What an Ending!
Athletics at Yankees, April 26, 1949
Incredible Finish
Every once in a while you wind up with one of those games that you never forget. This is one of those games.
Lineups
First of all, though, an explanation is in order, especially for those who may be new to the blog.
I am very well aware that my lineups differ greatly from those used in real life.
There is a method behind my madness. I explained why I tend to use my own lineups in an earlier post.
One advantage that using my own lineups gives me is that I can change them to make sense in the context of what is happening in the replay.
The original lineups looked like this:
Mine, on the other hand, were completely different.
Who To Start?
This lineup issue becomes important right from the start, of course. Because I’m not using the as-played lineups like most “normal” replayers, I had to make a decision as to who to choose as a starting pitcher. And, as far as the Yankees were concerned, it wasn’t an easy choice:
Allie Reynolds wasn’t my first choice, but he was probably the best choice we had. I could have started Eddie Lopat on two days of rest, but I thought it wouldn’t be wise. Reynolds hasn’t pitched well so far this season, though, and I was worried that I’d wind up regretting my decision.
First Inning Fireworks
The Athletics started strong right from the get-go.
A single by Elmer Valo and a walk to Eddie Joost brought up Sam Chapman with nobody out. And then this happened:
Never mind Yogi Berra — that double steal caught me completely off guard, and I was worried that I’d regret starting Reynolds right away.
After some thought, I decided to walk Chapman, opting to pitch to Ferris Fain instead:
The gamble paid off in the end, though. Fain bounced into a double play, scoring one run, but helping us get out of the inning.
We had a rally of our own in the bottom of the 1st. Jerry Coleman found himself at the plate with blog legend Cliff Mapes on second and Gene Woodling on first:
Just like that, the score was 1-1, and I thought we might have more.
Bobby Brown’s Bad Day
Bobby Brown, the Yankee third baseman, had one of those bad days in the field.
It was punctuated by this miscue in a key spot in the top of the 4th:
The score was still 1-1 at this point, but I was worried that the Athletics would break things open here — even though there were two outs.
Reynolds somehow got out of the jam, however, and the game went on.
Bauer’s Revenge
Hank Bauer is probably upset with me.
You see, he hasn’t been hitting all that well in the early season. And, well, I kind of decided to hit him in the number 7 hole, instead of hovering around the 4 or 5 spot like I did to begin the season.
He took me to task in the bottom of the 7th:
Now, the left field line in Yankee Stadium in 1949 isn’t exactly far away from home plate. I believe it’s about 302 feet away, as a matter of fact. Still, this home run has me wondering if I shouldn’t hit Hank up a bit higher in the lineup.
By the way, this was only the 3rd hit of the ballgame: 2 for the Yankees and 1 for the Athletics. Some drama, huh?
The Crazy 9th
We took that 2-1 lead into the top of the 9th inning.
Reynolds managed to get the first two Athletics hitters out, and I thought we were sitting pretty.
And then it started to happen.
Hank Majeski kept Philadelphia’s hopes alive:
The Athletics decided to put catcher Mike Guerra in as a pinch runner for Hank. That might seem strange to you, but it was actually likely the right decision in this situation. Guerra, the Cuban veteran, was a quick runner who could do some damage around the basepaths if he had the chance.
Now it was time for Nellie Fox, who I had decided to start for the Athletics on a hunch. We saw him get on base earlier on Brown’s miscue in the 4th — but, of course, this situation was completely different:
Yes, you read right. That ball went through none other than Bobby Brown, who was having one of those games, as I said earlier.
Now it really was decision time for me. Should I stick with Reynolds, I asked myself, or go to the bullpen?
Let me remind you what the bullpen situation looked like:
I guess the “correct” decision here would have been either Sanford or Shea, though both had pitched a few times over the past few games. We could have also gone with Joe Page, who probably would have come in if this situation came up in real life. Still, though, Reynolds had given up only 1 run and 4 hits in 8 2/3 innings, and I felt bad for depriving him of the opportunity to complete what he started.
After some consideration, I decided to stick with the starter.
Up came catcher Joe Astroth:
Brown let that one get through again, this time bouncing just off his glove.
Naturally, the Athletics decided to send the fleet-footed Guerra around to score.
Woodling wound up making the throw that caught Guerra at the plate for the third out of the game.
It was absolutely amazing. The goat stigma left Brown in an instant, and all the attention was focused on Woodling’s throw and Berra’s tag.
And, just like that, the Yankees won, 2-1.
I suppose it was a typical 1949 American League game, with 9 total walks, 8 total hits, and only 3 total runs. Neither pitcher pitched well, and yet both pitchers were good enough to go the distance.
If you’re curious about what happened in real life, by the way, here you are:
Pretty dramatic, I guess, but it can’t hold a candle to the game I had.
Seriously — give the video a view if you’ve got the time. It was absolutely wild.