4Ever Baseball - The Battle for the Gateway

[adventureran]

The 1963 season is completed and the Kansas City Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals will meet in the World Series.

Here's the basics ...


St. Louis Cardinals
Owner: Mike Williams
Manager: Johnny Keane
Record: 96 Wins, 66 Losses, .593 Winning Pct.


Kansas City Athletics
Owner: Greg Darusmont
Manager: Ed Lopat
Record: 94 Wins, 68 Losses, .580 Winning Pct.

Head over to 4Ever Baseball and read through the October Edition of our monthly mag, Talkin' 4Ever Baseball, for a statistical preview of the matchup.

We will sim the World Series one game at a time each night this week LIVE in the league chat room. All are welcome to drop by at anytime to check out the action.

Enjoy!

[adventureran]

In an amazing pitching duel between the Cards Hank Aguirre and the A's John Tsitouris, Kansas City takes Game #1 of the 4Ever Baseball World Series 1-0.

Both pitchers surprisingly went the distance, especially since Aguirre was ptiching on only two days rest.

The winning run for the A's was scored in the bottom of the 7th inning by LF Chuck Essegian who led off the inning with a single and moved to third on CA Bob Oldis' 1-out single. SS Don Wert then hit a sac fly to left field and Essegian scored without a throw.

The Cardinal fans in attendance jumped to their feet in the top of the 8th as RF Earl Robinson led off with a base hit. But their enthusiasm quickly waned as Tsitouris retired the next 6 men he faced to secure the win.

The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead in the 3rd inning as Tsitouris lost command of the strike zone and walked the bases loaded with 2 outs. 1B Fred Whitfield, who doubled in his first at bat, hit a line shot that almost took off the head of SS Don Wert, but somehow he got his glove up and snagged the rocket to end the inning.

That would be the Cards' best scoring opportunity and the only time they would get a runner to third base. Whitfield hit a lead-off double in the 2nd, but three easy groundouts later, he was still there.

Kansas City had their own problems scoring, however, they were able to take advantage of their first scoring opportunity in the 7th and that was all Tsitouris needed.

The A's loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th looking for some insurance on two singles and an error by Cardinal SS Tom Tresh. But with 2 outs, CA Bob Oldis struck out on a nasty curveball to end the threat.

Tsitouris picked up the win allowing only 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5.

Aguirre was the hard-luck loser also going the distance allowing 7 hits and only walking one, while picking up 9 K's.

Tonight's game features 17 game winner Hal Woodeshick (17-6, 2.80) for the Cardinals against KC's ace Joe Horlen (20-8, 3.64).

St. Louis wants to cross town with at least a split here. Fireworks start at 11:00 PM EST at 4Ever Baseball.

[adventureran]

Due to technical difficulties, tonight's LIVE sim has been cancelled. Game 2 of the 4Ever Baseball World Series will be simmed tonight, but just not live.

[wireman]

John Tsitouris and Hank Aguirre turned bats to useless, reedy wisps in Game One. In the battle of complete-game gems, Kansas City slipped by with the 1-0 victory.

With Hal Woodeshick (17-6, 2.80) starting Game Two for St. Louis and Kansas City countering with ace Joe Horlen (20-8, 3.84), it looked like another inauspicious occasion for batters.

And so it was for the first three innings: First Horlen, then Woodeshick, the opposing hurlers sent batter after batter stumbling back to the dugout, head shaking.

Even when Bob Allison solved Horlen for a leadoff triple in the 2nd inning, it came to nothing. Allison tried to score on Fred Whitfield's fly ball and A's centerfielder Johnny Callison gunned him down at the plate.

The futility continued until the top of the 4th inning, when the rabbit scampered back into the baseball, to the chagrin of a capacity 30,000-plus crowd at Municipal Stadium.

Earl Robinson led off the inning with a double for the Cards. Willie Davis grounded to the shortstop and Tom Tresh walked, leaving men on first and second for Allison, eager to atone for his baserunning blunder of two innings before.

And atone he did: Allison laced a liner into the right-centerfield gap, scoring both runners, and legged it into his second consecutive triple. And St. Louis wasn't nearly finished. After Whitfield walked, Ron Santo hammered a Horlen delivery to deep left-center and that cleared the fence with room to spare.

After toiling the first 12 innings of the series without scoring a run, the Cards suddenly led 5-0.

A powerful offensive team in its own right, Kansas City wasn't about to roll over. In the bottom of the inning, the A's broke through against Woodeshick, combining two base hits, and walk and two costly St. Louis errors to close the gap to 5-3.

On this night, though, the heavy artillery belonged to St. Louis. The Cards thumped back at Kansas City in the top of the 5th, scoring two runs, thanks to a double by Earl Robinson, a triple by Willie Davis and a single by Tom Tresh.

Kansas City continued to try to make it look like a contest, scoring a fourth run in the bottom of the 6th inning on Chico Fernandez's RBI triple.

But the A's task was proving Sisyphean: In the top of the 7th, the Cards built KC a higher mountain to climb by putting up a four-spot. The highlight of the inning was a monumental two-run shot over the centerfield fence by Allison. Even then, the Cards wouldn't let up, punishing reliever Truman Clevenger with consecutive singles by Whitfield, Santo, Don Blasingame and Earl Battey.

With an 11-4 lead, the Cardinals coasted home: Even though the St. Louis hurlers couldn't blank Kansas City in any of the last four innings, cruise control was good and sufficient.

When it was over, 4 hours and 15 minutes after the first pitch of the game, St. Louis had evened the Series with a 13-9 verdict. The Cards' 19 hits seemed a bad omen for the A's, who now must take their thin pitching rotation on the road.

"We had faith in our pitching coming into this series," said Cardinals' manager Johnny Keane after the game. "That didn't work, so, well, now we have faith in our batting."

Certainly not their fielding: the Cardinals committed four errors in the game.

The big hero was Allison, whose single, homer and two triples drove in four of the Cardinals' runs. Earl Robinson drilled five hits, and Tom Tresh and Ron Santo had three RBIs each.

Jim Marshall was Kansas City's big run producer, driving home three with three singles. But the A's managed only one extra-base hit out of 15 total, which, on a night like this, just wouldn't get the job done.

The closest thing to a pitching star in the game was Cardinals starter Woodeshick, but even he surrendered five hits and 10 runs in 7.2 innings. It was a good three innings for pitchers, but by the time the final out was registered, the hurlers' lines were stomach-churning.

The Cardinals' Don "Winning Ugly" Mossi (12-16, 3.49) and Kansas City's Tom Cheney (15-13, 5.01) are penciled in as the starters who will try to get the lumber back in the box in Game Three.

The first two games have amply demonstrated that anything can happen in this series.

[darkhorse]

Originally posted by wireman
The Cardinals' Don "Winning Ugly" Mossi (12-16, 3.49) and Kansas City's Tom Cheney (15-13, 5.01) are penciled in as the starters who will try to get the lumber back in the box in Game Three.

The first two games have amply demonstrated that anything can happen in this series.

Great news article, Wireman. You should consider making a career of it.

[wireman]

The Cardinals had thumped Kansas City in the second game of the World Series, bouncing back to even the series in a free-swinging, 13-9 game. But, heading home St. Louis in a 1-1 series, there were still reasons for doubt.

The Cards’ victory had been a sloppy affair; the fumbling Redbirds committed four errors in the contest. And the pitching left plenty to be desired: Cards hurlers couldn’t shut out the A’s in even one of the game’s last four innings.

So when Don Mossi took the mound Wednesday for Game 3 Wednesday night, the team’s usual quiet confidence was mingled with just a pinch of knee-knocking trepidation.

It showed.

Mossi served up a batting-practice fastball to leadoff hitter Chico Fernandez that the A’s third baseman rocketed into left-centerfield for a double. Ron Hunt followed with a single to right, and the A’s had scored for the fifth consecutive inning.

Mossi tried to physically shake off his jitters, looking like a sheepdog emerging from a dip in the pool. He bore down and induced Carl Warwick to bounce a grounder to first baseman Fred Whitfield. Whitfield unceremoniously booted it.

With that, it seemed as though the war of Mossi’s nerves resumed: He let a pitch stray too far inside to the next batter, Chuck Essegian, and the ball hit Essegian on the hand. The A’s leftfielder was forced to leave the game with what was later diagnosed as a jammed finger; his World Series is over.

When pinch runner Tony Kubek trotted out to first base, the Cards were at a crossroads. They were already down a run, the bases were loaded and there was nobody out.

Cards manager Johnny Keane headed out to the mound to talk to Mossi. Catcher Bob Schmidt joined them. Keane beckoned to his infielders, and Whitfield, Tom Tresh, Ron Santo and Don Blasingame added their presence to the committee meeting.

When Keane motioned broadly for the outfielders to join the confab, plate umpire Nestor Chylak objected. Nonetheless, Earl Robinson, Willie Davis and Bob Allison trotted in, and Chylak looked the other way for half a minute while Keane talked to his team.

“Gentlemen, we’re going to have to unleash our secret weapon. I hate to do it, but I think it’s time,” Keane said.

“Uh, what’s this secret weapon, Johnny?” Mossi asked on behalf of the team.

“Simple. Play ball like somebody’s paying you to do it, you dope!” was the exasperated reply. “Mossi, you pitch the ball like you mean it, and if they hit it, for God’s sake, SOMEBODY catch it!”

“I guess I shouldn’t have kept this a secret from you for so long,” said Keane, who has earned a Ph.D. in sarcasm during his 33 years in the Cardinals’ organization.

A few of the Cardinals thought it was a grand joke; most were simply embarrassed. But somehow, all were transfigured. When the game resumed, Mossi fanned Jim Marshall, Bob Oldis flied out to shallow right-center -- runners holding -- and Don Wert lined out to Whitfield, who made a fine one-handed stab.

Simple as that.

In the third inning, the Cardinals struck back. A Bob Schmidt single, Earl Robinson double and Tom Tresh single gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead.

Mossi, after being touched for a few more hits in the 2nd and 3rd innings, began to find his groove as the innings snaked out through the Sportsman Park night. Until Ron Hunt led off the top of the 8th inning with a single, Mossi had retired 12 in a row. And Hunt’s single proved harmless, as Mossi got Carl Warwick to fly out and fanned Norm Cash and Jim Marshall.

Meanwhile, a surprisingly good performance by Kansas City hurler Tom Cheney was going to waste. Aside from the 3rd-inning lapse, the Cards could do nothing with him. But that 2-1 lead was holding up.

The A’s had a last chance in the 9th inning. With one out, Don Wert looped a ball down the leftfield line for a double. For Mossi, who had tossed 110 pitches, the night’s work was over.

Ron Perranoski, whose 43 saves was third in the NL this season, was brought in to nail the door shut. He got Johnny Callison on a grounder to second, and Wert advanced to third. The A’s were now separated from tying the game by the most tantalizing 90 feet in sports. But when pinch hitter Charlie Lau lofted a weak fly ball to left, that distance no longer mattered.

It was over. The “secret weapon” had prevailed.

“Sometimes in life,” the Old Philosopher Keane opined after the game, “you just need somebody to tell you to stop being a silly ass and do what you’re supposed to do.”

Now it’s up to the A’s.

[darkhorse]

Originally posted by wireman
Mossi tried to physically shake off his jitters, looking like a sheepdog emerging from a dip in the pool.

Another great article, though that avatar gives me the heebie jeebies. I've heard Mossi described many ways, but the one above was a first. For those that don't know, Mossi was quite striking in appearance.

[adventureran]

though that avatar gives me the heebie jeebies

I think that's representative of the way Louie's face feels right now.

[wireman]

Of course, what I wrote about Mossi was intended to be descriptive of his movement rather than his coiffure -- or his justly celebrated ears. It's hard for me to control what pops into my head at 4 a.m.

Thanks for the appreciation.

[wireman]

The opening game of the 1963 World Series was aptly viewed as the Battle of the Bucks. Both Game One starters were $10 million men, possessors of the biggest pitcher’s contracts -- aside from the uniquely blessed Sandy Koufax -- in the 4Ever League.

St. Louis Cardinals’ ace Hank Aguirre is so good he has effectively priced himself off two teams. Despite a Cy Young-caliber season, Aguirre became a baseball nomad in ‘63, starting with the Cubs and being swapped in succession to Boston and the Cards, as his agent extracted a $13 million contract extension from his employers. Aguirre’s drift to St. Louis -- for whom he was the last piece of the pennant puzzle -- seemed logical.

Hank’s season was magnificent. His 23 wins were highlighted by a sterling 2.33 ERA, a league-leading 21 complete games, and a stupefying successful 7-0 July.

Tsitouris earned his $10 million in a very different way: He worked and worked and worked. The A’s potent attack carried him to 19 wins although, in truth, he didn’t pitch that well. But he pitched plenty: In his league-high 310 innings, Tsitouris allowed 342 hits and 134 walks, meaning he had to face 1,368 batters to earn his paycheck.

Starting Tsitouris in lieu of 20-game-winner Joe Horlen in Game One was something of a surprise move that paid off handsomely for the A’s. Rising to the challenge, Tsitouris outdueled Aguirre in a classic pitchers’ showdown, 1-0. The denizens of the two teams’ bullpens left their game faces at home, and the starters earned their money.

In Game Four, Tsitouris and Aguirre were at it again, but it was evident at once that it wouldn’t be the duel it was the first time.

The game’s first batter, Chico Fernandez, began Kansas City’s bid to even the Series, bouncing a single up the middle. Aguirre didn’t seem to have his mind on his work. He hit No. 2 hitter Ron Hunt with a pitched ball and walked Jim Marshall. The A’s hadn’t yet hit Aguirre hard, but he was already in a jam that could decide the game: bases full, none out.

It got worse. Aguirre, by now focused to the point of alarm, heaved a wild pitch past catcher Bob Schmidt, scoring a run and leaving base runners on second and third. A Tony Kubek fly ball scored another run. After Johnny Callison grounded out, Don Wert blooped a two-out single to left field to make it 3-0.

The A’s added a fourth run in the second inning on a leadoff double by Carl Warwick, a Tsitouris sacrifice and a groundout by Fernandez.

It was 4-0, and the Cardinals were in trouble. Tsitouris was pitching a Tsitouris game: Not particularly brilliant, but unsullied by St. Louis scoring.

When the A’s scratched out a fifth run in the top of the 6th, the Cards knew they would have to get to work or simply succumb.

In the bottom of the 6th, Bob Allison clubbed a homer to right field. 5-1.

In the bottom of the 7th, Willie Davis singled and Earl Robinson followed with a triple. 5-2.

In the bottom of the 8th, Allison tripled and pinch hitter Earl Battey singled him home. 5-3.

In the face of this disconcerting comeback trend, the A’s did what they had done all year. They handed the ball to big Dick Radatz and appealed to the 6-foot-5 fireman to quell the Cards’ bats and defend Tsitouris’ “W.”

Radatz, possessor of 42 saves in 1963, didn’t need the instruction manual for this chore.

Against the towering righty, the Cards hitters were meek. And, although the meek may well inherit the Earth, they’re unlikely to win a World Series with Dick Radatz on the mound. They couldn’t scratch up even a hint of a rally.

The A’s won Game Four, 5-3, evening the series at 2 apiece.

John Tsitouris, the $10 million workhorse, threw 141 pitches and got a win. Dick Radatz, who nailed the coffin shut, threw 13 pitches and barely worked up a sweat.

For the Cards’ ace, frustration mounted. Hank Aguirre was rarely hit hard in Game Four, gave up only five hits and went the distance. Despite allowing five runs to score, it was a respectable, workmanlike performance. It was also his second loss of the series. It was the first time Aguirre had lost two in a row since May 3.

It looks increasingly like a third Tsitouris-Aguirre matchup could tell the tale of the 1963 World Series. That would seem to be fitting and proper.

[darkhorse]

Originally posted by wireman
And, although the meek may well inherit the Earth, they’re unlikely to win a World Series with Dick Radatz on the mound.

Radatz looking suitably menacing.

[wireman]

In Game Four of the 1963 World Series, the Kansas City A’s had jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the second inning. The St. Louis Cardinals spent the rest of the game chasing them, but once the “A-Train” had pulled out of the station, the Cards just weren’t going to catch them.

If there was one thing the Cards knew in their hearts, it was that they couldn’t afford to play the Chasing Game again.

That’s why the first inning of Game Five was so devastating.

Chico Fernandez spanked a single to lead off Game Five against starter Hal Woodeshick; it was the third straight game that Fernandez had opened with a base hit.

Suddenly, Woodeshick had no more control than a nervous puppy: The veteran southpaw walked Ron Hunt and Jim Marshall. The Cardinals found themselves in the bases-loaded, no-out jam that had become so familiar to them.

Woodeshick righted himself somewhat. He got Tony Kubek to loft a fly ball to left-center that scored Fernandez, then induced Johnny Callison to fly out.

Two on, two outs: The Redbirds were down by a run but, if they could get one more out, they would live with that. Unfortunately, Kansas City’s Don Wert had another idea. He hammered a fly ball to deep left-center for a standup double that scored Hunt and Marshall.

Woodeshick conceded the open base to catcher Bob Oldis, then Carl Warwick drilled a single that brought in still another run, making it 4-0. Pitcher Joe Horlen struck out to end the inning.

The A’s had batted around and the Cardinals hadn’t even put a fingerprint on a bat.

Worse yet, 20-game-winner Horlen was warming up for the A’s, and everybody in Busch Stadium could tell his arm was a whip on this brisk fall evening. The Athletics were sitting on top of the baseball world.

Woodeshick and Horlen settled in for a pitchers’ duel, a development the A’s were perfectly happy with. No more runs tonight? No problem. Advantage, Kansas City.

The score was still 4-0 with two outs in the bottom of the 4th, when Cards’ first baseman Fred Whitfield lofted a fly ball down the right field line. Now, in the days when the Browns played in St. Louis and Busch Stadium was Sportsman’s Park, the fence down the line was 335 feet away; in those days, Whitfield’s fly would have found its way into a right fielder’s glove. But in this new, more enlightened age, fly balls like Whitfield’s are destined for glory. And so it was, as the ball sailed over the fence and took a seat in the fourth row.

For Horlen, it was a bad break; for the Cards, a foot in the door.

Meanwhile, Woodeshick was keeping the A’s at bay. Since their 1st-inning eruption, they had been firing blanks. And Woodeshick seemed to be settling into an unflappable rhythm. Now it was up to the Redbirds’ offense.

In the bottom of the 5th, after a Don Blasingame groundout, catcher Earl Battey walked and was sacrificed to second by Woodeshick. But “smallball” abruptly became academic when Willie Davis hammered a 400-foot homer to right-center. It was Horlen’s first big slip, and it sliced his lead to a single run.

After Kansas City’s second straight 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 6th, the nervous fidgeting in the A’s dugout eloquently bespoke the nervousness that was slowly creeping over the team. Woodeshick had robbed Kansas City’s batters of their confidence, and Horlen’s ability to hold the narrow lead seemed to be the team’s only hope.

It didn’t take long to resolve the issue: Tom Tresh led off the 6th with a single, and Bob Allison followed by crushing a colossal home run that shifted the advantage to St. Louis, 5-4. It was Allison’s third homer of an exceptional World Series.

Horlen finished out the inning uneventfully, but the damage was done.

Woodeshick continued to dazzle the A’s batters. Kansas City went down 1-2-3 in the 7th; in the 8th, Woodeshick retired the first two batters before Johnny Callison blooped a single to left-centerfield. When Davis bobbled the ball, a daring Callison steamed into second base.

Callison had hit Woodeshick’s 100th pitch and, since Callison was now perched dangerously in scoring position, Cardinals’ manager Johnny Keane decided to take no chances. Woodeshick retired for the evening, giving way to John Wyatt.

One base hit away from a new game, with Woodeshick out of the way, the A’s had reason to hope. All--Star first baseman Norm Cash headed out of the dugout to pinch hit for Wert. Much to the A’s chagrin, however, the big slugger, who hit 30 homers in the regular season, harmlessly bounced out.

Now the A’s would have to do it, if they did it at all, against ace Cardinals’ closer Ron Perranoski. It was a considerable chore, since Perranoski had not given up an earned run since August.

Bob Oldis and Carl Warwick were easy bounce-outs to lead off the A’s 9th inning. Charlie Lau, who could spank a base hit at 8 in the morning with one foot still in bed, pinch hit a single to right.

So the game returned to its starting point: Chico Fernandez. Fernandez gave the St. Louis fans a start with a long, opposite-field fly ball that looked like it might clear the fence in right. But it was a ride that ended with the baseball safely within the confines of Busch Stadium.

St. Louis’ surprising come-from-behind 5-4 victory put them one game from the world championship. The series returns to Kansas City tonight with the Cards needing only a split of two games to win it all.

Tony Kubek, who usually shares time in leftfield with the now-injured Chuck Essegian, thinks it shouldn’t have come to that.

“If Chuck were in the lineup, I don’t think Woody could have cruised through our lineup like that,” Kubek opined. “The R’s just aren’t getting BI’d.”

“I think we need another hero in a hurry.”

Tony?

[The Professor]

Great writeup(s)...been enjoying following the 'Gateway Series'

[darkhorse]

Originally posted by wireman
Suddenly, Woodeshick had no more control than a nervous puppy

Great stuff, Louie. I hope the series goes seven so we can look forward to more of these fine articles.

[wireman]

When the 1963 World Series returned to Kansas City for Game Six, the St. Louis Cardinals wanted to apply the coup de grace to the A’s before they could squirm back to life.

In the first inning, St. Louis, up 3-2 in the series, pounced on a shaky Tom Cheney. After the A’s starter walked leadoff batter Willie Davis, Earl Robinson singled Davis to second. Tom Tresh followed with a blooper to centerfield that dropped in front of Johnny Callison for a base hit.

Tresh’s hit could have loaded the bases but Davis, reflecting the Cards’ desire for an early knockout, broke for the plate. Callison seemed a bit surprised and hesitated an instant with his throw to the plate, exactly the effect Davis had counted on. Not only did Davis slide neatly under catcher Bob Oldis’ tag, but Tresh and Robinson advanced to second and third on the throw.

One run in, two runners in scoring position, still nobody out. And slugger Bob Allison headed to the plate.

A’s starter Cheney had had a roller coaster season, and it had been rolling all downhill since the beginning of August. For the last two months, the A’s righty had gone 2-8. So A’s skipper Ed Lopat, a sage old baseball head and particularly wise in the ways of pitchers, wasted no time heading to the mound to talk things over with his starter.

“I don’t know any pitcher I’d rather have on the mound than Tom -- when he‘s ‘on‘,” Lopat says, “but once he loses confidence, he’s just teeing it up out there.”

Lopat, who as a pitcher subdued opposing offenses with guile, wasn’t about to let that happen.

“When he’s in danger of a pitching nosedive, I get out there and try to hand him a parachute,” Lopat says. “I could tell he was getting off on the wrong foot and getting kind of a wild look, and I needed to just talk him down.”

Cheney struggled to his pitching feet like a newborn fawn, slipping and shaking, but eventually getting there. He got Allison to offer on a fastball out of the strike zone for an important first out. Fred Whitfield bounced a single to center, scoring Robinson and moving Tresh to third.

Ron Santo then a line drive that nearly got through to left field for still another hit. But shortstop Don Wert snared the screamer and, after a base-loading walk to Don Blasingame and an easy fly ball to center by Earl Battey, the A’s were out of the inning.

The Cardinals were up 2-0 and on course for a championship, but the A’s felt as though they had danced out of the grave.

Cheney and Cardinals starter Don Mossi then got down to work. Cheney, after further reinforcement from Lopat in the dugout, began to show why the A’s manager has such confidence in him, beginning a string of scoreless innings. Mossi weathered a leadoff single to Chico Fernandez -- his fourth straight game-opening hit -- a single to Bob Oldis in the 2nd, and a double to Fernandez in the 3rd. The grizzled lefty was tough when it counted, and wouldn’t let the A’s mount a real scoring threat.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, however, the A’s took control. Don Wert touched Mossi for a towering opposite-field homer to lead off the frame. Mossi, seemingly unperturbed, got Mike Hershberger to bounce the ball back to the mound for the first out. A short fly ball by Bob Oldis dropped in for a single, but Norm Cash hit a hopper to first that resulted in a force of Oldis at second.

With two outs, a runner on second, and Cheney at the plate, it looked as though the crafty Mossi would have no trouble holding onto the 2-1 lead. But Cheney, a .207 hitter during the regular season, got a no-frills fastball over the fat part of the plate and fought it off for a base hit to left.

The door thus opened, the A’s couldn’t help but stride through. Especially since Cheney’s hit brought Fernandez to the plate, a hitter Mossi hadn‘t been able to solve. And true to form, Fernandez laced a line-drive double down the right field line that scored both base runners.

The A’s had taken a 3-2 lead.

The game was uneventful until the 7th. But the 7th would more than make up for the lull.

Cheney had kept the Redbirds’ hitter caged since their 1st-inning rally. But he started out the 7th looking tired. Earl Robinson led off with a sharp grounder to left for a base hit. Tom Tresh bunted Robinson to second.

Lopat had seen enough. Cheney had faced a lot of batters and thrown a lot of pitches and was all the way to weary and beyond. While reliever Morrie Steevens finished warming up, Lopat had Cheney issue a pass to Bob Allison.

Steevens, a modestly talented 23-year-old, was a pleasant surprise for the A’s this season -- but this was his first postseason appearance.

“I put him out there, so I have to take the rap,” Lopat said, “but the kid looked like he’d had about forty cups of coffee. I suppose what happened was inevitable.”

What happened was this: Steevens walked Andre Rodgers to load the bases, then treated Ron Santo to a slack fastball that the Cards’ third baseman spanked into left for a two-run single.

Steevens got his bearings, getting pinch hitter Bob Scmidt to hit a bouncer that forced Santo at second, leaving runners on first and third. Unfortunately, Cash booted what would have been the inning-ending grounder by Earl Battey, letting in a third run. Steevens then disposed of Mossi.

The Redbirds were back in the driver’s seat, up 5-3 and needing just nine Kansas City outs for a world title.

On this day, however, Don Mossi just couldn’t abide prosperity. Staked to a two-run lead, he unraveled like an 80-dollar suit.

The bottom of the 7th started loudly, as Tony Taylor, pinch hitting for Steevens, launched a shot that looked like it would go halfway to Taylor’s native Cuba. It wound up in the leftfield stands. That brought up the second half of the A’s “Cuban Connection,” former Cienfuegos star Humberto Fernandez, known to norteamericanos as “Chico.” Fernandez drilled a Mossi delivery into the gap in right-center for his fourth straight hit. When the dust cleared at third base, Fernandez had taken up residence, 90 feet from tying the contest.

Ron Hunt didn’t keep the hometown crowd in suspense: he drilled a single to left-center that scored Fernandez and tied the game. Mossi bore down, getting Carl Warwick to hit a bouncer to Ron Santo. Santo, eager to get around the horn for a rally-killing double play, forgot to pick up the ball. All hands were safe, and there were still no outs.

Johnny Callison put the A’s back on top with a base hit to center, and Davis -- who, of all people, should have known better -- made an ill-advised throw to the plate in a futile bid to nail Hunt. The throw moved Callison and Warwick to second and third, respectively.

After Don Wert was intentionally walked, loading the bases, John Wyatt entered the game and was welcomed to Mossi’s nightmare by ever-reliable pinch hitter Charlie Lau. Lau drilled a single to right field that scored two more runs, and the A’s were up, 8-5.

Perhaps the A’s were just tired of running the bases by this point, perhaps Wyatt found his bearings. Bob Oldis struck out, Norm Cash flied out and Taylor, who started it all, bounced into a force. The big inning was over, but the A’s had a five-spot in their pocket and the Cards were in huge trouble.

Al Stanek was an offbeat choice to emerge from Lopat’s bullpen to pitch the 8th inning. But although just 19, Stanek showed poise beyond his years. The Cardinals batters might as well have been blindfolded, going down 1-2-3, the last two striking out.

But Stanek, of course, was just the opening act for the A’s true headliner: it was the imposing closer Dick Radatz the Cards had to deal with in the 9th inning.

Radatz finished applying the collar to Cardinals batting star Bob Allison, bringing the A’s to within two outs of a seventh series game. But Andre Rodgers touched Radatz for a soft liner to left-center that dropped for a hit, and when Santo coaxed a walk out of the big fireman, the Cardinal fans in attendance began to make some noise.

Pinch hitter Whitey Herzog stepped into the potential hero’s role, and nearly made the most of it. His fly ball to deep right-center field took Callison to the fence, where the A’s centerfielder stretched his 5-10 frame as far as nature would allow -- and made the catch.

Radatz didn’t let Earl Battey get nearly so close. His grounder to short ended the game and tied the series at 3-3.

Now it’s a one-game showdown for the title.

Ed Lopat, taciturn for most of the series, was expansive after the big Game Six win:

“I don’t think there’s a single player in this league who is not an exceptional athlete. Sometimes the fans think marginal major leaguers are just bums who fell off an onion truck and landed in a big league ballpark. But every one of these players can accomplish amazing things.

“You know, there was a skinny kid from Havana some years back that the Phillies thought enough of to trade four players and cash for. He never turned out quite the way they wanted but, right now, I think Chico Fernandez is worth all that and more to us.”

Fernandez was indeed the player the Phillies had prized so highly in 1957.

After his 5-for-5 performance in Game Six got the A’s going and kept them going, Fernandez is The Kansas City Star.

[HolyCow98]

Great stuff...
I love when people post stuff like this from their dynasties or online leagues....thats what its all about...

[adventureran]

Even though I know you're all waiting for another great story from Louie, I didn't want to keep everyone in suspense.

The St. Louis Cardinals are the 1963 4Ever Baseball World Series Champs!

They won it by scoring the go ahead run in the top of the 9th inning. The final score was 6-5 and Hank Aguirre finally got a post-season victory - possibly the biggest victory of his life. He finally beat John Tsitouris and brings the Championship Trophy home to St. Louis.

Great season and great series for both St. Louis and Kansas City!

[wireman]

My Internet connection has been sporadic all weekend; I didn't catch the live sim and I don't have a game log. Tomorrow, I have to report for jury duty, raising the possibility that I could be busy 8 a.m.-midnight for the next couple of days.

So a final story will either come a little later or from another source.

Meanwhile, if you follow the link to the league site, the KC owner has already weighed in with his own view of the outcome.

Congratulations to all in the 4Ever League for weathering a first season that had its share of problems. And thanks especially to Ran for making it all work.

A special congratulations to the Cards for a great season.

Onward and upward...