| 1959 National League tie-breaker series | ||||||||||
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| Dates | September 28–29, 1959 (1959-09-28 –1959-09-29) | |||||||||
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| Umpires | Al Barlick,Augie Donatelli,Dusty Boggess,Jocko Conlan,Bill Jackowski,Tom Gorman | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Dodgers:Braves: | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Television | ABC | |||||||||
| TV announcers | George Kell andBob DeLaney | |||||||||
| Radio | ABC Radio | |||||||||
| Radio announcers | Bob Finnegan and Tony Flynn | |||||||||
The1959 National League tie-breaker series was abest-of-three playoff series that extendedMajor League Baseball's (MLB)1959 regular season to decide the winner of theNational League (NL) pennant. The tiebreaker series was necessary after theLos Angeles Dodgers andMilwaukee Braves finished the season with identicalwin–loss records of86–68 (.558) on September 27, three games ahead of theSan Francisco Giants.[1][2] It was the first tie-breaker in the majorsin eight years, also in theNational League.
The tie-breaker games were played on September 28 and 29. All the games were scheduled as day games, the opener on Monday was atMilwaukee County Stadium and the second on Tuesday atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[2] The Dodgers won acoin flip late in the season that gave themhome field advantage for the series (games two and three). If needed, the third game was scheduled for Wednesday, September 30. The Dodgers had hoped for night games in Los Angeles to take advantage of the Coliseum'sseating capacity. The series was broadcast nationally byABC television,[2] withGeorge Kell andBob DeLaney announcing,[3] and ABC radio, with Bob Finnegan and Tony Flynn announcing.
Following a rain-delayed start in Milwaukee, the Dodgers won the first game 3–2, with a solohome run in the sixth byJohn Roseboro breaking a2–2 tie and providing the margin of victory. The next day in Los Angeles, the Dodgers took the series and the pennant with another one-run win; they rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie and prevailed6–5 inextra innings.[4][5] This victory advanced the Dodgers to theWorld Series, in which they defeated theChicago White Sox in six games.
Inbaseball statistics, the tie-breaker series counted as the 155th and 156th regular season games for both teams.
A year earlier in1958, their first inLos Angeles, the Dodgers posted a 71–83 (.461)win–loss record for seventh place in the eight-team NL, and never helda lead.[6][7] By contrast, the Braves repeated as NL championsthat year with a92–62 (.597) record and returned to theWorld Series, where theNew York Yankees turned the tables and defeated them in seven games.[8] Despite their success, the Braves made several changes leading into the 1959 season. First, they selectedJim Pisoni in theRule 5 draft from the Yankees in December 1958, although he returned to the Yankees by May 1959.[9] The Braves then traded with thePhiladelphia Phillies forTed Kazanski,Stan Lopata, andJohnny O'Brien just prior to the season.[10][11][12] Finally, the Braves traded forMickey Vernon from theCleveland Indians and selectedBobby Ávila,Ray Boone, andEnos Slaughteroff of waivers during the 1959 season.[13][14][15][16] The Dodgers traded forRip Repulski andWally Moon during the offseason and then acquiredChuck Churn,Solly Drake, andChuck Essegian during the year.[17][18][19][20][21]
The NL race was tight throughout the 1959 season between the Braves, Dodgers, and Giants. Neither the Giants nor the Braves ever fell five or moregames back of the league leader, and the Dodgers never faced a deficit of six or more.[22][23][24] The Dodgers had the best record in games played amongst the three, posting a combined 26–18 record against the other two before the tie-breaker.[24] However, the Dodgers spent just 21 days with at least a share of the lead while the Braves and Giants each led the league for 86 days.[22][23][24]
With eight games remaining on Friday morning, September 18, the Giants were at82–64 (.562) with a two-game lead over the Dodgersand Braves.[22][25] However, the visiting Dodgers swept the next three games atSeals Stadium,[26][27] including a Saturdaydoubleheader which theLos Angeles Times described as a "breeze" for Los Angeles.[28] Giants'starting pitcherSam Jones threw ano-hitter on Saturday, September 26, which was cut short by rain in the eighth inning for his 21st win of the season.[29][30] The Giants had considered pitchingJack Sanford in that game due to Jones' recent heavy pitching workload.[31] Because the game was shortened to less than nine innings it is no longer considered anofficial no-hitter.[32] The rain also forced the second game of the Giants' scheduled doubleheader that day to be moved, leaving them with two games to play on the final day of the season.[30] The Giants needed to win both games and have the Braves and Dodgers both lose to tie for the lead, but the Giants lost both.[22][30] Jones' no-hitter was the Giants' only win for the season after September 17 as the team went 1–7 in their final eight games, going from a two-game lead to a three-game deficit.[22] The Braves and Dodgers both went6–2 in that span to maintain their tie.[23][24] This included a five-hitcomplete game byWarren Spahn to win the Braves' final game of theseason 3–2.[33] This was Spahn's 21st win of the season and 267th of his career, breakingEppa Rixey's record for most wins by a left-handed pitcher.[33]
Both the Dodgers and Braves finished the regularly scheduled 154-game season tied with records of 86–68, forcing a tie-breaker to decide the pennant winner. The two teams'managers flipped a coin to decidehome field advantage and Dodgers' managerWalt Alston won.[34] The Dodgers opted to play the second and third (if necessary) games at home, choosing to play Game 1 in Milwaukee.[35] The tie-breaker was scheduled for the 28th, 29th, and the 30th if necessary, which required moving the start of theWorld Series from September 30 to October 1.[35] The Giants' falling out of the pennant race avoided a potentially disruptive situation involving their home field.Candlestick Park was under construction during the 1959 season and the Giants did not play there until1960. However, Giants vice presidentChub Feeney had said earlier in the season that if the Giants won the pennant they would play their World Series home games in Candlestick.[36] Several potential problems were suggested with this move including a lack of seating, lack of toilet facilities, and insufficient access roads to the stadium.[36]
The Dodgers were 12–10 against the Braves overall for the season, though the Braves outscored them by a single run (96–95) in those games.[37] The Braves were a 5–8 betting favorite inLas Vegas on September 25 to win the pennant while the Dodgers had 6–5 odds.[38] The World Series odds were evenly split, with 11–10 odds available at that time for either theChicago White Sox (theAmerican League champion) or the eventual NL pennant winner.[38]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee Braves | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Larry Sherry (7–2) LP:Carl Willey (5–9) Home runs: LAD:John Roseboro (10) MLN: None Attendance: 18,297 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chicago White SoxmanagerAl López watched the game along with his pitching coach to scout their potential NL opponents for the World Series.[39] The start was delayed 45 minutes due to rain, leaving only 18,297 fans in the stadium once the game was underway.[39][40] The Dodgers opened the game quickly asCharlie Nealsingled with one out, advanced to second base on aground out, and scored on a single byNorm Larker to give the Dodgers an early 1–0 lead. DodgersstarterDanny McDevitt held the Braves scoreless in the first inning, but was driven from the game in the second. After aline out to open the inningJohnny Loganwalked,Del Crandall singled, andBill Bruton singled to bringhome Logan and tie the game at 1.Larry Sherry entered inrelief of McDevitt, who pitched just1+1⁄3innings.Carl Willey, the Braves' pitcher, reached base on anerror toload the bases. Crandall then scored on a ground out byBobby Ávila to give the Braves a 2–1 lead before Sherry finished out the second.
The Dodgers re-tied the game the next inning, however. Neal singled with one out andWally Moon grounded into aforce out at second base. Moon then advanced to second on a Larker single and scored on aGil Hodges single to tie it at 2.Don Demeter hit a single, the third consecutive and fourth of the inning, to load the bases butJohn Roseboro flew out to end the inning without further scoring. Sherry held the Braves scoreless in the bottom of the third, opening the inning with a walk but then inducing adouble play and afoul out to quickly close it. Sherry and Willey traded scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth although the Braves threatened against Sherry in both innings, allowing two base-runners each time but escaping with no runs. Roseboro led off the top of the sixth inning with ahome run to give the Dodgers a 3–2 lead. Roseboro had also hit a home run the day before against theChicago Cubs, a game the Dodgers won to force the tie-breaker.[39] Willey put out the next three batters to quickly end the inning, but the damage had been done.
Sherry pitched a perfect top of the sixth andDon McMahon relieved Willey in the bottom of the frame. The Dodgers could not add to their lead in facing McMahon, he held their run total at three. Sherry, however, was nearly perfect for the remainder of the game, allowing just one single to the Braves over the final three innings. TheLos Angeles Times labeled Sherry and Roseboro the "heroes" of the game.[39] Sherry's only "horrible moment", according to theTimes, was a long fly ball byBill Bruton to the deepest part ofcenter field which Demeter managed to haul in for the first out of the bottom of the ninth.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Milwaukee Braves | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Stan Williams (5–5) LP:Bob Rush (5–6) Home runs: MLN:Eddie Mathews (46) LAD:Charlie Neal (19) Attendance: 36,528 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Dodgers had proposed playing Game 2 at night to allow a longer rest period following the travel from Milwaukee tosouthernCalifornia.[35] The Braves took issue with this prior to the start of the series, however, and NL presidentWarren Giles insisted that all the games were to be played duringthe day.[2][35] The afternoon crowd was 36,528, well below the seating capacity of the Coliseum, whichexceeded 90,000.[41][42][43]
The Braves opened the scoring in the top of the first inning.Eddie Mathews drew a one outwalk andHank Aaron followed that with adouble. Aaron's double drew some argument, however, as outfielderDuke Snider recovered Aaron's ball quickly and threw to second. Dodgers'second basemanCharlie Neal believed he had easilytagged out Aaron, butumpireAugie Donatelli said Neal had missed the tag entirely.[44]Frank Torre thensingled to score the two runners and give the Braves the early 2–0 lead. The Dodgers responded in their half of the inning, however. Neal hit a deep fly ball to right center field with one out, reaching third base "easily" for atriple as outfielderBill Bruton missed catching the ball on a difficult play.[44]Wally Moon then singled to score Neal, but wascaught stealing for the second out and Sniderstruck out to end the first inning.Johnny Logan led off the second for the Braves with a single. Then, after two outs, Logan scored on an odderror charged to Snider in center field. The Braves'starting pitcherLew Burdette hit a single up the middle and Logan had attempted to advance from first to third base on the play.[44] Snider threw the ball in from center tothird basemanJim Gilliam, but Gilliam's vision was "obstructed" and the throw "escaped" him, allowing Logan to score and Burdette to advance to third.[44] Bruton grounded out to end the inning with the Braves in a 3–1 lead.
The game went scoreless in the third inning, but Neal led off the bottom of the fourth with ahome run to make it 3–2. The Dodgers threatened further that inning, getting runners on first and second base, though did not score additional runs. Dodgers' starterDon Drysdale recorded the first out of the top of the fifth but then gave up a home run to Mathews and walked Aaron before being relieved byJohnny Podres. Podres escaped without further scoring, putting out Torre andAndy Pafko whopinch hit forLee Maye. The sixth inning was uneventful, though the Braves then threatened in the top of the seventh. After the first out Mathews singled to start the offense. Aaron followed that with a single, Mathews was put out trying to advance to third base on a "brilliant throw" by Moon, and Aaron moved to second on the throw.[44] Then Podres threw awild pitch as Torre batted, allowing Aaron to move to third. Finally, Podres walked Torre and was replaced byChuck Churn.Enos Slaughter pinch hit for Pafko but hit a flyout to end the threat and the inning.John DeMerit then replaced Slaughter defensively in the bottom of the seventh andNorm Larker singled leading off. However,John Roseboro hit into a ground balldouble play to end that threat. Larker crashed into Logan, the Braves' shortstop, trying to break up the double play and Logan had to be carried from the field on a stretcher.[44]Félix Mantilla, the second baseman, moved to play shortstop andRed Schoendienst entered to play second. Finally Churn struck out Burdette to end the seventh.
The Braves scored their fifth run in the eighth asDel Crandall hit a one-out triple and then scored on asacrifice fly by Mantilla.Don Demeter pinch hit for Churn, the pitcher, in the bottom half of the inning but the Dodgers were put out in order.Sandy Koufax pitched the top of the ninth for the Dodgers and though heloaded the bases with three successive walks to Aaron, Torre, and DeMerit he did not allow any runs. Moon and Snider led off the bottom of the frame with successive singles.Bob Lillispinch ran for Snider andGil Hodges hit another single to load the bases.Don McMahon relieved Burdette, but allowed a fourth consecutive single toNorm Larker which scored Moon, Lillis, and advanced Hodges to third leaving it 5–4.Warren Spahn relieved McMahon,Carl Furillo pinch hit for Roseboro, andJoe Pignatano pinch ran for Larker. Furillo tied the game, hitting a sacrifice fly which scored Hodges. Spahn allowed a single to Wills and was pulled in favor ofJoey Jay.Ron Fairly grounded out as a pinch hitter and Gilliam flew out, leaving the game tied at five runs apiece and forcingextra innings.
Following the heavy substitutions in the bottom of the ninth the Dodgers made several defensive moves in the top of the tenth.Stan Williams entered as the pitcher, Pignatano came in as thecatcher, Moon moved from right to left field, and Fairly and Furillo took over center and right field respectively. The tenth went by quickly with only a single baserunner, but both teams threatened in the eleventh. Mathews was walked with one out in the top half. Aaron grounded into a force out at second, then advanced to second on apassed ball to Torre. The Dodgers intentionally walked Torre.Al Spangler then drew a pinch hit walk to load the bases, butJoe Adcock grounded out to end the half-inning. Pignatano washit by a pitch and Furillo walked to open the bottom half. After two flyball outs Joey Jay walked Gilliam, loading the bases, butBob Rush relieved him and got Neal to ground out ending the inning. The Braves went quickly again in the twelfth, retired in order. Rush recorded the first two outs of the twelfth, but then walked Hodges. Hodges then advanced to second on a Pignatano single. Finally, he scored on a single by Furillo followed by a throwing error by the shortstop Mantilla to give the Dodgers a 6–5 walk-off victory and the National League pennant.
The miscue was Mantilla's second since he had replaced shortstop Johnny Logan, who was shaken up on a double play in the seventh inning. TheChicago Tribune noted the impact of Logan's injury as it was his replacement who made the costly final error.[44] Mantilla was "close to tears" after the game, saying the ball "took a crazy bounce... before I got it."[45] However, Braves'managerFred Haney insisted Mantilla "didn't make a bad play," that he was "lucky to stop the ball at all," and that the run would have scored even if Mantilla had delivered a perfect throw.[45]
The Dodgers' win earned the franchise its tenth playoff berth, the first since the team moved to Los Angeles the previous year.[46] In the playoffs they faced theChicago White Sox in the1959 World Series which they won in six games.[24] The Dodgersfaced another tie-breaker in 1962, but lost to the Giants, who would lose to theNew York Yankees in the1962 World Series in seven games.[46] The Dodgers have appeared in six of the ten NL tie-breakers, more tie-breaker appearances than any franchise in either league.[47]
The Braves' high-water mark while in Milwaukee had been their World Series win in 1957. They had also appeared in the 1958 Series, losing to the Yankees. After failing to win the pennant in 1959, the Braves would not play for a championship again until they moved to Atlanta. They next returned to post-season play in 1969, their fourth season in Atlanta, where they were swept in theLeague Championship Series.[48] The Braves returned to the World Series again in the 1990s, losing the1991,1992,1996, and1999 World Series but winning in1995.[48]
Inbaseball statistics tie-breakers counted as regular season games, with all events in them added to regular season statistics. For example,Eddie Mathews overtookErnie Banks of theChicago Cubs for the league lead in home runs, hitting his 46th of the season in Game 2.[49] Banks won theNL Most Valuable Player Award but Mathews,Hank Aaron, andWally Moon finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively in the voting.[50] Aaron,Del Crandall,Gil Hodges, andCharlie Neal all wonGold Gloves for their fielding ability.[51] MLB played twoAll-Star Games in 1959. Five Braves and two Dodgers were named to the first while six Braves and four Dodgers played in the second.[51] Five futureHall of Famers were on the Braves roster in 1959 (Aaron, Mathews, Schoendienst, Slaughter, Spahn) while the Dodgers had four (Drysdale, Koufax, Snider, Hodges).[52] Dodgers'managerWalt Alston was also inducted to the Hall as a manager in 1983.[53]
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