SO49: 1960 Coming to an end...

[The Professor]

It is the end of the 1960 season in Summer of '49 and fans are now looking forward to the upcoming League Championship Series matches.

American League fans must be used to it by now. As it has been in each season of divisional play, so it is again in 1960. The American League Eastern Division champs -- and owners of the AL Pennant since 1956 -- are the Detroit Tigers. Unlike in previous seasons, however, the Tigers are showing some chinks in their armor. This year's 89-65 mark is the worst of any of Hal Newhouser's playoff squads, and it took an easy slate of games in the final weeks (against Baltimore and Los Angeles) to propel the Tigers past a tough New York Yankees squad that was playing without their ace hurler through the entire stretch (and had a considerably tougher schedule).

As usual, the Tigers bring a bevy of big bangers to the table. The "Motown Eight" are easily the most dangerous order in the league from 1-to-8. The infield unit features 30-homer guys Norm Zauchin and Eddie Mathews (38 and 35 respectively) as well as Gil McDougald (.304-15-64) and former Kansas City star Ken Boyer. Boyer has struggled since coming up from the Browns, though, and seems to be pressing.

The Tigers outfield trio of George Shuba, Willie Mays and Bill Virdon is excellent. Mays remains the best all-around player in the league and has put together a marvelous 52-home run campaign in 1960. Detroit newspapers are already touting Mays as a repeat AL MVP Award winner (he also won in 1958). 'Shotgun' Shuba is no longer the feared slugger of yesteryear, but his 33 clouts in 1960 are still impressive. He remains - bar none - the most popular player in Detroit to this day. Virdon is all class, super smooth and very effective even when splitting duties with ex-Brownie Jim Busby.

It is in Newhouser's pitching corps, however, that signs of decay have begun to show. Former ace Art Houtteman struggled to a 12-13 mark this year, but has been playing better of late. Hometown hero Tom Poholsky won 22 games and is the ace of the staff, while journeyman Gene Conley was superb in his second Motown season with an 18-7 record. A reliable fourth starter simply is not in existence as several arms have been tried and found wanting. Legendary fireman Bobby Shantz has suffered through his worst season in 1960, his ERA ballooning to over 4, while the rest of the Tigers bullpen has been - to put it succinctly - very erratic.

It is against that less-than-stellar staff that the AL Western Division champs hope to thrive.

The San Francisco Red Sox have been dispatched three times in LCS play by the Tigers, but hope that they get it right the fourth time around. After all, this is a team that just set the single-season (SO49) record for wins with 109. Regular season success, though, doesn't mean anything if the Sox cannot get into the Fall Classic.

Foxx's Sox (a moniker inspired by second-year skipper Jimmie Foxx) are every bit as offensively inclined as the Tigers, though their power is packed into fewer players. In 1960 they led the Majors in runs scored and walks, placing second in average and home runs.

It all starts with the team's anchor, 1B Ted Kluszewski. 'Klu' put up MVP numbers in 1960 with a line of .335-37-107. Joining the muscle-bound slugger on the Sox infield are veterans Cass Michaels (the former 'Slap-and-Dasher' holds down one half of the keystone) and 3B Jim Finigan. Slick fielding soph Don Buddin has been a revelation at SS, playing superb defense and hitting over .300 on the season.

The pride of the Golden Gate is in the Red Sox outfield where two of the most thunderous bats in baseball reside. RF Wally Post has finally emerged as one of the AL's premier sluggers with a 44-homer season, hitting over .300 as usual. CF Frank Thomas, however, is the premier home run artist in the majors with another 50-HR campaign under his belt. Veteran speedster Jackie Jensen is out with injuries, so super-sub Wally Moon will finally get a chance to shine in the post-season.

As good as Foxx's Sox are offensively, they feature the very best pitching staff in all of baseball. Ace starters Bob Trowbridge and Tom Acker are a combined 44-7 in 1960. Curt Simmons (17-11), Babe Birrer (18-8) and Johnny Podres (15-8) round out a deep, talented, and dangerous starting unit.

An equally deep, and fantastic, bullpen is anchored by Mickey McDermott who nailed down an AL-best 44 saves in his second season as the team's relief ace.

It has been a long time since the Tigers were considered "underdogs", but that is certainly the case here in 1960. The Red Sox -- considered by weaker teams to be the bullies of the AL (just look at their poor Western Division brethren) are favorites to finally capture the title.

When asked how the Tigers would handle the mighty Sox, Willie Mays responsded simply with a wink and a smile. "Just like we always have before," said the Tigers star.

We are going to see...

NL Preview and stuff coming next...

[darkhorse]

Mmmm......dat was some good readin'. Thanks, Prof.

[The Professor]

The story on the Senior Circuit is very similar to the AL; the NLCS will feature a rematch of 1959's contenders -- and also like the American League the roles for 1960 seem to be reversed.

Entering as favorites are the NL Eastern Division flag winners, the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Bums held off a late rush by a talented Pittsburgh squad to clinch their second straight division title, but unlike last season this year's squad is every bit the equal of any other team in baseball.

A decade ago Leo Durocher directed the Dodgers to a World Championship with an approach that emphasized the long-ball. Sluggers like Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella and Duke Snider along with all-everything Jackie Robinson were the names on the tongues of the Ebbets Field faithful. In 1960, though, Durocher has unleashed a very different kind of attack on the Majors.

"Jackrabbits!"

With a MLB best 135 stolen bases, the Dodgers are a team primed to run -- run early and run often. "The green light is always on," says Durocher. SS Luis Aparicio is the team's catalyst, having swiped 62 bases in 1960, the best mark in baseball. 1B Bob Skinner contributed 36 steals in addition to 19 homers and a .299 batting average. Veteran 2B Dick Cole (.306 BA) and Herb Plews (.326 BA) round out a very solid Brooklyn infield, a unit that provides not only an offensive spark but the perhaps the best defense in the National League.

Brooklyn's outfield still revolves around The Duke of Flatbush. Duke Snider, in his 14th season, is putting the finishing touches on a Hall of Fame career. In 1960 he hit .289 with 35 HR and over 100 RBI in addition to stealing 24 bases. Nobody electrifies the Ebbets crowd like the Duke. Slugger Jim Lemon (32 HR) is the other big gun in the Dodger order, but continues to struggle with long cold-spells. The revolving third-spot in the outfield appears to finally be resolved with the addition of batting ace Don Mueller from Minnesota. Mueller hit .340 in 1960 with 70 RBI and continues to draw raves from league batting instructors who marvel at his sweet swing.

The real story in Brooklyn, though, is the continuing maturation of the unit once known as the 'Baby Bums'. The pitching staff has grown into the NL's very finest with a talented starting unit backed by the best bullpen in the league. Roger Craig, ever consistent, is the ace with a 17-7 mark in 1960. Pete Ramos, Leo Kiely and the soon-to-be-healthy Ray Moore are round out a great staff. Youngster Mike McCormick waits in the wings should Durocher call. Virgil Jester, Sonny Dixon and fireman Cliff Ross are the heart of a wonderful bullpen...the Dodgers simply don't blow many leads.

If the defending World Champions have their way there won't be any Dodger leads to blow.

In the end the Minnesota Giants had a far easier time clinching their second straight NL Western Division flag than it appeared they would early in the season (when the entire division was within 2.5 games for several months). The 1960 Giants are a very different squad from their 1959 Championship incarnation, lighter on offense and with lights-out pitching featuring two future Hall of Famers.

Unfortunately for the G-Men, they may be without team leader Yogi Berra this postseason, the aging backstop is dealing with a separated shoulder. If healthy, Berra is still a force, if no longer the offensive star of yesteryear. Unknown quantity Mack Burk may have to step in if Berra is unable to play. The Giants infield has a very different look up the middle where fan favorite Danny O'Connell has been shunted aside by former Pirate Harvey Kuenn. Billy Goodman left in the trade that brought Kuenn in, so speedy Don Blasingame has taken over as the everyday 2B. Veteran Nippy Jones had a star campaign at 1B (.320-20-83) while Davey Williams (.285-26-93) continues to remind Chicago White Sox fans how good he is. All in all, this is a much lighter hitting unit than Giants fans have been accustomed to in the past.

For that matter, the outfield trio is not as powerful as in the past. In fact, this is a rather unheralded unit in which the most recognizable player (LF Dick Stuart, also a former Pirate) is probably the least productive. Former Angel Chuck Tanner (.301-21-84) is the leader of this group while rookie Lee Maye has played impressive ball since the trade of Don Mueller.

If the luster is off the Giants offense in 1960, there is Cooperstown Gold in the pitching staff. A pair of moves at the deadline by legendary Giants owner Jim Grimley netted the two greatest arms of the NL's past decade for the Giants -- former Phillies ace Whitey Ford and ex-Chicago Cubs wonder boy Stu Miller. Ford and Miller top a staff that also includes blazing southpaw Herb Score and ascendant star Ken Lehman (a Minnesota best 19-7 in 1960). The Giants bullpen is equally dazzling with Bob Greenwood stepping into the closer's role for veteran Frank Quinn.

So, it appears that the NLCS will feature a battle of arms -- two outstanding staffs going toe-to-toe. Both squads are confident they can match up on the pitching end with either AL contender, but scoring runs may prove trickier...especially if the Giants are forced to go without Berra.

...and in a poignant side story, Brooklyn owner Jerimy Kopra may be in his final campaign at the helm of the Dodgers. It is his guiding hand that has kept this Dodgers squad competitive through these years, rearming on the fly and changing the team's style of play. The Bums would like nothing more than to send their beloved owner out a World Champion.

[TC Dale]

DH has it right. Nice stuff there!

[The Professor]

1960 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Game 1, Detroit @ San Francisco, Seals Stadium:

A matchup of aces Tom Poholsky for Detroit and Bobby Trowbridge for the Sox ends up being one of those games you remember for a long time.

Detroit took a 2-0 lead when Willie Mays went deep off Trowbridge in the third inning. The Sox, however, rebounded with a 3-spot in the fourth frame thanks to a Wallopin' Wally Post blast.

3-2 Red Sox after four innings.

The teams traded runs in the 5th inning -- Frank Thomas adding a circuit clout for the Sox. The Tigers, however, did what they do best in the very next frame: solo blasts by the infield corners Zauchin and Mathews put them up 5-4.

5-4 Tigers after six innings.

The teams traded runs again in the eighth inning, Mays adding his second home run of the game. Another run across in the ninth put the Tigers up 7-5 going into the last half of the inning.

...but the Red Sox found a way to plate 2 key runs off the Tigers shaky bullpen, knotting the score. The game moved into extra innings...and on...and on....

...and on as the bullpens dueled.

Finally, in the bottom of the fifteenth frame, the Red Sox bled the winning run across -- sending the faithful crowd at Seals Stadium home delighted.

Final Score: 8-7 Red Sox in 15 Innings. Ken Johnson (W), Orlando Pena (L)
HRs: Mays (2), Zauchin, E.Mathews, Post, Thomas
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Game 2, Detroit @ San Francisco, Seals Stadium

Gene Conley took the mound for the Bengals while Tom Acker went in for Jimmie Foxx's Red Sox.

The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Red Sox knotted the score in the bottom of the fourth.

The scores remained knotted into the eighth inning when Detroit's Gil McDougald homered, putting the Tigers up 2-1. However, a Dixie Upright RBI-double in the next half knotted the score once again.

In the final frame the Tigers got another tally when struggling Kenny Boyer knocked a runner home. Bobby Shantz retired the Sox in order in their half, and the Tigers put the series even.

Final: 3-2 Detroit. Locke (W), Podres (L)
HR: McDougald
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Game 3, San Francisco @ Detroit, Tiger Stadium

Almost the game of Art Houtteman's life...

...the veteran Detroit ace pitched a flawless game through 7 innings before finally giving up a walk (gone is the perfecto), a hit (no more "no-no") and 2 runs in the eighth frame...

...unfortunately for the Red Sox, Curt Simmons (an LCS goat every season it seems) had been victimized by home runs from Kenny Boyer and Gil McDougald in a 3-run fifth inning. A Willie Mays blast in the bottom of the eighth was all it took to seal a 4-2 Tigers win.

Final: 4-2 Detroit. Houtteman (W), Simmons (L), Shantz (S)
HR: Boyer, McDougald, Mays
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Game 4, San Francisco @ Detroit, Tiger Stadium

...in the end, Tom Poholsky -- born in Detroit -- proved why is a true hometown hero. Holding the Sox offense to 2 runs, Poholsky outdueled Sox starter Babe Birrer and sent the Red Sox home losers...again.

Willie Mays added another circuit blast, and in the hours after Curt Gowdy signed off the Sox airwaves for another year there were rumors of fire and small riots in the city that is still waiting to reach the promised land...

...and clearly, now, it seems that the Curse of the Bambino packed up and moved to the left coast, too.

Final: 4-2 Detroit. Poholsky (W), Birrer (L), Shantz (S)
HR: Buddin, Mays

[The Professor]

1960 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Game 1, Minnesota @ Brooklyn, Ebbets Field

Brooklyn ace Roger Craig goes to the mound against the 'Windy City Wonderboy' Stu Miller...

...and Miller shows the Ebbets crowd why he is one of the best hurlers of the past decade. He scatters three hits over nine innings in crafting a masterful shut-out. Roger Craig was only slightly less effective, but was pitching from behind after a Lee Maye double and Dick Stuart RBI in the 2nd inning. The Giants managed to get 2 more runs off Craig over nine innings, with Stuart (again) and Davey Williams knocking in the scores.

Final: 3-0 Minnesota. Miller (W), Craig (L)
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Game 2, Minnesota @ Brooklyn, Ebbets Field

The Dodgers jump on Whitey Ford early thanks to a Duke Snider HR, and -- despite a late rally from the Giants -- hold on behind a gritty performance by Pedro Ramos.

Final: 6-5 Brooklyn, Ramos (W), Ford (L), Ross (S)
HR: Snider, Blasingame
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Game 3, Brooklyn @ Minnesota, Metropolitan Stadium

A 2-2 pitchers duel between Leo Kiely and flame-thrower Herb Score that is ended by a timely ninth inning RBI from Giants SS Harvey Kuenn.

Final: 3-2 Minnesota, Score (W), Kiely (L)
HR: Stuart, Tanner, Lemon
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Game 4, Brooklyn @ Minnesota, Metropolitan Stadium

A game that once again looked to be a great pitchers duel as red-hot Virgil Jester (filling in for injured Ray Moore) took the mound against Ken Lehman.

Lehman was aces, holding the Dodgers to 1 run through seven innings while Jester finally cracked in the sixth, allowing the Giants to plate 3 runs keyed by a Davey Williams double. A late rally by the Dodgers off the Giants pen simply wasn't enough to stop the defending World Champs from advancing to a second straight World Series...

Final: 5-3 Minnesota, Lehman (W), Jester (L), Greenwood (S)

[JDScorch]

Great stuff as always Nate! The Detroit-Minnesota World Series kicks off tonight on AIM at 9:15pm cst. Stop by if you get a chance, Nate has a knack for providing a great commentary on the events of the game.