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Yankee Killer Even though I consider myself to be a true, seasoned Yankees fan (not one of those bandwagon "team of the year" guys), I still have a place deep down in my heart for my old hometown Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes you heard it; 2 teams, one AL and one NL, who are about as diametrically opposed as 2 ballclubs can be. God forbid the league finally gets this revenue sharing situation straightened out and they find themselves once again, on the same field in the World Series! What will I do then? I must admit, I love NY, but part of me still loves the Bucs. As a kid, I loved going to Three Rivers Stadium and watching Willie Stargell dent the outfield seats during batting practice. I used to imitate him, standing at the plate, doing that windmill windup and swinging for the bleachers. In 1980, I was fortunate enough to meet "Pops" and it was one of the greatest memories from my childhood. As I grew into adulthood, I became less interested in playing sports and more interested in writing about it. Sports history (baseball in particular) became my new obsession and it was then that I fell in love with the New York Yankees. Not just the team, but the whole legacy of the franchise. From the days of Ruth and Gehrig, to Mantle and Ford, from Jackson and Mattingly, to Jeter and Giambi, I have spent countless hours studying this franchise and I am still in awe of them. Over the
last few decades I've watched the rebirth of baseball's
greatest dynasty and the death of one of it's originals.
While the Yankees invested in winners and maintained their
commitment to excellence, the Pirates went another way and
became a farm team for the rest of the league. As a fan,
it's not easy to root for a team whose players and coaches
rotate in and out of the clubhouse before you can even learn
their names and numbers. Yes, I'm bitter, but there's still
a few traces of Bucco black and gold running through my
veins as I follow the team from a distance. Sometimes, I'll
go to PNC Park when I'm in town visiting my family, but
nothing will ever compare to those classic Pirate teams
going head-to-head with baseball's finest at Forbes Field
and Three Rivers Stadium. (and just for the record my fellow
'burg natives, I'm still a diehard "stillers" and "guins"
fan - some things will never change).
Not only was Mazeroski the greatest second baseman in Pirate history, he was also very likely the best defensive second basemen of all time. Yet he achieved instant fame offensively with one swing of the bat. He had already made his mark in the Series against the Yankees with a two-run homer in the opener, but no one could have predicted his game 7 winner. As a whole, the '60 series will always be remembered as one of the most exciting as both teams played to a 3-3 standoff. The Pirates and Yankees pitching staffs were solid on the mound and both were backed up by strong performances at the plate. There were some overall differences in playing styles, the Yankees played more aggressively while the Pirates relied on finesse, but many feel that this represented one of the best match-ups of the 1960's. The Pirates won the opener, 6-4, at Forbes Field, but the Yankees answered back in Games 2 and 3. New York, led by Mickey Mantle's two home runs and five runs batted in, knocked six Pirates pitchers for 19 hits and rolled to a 16-3 victory in the second game. As the Series shifted to Yankee Stadium, Bobby Richardson stepped up to the plate and delivered. Having driven in only seven runs in the last 75 games of the AL season and just 26 overall, the second baseman connected for a bases-loaded home run off reliever Clem Labine in the first inning of Game 3. He later contributed a two-run single, giving him a Series-record six RBIs. Yankee powerhouse Mickey Mantle continued to shine with a two-run homer and three other hits. New York was a 10-0 winner, with Whitey Ford pitching a four-hitter. Down, but not out, the Pirates gave the ball to first-game winner Vern Law in Game 4. Law, a 20-game winner in '60 and the NL's Cy Young Award winner, combined with relief ace Roy Face to beat back the Yankees, 3-2. Art Ditmar, the Game 1 starter for the Yankees, received another chance in Game 5. Bill Mazeroski's double was the key hit in the Pirates' three-run second inning. The smash scored two runs and drove Ditmar off the mound. Roy Face returned with 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief after replacing starter and winner Harvey Haddix to nail down the 5-2 triumph. The win moved the Pirates ahead in the Series. Surprised by their opponents tenacity, the Yankees called on a proven combination in Game 6; big bats and the pitching of ace Whitey Ford. The Bronx Bombers did their part at the plate with an unbelievable 17-hit spree and Ford again shut out the Pirates, this time holding the NL champions to a meager seven hits. Hoping to clinch their first Series championship in 3 1/2 decades, the Pirates instead wound up 12-0 losers in their own backyard. While the first six games of the 1960 Series had been statistically notable; the Yankees' victories, for instance, came by the combined score of 38-3, Game 7 would erase those numbers and leave fans in both agony and ecstasy. Vern Law and the rest of the Pirates showed why they were still there by rolling over New York to take an early 4-0 lead. However, the Yankees came back with key performances at the plate by Skowron, Mantle and Berra and shot to a 5-4 lead going into the eighth inning. They continued to lead 7-5 and appeared to be in great shape as reliever Bobby Shantz appeared at the top of his game. Fortunately for Pirates, appearances can be deceiving. Gino Cimoli led off the Pittsburgh eighth with a pinch single and Bill Virdon hit a sharp grounder toward Yankees' shortstop, Tony Kubek. The ball took a bad hop and struck Kubek in the throat resulting in a single. The injury proved serious and he was taken out of the game. Joe DeMaestri was summoned to replace him as both Pirates remained on base. Dick Groat followed with another single and cut the lead to 7-5. Roberto Clemente kept the rally alive with an infield hit that scored Virdon and advanced Groat to third. Now trailing 7-6, Pittsburgh had two runners on base and Hal Smith at the plate. Smith, who entered the game in the top of the eighth after Pirates catcher Smoky Burgess had left for a pinch-runner in the previous inning, sent shock waves through the Pittsburgh crowd by blasting a home run over the left-field wall. Bob Friend, an 18-game winner for the Pirates and the Bucs' starter in Games 2 and 6, came on in the ninth to try to protect the 9-7 lead. The Yankees Bobby Richardson and pinch-hitter Dale Long both greeted Friend with singles and Pirates manager, Danny Murtaugh was forced to lift the veteran pitcher in favor of Harvey Haddix. Although he forced Roger Maris to foul out, Haddix gave up a key single to Mickey Mantle that scored Richardson and moved Long to third. Yogi Berra followed with a strong grounder to first, with Rocky Nelson stepping on the base for the second out. In what, at the time, stood as a monumental play, Mantle, seeing he had no chance to beat a play at second, scurried back to first and avoided Nelson's tag (which would have been the third out) as McDougald raced home to tie the score, 9-9. Ralph Terry, who had gotten the final out in the Pirates' eighth, returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth. The first man he faced was Bill Mazeroski. With a count of one ball and no strikes, the Pirates' second baseman smashed a drive over the wall in left ending the contest and crowning the National League as champions. As the Pirates erupted in a wild celebration, the Yankees stood in disbelief knowing that they had clearly dominated the series, but were unable to finish the job. The improbable champions were outscored, 55-27, and outhit, 91-60, but in the end Pittsburgh prevailed. Years later, Mickey Mantle was quoted as saying that losing the 1960 series was the biggest disappointment of his career. For Mazeroski, it was the highlight. Both men (and many others from this game) would be joined together in the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. Some would remember the '60 series with fondness and others with regret. Someone once said, "It's not always the better team who wins." And even the mighty Yankees can fall to an opponent who is able to seize the moment. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Bill Mazeroski were able to do that in Game 7 and proved that "carpe diem" does exist. I think Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry summed it up perfectly when he said, "I don't know what that pitch to Mazeroski was. All I know is that it was the wrong one."
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