The World Series (6 page)

Amazingly, Pittsburgh squeaked out a 3–2 win in
game four to tie the Series. Then they outhit the Yankees the next day on their way to a 5–2 win and their first Series lead.

Whitey Ford was back on the mound for game six. He confounded the Pirates' batters again to earn his second shutout of the
Series. The Yankees, meanwhile, crossed home plate twelve times! With the score at three games each, the Series was going
into a seventh deciding game.

Statistically, the Series seemed weighted in the Yankees' favor. They had a six-game total of 46 runs; the Pirates had 17.
The Yankees had 78 hits; the Pirates had 42. The Yankees had eight home runs; the Pirates had one. The Yankees had shut out
the Pirates twice; in both those games, the Pirates had allowed the Yankees to get into the double digits.

Yet if the Pirates went into game seven feeling demoralized, they didn't show it. They scored four runs while holding the
Yankees scoreless. In fact, New York didn't get on the board until the top of the fifth, and then only for one run.

Then came the sixth inning. After all but shutting down the New York offense, pitcher Vern Law gave
up a single and a walk before being relieved by Roy Face.

But Face fared no better. While Maris fouled out, Mantle singled, scoring Bobby Richardson and sending Tony Kubek to third.
Then Yogi Berra clocked a three-run homer. Suddenly, the Pirates were in the hole, 5–4!

The score was still 5–4 at the top of the eighth. Face retired New York's biggest threats, Maris and Mantle — only to walk
Berra, give up singles to Bill Skowron and Johnny Blanchard, and then a double to Clete Boyer! The score leaped from a manageable
5–4 to an unwieldy 7–4 before the inning finally ended.

Pittsburgh fans at Forbes Field slumped in their seats. Their team had just two at bats to overcome a three-run lead. Given
their hitting stats, two didn't seem nearly enough.

First up in the bottom of the eighth was pinch hitter Gino Cimoli. He tapped out a single. Then Bill Virdon plugged a grounder
right toward shortstop Tony Kubek.

Kubek crouched for the easy catch.
Thock!
The
ball struck something in the grass and ricocheted right into Kubek's neck! As Kubek lay in the dirt, clutching his injury,
Cimoli charged to second and Virdon reached first.

Two men on, no outs? Pittsburgh fans sat up a little straighter.

The third batter, Dick Groat, singled to score Cimoli and send Virdon to second. The score was now 7–5. There were still no
outs and runners on first and second. One sacrifice bunt later, those runners had advanced to second and third. One good hit
could score Virdon; a great hit could tie the game.

But the next batter, Rocky Nelson, flied out. That brought up right fielder Roberto Clemente. Clemente did what Nelson hadn't
been able to do, namely, rap out a single to score Virdon.

Pirate fans leaped to their feet with a roar. The home team was within one of tying the game!

Now Hal Smith came up. Smith was a solid player but not a top hitter. No one expected him to provide the run they needed.

Yet Smith did provide — and how! When reliever Jim Coates delivered his pitch, Smith blasted the
ball deep for a three-run homer! The slugfest ended with the next batter, but the Pirates were once again ahead, 9–7.

The 1918 Boston Red Sox team photo (Babe Ruth second row, fourth from left). Ruth pitched the team to their fourth World Series
win of the decade.

Lou Gehrig crosses home, thanks to a two-run homer by Babe Ruth in the New York Yankees 1932 World Series victory.

“The Catch,” made by Willie Mays during the 1954 World Series.

Bill “Maz” Mazeroski comes home after hitting the first ever Series-winning homer in 1960.

Carlton Fisk waves his arms, willing his blast during the 1975 World Series to drop fair. The ball struck the foul pole for
a home run.

In 1977, Reggie Jackson does what only one other player—Babe Ruth—had ever done before: hit three consecutive homers in one
game in the World Series.

Kirk Gibson, sidelined with painful injuries, came off the bench to hit a two-run, game-winning homer in the 1988 World Series.

The Boston Red Sox reverse the 86-year-old “Curse of the Bambino” by winning the 2004 World Series.

There was still one inning left, however, and the Yankees used their turn at bat to full advantage. The first batters singled.
Roger Maris popped a foul ball for the first out, but the threat of two ninners on base still remained. Mickey Mantle made
good on the threat by singling one runner home. They needed only one more to tie things up. They got it in classic fashion.

Yogi Berra was up. He drove the ball down the first-base line. Mantle, at first, started for second just as first baseman
Rocky Nelson gloved the ball and stepped on the bag. Berra was out — and Mantle would have been, too, if Nelson had managed
to tag him before he returned to first base. But he didn't. Mantle dove for the bag and slid under Nelson's glove a split
second before the tag.

And meanwhile, the runner on third had taken off for home. When he scored, the game was tied at 9 apiece.

That's how the score remained when the Pirates came up in the bottom of the ninth. If they could
push across just one run, they would beat the seemingly unbeatable Yankees. If they didn't, the game would go into extra innings.
That, they knew, could very well prove disastrous for them.

Leading off for Pittsburgh was Bill Mazeroski. “Maz,” as he was known, had had a strong Series so far, including a two-run
homer in game one. He ]stood at the plate, facing reliever Ralph Terry. Terry's first pitch was high. Maz let it go by for
ball one. The second pitch was also high. This time, however, Maz swung — hard.

Boom!

The sound of bat hitting ball echoed around the stadium for a microsecond before being drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
It was a home run, the first World Series–winning homer ever!

Maz rounded the bases waving his cap and grinning ear to ear. Pittsburgh fans jumped, screamed, and danced in the stands.
Sure, the Yankees had beaten them in stats — outhitting, outfielding, and outpitching the Pirates in nearly every game — but
in the end, the only stat that mattered was the final score of the final game. And thanks to Maz, that
score was Pittsburgh 10, New York 9. The Pirates were world champs for the first time since 1925.