Read Online Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball--And America--Forever by Tim Wendel - Free Book Online
Authors: Tim Wendel
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him were real. Still, the Dodgers’ ace was unable to rest easy. Astros manager Grady Hatton was convinced that Drysdale was using petroleum jelly or some other foreign substance to make the ball dive or soar. Reluctantly, home plate Al Barlick came to the mound to check the pitcher.
“I’ve got to look around here,” he told Drysdale. “Don’t worry about anything.”
Shrugging off the incident, the Dodgers’ ace shut out the Astros’ and Houston starter Larry Dierker, 5–0. “I was a kid back then, not quite twenty-two,” Dierker said. “But anybody could see that this was perhaps a once-in-a-generation thing. That guys like Drysdale and Gibson were setting a new standard. When you’re in the same profession, trying to do the same job, you’re just trying to keep up with it all.”
Ironically, the home-plate umpire would play the biggest role in Drysdale’s next start—May 31 at home against the rival San Francisco Giants. By this time the media was on the case, determining that Drysdale’s scoreless streak was the longest since Guy Harris “Doc” White pitched five consecutive shutouts for the Chicago White Sox in 1904. (During his playing career, White would combine with sportswriter Ring Lardner to write several popular songs, with “Little Puff of Smoke, Good Night” the most popular.) The all-time scoreless innings streak was held by Hall of Famer Walter “Big Train” Johnson, who pitched fifty-five and two-thirds scoreless innings in 1913.
Against the Giants, Drysdale was sailing along, holding a 3–0 lead into the top of the ninth. That’s when Willie McCovey walked, Jim Ray Hart singled, and then Drysdale walked Dave Marshall to load the bases with none out. (Marshall would break up Drysdale’s bid for a no-hitter later in the summer at Candlestick Park.)
Seizing the opportunity to end Drysdale’s scoreless string and perhaps even pull out a victory, Giants manager Herman Franks inserted Nate Oliver to be McCovey ’s pinch runner at first. San Francisco catcher Dick Dietz, who was next up, worked the count to 2–2. Drysdale went with a slider, but the pitch didn’t have much bite and it grazed Dietz on the left elbow. The Giants’ batter began to jog toward first base, which would have brought in Oliver from third. Pretty much everyone in the ballpark, including Dodgers catcher Jeff Torborg and Drysdale, thought the streak was over. The hit-by-pitch had forced in a run. Yet home-plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt surprised everyone by ruling that Dietz hadn’t tried to get out of the way of the pitch. Instead of allowing him to head to first base, the ump told him to get back in the batter’s box. Wendelstedt ruled the pitch a ball, making the count 3–2.
The Giants’ protest was long and loud. Third-base coach Peanuts Lowrey argued the call, as did Franks, halting the game for nearly a half-hour. Dodgers announcer Vin Scully filled the time by reading the rulebook on the air to listeners. The infielders stayed warm by throwing the ball around as Drysdale stood on the mound, watching Dietz, Lowrey, and Franks plead their case to Wendelstedt.
When play finally resumed, Dietz fouled off the next pitch. Then Drysdale got him to hit a shallow fly to left field. It wasn’t deep enough to score Oliver, so it was one out and the bases still loaded.
Next up was pinch hitter Ty Cline. He hit a line drive toward first base, where the Dodgers’ Wes Parker dug it out of the dirt and fired home in time for the out. Two down and the bases were still loaded.
Drysdale then induced pinch hitter Jack Hiatt to pop out to Parker at first. Somehow the Dodgers’ ace had gotten out of the jam and his scoreless string was intact. Drysdale had now pitched five consecutive shutouts.
“It took a lot of balls on Harry’s part to make that call,” Drysdale said, “ but he was absolutely right. Dietz made no effort to avoid that pitch.”
Juan Marichal, the Giants’ Hall of Fame right-hander,
“I’ve got to look around here,” he told Drysdale. “Don’t worry about anything.”
Shrugging off the incident, the Dodgers’ ace shut out the Astros’ and Houston starter Larry Dierker, 5–0. “I was a kid back then, not quite twenty-two,” Dierker said. “But anybody could see that this was perhaps a once-in-a-generation thing. That guys like Drysdale and Gibson were setting a new standard. When you’re in the same profession, trying to do the same job, you’re just trying to keep up with it all.”
Ironically, the home-plate umpire would play the biggest role in Drysdale’s next start—May 31 at home against the rival San Francisco Giants. By this time the media was on the case, determining that Drysdale’s scoreless streak was the longest since Guy Harris “Doc” White pitched five consecutive shutouts for the Chicago White Sox in 1904. (During his playing career, White would combine with sportswriter Ring Lardner to write several popular songs, with “Little Puff of Smoke, Good Night” the most popular.) The all-time scoreless innings streak was held by Hall of Famer Walter “Big Train” Johnson, who pitched fifty-five and two-thirds scoreless innings in 1913.
Against the Giants, Drysdale was sailing along, holding a 3–0 lead into the top of the ninth. That’s when Willie McCovey walked, Jim Ray Hart singled, and then Drysdale walked Dave Marshall to load the bases with none out. (Marshall would break up Drysdale’s bid for a no-hitter later in the summer at Candlestick Park.)
Seizing the opportunity to end Drysdale’s scoreless string and perhaps even pull out a victory, Giants manager Herman Franks inserted Nate Oliver to be McCovey ’s pinch runner at first. San Francisco catcher Dick Dietz, who was next up, worked the count to 2–2. Drysdale went with a slider, but the pitch didn’t have much bite and it grazed Dietz on the left elbow. The Giants’ batter began to jog toward first base, which would have brought in Oliver from third. Pretty much everyone in the ballpark, including Dodgers catcher Jeff Torborg and Drysdale, thought the streak was over. The hit-by-pitch had forced in a run. Yet home-plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt surprised everyone by ruling that Dietz hadn’t tried to get out of the way of the pitch. Instead of allowing him to head to first base, the ump told him to get back in the batter’s box. Wendelstedt ruled the pitch a ball, making the count 3–2.
The Giants’ protest was long and loud. Third-base coach Peanuts Lowrey argued the call, as did Franks, halting the game for nearly a half-hour. Dodgers announcer Vin Scully filled the time by reading the rulebook on the air to listeners. The infielders stayed warm by throwing the ball around as Drysdale stood on the mound, watching Dietz, Lowrey, and Franks plead their case to Wendelstedt.
When play finally resumed, Dietz fouled off the next pitch. Then Drysdale got him to hit a shallow fly to left field. It wasn’t deep enough to score Oliver, so it was one out and the bases still loaded.
Next up was pinch hitter Ty Cline. He hit a line drive toward first base, where the Dodgers’ Wes Parker dug it out of the dirt and fired home in time for the out. Two down and the bases were still loaded.
Drysdale then induced pinch hitter Jack Hiatt to pop out to Parker at first. Somehow the Dodgers’ ace had gotten out of the jam and his scoreless string was intact. Drysdale had now pitched five consecutive shutouts.
“It took a lot of balls on Harry’s part to make that call,” Drysdale said, “ but he was absolutely right. Dietz made no effort to avoid that pitch.”
Juan Marichal, the Giants’ Hall of Fame right-hander,
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