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The 1962 World Series
In Part One of this look-back at the 1962 post-season, Paul Doyle provided us with a nice overview of the three-game playoff series between the Dodgers and the Giants. At stake was the right to advance to the 1962 World Series. In Part Two, I focused on the pivotal ninth inning of Game Three—which some say may very well be the most disastrous inning in Dodger history.
Today, in Part Three, I’ll provide some details about the 1962 World Series which also had a dramatic ending. This time it didn’t end in the Giants’ favor. Finally, I’ll conclude with a few words about the Giants’ great Hall-of-Fame slugger, Willie McCovey, who hit the blistering shot, snared by Bobby Richardson, that ended the 1962 World Series.
A World Series To Remember!
The 1962 World Series—between the 103-62 Giants and the 96-66 Yankees—was played over a then-record 13 days, from October 4-16. The prolonged length was
due to rainouts in both San Francisco and New York. The Giants were making their first World Series appearance since 1954 and their first since the move to the West Coast in 1958. The Yankees, on the other hand, were making their twenty-sixth appearance in the Fall Classic since their first pennant won by the Babe Ruth-led team of 1921.
These two powerful, closely matched teams were loaded with talent. There were plenty of future Hall-of-Famers on the field: Yankees Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Mickey Mantle; Giants Orlando Cepeda, Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, and Willie McCovey; plus HOF umpire Al Barlick. The series MVP was Ralph Terry, who went 2-1 with victories in Games Five and Seven. The Yankee pitcher was hoping to atone for giving up the fateful gopher ball to Bill Mazeroski in the 1960 World Series. The series was broadcast on NBC with Mel Allen and Russ Hodges sharing the on-air TV duties, while former major leaguers George Kell and Joe Garagiola manned the radio side.
Reminiscent of the 1960 World Series in which the Yankees dominated the Pirates but lost the series, the losing Giants led the Yankees in batting average (.226-.199), earned run average: (2.66-2.95), hits (51-44), home runs (5-3), triples (2-1), and doubles (10-6). The only category in which they trailed was the one that really mattered: games won, as the Yankees came away victorious, four games to three.
The Fateful Game Seven
After six games, the series was tied three games apiece. That set the stage for the dramatic conclusion in Game Seven played at Candlestick Park. Ralph Terry, on the mound for the Yankees, held on to a tenuous 1-0 lead as the game entered the ninth. The game’s only run had scored in the fifth when Tony Kubek hit into a run-scoring double play.
In the bottom of the ninth, Matty Alou led off with a bunt single. Terry then struck out the next two batters, Felipe Alou and Chuck Hiller. Willie Mays followed with an extra base hit, a solid shot into the right-field corner. Roger Maris then made the play of the game: Roger played Mays’ ball perfectly off the carom and hit cutoff man Richardson with a strong accurate throw. As Richardson turned and fired a strike toward home plate, Alou wisely held at third.
Now What To Do? No Good Choices…
With two outs and first base open, the Yankees faced a real baseball dilemma.
Should they walk the next batter, Willie McCovey? That would load the bases and bring up Orlando Cepeda. Not an appealing option. After much deliberation, they chose to pitch to McCovey.
“Stretch” Rips the Cover Off the Ball!
What Giants’ fan can ever forget what happened next? The cruel result is forever etched deeply into their collective baseball psyche. The dangerous McCovey strode to the plate. With his massive 6’4” 198-pound frame, the bat resembled a mere toothpick as he menacingly twirled it in his huge hands. With two outs and the runners off on contact, any base hit would likely win the series for the Giants. The stakes couldn’t have been higher.
Terry’s inside fastball on the second pitch handcuffed McCovey. As strong as he was, he was able to adjust in mid-swing and cracked a vicious line drive that seemed destined for right field. He later described it as “the hardest ball I ever hit.”
At the last instant, the screaming liner was snatched by the Yankees’ second baseman Bobby Richardson, as he seemingly pulled the ball out of its mid-air flight. Giants’ fans were in shock. They literally went from the heights of euphoria at the prospect of McCovey’s game-winning hit — into the depths of complete heartbreak, all within a fraction of a second. And then cold reality set in: The great play had ended the game…the Yankees had won the World Series. With it went the Giants’ fleeting hopes for a championship. It would take another 27 years— an entire generation into the future—before they would again see the Fall Classic.
Willie McCovey’s Great Career
This gives me a chance to share a few words about Hall-of Famer Willie McCovey’s career, edited from one of my earlier posts:
“Willie McCovey was the scariest hitter in baseball” –Bob Gibson
Those of us old enough to have seen Willie McCovey in his prime would certainly concur with Bob Gibson’s assessment. We’ll never forget him. As a Cub fan in those early days, I feared the worst whenever the Giants of McCovey, Mays, and Cepeda pulled into town. Quite often, the Cubs were no match for these great Giant teams.
One of the most intimidating sluggers of his era, Willie played 22 seasons in the majors (1959-’80), for the Giants (1959-’73), Padres (1974-’76) Athletics (1976), and again with the Giants (1977-’80).
Over his career, “Stretch” hit .270, with 521 home runs (20th all-time),1555 RBIs, 2211 hits, 1229 runs, 353 doubles, 46 triples, .374 on-base percentage, .515 slugging average, and a well-above-average 147 OPS+. He also hit 18 career grand slams, a National League record. In eight post-season games, Willie hit .310 with three home runs and seven RBIs.
His many career highlights include Rookie of the Year honors (1959), National League MVP (1969), three-time National League home run leader, and two-time RBI leader. His best year was 1969, when he hit .320, with 45 home runs, and 126 RBIs. A six-time All-star, McCovey hit 231 home runs in Candlestick Park, the most hit here by any player, and included a home run on September 16, 1966, described as the longest ever hit at the ‘Stick. As one often wonders when contemplating the career of Willie Mays, how many home runs would McCovey have hit had he played half his career at, say, Wrigley Field? We’ll never know.
The 1962 World Series was a series to remember, and Willie McCovey was quite a ballplayer. Today we fondly shine our baseball spotlight on them both.
Gary Livacari
Information: Excerpts edited from Willi McCovey Wikipedia page, and Baseball.Reference.com
