy.
"I Want to Hold Your Hand"/"I Saw Her Standing There" are released as the A and B-sides of a single by The Beatles in the United States. It is the beginning of Beatlemania.

[petrel]

January 1964
Part I


Branch Rickey gives a TV interview about the World Baseball Association.

I'll tell you about how Boston was infested by foreign insects in the next month summary. But I think that baseball business deserves to take the front-and-center stage.

This month I learned that a very pleasant man, Fred Hutchinson, one of the Braves All-Stars on my first 1953 year team, has cancer. I had thought of extending him a managerial position at one time, but he preferred to remain in baseball and he later caught on with the Cincinnati Reds organization. I wish the best to his family.

(* * *)

This month, there was a confrontation between Charlie O. Finley and the American League.

The problem is that Charlie O. Finley wants to move the Blues out of Kansas City. He hadn't been happy with attendance, which had just barely reached the one million mark in 1963. But he had only himself to blame, because the Kansas City Blues -- formerly the St. Louis Browns -- had been a joke in baseball for years.

Finley, in his infinite genius, decided that the stadium lease was the problem -- he was paying too much for it. On December 20th, he claimed that the Kansas City Blues weren't going anywhere. But in January, he signed a 2-year "pact" promising that the Blues would be relocated to Louisville, KY -- provided that he could get the permission of American League owners.

Louisville hadn't even been a good minor-league baseball team. In January, the vote was unanimous -- 9-1 against, with Finley the sole "yea" vote.

Furthermore, the owners gave Finley an ultimatum: he could sign the lease for the stadium, or if he didn't want to, his franchise would be stripped from him. He signed it. He had no choice to sign it.

This will never, never shut up Finley. He'll find some other excuse to try to get the Blues out of Kansas City. And what has really steamed Commissioner Frick and the other owners is that the United States Senate Subcommittee on Monopolies has just began hearings on baseball. One of the reasons is that Finley pissed off Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri when he threatned to move the Blues out of state.

Furthermore, I'm sure lots of owners would love to move their teams to greener pastures, but they hate Finley so much they sandbagged his move. You might think that some owners don't like me, but I'll tell you, Charlie O. Finley is, hands down, the most hated owner in baseball.

(* * *)

For much of 1964, we prepared for the Amateur Draft. Here are the top prospects in the draft for that year, according to Braves scouts:

Catchers:

1. George Mitterwald: Fairly good skill behind the plate, above average, hits reasonably well for an 18-year old. OBP of .386 in senior year. Will probably go late first round.
2. Dave Duncan: Better hitter against weaker competition, one step behind Mitterwald behind the plate. Will go late second round.
3. Bob Stinson: .434 OBP but average behind the plate -- still, he can hold his own. He'll be late second round; could go ahead of Duncan.

1st Base:

1. Rod Carew: Ridiculous hitting skills -- .618 OBP in senior year. I'd snap him up in a second, but he'll go early first round.
2. Greg Goosen: Doesn't have the ludicrous skill of Carew, but has a .500 OBP in senior year. Early second rounder.

2nd Base:

1. Ted Sizemore: Draft is weak on second basemen. .442 OBP in senior year but below-average skills in the outfield. Will go third round or later.

Shortstop:

1. Larry Bowa: Hit .394 AVG in his senior year, but only one HR in all of high school. No power to speak of, so-so in the infield. He'll be a late first rounder; will probably end up in New York.

Third base:

1. Bill Melton: In the same mold as Bowa, but can hit a little better. Not that great at the hot corner; that will get better with time. We have Melton pencilled in as an early second rounder.

Outfielder:

1. Reggie Smith: This kid can definitely play outfield. Had a .960 SLG in his senior year of high school! But rumor has it he can't hit the curve. Will be the #1 or #2 pick.
2. Rick Monday: Another center fielder in the mold of Smith, .388/.522/.835. So so in the outfield, needs some work. Will go early first round
3. Hal McRae: Left fielder, excellent power .455/.541/.736 in senior year. He might be available for us in the first round and we might take him.
4. Ralph Garr: Nice kid, .460 OBP but a .563 SLG -- doesn't hit for power. Still he might go in the first round.
5. Jay Johnstone: Good centerfielder, could be a defensive infielder today. .358/.448/.623. A bit of a wise-***. He'll be late first round and drive some GM crazy.
6. John Paciorek: Detroit kid with decent power. Mid-second rounder. Let's hope this kid isn't a "one-day wonder".
7. Bob Christian: Braves scouts see a lot of potential, but I don't see it in his stats, with a .508 SLG. Should be higher for an outfielder. Will go mid second round.

Pitchers:

1. Don Sutton: Could probably play today. Struck out an astounding 102 batters in 78 IP in his senior year. The #1 or #2 pick.
2. Jim Palmer: Tall lanky kid, with good fastball and high K ratio. High first round pick.
3. Rick Wise: Kid already has four passable pitches. High K ratio. High first round pick.
4. Andy Messersmith: Amazing kid, very high K ratio, good curve ball, ERA below 2.00 in last three years of high school. We have an outside chance of getting him in the first round.
5. Dock Ellis: Scouts say this kid can "throw anything". Decently high K ratio. Mid first rounder.
6. Wally Bunker: Not that impressive, but possesses "great physicality". Mid first rounder.
7. Ken Holtzman: Throws the four-seam fastball. High K ratio, ERA below 2.00 last two years of high school. Mid first rounder.
8. Jay Dahl: The knock on Dahl is that he's short -- only 5'10". But he threw more K than IP last year. Mid first rounder.
9. Don Wilson: "Doesn't have command of the strike zone" but went 7-0 senior year with 92 K in 77 2/3 IP. Late first rounder.
10. Geoff Zahn: A sort of below average fastball, but the scouts like him. Late first rounder.
11. Horacio Pena: Mexican kid, a reliever. Struck out 29 in 33 2/3 IP in amateur Mexican league. We have better starters in the draft. Late first round or early second round.
12. Mike Kilkenny: Needs a better array of pitches, only has basic fastball and curve. Not too many IP for a starter. Early second round.

[petrel]

January 1964
Part II

1964 Amateur Draft

1. Brewers: Don Sutton, SP
2. Indians: Jim Palmer, SP
3. Athletics: Reggie Smith, CF
4. Reds: Hal McRae, LF
5. Pirates: Dock Ellis, SP
6. White Sox: Rod Carew, 1B
7. Seals: Rick Wise, SP
8. Blues: Rick Monday, CF
9. Cardinals: Andy Messersmith, SP
10. Braves: Wally Bunker, SP
11. Orioles: Bill Dillman, RP: The Orioles surprise everybody and take Dillman in the first round, but there are starting pitchers that are better and have more of an upside.
12. Senators: Ken Holtzman, SP
13. Phillies: Larry Bowa, SS
14. Angels: Davey Lopes, 2B: Another suprise pick: Lopes's ability to hit for power -- he had a .658 SLG in his senior year -- overcame his liabilities in fielding.
15. Cubs: Jay Dahl, SP
16. Red Sox: Billy Rohr, SP: The Red Sox fell in love with his 0.92 ERA in his senior year, but boy is this guy raw!
17. Tigers: Mike Kilkenny, SP
18. Dodgers: Jay Johnstone, CF
19. Yankees: George Mitterwald, C
20. Giants: Ralph Garr, LF

1964 Amateur Draft: Boston Braves:

First round: Wally Bunker, SP
Second round: Dick Woodson, SP: Had a good enough K to IP ratio, didn't give up a lot of home runs. Tall, 6'5", good ERAs.
Third round: John Sanders, 1B: Has an outside chance of making the bigs. .350 AVG but a bit of a free swinger, only .458 OBP. Not much power for a first sacker.
Fourth round: Jerry Davonon, SS: Great OBP -- .409 his senior year at a demanding fielding position -- and he fields about as well as Davey Lopes.
Fifth round: Rene Lachemann, C: We're filling a AA or A roster here, a guy chosen to help other guys learn. Low OBP -- only .369 his senior year. But very smart behind the plate.
Sixth round: Hector Torres, SS: We're at the bottom of the barrel here. This guy will have real trouble making a AA roster.

(* * *)

Jim Brosnan, a coach for the AA club of the Milwaukee Brewers (the San Antonio Bullets) was released from his coaching position by the Milwaukee Front Office. Some people in baseball say it's a payback for a book released about three or four years ago called "The Long Hard Season".

Brosnan was a reliever for the Chicago Cubs until he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the Expansion Draft. He spent four seasons with the Brewers from 1958 through 1961, and saved 46 games for a usually mediocre to bad team. The book is exactly about that -- what it's like to play on a team that probably has no chance of winning from the day the gates open on Opening Day.

I don't think it was any particular thing that Brosnan said, but rather, the way he approached the project. He wrote about the players with an unbiased eye. Most of the time, sportswriters write about players as corn fed, blond, clean cut boys who play ball just for the pleasure of playing ball, who are always humble and always heroic.

The teammates Brosnan wrote about were not always humble, and not always heroic. He got a lot about baseball right -- all except the language, which he had to clean up to sell his book.

I think the Brewers were very unhappy about that book. It wasn't that he slagged the Brewers. It was rather that he punctured the myth, and the Brewers know that it's the myth that gets people into the seats. And the Brewers decided to punish him for it.

(* * *)

At the end of the month, the news talked about the American Football League folding its tent. They are disbanding, and will not be playing for the 1964-65 season. They had trouble getting on television, and could just not compete with the more glamorous and established NFL.

I hope the WBA takes that lesson to heart. America doesn't need three leagues.

(* * *)

Around the World:

Barry Goldwater announces his intention to run for President in 1964. The Republican field consists of Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller and William Scranton. Richard Nixon decides not to run.
The first statement from the US Government that smoking might be hazardous to your health is released.
John Glenn resigns from the space program to run for Senator.
"Meet the Beatles" is released as an album in the United States.
The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution is finally ratified. It prohibits a poll tax for national elections.
The 1964 Winter Olympics begin in Innsbruck, Austria
General Nguyen Khanh leads a bloodless military coup in South Vietnam, replacing Duon Van Minh as Prime Minister.

[petrel]

February 1964
Part I

Sometime in early January, I was in the office at Commonwealth and talking to one of the scouts, a fellow in his forties, maybe about ten years older than me. He already had a fourteen year old son.

"Pet", he said, "you should get down on your knees and be glad you don't have kids. I notice that my kid comes up to the dinner table and his hair is growing out. So I said, 'Son, you need to get a haircut!' He says he ain't getting no haircut. I said, 'why not?' and get this -- he says he wants to look like a Beatle!"

"A beetle?" I said. "You mean a bug?"

"No. A Beatle. From what I understand they're a rock and roll group of some kind."

"Ugh," I said. "You'll be up to your elbows in Brylcreem."

"That's the weird part. He doesn't want to look like one of those duck-tailed hoodlums. These Beatles are pansies! They dress like girls! And my son runs track! Boy, did we have a talk about that at the table! I said no ****ing way!"

(* * *)

I was left with the impression that these "Beatles", whoever they were, literally dressed like girls. Guys with hair down to their shoulders and wearing dresses. I asked Phyllis if she had heard of the Beatles.

"Sure! My kid sister has is fascinated with them. She's in love with Paul."

"Paul Who?"

"I don't know their last names, but I know Paul...and George...and Ringo, I think."

"Ringo? Sounds like a cowboy name. And they dress like girls?"

"No. I think they sort of look like them. You know, they have bangs like a little girl would wear, down to their eyebrows. I think it's cute. Paul's good looking. She showed me pictures."

I told Phyllis the story of the talk I had. She laughed. "Hey, he'll grow out of it. Boys do. Monkey see, monkey do."

(* * *)

I asked Chuck Sullivan about the Beatles. He couldn't stand them. They weren't his kind of music. Oh, not that he didn't love Elvis and the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly. But these Beatles didn't sound the same.

"They're a bunch of British guys. Sort of a four-piece group. Yeah, their hair looks weird. Trust me, Pet, it isn't anything you want to listen to. I know you don't like rock and roll, and I know you'd hate these guys. But everybody is talking about them, and I'll bet you every little girl in Boston has their posters up in their rooms. You listen to the radio, and it's always a request for the Beatles! You can't get away from it on the radio! It's driving all the good music off the air!! Say, did you know they're going to be on Sullivan?"

"Sullivan's having them on?"

"In February. I think he has three shows. Hey, he had Elvis on, so why not The Beatles?" I made a mental note of it. Phyllis and I could watch it together.

(* * *)

Near the end of that month, around January 28 or so, I got a real shock to the system.

As a 36-year old man, I flipped on the radio as I came into my office at about 8 am. It was a real music station, where I could listen to some great melodies by Acker Bilk, or perhaps the newest song by Bobby Darin, the master showman. There was also new talent in the air, with Bobby Vinton, whom I enjoyed, and a really new kid called Wayne Newton who I knew was going to be big.

Instead, I got this, "WXXX has just changed it's format! We're the all-talking, all-rock and roll, all big beat music station, the place where you turn to Boston for The Beatles! And we are 10 Days Away from Beatle Day, when the Beatles arrive in New York City!"

I couldn't believe it! Where was I going to go to hear Dinah Shore? Bing Crosby? Eddie Fisher? Frank Sinatra? I called the radio station. The secretary of the station apologized for the sudden change in format, but she said, "that kind of music is on the fade, and we have to seek listeners."

On the fade? ON THE FADE? There was really nothing I could do. I felt like I was 76 years old, instead of 36. The popular music industry of the United States had declared me and mine an "old man".

And they were right. I had to find my music on the "nostalgia" channels. Soon, it would disappear completely. It was sort of the end of an era -- even though I was not an old man, I had to admit, I was no longer a young buck anymore.

(* * *)

On February 7th, the Beatles arrived in New York City. At 1pm, their jet aircraft touched down with 3,000 screaming teenagers to meet them at the newly-renamed John F. Kennedy Airport. They had to be accompanied by one hundred policemen, the type of escort a king or a president would get.

Two nights later, with Phyllis at my side, I turned on Ed Sullivan and got my first look at the Beatles. They weren't as bad as I expected them to be -- they could carry a tune, at least -- but it was not my kind of music, this rock and roll rhumba of theirs. I'm sure the other 73 million people watching watched with either ecstacy, or dismay that civilization had finally come to an end.


John, Paul, George, and Ringo, the Beatles.

[petrel]

February 1964
Part II

Oh yes...isn't this supposed to be about baseball? Well, then.

At the beginning of February, Ford Frick sent a letter to the owners of baseball over the teletype. It wasn't to be disseminated to the general press. It read:

"PURSUANT TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF BASEBALL, THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE HAS BEEN IN DISCUSSION WITH AN OWNERSHIP GROUP FROM MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL WITH REGARDS TO A FUTURE MAJOR LEAGUE FRANCHISE. I FELT IT WAS IN MY BEST INTEREST TO ASSURE THIS GROUP THAT WHEN BASEBALL DECIDES IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST TO EXPAND, THAT THE MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL GROUP SHOULD BE REWARDED A FRANCHISE."

When Ford said, "Pursuant to the best interests of baseball" -- that was Commissioner-speak. One of the powers of the Commissioner was to act pursuant to the "best interests of baseball". In short, the power to move unilaterally under extraordinary circumstances. And he had done so.

However, Frick was not Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis -- he did not have a lifetime contract. His contract was up for renewal every seven years and would end at the end of 1965. Furthermore, the power to approve or reject new franchises had always belonged to the owners. This was the first time the commissioner had directly injected himself into the process.

After all, what did Chicago's two clubs think about this move? What did the Milwaukee Brewers think? What about Detroit? After all, these clubs would be the ones most influenced by Minneapolis-St. Paul being granted a franchise. If Minneapolis or St. Paul fans decided to spend money on the local ballclub, that money was not spent on a road trip to a faraway city with an existing franchise. Frick was deliberately interfering with the finances of baseball.

I really don't know what the other owners thought. Bill Veeck called me up and told me he thought it was a "stupid move, as stupid as a deer painting a bulls' eye on its back". Frick might have had the power to act unilaterally, but the other owners could get together and vote him out of office.

Undoubtedly, there was method to the commissioner's sudden attack of sheer madness. That very day, the report was not about Commissioner Frick's heavy hand -- but a report from the Minneapolis-St. Paul ownership group of the WBA. This group suddenly and abruptly left the World Baseball Association, with a statement that "we have reason to believe that a third league might not remain financially solvent". Suddenly, the WBA was down to seven members.

But how could the Commissioner open the league up to a legal action if, say, Minneapolis-St. Paul was not granted a franchise when, and if, baseball expanded? Or perhaps, what if baseball did not expand "soon enough" to suit the ownership group in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and they decided to sue for breach of promise?

Such a statement merely left a ton of questions unasked, despite the damage it might have done to the WBA, which would have to scramble for an eighth club. My worry was that Finley, or Griffith, or whatever, might defect to the new league and do baseball damage. And we still had no assurance that the World Baseball Association would honor the existing contracts we had with players, and decide instead to plunder our clubs.

Whatever the reason for the decision -- this state of affairs could not go on much longer. It was not a decisive blow to the WBA.

(* * *)

To me, the most important date on the calendar was not February 9th, but February 17th -- where it is circled, with big red letters, "PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT TODAY". I would be flying down to West Palm Beach with Phyllis at the end of February to see it myself.

Before that, a friend of mine suggested that I take another look at Eduardo Camacho's stats. He said that Camacho was a better pitcher than I had made him out to be. I looked again, and sure enough, he was right -- I had actually focused on the numbers belonging to another pitcher. I signed Camacho before Spring training at a $1.7 million dollar a year contract for two years. He will be our fifth starter going into Spring Training.

As for Lou Berberet, he had remained undrafted! This jerk had given me such a hard time when I had tried to sign him in November. I figured I would try again. This time, Lou Berberet was "not going to budge", same as before -- but his asking price was lower. I signed Berberet for one year at $1.65 million.

(* * *)

The day after I signed Lou Berberet, the World Baseball Association announced to the press that Buffalo would replace Minneapolis-St. Paul in the new league. The teams of the World Baseball Association would be Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Toronto. We had thrown a fastball down the pipe, and the World Baseball Association had just hit it for a base hit.

(* * *)

Around the world:

France recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China, known as Taiwan, breaks off relations.
Cassius Clay beats Sonny Liston to become World Heavyweight Champion of Boxing.