Four managers came together for a face-to-face Season Ticket showdown, bringing teams chosen from the six clubs in the STB catalogue which won 100 games without making the postseason. A double round-robin FTF tournament with no playoffs - winner takes all!
| Manager | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Militello | 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers (104-50) |
| 2 | Scott Needle | 1993 San Francisco Giants (103-59) |
| 3 | Fred Steffens | 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers (102-63) |
| 4 | Joe Costa | 1954 New York Yankees (103-51) |
- 26-man roster, named prior to start of tournament
- Pitchers must have 15+ GS to start, any pitcher starting a game is ineligible to relieve
- Position players with less than 150 AB may not start; they are eligible to PH at any time, but may only stay in the game (or enter as defensive replacement) in 6th inning or later. Pitchers may not pinch hit or pinch run.
- Starting pitchers (i.e., no relief Stamina rating) who are not used to start may relieve with a relief Stamina equal to one-half their starting value (rounded down), but they can only be used (1) when the original starter hits a Fatigue of 4, or (2) the game is in extra innings
- Pitcher injuries will be ignored, and any other injuries are in force for the remainder of the current game ONLY; if a player is injured (or ejected), his replacement is not subject to limits specified above
- Season Ticket “Season Play” pitcher fatigue rules (page 28 of the Rules) will govern usage and in-game Fatigue; the “Pitching on Short Rest” rule will be in effect for pitchers who qualify.
- Designated hitter rule in effect for home games of DH-era teams
- No zombie runner in extra innings
Don Drysdale overwhelmed the Yanks, striking out eleven, and the Dodgers three early runs to provide him with all of the cushion he needed. Los Angeles scored in the 1st on Tommy Davis' RBI single, again in the 2nd on Frank Howard's leadoff homer, and in the 4th on Drysdale's squeeze bunt with runners on the corners and one away. New York had only a few opportunities to dent Drysdale and failed miserably (0-for-7 with RISP) - they got the first two runners on in both the 2nd and the 6th, and loaded the bases with two outs in the 4th, and failed to score each time. Drysdale recorded seven straight outs by way of the K at one stretch, and was only eventually blemished by Yogi Berra's solo shot in the 8th after which he set down the final five Yanks. Davis and Maury Wills had two hits each. Los Angeles 3-9-0, New York 1-6-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Don Drysdale strikes out eleven Yankees |
Mickey Owen's double with two out in the bottom of the 10th foiled a late Giants comeback to give the Dodgers the win at Ebbets Field. The home team opened the scoring in the 1st when Pee Wee Reese drew a leadoff walk, went to third on Arky Vaughn's hit, and scored on Pete Reiser's sacrifice fly. Another walk fueled a two-out rally in the 3rd, Reiser getting himself on base and then coming across on Joe Medwick's single. The starters were otherwise in control and Brooklyn had a shutout until two bases on balls and a Barry Bonds single in the 8th put SF on the scoreboard. When the Dodgers countered with another in the bottom of the inning thanks to Dixie Walker's RBI double, it looked they had enough to hang on, the Giants had other plans in the top of the 9th. With one out and Hugh Casey on the hill, Kirt Manwaring singled, Vaughn mishandled a grounder and pinch-hitter Dave Martinez singled to load the bases. Royce Clayton then lined a base hit that scored two runs to tie the game, and the Dodgers only escaped further damage by intentionally walking Bonds to load the bases with two outs to face Matt Williams. Williams, who had grounded into critical rally-killing double plays in the 6th and 8th, swung and missed at strike three and the game remained tied. Two SF singles to start the top of the 10th came to nothing, and the home half of the inning began with a Joe Medwick base hit against Kevin Rogers. Billy Herman bunted him to second, Walker grounded to short for the second out, and Owen then roped one between the outfielders to walk it off for the Dodgers. Vaughn and Willie McGee collected three hits apiece. Brooklyn 4-11-2, San Francisco 3-12-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Mickey Owen delivered the game-winning hit for the Dodgers |
The Dodgers roughed up the back end of the San Francisco bullpen to turn a tight game into a late runaway. The clubs traded 1st-inning runs, LA getting a Wills triple and Jim Gilliam double to start the game, and Bonds delivering a sac fly after a Royce Clayton double and Wills' fielding error. Two walks in the 3rd set up Matt Williams again, and this time he came through with a single to right against Koufax (11 Ks in 6 innings) that put the Giants on top. After getting blistered by the game's first two batters, Burkett recovered to pitch scoreless ball into the 7th; after a single, error and walk had put two on with two out in that inning, Bryan Hickerson came on to get pinch-hitter Tim Harkness to foul out to the catcher. But that was to be the high-water mark for the San Francisco relief corps. In the 8th, Kevin Rogers allowed three hits for the tying run and, when Dave Burba came out to face Tommy Davis with two on and two outs he immediately served up a three-run blast that swung the game LA's way. Burba allowed three more in the 9th, with the other (Willie) Davis hitting a long ball, and the Dodger pen finished off three innings of scoreless relief to close it out. Wills and McGee each had a pair of errors in forgettable days in the field. Los Angeles 8-10-3, San Francisco 2-9-2. [box] [pbp]
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| Tommy Davis with the key three-run homer |
Whit Wyatt held New York to four singles in a masterful display of pitching to contact, and Mickey Owen and Dolph Camilli each knocked in two runs to lead Brooklyn. Owen doubled in the opening score in the 2nd, and scored on Wyatt's single, and Camilli doubled home two in the 5th while Wyatt was squashing a Yankee offense that has ten hits (nine singles) and one run in its first two games. He walked one and struck out one, allowed the Yankees to get just two runners into scoring position, and induced fifteen ground ball outs on his way to the complete-game shutout. Brooklyn 5-12-0, New York 0-4-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Whit Wyatt stifles the Yankees on four hits |
New York finally broke out its slugging slumber with three home runs, and Allie Reynolds held San Francisco to three hits at The Stadium. The Giants broke out of the gate first on the road, when Trevor Wilson doubled with two out and Darren Lewis did the same one batter later. The Yankees rode Berra's three-run homer in the bottom half of the inning to the lead, however, and Mickey Mantle hit a solo shot two innings later to make the score 4-1. Reynolds retired ten in a row over the middle innings, six out of seven by strikeout, and then fanned the side in the 7th after a leadoff single by Bonds to finish with ten Ks. Bob Cerv finished off the scoring with a bases-empty homer in the 8th and Reynolds went 1-2-3 in the 9th to get the Bronx boys their first win of the tournament. New York 5-9-1, San Francisco 1-3-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Allie Reynolds hurls New York to its first taste of victory |
Ron Fairly's two-out home run in the bottom of the 7th was the deciding run in a back-and-forth battle for first place in the tournament table. The Brooklyns got ahead quickly, turning a walk, single, a Joe Medwick RBI double and a passed ball into two 1st-inning runs. A walk, error and Richert's RBI hit got one back in the 2nd for Los Angeles, but the visitors immediately pushed their lead back to a brace when Pee Wee Reese and Arky Vaughn singled to start the 3rd and Camilli bounced into a double play on which Reese crossed the plate. In the 4th, Los Angeles went to its bench early, and the move paid off with a big blow; Fairly singled to lead off the inning, and then Tim Harkness pinch-hit for Richert and whacked a two-run homer the swapped the deficit for a lead. The euphoria in Chavez Ravine didn't last long, though, as Stan Williams replaced Richert and quickly dug himself into a hole. With one away, Reese bounced one back to the box, but Williams couldn't field it cleanly and the shortstop reached on the error. Vaughn followed with a single and, after Williams whiffed Reiser he walked Camilli to load the bases and Medwick came behind him with a single that scored two runs that put Brooklyn back in front in the third lead change in the first five innings. Los Angeles got right back to work in the bottom half of the inning, as Willie Davis walked, John Roseboro singled and, after a sacrifice, the game-tying run scored when Davis beat the throw home on PH Doug Camilli's squeeze bunt. Curt Davis got the next two men with Roseboro stranded on third, and the game went to its final third tied at five runs each. In the last of the 7th. Davis got the first two hitters on grounders to short, but Fairly followed with a drive to right field that just got over the wall and into the seats to put LA back in the driver's seat. In the top of the 9th, with Ron Perranoski on to close it down for Los Angeles, Brooklyn strung together three straight one-out singles to load the bases with just one out and the big bats of Camilli and Medwick coming next. One pitch to Camilli, though, and it was over as the first baseman hit it sharply but right at Jim Gilliam on one hop - 463 it went, and Los Angeles went to the top of the table. Los Angeles 6-12-1, Brooklyn 5-9-2. [box] [pbp]
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| Ron Fairly's 7th-inning shot sinks Brooklyn |
After the rest day, the action continued . . .
Bud Black pitched seven outstanding innings and added a key two-run single as San Francisco got off the mark with their first win of the tournament. Robby Thompson's solo homer in the bottom of the 1st got the Candlestick crowd cheering, and he added an RBI double two innings later to double the lead for the home team. Brooklyn got one of those back in the 4th when Medwick led off with a two-bagger and scored on Billy Herman's single, but the balance of the game would be decided in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Will Clark grounded to short, but Reese failed to come up with the final hop and Manwaring singled one out later. Lewis then shot a double down the right-field line that scored on run, and Black grounded one over the mound and into center to chase across two more to make it 5-1. Black tossed three more scoreless innings and, while Brooklyn got one in the 8th on doubles by Medwick and Walker, the Dodgers didn't have enough energy to climb this hill despite Vaughn's second three-hit game in three days. San Francisco 5-6-1, Brooklyn 2-10-1. [box] [pbp]
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| Bud Black did the job for SF with both the arm and the bat |
The combination of a schedule quirk and his status as the only pitcher in the field eligible to start on short rest meant that the Yankees drew the Drysdale straw for both of their meetings in the tournament, and the second went only marginally better for New York than the first. Los Angeles jumped on Lopat for two runs in the 1st on a walk, a single, an Andy Carey throwing error and a wild pitch, and doubles by Gilliam and Tommy Davis in the 3rd made it 3-1 for the visitors. While Big D wasn't quite as stingy as in the tournament opener, allowing nine hits, he was overpowering in stretches as he struck out twelve Yankees. He didn't necessarily need to be, as the Dodgers got two more in the 6th behind Tommy's triple and RBI hits from Willie and Drysdale himself, but he cranked it up when needed. New York scored one in the 6th, and brought the tying run to the plate in the person of PH Bob Skowron, but Drysdale punched out Moose for his third K of the inning and, fittingly, whiffed Joe Collins for the final out of the game. Tommy had seven total bases and Gilliam had a pair of doubles, while Irv Noren scored all three Yankee runs. Los Angeles 9-15-0, New York 3-9-2. [box] [pbp]
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| Don Drysdale with twelve strikeouts this time |
The Dodgers came into the game with the chance to clinch the title, should results fall their way, and they went out and grabbed the lead in the 3rd Wills singled and stole second, then waited patiently there through two outs before Frank Howard doubled him home and Tommy Davis singled Howard around for a second run. Johnny Podres skipped out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the 1st, and a second-and-third one-out mess in the 2nd (when Manwaring was cut down at home by Willie Davis attempting to score on a fly ball), and then seemed to settle into the game. He retired twenty-one of the next twenty-four Giants starting with the flay-ball DP, allowing only one SF baserunner to reach second base the rest of the way. The Dodgers turned a Duke Snider walk in the 7th into an insurance run on another Tommy two-base hit but Los Angeles won this game they way they had marched through the schedule so far - with dominant starting pitching. Podres allowed seven hits (six of them singles), walking one and hitting one, while striking out eight for LA's second complete-game whitewash in five games. Los Angeles 3-7-0, San Francisco 0-7-1. [box] [pbp]
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| Johnny Podres throttles the Giants |
Brooklyn was fighting for its championship life, and responded immediately after the Yankees scored once in the top of the 1st on Berra's RBI single. Resse led off with a base hit, Reiser singled him to third and Medwick drove him home with the third one-base hit of the inning off of Grim. But New York had some fight left in them - Woodling led off the 3rd with a single, Mantle laced one up the middle to put Yanks on the corners with one out, Higbe uncorked a wild one that scored Woodling, and Berra doubled home Mantle to make the score 3-1. Four Brooklyn singles in the 5th produced only one run after a sacrifice attempt cut down a runner at third base, but the key play of the inning was the final one - Camilli hit a low foul pop near the edge of the seats behind the plate and Berra ran headlong into the wall in pursuit. He made the play, but it became clear between innings that he would not be able to continue and one of the tournament leaders in RBI was replaced by the light-hitting Charlie Silvera. New York still led by a single run after seven innings and the top of the 8th, a Reese error allowed NY to put two on with one out, but Silvera's sacrifice to move them both into scoring position went for naught when Max Macon came on to get PH Hank Bauer to pop to shortstop to end the inning. This would prove to be regrettable for the Yankees, as Medwick doubled with one away in the bottom of the inning and Walker sent him home with another two-bagger to tie the game and chase Grim from the mound. New York got the first two men on in the top of the 9th, but could not score either of them, and Brooklyn got a man to third with one out in the bottom of the 9th before Reiser fouled out to Silvera (approaching the stands gingerly, no doubt) and Camilli grounded out. On to extra innings for the second time in the Showdown. The Dodgers put a runner in scoring position with one out the 11th, as did the Yankees in the 12th, but the bullpens held firm. In the bottom of the 14th, Vaughn walked, Reiser doubled and Camilli took one in the ribs to load the bases with nobody out and the Ebbets Field throng rose to its feet to celebrate the inevitable victory they hoped might keep their pennant hopes alive. But Tom Morgan got Medwick to pop out, and Jim Konstanty came on to get Billy Herman to ground sharply to Willy Miranda drawn in at short, and he had Vaughn dead to rights at home. Walker then skied to left and, improbably, the game went on. New York was doing little with the BKN bullpen, but the home team threatened yet again in 16th; Reiser led off with a walk, stole second and tagged to third on Camilli's deep fly ball to center. Reiser was off at the crack of the bat when Medwick then grounded one to third, and Carey's throw home was in time for Silvera to apply the tag that erased the potential winning run. Finally, in the 18th, the Yanks put together an inning. With one out, "Not Yogi" Silvera singled and Bauer then roped a hit to right which moved the catcher to third base. McDougald drew a walk to load the bases, and Carey lifted a fly ball to Medwick in left which was just deep enough to allow Silvera to tag and score the game's first run in ten innings of play. With Bauer still on third, Larry French got Miranda to pop to third for the final out, and the Dodgers had three outs to get at least one run. Reese tapped to first for out number one, but Vaughn dribbled one just past Harry Byrd on the mound for an infield single and Brooklyn had life. Reiser worked an eight-pitch walk to move the tying run into scoring position for Camilli, who was 0-for-6 on the afternoon, but the 7th time was lucky - the left-handed first baseman crushed a Byrd pitch over the head of Mantle in CF and, as the ball rolled to the wall, both runners scored and the Dodgers had won the "The Brooklyn Marathon". Vaughn, Reiser and Owen had three hits for BKN, and Bauer did do for NY; Mantle and Herman each fanned three times. Brooklyn 5-19-1, New York 4-14-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Dolph Camilli outlasts the Yankees |
There was nothing left to play for but pride, as the two cellar dwellers fought for permanent residence on the bottom floor there in front of a typically sparse crowd at Candlestick Park. And, at least at the start of the game, it appeared that the pitchers weren't really invested in the low stakes, either. The slumbering bats of both clubs awoke with a vengeance in the 1st inning - New York got a walk, consecutive doubles by Collins and Mantle, and singles from Berra and Noren to score three times, while San Francisco tagged Ford with doubles from Thompson and Williams wrapped around a Bonds single to counter with a pair of runs. But this brief burst of energy seemed to immediately be extinguished by the futility of the situation, and the contest went quiet. There were only four total baserunners over the next four innings, until the Giants finally made some noise in the 6th on Williams' leadoff home run. This seemed to jolt the New Yorkers to attention, as they put together an honest-to-goodness rally in the 7th. With one out Collins walked, and Burkett departed in favor of Rogers. The 22-year-old Mantle (3-for-5, two RBI) scratched out an infield single, but Berra could only fly harmlessly to center for the second out. Bauer pinch-hit for Noren and delivered and RBI single, as did McDougald and then Carey after him, and NY had a 6-3 lead. Two walks led to one Giant run in the bottom of the inning, but Tom Gorman pitched a spotless 8th and Jim McDonald came on in the 9th after a leadoff double by PH Jeff Reed to record the final two outs of the game on strikeouts and consign the Giants to the ground-floor apartment. New York 6-13-0, San Francisco 4-9-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Mickey Mantle piles up three hits, two RBI |
Another day, another dominant starting pitching performance by the Dodgers. Koufax only struck out eight, but he also allowed only five hits to a team that came into the game hitting .284 for the tournament. He Dodged a bullet in the 3rd when a single, sacrifice and walk put two on with one out and Vaughn pounded a line drive to left-center that looked like it might score a pair if it reached the gap. Owen, running from second, held up thinking that the ball might be caught by Tommy Davis; when it was not, both he and Reese reached the plate just after the throw home hit Roseboro's glove and the catcher tagged out both runners for a momentum-killing double play that had the Chavez Ravine crowd on its feet in joy and disbelief. Wyatt matched him stride for stride for as long as he could, holding Los Angeles hitless until the 4th, and to two singles through the first six, but couldn't survive the 7th. With one away, Willie singled and Tommy reached on Reese's error. One out later, Roseboro doubled in a run and then Snider ripped a pinch-hit triple to score two more and trotted home himself on Koufax's base hit. Four runs seemed like Mount Everest with The Left Arm of God on the mound, and it might as well have been; he got double plays turned behind him to erase leadoff runners in both the 7th and the 8th, and then struck out Camilli to end the game (and the tournament) with a runner on second base. Los Angeles 5-8-1, Brooklyn 0-5-1. [box] [pbp]
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| Sandy Koufax finishes the tournament without allowing an earned run |
Final Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | RDiff | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 DODGERS | 6 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 23 | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| 1942 Dodgers | 3 | 3 | .500 | 3.0 | -2 | 2-1 | 1-2 |
| 1954 Yankees | 2 | 4 | .333 | 4.0 | -8 | 1-2 | 1-2 |
| 1993 Giants | 1 | 5 | .167 | 5.0 | -13 | 1-2 | 0-3 |
It was an ambitious schedule with six games each to play in one sitting but, despite the double-feature marathon between the '54 Yankees and '42 Dodgers really putting a crimp in the rhythm of the tournament, we got it all done in about six hours including a break for lunch. I don't think anyone would have predicted a clean sweep for the '62 Dodgers, much less their leading the field in run-scoring by a wide margin (making them the ONLY team in the field with a positive run differential), but that's why we play the games. We had two walk-off wins, two extra-inning games, three shutout pitching performances, and got to see Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Arky Vaughn, Pete Reiser, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Barry Bonds at their best against the best, and that's what it's all about. [Tournament stats]
1B: Ron Fairly, 1962 Dodgers (4)
2B: Jim Gilliam, 1962 Dodgers (4)
SS: Maury Wills, 1962 Dodgers (4)
3B: Tommy Davis, 1962 Dodgers (4)
You could have picked any one of a number of Dodgers to whom to hand the laurels, but the jaw-dropping moments of the tournament came from SP Don Drysdale. Two dominant complete-game victories over the 1954 Yankees - one in the tournament opener and one that essentially clinched the title with two game remaining - with a 1.11 WHIP and 23 strikeouts in 18 innings.
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