I still wonder, why APBA picked the
1971 Oakland Athletics over their three-peat dynasty from 1972-1974 that followed? There is plenty of questions when it comes down to the Greatest Teams of the Past Volumes 1-3.
Anyways, Oakland will have to face off against Yogi Berra & Mickey Mantle's
1953 New York Yankees, it will definitely be no easy task. The Yankees are the #4 seed in the Cobb Bracket, while Oakland is #13.
GAME 1
at Old Yankee Stadium / New York
Vida Blue brings his monster season into New York hoping to strike first blood with the Yankees in this series. Blue has a impressive 24-8 record, with a 1.82 ERA & 301 strikeouts, 8 shutouts in 312 innings! His APBA Grade is that of a A&C-XY. He will face off against the Yankees' young ace Whitey Ford (18-6, 3.00 ERA, 110 K's & 110 BB's in 207 innings (B-W).
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| Campaneris had a productive Game 1 for A's. |
Bottom of the 1st
Gene Woodling leads off with a double against Blue, as Hank Bauer drives him in with an RBI single with no outs, Blue settles down and gets Berra, Mantle & Collins 1-2-3. Yankees 1, Athletics 0
Bottom of the 2nd
Bert Campaneris's bad throw pulls 1B-Mike Epstein off the base, as Yankees' Third Baseman Gil McDougald reaches first safely on the error. Phil Rizzuto gets a one-out double off of Blue, as Blue then walks the pitcher Whitey Ford. Bases loaded for Woodling, who already has a double -- the threat is over though as Blue gets Woodling to ground into a inning-ending double-play.
Top of the 3rd
One-out double by Bert Campaneris gets things started for Oakland. After a Joe Rudi strikeout at the plate, the future "Mr.October" Reggie Jackson steps up to the plate and delivers a game-tying single with 2 outs. Sal Bando delivers a single against Ford to move Reggie to second. First & second with 2 outs, Dave Duncan gets an RBI single, as Rick Monday follows that up by striking out. Athletics 2, Yankees 1
Top of the 6th
With two outs, Rick Monday hits a solo HR off Ford over Reggie Jackson's head.
Athletics 3, Yankees 1
Bottom of the 6th
Vida Blue who has settled down and taken control of the game by allowing only 1 run & 4 hits in 5 innings, gets Mickey Mantle to fly out and a K against Joe Collins. With two outs, Gil McDougald singles to right field, in which Billy Martin (future MGR for both clubs) gets an RBI double. Athletics 3, Yankees 2
Whitey Ford taken out after 7 innings. His line for the night was 7 hits, 3 ER, 9 strikeouts & a walk. Bob Kuzava comes in to relieve.
Bottom of the 8th
Yogi Berra leads off the bottom with a solo shot to right field, Blue shakes his head in disgust. Blue walks Mantle, but gets Collins, McDougald & Martin to leave the inning tied up. Yankees 3, Athletics 3
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| Berra is congratulated with his game-tying HR in the eighth. |
Top of the 9th
Mike Epstein leads off and hits a grounder towards second baseman Billy Martin, in which Martin bobbles the ground ball. Dick Green singles off of Kuzava and moves Epstein to third. Green then steals second on Berra. Runners now on 2nd & 3rd, no outs and the Oakland Athletics decide to hand Tommy Davis a bat (pinch-hitting for Blue), he has some pop. Davis flies out, fails to advance the runner from third. The pitcher turns and fires to third to get Epstein out at third, Epstein was caught napping with a big lead off of third base. Two outs, with a man on second, Bert Campaneris flies out to center. The Yankees stomp out the possible Oakland rally. Wow.
Bottom of the 9th
Oakland brings in Bob Locker from the bullpen, since Davis pinch-hit for Blue. Locker gets the lead-off hitter Phil Rizzuto to fly out to right. The Yankees decide to go to the bench, that'll be it for the Yankees' reliever Bob Kuzava, who pitched two innings, allowed one hit, no runs, a K & picked-off runner. The pinch-hitter will be Don Bollweg (.297, 6 HR & 24 RBI in 155 at-bats). Locker delivers the pitch in which Bollweg sends the ball towards the Yankees' short porch in right, it's gone! WALK-OFF Home Run for Bollweg! The Athletics had the Yankees at the mercy in the top of the 9th, and let this game slip out of their grasps.
FINAL SCORE:
53' YANKEES 4
71' ATHLETICS 3
WP - Kuzava (NYY) / LP - Locker (OAK)
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| Bollweg: The unlikely hero in Game 1. |
POST-GAME:
- Bert Campaneris (OAK): 2-for-5, 2B, SB & Run.
- Hank Bauer (NYY): 2-for-3, 2B, BB & RBI.
- Rick Monday (OAK): 1-for-4, solo HR.
- Yogi Berra (NYY): 1-for-4, solo HR.
- Mickey Mantle (NYY): 0-for-3, BB.
- Vida Blue (OAK): 8 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 K's & 3 BB's.
- Whitey Ford (NYY): 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 9 K's & 1 BB.
- Don Bollweg (NYY): Walk-off pinch-hit HR.
GAME 2
at Old Yankee Stadium / New York
The Athletics lost a game that they very much needed in Game 1, against a very-favored Yankees team; we'll see if Catfish Hunter (21-11, 2.96 ERA, 181 K's) can even this series up against the Yankees' Vic Raschi (13-6, 3.33 ERA).
Top of the 2nd
Rick Monday strikes with a lead-off double off of Raschi. Vic Raschi answers back by getting Gene Tenace and Mike Epstein to ground out & fly out. With two outs, Tommy Davis playing second base today for the Athletics, drives in a RBI single and then steals second base. Catfish Hunter fails to help his own cause by flying out to left. Athletics 1, Yankees 0
Bottom of the 6th
Yankees' starting pitcher Vic Raschi breaks up Catfish Hunter's bid for a no-hitter with a single over short. Hunter's plunks Gene Woodling with a pitch. Runners on 1st & 2nd, with no outs, and the Yankees' Hank Bauer who was 2-for-3 in Game 1, steps up to the plate. Hunter gets Bauer to hit into a much-needed double-play, moving the baserunner Raschi to third base in the process. Hunter's sudden absence of control continues to plague him, as he throws a wild pitch allowing Raschi to score. Hunter gets Berra to ground out, but not before the damage has been done. Yankees 1, Athletics 1
Vic Raschi is taken out of the game after 7 strong innings of 4-hit ball, allowing only 1 ER & 2 walks, while striking out 3 batters.
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| Game 2's Catfish Hunter. |
Bottom of the 7th
Catfish Hunter walks the Mickey Mantle to lead off the inning. Gil McDougald follows that up with a single, placing runners on 1st & 2nd. The Yankees decide to pinch-hit for Johnny Mize, who struck out in his two previous at-bats against Hunter -- going with Game 1's hero Don Bollweg. With one out, Bollweg again delivers with an RBI single, driving in Mantle (Yankees take the lead). Hunter then walks Phil Rizzuto, bases are now loaded.
Oakland Manager Dick Williams has seen enough, and elects to take Hunter out of the game, and go with lefty Darold Knowles. Catfish was on cruise control through the first 5 innings, until hitting a wall in the 6th. The Yankees choose to pinch-hit for Raschi, who had a single earlier in the game that resulted in a run; Yankees go with pinch-hitter Bill Renna (.314, 2 HR & 13 RBI in 121 at-bats) which results in a Fielder's Choice at home, as it was hit right to the pitcher. Bases remain loaded with two outs, a little more breathing room for Oakland, as Gene Woodling steps up to the plate, he's been on base twice with a walk & Hit by Pitch. Woodling hits a single though short as he drives in two runners. Oakland brings in Mudcat Grant to get Hank Bauer to ground out, finishing the inning.
Yankees 4, Athletics 1
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| Woodling was all over the place in Game 2. |
Bottom of the 8th
Charlie Silvera (now playing for Yogi Berra) hits a lead-off double off of Grant. Mickey Mantle steps up to the plate and lines to Bert Campaneris, in which he responds quickly by doubling up Berra at second -- double-play! Mantle remains hitless in 6 at-bats. After a single by Gil McDougald, Grant gets Billy Martin to ground out, avoiding damage.
Top of the 9th
Allie Reynolds comes in to close out the game for the Yankees, by getting Oakland to go out 1-2-3, capping it off with a strike out of Rick Monday.
FINAL SCORE:
53' YANKEES 4
71' ATHLETICS 1
WP - Raschi (NYY) / LP - C.Hunter (OAK) / SV - A.Reynolds (NYY)
POST-GAME:
- Gil McDougald (NYY): 2-for-4, two singles.
- Gene Woodling (NYY): 1-for-2, single (2 RBI), BB & HBP.
- Rick Monday (OAK): 1-for-3, 2B, BB & Run.
- Tommy Davis (OAK): 1-for-3, RBI & SB.
- Don Bollweg (NYY): Key pinch-hit RBI single & Run. Bollweg has gave Yankees their first leads in both Game 1 & Game 2.
- Vic Raschi (NYY): 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K's & 2 BB's.
- Catfish Hunter (OAK): 6.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER/R, 4 K's & 3 BB's. All hits and runs, plus 2 BB's & HBP came after 5 full innings of work.
GAME 3
at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum / Oakland
Oakland's faithful come packing into the stands, and hoping for any life that remains in this series. The series has come down to some key moments, leaving Athletics fans wondering what could have been if they won Game 1, and if Catfish stayed hot in Game 2. It all comes down to Game 3's match-up between Oakland's
Chuck Dobson (15-5, 3.81 ERA & 100 K's in 189 IP) and New York's veteran starter
Johnny Sain (14-7, 9 SV, 3.00 ERA, 84 K's in 189 IP). The Yankees decided to keep
Ed Lopat for the next series, if they end up winning it tonight, trying to stretch Ford and Raschi's innings as well for this long tournament.
Top of the 1st
The Athletics'
Chuck Dobson walks the first batter in
Gene Woodling.
Joe Collins hits into a Fielder's Choice getting Woodling out at second.
Hank Bauer follows that with a single, moving Collins to second.
Yogi Berra (batting clean-up for the first time this series, due to struggling
Mickey Mantle) steps up to the plate with one out and singles to left driving in Collins. Runners on first and third, as Mantle hits into a double-play. All that noise for only one run.
Yankees 1, Athletics 0
Bottom of the 4th
Reggie Jackson starts the inning off with a single to left, as Jackson takes off for second on the first pitch to
Dave Duncan, runner on second. Duncan ends up striking out.
Mike Epstein gets a free pass to first, which is followed by a fly out from
Gene Tenace. Johnny Sain then walks Dick Green to load the bases with two outs. Manager Dick Williams (of Oakland) decides it's now or never, and elects to have Tommy Davis pinch-hit for the pitcher Dobson, despite the fact Dobson settled down after the first inning with a respectable performance through 4 innings (2 hits, 1 ER allowed). Davis (batted .324, with 3 HR & 42 ribbies through 219 at-bats) has some pop; Sain delivers the pitch and Davis grounds it to Martin who flips it to first for the final out. Score remains the same,
Yankees 1, Athletics 0
Mudcat Grant comes in for relief work in the 5th & 6th inning, allowing no runs, 2 hits, 2 walks & K.
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| Game 3 starter: Johnny Sain (NYY). |
Top of the 7th
Bob Locker now in relief for the Athletics faces off against his first batter in
Billy Martin. Locker gets a quick two strikes on Martin, in which Martin answers with a solo shot to right field in almost the same area as Bollweg's walk-off shot was in Game 1. Locker is feeling like a goat, as Martin adds an insurance run for the Yankees. The fact is Locker is no goat, the Athletics have only 3 hits, and are lucky that the Yankees have stranded quite a few runners at this point.
Yankees 2, Athletics 0
Bottom of the 9th
Johnny Sain comes on out to try to finish a complete game, he has pitched really well.
Gene Tenace flies out to left.
Joe Rudi gets walked, that is the only negative aspect of Sain's performance tonight, his fifth walk, despite only 3 hits allowed. The Athletics will have
Mike Hegan pinch-hit for the pitcher Locker, Hegan's father Joe is playing for the
1954 Cleveland Indians this tournament. Hegan gets his pitch, or so he thought as he hits into a Fielder's Choice as Andy Carey (now playing second) throws to Billy Martin now playing short, Rudi dives in hard, and is out... and is injured, he'll be helped off the field. The game all comes down to Bert Campaneris with Hegan at first & two outs. Campaneris flies to left, Woodling comes down with it. A complete game shutout for Sain & a sweep for the 1953 New York Yankees!
FINAL SCORE:
53' YANKEES 2
71' ATHLETICS 0
WP - Sain (NYY) / LP - C.Dobson (OAK)
POST-GAME:
- Billy Martin (NYY): 2-for-4, solo HR.
- Hank Bauer (NYY): 2-for-3, BB.
- Johnny Sain (NYY): CG, SHO, 9 IP, 3 H, 5 K's & 5 BB's.
- Chuck Dobson (OAK): 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER & 2 BB's.
- Mike Epstein (OAK): 0-for-2, 2 BB's & reached first on error.
SERIES RECAP: 53' YANKEES Sweep 71' ATHLETICS
- Don Bollweg (NYY): Series MVP with only two at-bats! Walk-off HR in Game 1 & Go-ahead run in Game 2; the unlikely hero. 2-for-2, HR, 2 RBI & 2 runs.
- Hank Bauer (NYY): 4-for-10, all singles, RBI.
- Mickey Mantle (NYY): Hitless in 9 at-bats, 1 run.
- Bert Campaneris (OAK): led Oakland with 3 hits; 2 SB's.
Next Opponent: The Winner of the 1961 New York (A) (5) vs. 1991 Minnesota (A) (12)
