Doby In The Clutch

White Sox at Indians, May 28, 1949

Doby In The Clutch

This was a surprisingly close game, especially considering how poorly the White Sox have been in general in this replay.

Cleveland took a narrow 4-3 lead into the top of the 8th inning, but the White Sox exploded for 3 runs. The highlight was Don Wheeler hitting this triple:

That one tied the ballgame at 4 each. Chicago managed to score two more, giving them a 6-4 lead.

However, player-manager Lou Boudreau answered right away in the bottom of the 8th:

And that set us up for the ending, with the Indians trailing, 6-5.

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A Suitable Ending

Joe Gordon got things off on the right foot for the Indians in the bottom of the 9th:

That brought up the weak-hitting catcher Jim Hegan. Naturally, I asked Jim to bunt:

Now, that’s really not what we wanted. We replaced Gordon, a good runner, with Hegan, an awful runner. I took Jim out and put in Thurman Tucker as a pinch runner.

The pitcher’s spot came up next. I went to the bench and called upon Bobby Avila:

There were now two men on with one out. I decided to take a big risk and called for a hit and run with Ken Keltner at bat:

Don’t you hate it when the batter misses the ball on a hit and run like that? Fortunately, Thurman is a good base runner. If Hegan were out there we wouldn’t stand a chance.

Keltner still had a job to do:

That tied us up at 6, and it was now up to Larry Doby to send us home:

This one felt particularly satisfying. It’s always nice when everything you do seems to work.

Early Wynn will feel unfortunate to not be the winner in this one. Al Benton, meanwhile, has managed to already win 5 games in relief.