Skills Scorecard
Contact
C+
Power
B-
Speed
C
Durability
B+
Range
D-
Fielding
A-
Career Timeline
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2½ hours
Sep 17, 1966Sep 17, 1966
On Saturday, September 17, 1966, the San Francisco Giants faced off against the New York...
New York Mets vs San Francisco Giants - Radio Broadcast / On Saturday, September 17, 1966, the San Francisco Giants faced off against the New York Mets at Candlestick Park. The Giants handed the ball to their ace, Juan Marichal, while the Mets countered with Dennis Ribant. The 1966 season had been a challenging one for the Mets, who were still in the early years of their franchise and struggling to find consistent success. The Giants, on the other hand, were a more established team with a solid roster, including the legendary Willie Mays and the power-hitting first baseman Willie McCovey. As for the broader context of the season, the Baltimore Orioles were the team to beat in the American League, while the National League was being dominated by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The game started off as a pitching duel, with both Marichal and Ribant holding their respective opponents scoreless through the first three innings. The Giants broke the deadlock in the fourth, with McCovey launching a solo home run. He would add another solo shot in the fifth, giving the Giants a 3-0 lead. The Mets, however, would not go quietly. In the sixth inning, Ken Boyer and Al Luplow each hit solo home runs to cut the Giants' lead to one. Luplow would again come through in the clutch in the eighth, hitting a two-run homer to tie the game at 4-4.
The game remained tied until the tenth inning. Jim Hart led off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to give the Giants a one-run lead. McCovey then solidified the Giants' victory with his third home run of the game, a two-run shot that sealed the 6-4 win for the Giants. The Mets' late-game rally, highlighted by Luplow's two home runs, was an exciting twist, but ultimately fell short.
In the grand scheme of the 1966 season, this game was a microcosm of the experiences of both teams. The Mets showed flashes of potential but struggled to put it all together, finishing the season in ninth place in the National League. The Giants, meanwhile, finished in second place in the National League, just 1.5 games behind the Dodgers. McCovey's three-home run performance was a highlight of his impressive season, in which he hit .295 with 36 home runs and 96 RBIs. Despite their strong season, the Giants fell short of the postseason, with the Dodgers representing the National League in the World Series against the Orioles.
On October 3, 1962, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off at...
1962 NL Tie-breaker G3 - San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Radio / On October 3, 1962, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off at Dodger Stadium in a critical matchup, closing the National League's regular season. The Giants, led by right-hander Juan Marichal, entered this game needing a win to continue their pursuit of a postseason berth, while the Dodgers, starting left-hander Johnny Podres, were looking to halt the Giants' momentum and secure their spot. The game was emblematic of the fierce rivalry and high stakes that defined the season, as both teams were battling for the National League pennant in one of the most tightly contested races of the decade.
The game itself was a back-and-forth battle, with the Giants taking an early lead in the third inning, capitalizing on a series of defensive miscues by the Dodgers. San Francisco held that slim margin until the sixth inning, when Dodgers third baseman Tommy Davis launched a two-run homer to give Los Angeles a brief lead. Maury Wills, always a threat on the bases, added to the Dodgers' edge by stealing multiple bases, including his 104th of the season. However, the Giants orchestrated a dramatic ninth-inning rally, led by Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda, to reclaim control and secure the victory with a four-run burst.
With this win, the Giants forced a tie with the Dodgers, necessitating a tiebreaker playoff to determine the National League champion. The intense pennant race, marked by remarkable performances from players like Wills and Mays, would ultimately see the Giants advance, although they would fall short in the World Series against the New York Yankees. The game remains a key moment in a storied rivalry and a pivotal chapter in the Giants' and Dodgers' long-standing competition.
#giants #dodgers #williemays #maurywills #juanmarichal #johnnypodres #nationalleague #nlpennant #1962
The Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in a pivotal...
1962 NL Tie-breaker G2 - San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Radio / The Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in a pivotal late-season matchup. The Dodgers were in a tight pennant race with the Giants and the NL-leading Pittsburgh Pirates, while the Giants were also jockeying for position in the playoff hunt. Veteran right-handers Don Drysdale of the Dodgers and Billy O'Dell of the Giants took the mound, with both teams looking to gain an advantage in the standings.
The game started as a pitcher's duel, with the Giants scratching across a run in the 2nd inning on an RBI double by Felipe Alou. However, the Dodgers erupted for 7 runs in the 6th inning, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by Jim Gilliam and a key error by Giants catcher Ed Bailey. The Giants fought back, plating 4 runs in the 6th to cut the deficit to 7-5. They tied the game at 7-7 in the 8th on an unearned run, setting up a dramatic 9th inning.
In the bottom of the 9th, the Dodgers loaded the bases and Maury Wills scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Tommy Davis, giving Los Angeles an 8-7 victory. The win kept the Dodgers in the thick of the pennant race, while the Giants fell further back. The 1962 season would go down to the wire, with the Dodgers ultimately edging the Giants by 4 games to claim the National League title.
#MauryWills #DonDrysdale #TommyDavis #FelipeAlou #SanFranciscoGiants #LosAngelesDodgers #DodgerStadium #PennantRace
The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in Game 1 of a...
1962 NL Tie-breaker G1 - Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants Radio / The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in Game 1 of a best-of-three tiebreaker series on October 1, 1962, at Candlestick Park to determine the National League pennant winner. Both teams had finished the regular season with identical 101-61 records, forcing this playoff. The Giants sent Billy Pierce to the mound against the Dodgers' ace Sandy Koufax. This matchup was particularly significant as the Dodgers had just endured a late-season collapse, losing six of their last seven games and failing to score in their final 21 innings. Meanwhile, the Giants had surged, winning five of their last seven to force this tiebreaker.
The Giants wasted no time in breaking the Dodgers' scoreless streak, as Willie Mays hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Koufax. Jim Davenport added a solo shot in the second, chasing Koufax from the game after just one-plus innings. The Giants continued to pour it on, with Mays hitting his second home run of the game in the sixth inning, followed immediately by an Orlando Cepeda homer. Meanwhile, Pierce was dominant on the mound for San Francisco, keeping the Dodgers' bats quiet throughout the game. The Giants added three more runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
The final score was 8-0 in favor of the Giants, giving them a 1-0 lead in the tiebreaker series. Pierce pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits while striking out six. Mays finished the game 3-for-3 with two home runs, three RBIs, and three runs scored. This victory put the Giants one win away from the National League pennant. They would go on to win the series in three games, advancing to face the New York Yankees in the World Series, which the Yankees would win in seven games.
#WillieMays #BillyPierce #SandyKoufax #OrlandoCepeda #JimDavenport #1962NLPennantRace #GiantsDodgersRivalry #CandlestickPark #NLTiebreaker #MLBPlayoffs
2 hours
Jul 15, 1962Jul 15, 1962
In the 1962 season, both the New York Giants and the New York Mets experienced...
San Francisco Giants vs New York Mets - Radio Broadcast / In the 1962 season, both the New York Giants and the New York Mets experienced contrasting fortunes in Major League Baseball. The Giants, led by manager Alvin Dark, showcased a strong performance, finishing the regular season with a commendable record of 103 wins and 62 losses. They featured standout players such as Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda, who contributed significantly to their success. However, despite their remarkable regular season, the Giants fell short in the World Series, losing to the American League champions, the New York Yankees, in a tightly contested seven-game series.
On the other hand, the newly formed New York Mets had a difficult inaugural season. Managed by Casey Stengel, the Mets struggled to find their footing, concluding the season with a disappointing record of 40 wins and 120 losses. Plagued by inconsistent performances and a lack of experienced players, the Mets faced significant challenges throughout the year. Despite the team's struggles, the 1962 season laid the groundwork for the Mets' future development and eventual rise to success in the years to come.
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1959
When Sporting News halted printing of the long running Sporting News Record Book in 1942, they replaced it with the...
/ When Sporting News halted printing of the long running Sporting News Record Book in 1942, they replaced it with the Sporting News Guide in 1943, a companion publication to the Sporting News Register, which began publication in 1940. After A.S Barnes stopped publication of their guide (successor to the long-running Spalding Baseball Guide), the Sporting News Guide became the official MLB guide.