Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 136

the train after the Yankees lost two of three to Philadelphia. Embarrassed by the episode, which made its way into print, the Yankees responded by winning 15 of their next 19, clinching the pennant on September 27th.

The 1952 World Series was against the Brooklyn Dodgers, who by then had their stars of the 1950’s such as Gil Hodges and Duke Snider, the virtual National League all-star team. The teams split the first four games. With his pitching staff tired, Stengel gave the start to late season acquisition Ewell Blackwell, who surrendered four runs in five innings, and the

Yankees lost the game in 11 innings to the Dodgers behind Carl Erskine's complete game. Needing to win two in a row at Ebbets Field, Stengel pitched Raschi in Game 6, who won it with a save from Allie Reynolds. With no tomorrow in Game 7, Stengel sent four pitchers to the mound. Mantle hit a home run to break a 2–2

tie; Martin preserved the lead by making a difficult catch off a Robinson pop-up; and Kuzava again secured the final outs for a Series victory, as the Yankees won 4–2 for their fourth straight World Series victory, matching the record set in 1936–1939, also by the Yankees; the Gehrig-DiMaggio teams.

The sportswriters had picked other teams to win the pennant in

Stengel's first four years as Yankee manager. In 1953 they picked the Yankees, and this time they were proven correct. An