by Guy
Belleranti
The 1950’s saw some of baseball’s greatest moments. A few that
stand out include the following:
October 3, 1951 - The New York Giants had battled back from 13
games behind to tie the Brooklyn Dodgers for first place in the
National League as the regular season drew to a close.
The two teams then tangled in a 3 game playoff series. Each team won a
game making a third, and final, game necessary. The game went to the
bottom of the ninth inning at New York’s Polo Grounds. The Dodgers led
4-2 when the Giant’s Bobby Thompson connected with a Ralph Branca
pitch for the “shot heard round the world” - a three run home run
which gave the Giants the game and the pennant.
September 29th, 1954 - The first game of the 1954 World Series
between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Indians brought another
Polo Ground New York Giant “miracle”.
The score was tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning. Two Cleveland
Indian players were on base. Vic Wertz hit a long drive over 400 feet
to deep center field. Willie Mays, who was playing shallow, made an
on-the-run over-the-shoulder basket catch. The play prevented the
Indians from scoring, and in the bottom of the 10th the Giants won.
The Giants went on to sweep the Series.
October 8, 1956 - The New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers
were battling in the World Series.
Both teams had won two games. Up came a pivotal game five. Yankee Don
Larson pitched the game of his life, a game as good anyone could
pitch. He needed only 97 pitches to throw the only perfect game ever
in World Series history. Not a Dodger reached base by hit, walk, error
or passed ball. The Yankees won the game 2-0 and eventually the Series
4 games to 3.
May 26 1959 - Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Harvey Haddix took a
perfect game into the 13th inning against the Milwaukee Braves.
Haddix had pitched an incredible 12 perfect innings, but his Pirate
team hadn’t been able to score a run to win the game. Then, in the
13th inning, Brave player Felix Mantilla reached base on an error. The
perfect game was gone. The next Brave batter sacrificed Mantilla over
to second. This brought slugger Henry Aaron to the plate, but the
Pirates walked Aaron intentionally. Brave first baseman Joe Adcock
then smashed the ball over the fence for a homerun. In the commotion
Adcock passed Aaron on the base path. This resulted in a second out
and Adcock was only credited with a double. But the Braves had still
won 1-0, with Mantilla scoring.
Haddix’s 12-2/3 inning one hit complete game was the major’s longest
ever but he had still lost. Still, many consider it the greatest
pitching performance in baseball history.
Numerous other great baseball moments also occurred during the
decade. And, in fact, some of them weren’t only moments. For example:
- New York Yankee Mickey Mantle tore up baseball in 1956
winning the Triple Crown. He led the American League (and, in fact,
both leagues) in batting average, home runs and runs batted in.
- Ted Williams 1957 season was also a standout. Baseball’s last
.400 hitter almost did it again at the age of 38, falling just 12
points short with an American League leading .388.
- Henry Aaron’s 1957 season was just as impressive. He led the
National League in home runs and runs batted in and won the league’s
Most Valuable Player Award. In addition, he hit an 11th inning home
run to win the game that gave the Milwaukee Braves their first
pennant. And Aaron didn’t let up in the World Series, leading the
Milwaukee Braves over the Yankees in seven games with 3 home runs and
a .393 batting average.
- In a decade long feat Warren Spahn, Baseball’s all winningest
left-handed pitcher, won 20 or more games in 8 of the 10 years for the
Boston and, then, Milwaukee Braves. He also won over 20 games in 1949,
1960 and 1961, making it eleven 20 win seasons in 13 years.
Indeed, the 1950’s was a great decade of baseball. And Major League
Baseball’s record books reflect this.
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