Michael Reid wasn't feeling it. He was a warrior, throwing 145 pitches over 8 innings. He allowed only three runs, all in the 1st inning, but there was traffic on the bases all game long including a season-high six walks.
Gianfranco Cochetti wasn't feeling it. He singled in the 2nd inning but only his third hit of the series, and he'd go on to leave five men on base in Game 5.
The Kiev Comets were listless, trailing 3-1 heading to the 8th inning. If they lost, they'd still lead the series 3-2, but the Caracas Rangers would have their ace, Santiago Vecchio, ready. Say the Rangers win that, then it's a virtual coinflip in a Game 7. Great for baseball, but maybe not for the Comets.
Then something clicked. For the Comets, it always did.
"I knew we'd get here," third baseman Mel Martin said. While much of the team downplayed their success throughout the season, Martin embraced it, bragged on it. It was Martin who delivered the game-tying hit in the 8th inning, sending the mostly-partisan crowd in Madrid wild. "We were just too good not to win it all."
It's hard to debate that point, and now Kiev will forever have the trophy to prove it. The season belonged to them. They posted the best record in the WBA, they had the best run differential, they threw the first no-hitter... the list goes on.
"Baseball's a team sport," Cochetti said. "And we have a great group here. I wasn't really seeing the ball well, but Mel was, and Michaël (Thierry) was, and it was just their turn to carry us."
The Comets operated like that season. Five different position players tallied 3.9 or more WAR, so no one slump ever sunk the team. You could fool some of the Comets all of the time, and all of the Comets some of the time, but as the league quickly figured out: You couldn't fool all of the Comets all of the time.
The pitching was nearly as good. Henry Jones, the author of the no-hitter, finished the year by going 7 innings in each of his four final starts, allowing three or fewer runs. Michael Reid, who just turned 36 on October 21, wasn't faring as well. He allowed 7 runs in his first start against Caracas, and then allowed the 13 baserunners in Game 5.
"Throw out the numbers, what he did tonight was one of the best pitching performances I've ever seen," Jones said of Reid's start. "What did he throw, 150 pitches? Show me another pitcher in the world who allows three runs six batters in and then battle like that."
"I knew it was my last time on the mound this year," Reid said. "And I was throwing junk up there in the 1st inning. All I was thinking was, I'm not gonna let it end like this."
He gritted it out on the mound, keeping the Rangers off the scoreboard while waiting for his offense to mount a charge. Sure enough it did, and Reid finally gave way to Iskander Pakulin, the 5th starter-turned-reliever. One way to minimize a supposed weak point, the bullpen? Don't give the ball to any relief pitchers in a big game.
Pakulin pulled through, coaxing a groundball from Jude van der Meijden. Gusmani Galatti scooped it and fired to Freyr Hellmann, and before the ball the mitt the bench poured out of the dugout to celebrate.
They were celebrating not just the moment of glory. They were celebrating the incredible season and the extremely high standard they set. They were celebrating their place in history. The Kiev Comets, your 1960 World Champions.