Richardson’s triple lifts Yankees to 3-1 victory
Posted: September 30, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Billy Gardner, Bobby Richardson, Boston Red Sox, Don Schwall, Elston Howard, Hector Lopez, Ralph Terry, Roger Maris Leave a commentSeptember 30, 1961 – Bobby Richardson tripled home the go-ahead run in the fifth inning and Ralph Terry earned his 16th win as the Yankees beat the Red Sox 3-1 in the Bronx.
Roger Maris was 1-for-3 with a walk and now has just one game left on the schedule to equal or surpass Babe Ruth’s 60 home run record set in 1927.
With the game tied 1-1 in the fifth, leadoff batter Billy Gardner walked and came around to score on Richardson’s opposite field triple to right.
Elston Howard padded the lead in the eighth when he hit a sac fly to plate Hector Lopez.
Terry (16-3) finished his best season yet with a victory and Jim Coates got his fifth save. Losing pitcher Don Schwall (15-7) would go on to win American League Rookie of The Year.
The Yankees compiled a 21-8 mark in September, their fourth straight month with 20 or more victories. Only one game was scheduled for October.
Blanchard’s clutch single beats BoxSox in 9th
Posted: September 29, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Bill Monboquette, Boston Red Sox, Chuck Schilling, Don Gile, Johnny Blanchard, Pumpsie Green, Roger Maris, Rollie Sheldon Leave a commentSeptember 29, 1961 – Johnny Blanchard drove in Roger Maris with the winning run in the last of the ninth as the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 2-1 in a Friday night game at Yankee Stadium.
Blanchard, who accounted for the other Yankee run with his 21st home run of the season in the fourth inning, has now driven in the tying or winning run in the late innings of 12 games in 1961. Blanchard, pictured right, came into the season with six career home runs.
Whitey Ford, seeking his 26th victory, pitched shutout ball for six innings, striking out nine.
The Red Sox tied the score 1-1 in the seventh against Luis Arroyo when Pumpsie Green singled, was sacrificed to second and scored on a single by Chuck Schilling.
With the score deadlocked in the ninth, Maris led off with a walk and went to second when Boston first baseman Don Gile made a throwing error on Rollie Sheldon’s attempted sacrifice bunt. Blanchard then singled to right field to drive in Maris with the winning run.
Sheldon (11-5) pitched two scoreless innings and got the win. Bill Monboquette (14-14) was the loser.
The win marked the 13th walkoff triumph of the season for the Yankees.
Maris, trailing Babe Ruth by one home run with two games remaining on the schedule, was 0-for-2 with a couple of walks and the winning run.
Barber trims Yanks again as Maris rests
Posted: September 27, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Boog Powell, Dick Hall, Jim Gentile, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Steve Barber, Yogi Berra Leave a commentSeptember 27, 1961 – Baltimore southpaw Steve Barber bested a Yankee lineup minus Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle as the Orioles beat the Yankees 3-2 in a Wednesday afternoon matchup at Yankee Stadium before a sparse crowd of 7,594.
Barber (18-12), shown at right, went eight strong innings, allowing two runs and six hits, to beat the Yankees for the fourth time in six decisions this year. The O’s and Yankees split their season series 9-9; the Yankees have won every other season series.
Maris was given the night off by Ralph Houk, but Mantle returned to Lenox Hill Hospital with an abscessed hip. He joined Bob Cerv, who injured his knee Sunday at Boston.
Jim Gentile got the Orioles off and running in the first with a two-run homer against Bill Stafford (13-9). Gentile now has 46 home runs and is tied with Maris for the AL lead in RBIs. Both have 140.
Yogi Berra hit his 22nd home run of the season in the second inning to pull the Yankees within 2-1.
But Boog Powell singled to center in the third to give the O’s a 3-1 lead.
The Yankees closed to within a run in the eighth when Hector Lopez singled home Tom Tresh. But after Clete Boyer singled, Barber retired Elston Howard on a fly to right.
Dick Hall pitched an uneventful ninth to earn his fourth save.
Maris blasts 60th to tie Ruth in front of Dad
Posted: September 26, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: 60 home runs, Babe Ruth, Baltimore Orioles, Claire Ruth, Jack Fisher, Jackie Robinson, Monte Pearson, Roger Maris Leave a comment
September 26, 1961 – My Dad was there the night Roger Maris tied the great Babe Ruth with his 60th home run. I wanted to go, but was told it was a “work thing” for my father, plus it was a school night.
But fitting that my Dad would see Yankee history. He once saw The Bambino hit a home run.
At least I got to see it on TV. Maris, who had singled in his first at bat against Jack Fisher, came up with two outs and nobody on base in the third inning and the Yankees trailing 2-0. With the count 2-and-1 Maris, shown above, lashed a long drive down the right field line which caromed off an empty seat and back onto the pl
aying field, where it was retrieved by Orioles right fielder Earl Robinson.
The small crowd, just 19,401, rose to its feet and gave Maris a standing ovation. His teammates forced him out of the dugout to take a curtain call, a rarity in 1961.
At left, Claire Ruth, Babe’s widow, greets Maris following his record-breaking blast. He kissed Mrs. Ruth on the cheek and said, “I’m glad I didn’t break Babe Ruth’s record in 154 games. This record is good enough for me.”
Johnny Blanchard tied the score 2-2 with a two-out single in the sixth. And Billy Gardner scored the winning run in the eighth when he singled and later scored on an error by Baltimore center fielder Jackie Brandt to give the Yankees a 3-2 victory.
Rollie Sheldon (10-5) pitched three perfect innings in relief of starter Bud Daley, fanning five of the nine hitters he faced. Fisher (10-13), who gave up Ted Williams 521st and last home run almost exactly one year ago, suffered the loss.
Mickey Mantle, started the game in center field, walked, and was removed for a pinch-runner. After 54 home runs, his season was over.
My father saw some great moments in Yankee Stadium history. He was in the house for Monte Pearson’s no-hitter in 1938, and when Jackie Robinson stole home in the 1955 World Series. In 1960, he took me to a game where Maris, Mantle and Ted Williams each homered.
But seeing Maris hit #60 topped Dad’s list.
Dr. Feelgood’s shot ends season for Mantle
Posted: September 25, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Dr Feelgood, Dr. Max Jacobson, Jean Leavy, Mickey Mantle, President Kennedy, The Last Boy, Truman Capote 10 CommentsSeptember 25, 1961 – Mickey Mantle was hurting down the September stretch, costing him a chance to catch Babe Ruth.
In addition to a pulled forearm muscle and his omnipresent leg injuries, Mantle had a heavy head cold, a respiratory infection and an eye infection that lingered throughout the month.
When the Yankees returned to New York for the final homestand of the season, Yankee broadcaster told The Mick he had a doctor that could cure Mantle’s ailments.
Allen made an appointment to see Dr. Max Jacobson on Monday, an off day for the Yankees.
According to The Last Boy, Jane Leavy’s acclaimed Mickey Mantle biography, “Jacobson was known as Dr. Feelgood to the jet-setters, celebrities and pols who visited his office day and night for injections of amphetamines laced with vitamins, human placenta and eel cells.”
Jacobson treated President Kennedy, Eddie Fisher, Johnny Mathis, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and many more.
Mantle received a bad shot. As he said in The Mick: “He stuck the needle up too high. It felt as though he’d stuck a red hot poker into me.”
Mantle started the next game against the Orioles on Tuesday night. He walked in the first inning and was removed for a pinch-runner.
Mantle was sent to Lenox Hill Hospital suffering from a fever and infection.The wound was lanced by cutting a three-inch star over the hip bone and allowing it to drain. It left a hole big enough to put a golf ball in it.
For Mantle, his season was finished. He played a limited role in the World Series, but returned to win the MVP in 1962.
Runnels, Pags, Monbo lift BoSox over Yanks
Posted: September 24, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Bill Monboquette, Bill Skowron, Boston Red Sox, Jackie Jensen, Jim Pagliaroni, Luis Arroyo, Pete Runnels Leave a commentSeptember 24, 1961 – Pete Runnels and Jim Pagliaroni hit consecutive run-scoring doubles in the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Red Sox to a 3-1 win over the Yankees in a Sunday afternoon matinee at Fenway Park
Boston starter Bill Monboquette (14-13) shut down the Yankee attack on just five hits in a complete game effort. Monbo limited the M&M Boys, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, to a combined single in six at bats.
Red hot Bill Skowron gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the fifth with a long home run over the wall in left. Gary Geiger then doubled to tie the score in the sixth.
The Red Sox hammered Yankee closer Luis Arroyo (15-5) who relieved Ralph Terry to start the seventh. Frank Malzone led off with a single and was bunted to second by Jackie Jensen, Runnels, pictured above right, then lined a double down the left field line to give Boston a 2-1 lead. Pagliaroni followed with another double to left to score Runnels and make it 3-1.
PS – Runnels won the American League batting title in 1960 and again in 1962. Runnels was primarily a first baseman but played all four infield positions.
Mantle homers as Yankees beat Red Sox 8-3
Posted: September 23, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Babe Ruth, Bobby Richardson, Boston Red Sox, Don Gile, Fenway Park, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Ralph Kiner, Whitey Ford Leave a commentSeptember 23, 1961 – Mickey Mantle returned to the lineup and hit a three-run homer in the first inning, his 54th of the season, to send the Yankees on their way to an 8-3 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park in a Saturday matinee contest.
Mantle, pictured right, who missed the previous three games at Baltimore and has been plagued by a forearm ailment, knee issues and a heavy cold, joined Babe Ruth (four times), Jimmie Foxx and Ralph Kiner on the list of multiple 50 home run seasons. His trifecta into the Red Sox bullpen scored Bobby Richardson, who was hit by a pitch and Roger Maris who reached on an error, and gave the Yankees an instant 3-0 lead.
Whitey Ford (25-4) went five innings to reach a career high in victories. Ford finished the season 12-0 pitching in games after the Yankees lost.
Jim Coates threw three scoreless innings and Luis Arroyo pitched the ninth for his MLB leading 28th save. For the 15th time, Arroyo saved a Ford victory. Don Schwall, who would win American League Rookie of the Year, (15-6) took the loss. .
The Red Sox used home runs by Don Gile, his second major league homer, and rookie Carl Yastrzemski to even the game at 3-3 after four innings.
The Yankees recaptured the lead in the fifth when Roger Maris walked and later scored on a throwing error by Boston third baseman Frank Malzone.
Tony Kubek and Maris knocked in runs in the eighth to make it 6-3. Elston Howard and Bob Cerv homered over the Green Monster in the night to account for the final score. It was Cerv’s major-league record 12th pinch hit home run.
PS – Don Gile, a catcher/first baseman played just 58 games over parts of four seasons with the Red Sox. In his final year, 1962, he was hitless in 34 at bats before collecting his first hit in the first game of a doubleheader. In the nightcap, Gile hit a two-run, walk off home run to beat the Washington Senators. It was the final at bat of Gile’s career,
Snyder homer helps Orioles beat Yankees 5-3
Posted: September 21, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Bill Stafford, Brooks Robinson, Jack Fisher, Jackie Brandt, Roger Maris, Russ Snyder, Tom Tresh Leave a commentSeptember 21, 1961 – Russ Snyder hit a two-run homer to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning and the Orioles went on to beat the Yankees 5-3 at Memorial Stadium for a split of their four-game series.
With the exception of Bobby Richardson and Roger Maris, the Yankees rested their regulars one day after clinching their 11th American League pennant in 13 years.
Maris went 0-for-4 and remains at 59 home runs, one behind Babe Ruth.
The Orioles broke open the game with a four-run seventh. Following Snyder’s home run, Brooks Robinson and Jackie Brandt contributed RBI singles.
The Yankees rallied in the eighth as Jack Reed knocked in a run with a grounder and Tony Kubek hit a pinch hit home run,
Jack Fisher (10-12), who allowed just three hits, got the win. Bill Stafford (13-8) took the loss.
Tom Tresh made his first major league start at shortstop for the Yankees. Tresh, who had one prior plate appearance, was 0-for-4. He would go on to win AL Rookie of the Year in 1962.
Yankees clinch AL pennant, Maris hits 59th
Posted: September 20, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Babe Ruth, Baltimore Orioles, Dick Hall, Hoyt Wilhelm, Johnny Blanchard, Ralph Terry, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra Leave a comment
September 20, 1961 – Roger Maris hit his 59th home run but his valiant effort to chase down home run king Babe Ruth as the Yankees clinched their 26th American League pennant with a 4-2 win over the Orioles at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium.
Maris homered in the third inning, pictured above, and hit several other balls that had a chance, but finished one shy of the Babe in a 154-game season and the home run record according to commissioner Ford Frick. Only Ruth, with 60 in 1927 and 59 in 1921, has hit more homers in a season that the Rajah.
In his first at bat, Maris drove a Milt Pappas pitch to deep right, but it faded in the winds
left by the remnants of Hurricane Esther and was caught in front of the fence by Earl Robinson.
In the third, Maris got hold of a Pappas fastball and lined a 400-foot shot into the right field seats for #59. Yogi Berra followed with a homer, Johnny Blanchard doubled and Ellie Howard singled to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead.
Maris came to bat again in the fourth against Dick Hall, and after hitting a loud foul to right he struck out. In the seventh Maris faced Hall again, first hitting another long foul and then a drive to right center that was knocked down by the wind and caught by Robinson near the wall.
Maris got one final chance against knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm in the ninth inning. Maris fouled off a pitch, then hit a check-swing grounder to Wilhelm, who tagged Maris out as he was running up the first base line.
The home run chase was over….at least the 154-game chase. But the Yankees still have eight games left for Maris to try and pass the Babe.
“I tried,” said Maris in the clubhouse following the pennant clincher. “I”m lucky I hit as many as I did.”
PS — Ralph Terry (15-3) got the victory. Pappas (12-9) was the loser.
Hoyt Wilhelm was the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter against the Yankees. On Sept. 20, 1958, three years ago to the day, Wilhelm made history of his own, winning the no-hitter 1-0.
The Yankees won the American League pennant for the second straight year and 11th in 13 years.
Yankee bats quiet in split with Orioles
Posted: September 19, 2020 Filed under: 1961 Yankees, Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Uncategorized | Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Bill Skowron, Brooks Robinson, Bud Daley, Jerry Adair, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra Leave a commentSeptember 19, 1961 – Roger Maris was limited to one single in eight at bats as the Yankees and the Orioles split a doubleheader at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.
Steve Barber outpitched Whitey Ford in a brilliant duel in the opener as the Orioles won 1-0. Bill Skowron’s two-ru
n home run provided the difference in the nightcap, a 3-1 Yankee win.
Barber (17-11) allowed the Yankees just four hits in throwing his second straight shutout at the Bombers. Ford (24-4), allowed a run in the first and went seven strong innings.
Brooks Robinson and Jerry Adair led off the bottom of the first inning for the Orioles with doubles, and that proved to be all the scoring.
Second game
In the nightcap, Skowron, having a terrific year, blasted a two-run homer to break a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning. Moose now has a career-high 27 home runs..
Yogi Berra singled in the Yankees first run in the third inning, and Ron Hansen homered for the Orioles in the third.
Bud Daley (12-17), 8-9 with the Yankees, scattered five hits, struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter. Hal “Skinny” Brown (10-6) was the loser.
In the home run chase, Maris now trails Ruth by two home runs. The Yankees have played 154 games, including a tie game earlier in the year with the Orioles. According to commissioner Ford Frick, Maris has one game left to pass or tie Ruth.
Ruth hit his 58th and 59th home runs, the second a grand slammer, in his 153rd game. Ruth hit his historic 60th against Washington’s Tom Zachary with one game to go. The 1927 Yankees played 155 games, including one tie.
Mickey Mantle, suffering from a serious cold and assorted injuries, pinch hit once and struck out to end the first game. It was the Mick’s only appearance in the Baltimore series. His pursuit of Ruth was over.
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