Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 245

played on seven World Series winning New York Yankees teams and set the World Series record for the longest hitting streak of 17 games. Perhaps Bauer's most notable performance came in the sixth and final game of the 1951 World Series, where he hit a three run triple. He also saved the game with a diving catch of a line drive off the bat of Sal Yvars for the final out.

At the close of the 1959 season, 38 year old Bauer was traded by the Yankees to the Kansas City Athletics which brought them the future home run king Roger Maris. In 1961, Athletics manager Joe Gordon chose to start Leo Posada over Bauer in the Opening Day

starting lineup. On June 19, the Athletics fired Gordon and Bauer was named as the playing manager of the Athletics. Bauer retired as a player one month later. In his first stint as the Athletics' manager, through the end of the 1962 season, his teams finished ninth in the ten team American League twice.

After his firing at the close of the 1962 campaign, Bauer spent the 1963 season as first base coach of the Baltimore Orioles. He was promoted to manager on November 19, 1963, succeeding Billy Hitchcock who had been dismissed 51 days earlier. Baltimore contended aggressively for the 1964 American League pennant, finishing third, and then, bolstered by the acquisition of

future Hall of Fame outfielder Frank Robinson, its first AL pennant and World Series championship in 1966. However, the ball