GAME 1 -- Manhattan
16,
Los Angeles 3
BOX
LOG
Gray
Sox Ignite Bahnsen
Burner
Manhattan Routs L.A.
in Series Debut
LOS ANGELES
(Oct. 2) -- The Manhattan Gray Sox celebrated their first World
Series appearance by splattering eight first-inning runs on the
Arroyo Seco scoreboard, taking the Los Angeles crowd out of the game
three innings before half of it arrived. It was an inauspicous
beginning for the Outlaws, who were also making their World Series
debut, when second baseman Felix Mantilla misplayed Vada Pinson
ground ball on the first play of the game. Two pitches later,
Pinson scored on Bobby Richardson's double, and it was off to the
races as the Sox chased rookie starter Stan Bahnsen after 0.1
innings. Manhattan took a 10-3 lead into the eighth, when they
added five more runs, including homers by Pete Ward and Ken
Harrelson. Pinson launched a solo shot in the ninth to reach
the final tally of 16-3, and cement Player of the Game honors, with
three RBIs, three runs, and a stolen base. Richardson and
Willie Stargell each had three hits, and Stargell drove in three
runs. Phil Niekro got the win, pitching seven innings with
seven hits and three runs allowed. Hank Aguirre was the only
Outlaw pitcher, out of four, to pitch effectively, allowing four
hits and two runs in 5.2 innings of long relief, and Hank Aaron was
3-for-4 with 2 RBI.
GAME
2 -- Los Angeles 8, Manhattan 5
BOX
LOG
Outlaws Rap Rookie
Hardin, Level Series
Antonelli Wins, Clendenon Homers
LOS ANGELES
(Oct. 3) -- Los Angeles touched rookie righthander Jim Hardin for
seven runs, as the Outlaws beat Manhattan 8-5 to even the Series at
a game apiece. Tito Fuentes' two-run single highlighted a
four-run rally that broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth.
Fuentes, filling in for the injured Andy Carey, has appeared in only
17 UL regular season games. Don Clendenon kicked off the
scoring in the second after Hardin beaned Tom Haller. After
Joe Azcue scored on Rusty Staub's error, the Outlaws took a 4-1 lead
on Frank Robinson's sac fly and Haller's RBI double. But the
Gray Sox tied the game with fifth inning home runs by Vada Pinson
and Willie Stargell. It was Pinson second homer in as many
games. Antonelli earned his first World Series win since 1958,
and Larry Dierker earned the long save, the first of his career,
with 1.2 scoreless innings.
GAME
3 -- Los Angeles 5, Manhattan 2
BOX
LOG
Peterson
Stifles Sox
Outlaws Take 2-1 Lead Behind
Seven-Hitter
MANHATTAN
(Oct. 5) -- Fritz Peterson went the distance with a seven-hitter,
and the Outlaws exploded for four runs in the fourth inning on route
to a 5-2 win to take a 2-1 Series lead. Manhattan scored first
on Zoilo Versalles' RBI groundout in the third, and Bob Anderson was
sharp, allowing just two walks and no hits through three innings,
before the wheels fell off in the fourth. Felix Mantilla
doubled off the wall for the Outlaws' first hit, and scored on Ken
McMullen's RBI groundout. Tom Haller and Don Clendenon then
hit back-to-back RBI doubles, and Ken Henderson added an RBI single
for a 4-1 Los Angeles lead. McMullen singled in Felix Mantilla
the next inning for a four-run lead. The Gray Sox had several
scoring opportunities, but were repeatedly shut down by the
26-year-old southpaw, who led the league with 24 wins. With
runners on second and third with one out in the sixth, Joe Torre
popped up to short and Rico Carty flied out to right. Two
innings later, Carty again flied to right with two runners in
scoring position. Pete Ward homered in the bottom of the
ninth, and Bobby Richardson doubled, but Peterson muffled the rally
by inducing a Ron Fairly groundout and striking out Don Buford
looking to end the game.
GAME
4 -- Manhattan 5, Los Angeles 2
BOX
LOG
Torre Homers Twice in
Niekro Gem
MANHATTAN
(Oct. 6) -- Joe Torre homered twice and Phil Niekro sliced through
the Los Angles lineup like a hot knife through butter for his second
World Series win, as the Manhattan Gray Sox knotted up the series
with a 5-2 win. Stan Bahnsen improved dramatically over his
Game 1 debacle, but not enough to win. Niekro battled first
inning butterflies, walking leadoff man Hank Aaron on four pitches
then throwing the ball away on a pickoff attempt. Aaron then
scored on Felix Mantilla's sac fly for an early Outlaws lead, but
the Sox equalized immediately. Vada Pinson walked, moved to
second on Bobby Richardson's groundout, stole third, and scored on
Willie Stargell's single. Joe Torre's first homer, a solo
shot, snapped the 1-1 tie in the fourth inning, and Zoilo Versalles'
two-out, two-run single broke the game open in the sixth, 4-1.
Torre homered again in the seventh, and Niekro took a two-hitter
into the ninth inning, when the Outlaws staged a last-ditch rally.
Mike Epstein led off with a single, before Niekro retired Mantilla
and Frank Robinson. One out from victory, Niekro walked Ken
McMullen, and Game 2 hero Tito Fuentes hit an RBI single to make it
5-2 and bring the tying run to the plate. But pinch hitter Lee
Thomas struck out on four pitches to end the game.
Probable starters for Game 5, the last game in Yankee Stadium, are
leftie Johnny Antonelli (7.1, 6 H, 2 ER, 5 K in Game 2) and
righthander Jim Hardin (5.2, 8 H, 7 R in Game 2).
GAME
5 -- Manhattan 5, Los Angeles 1
BOX
LOG
Wild Pitches Sink Outlaws
MANHATTAN
(Oct. 7) -- Willie Stargell's homer keyed a three-run eighth inning, as Jim
Hardin defeated Johnny Antonelli to give Manhattan a 3-2 series
lead. The clubs traded runs in the third inning on Ken
McMullen's solo shot and Bobby Richardson's RBI double, and the
score held at 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth, when Johnny
Antonelli's wild pitch allowed Jim Hardin to score, giving the hosts
their first lead, 2-1. In the top of the sixth, rookie Ken
Henderson was nearly a hero. The 21-year-old rookie, filling
in for the injured Don Demeter, lifted a 1-2 fastball to deep right
center, an inning-ending warning track shot that perhaps Demeter
would have launched out of the park. Henderson, a third round
pick in 1967, was exactly 1-for-1 in his UL career coming into the
series, but got called up for the Series after Demeter broke his
ribs in San Francisco on the last day of the regular season.
Antonelli kept it close, retiring nine in a row from the fifth to
the eighth, until Stargell's solo shot made it a 3-1 game.
Rico Carty and Sal Bando then singled, chasing Antonelli. Carty
scored on reliever Mike Paul's wild pitch and Bando scored on Ron
Fairly's single, making it 5-1. Los Angeles loaded the bases
off Bob Grim in the ninth, but Grim struck out Frank Robinson for
the final out. L.A. left 20 men on base, including six by
Robinson, who was 0-for-5.
The series now returns to L.A. for Game 6 and Game 7, if necessary.
Game 6 probables are Bob Anderson (18-10, 3.22) (Game 3: 6.0, 7 H, 5
R, loss) and Fritz Peterson (24-11, 2.70) (Game 3: CG, 7 H, 1 ER,
win).
GAME
6 -- Manhattan 7, Los Angeles 2
BOX
LOG
Sox-sational!
Anderson Arrests Outlaws
LOS ANGELES
(Oct. 9) -- Bob Anderson pitched seven shutout innings and Gray Sox
hitters pounded Fritz Peterson for six runs in the first three
innings, as Manhattan rolled to a 7-2 win to capture their first UL
championship at Arroyo Seco Stadium. Anderson was masterful
and got stronger as the game progressed. He allowed just four
hits, and just one in his last four innings. Sox hitters
jumped all over L.A.'s 24-game winner. Zoilo Versalles singled
to lead off the first, Vada Pinson homered to right, and Pete Ward
led off the second with a solo shot. It was a variation of a
theme in the third, when Versalles' leadoff triple was followed by
Pinson's RBI single. Willie Stargell and Rico Carty added RBI
singles for a 6-0 lead in the middle of the third. The
shell-shocked Outlaws found themselves in unfamiliar territory -- it
was only the fourth time in 42 starts that Peterson allowed six runs
-- and L.A. never had a chance with red-hot Anderson on the mound.
Mike Epstein doubled with two outs in the fifth, but was left
stranded by Felix Mantilla's lineout to third, and Anderson retired
the next seven batters he faced before handing the ball and a 7-0
lead to reliever Bob Grim in the bottom of the eighth. Los
Angeles finally got on the board in the ninth, when Frank Robinson
tripled and Ken Henderson doubled, but it was far too little way too
late, as Grim struck out pinch hitter Lee Thomas swinging to end the
game and the season for Los Angeles. Versalles was 4-for-5,
and Pinson and Ward each had three hits, including a homer.
By all accounts, it was a Cinderella season for both clubs.
Los Angeles's power had been building in the West for several
seasons, and it all came together this year with outstanding
pitching performances by Peterson (24-11, 2.70) and sophomore
righthander Jim McGlothlin (21-13, 4.12) complimenting a formidable
offense led by Frank Robinson (.304-48-116), Felix Mantilla
(.269-32-91), and Don Demeter (.288-27-93). The Outlaws won
the West handily with the best record in the league and a club
record 99 wins. But injuries down the stretch took their toll,
and L.A. entered the World Series without two of its stars, McGlothlin and Demeter.
The remaining players did
themselves no favors. Robinson, Mantilla, and Hank Aaron, who
combined for 99 home runs and 266 RBIs in the regular season, had 0
homers and 6 RBIs in six World Series games. And rookie Stan Bahnsen simply wasn't up to the task of filling McGlothlin's shoes,
losing twice, including a 16-3 Game 1 blowout that the Outlaws never
completely recovered from, despite subsequently winning the next two
games.
But this was Manhattan's year. The club never really figured
in anyone's playoff scenarios, not least those of GM Jeff Gurganus,
especially after losing Pinson for six weeks in May and rookie
hurler Tom Seaver for the season in June. But the club refused
to fall to the bottom of the division as it had in years past.
The Sox were six games back on Sept. 1, in the thick of a three-way
race, but peaked at just the right time, winning 16 of its last 18,
including five of six against Cleveland to overtake the Barons in
the final week and capture an unlikely pennant. Phil Niekro
was 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA and a complete game, but it was Manhattan's
bats that brought the first championship to the Big Apple in 18
years. The Sox belted a Series record 12 homers, as Vada
Pinson and Pete Ward tied the record with three dingers apiece, and
Willie Stargell took Series MVP honors with four multi-hit games, a
.440 average, two homers and 7 RBIs.
BY THE NUMBERS
Los Angeles
6th in runs -- 3rd in HR, 4th in SLG, 10th in OBP, 11th in SB
1st in runs allowed -- 1st in ERA, 2nd in starters ERA, 2nd in
bullpen ERA, 6th in K
Manhattan
2nd in runs -- 1st in SLG, 2nd in OBP, 3rd in SB, 4th in HR
6th in runs allowed -- 5th in ERA, 6th in starters ERA, 3rd in
bullpen ERA, 8th in K
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Game
1
MAN: Phil Niekro (R) (20-12, 4.35, 1.31 WHIP)
LA:
Stan Bahnsen (R) (2-1, 2.51, 1.22 WHIP)
Game 2
MAN: Jim Hardin (R) (13-8, 3.89, 1.35 WHIP)
LA:
Johnny Antonelli (L) (17-11, 3.27, 1.19 WHIP)
Game 3
LA:
Fritz Peterson (L) (24-11, 2.70, 1.03 WHIP)
MAN:
Bob Anderson (R) (18-10, 3.22, 1.13 WHIP)
TOP HITTERS:
Los Angeles
LF Frank Robinson (.304-48-116, .945 OPS)
2B Felix Mantilla (.269-32-91, .852)
RF Hank Aaron (.270-19-59, .821, 15 SB)
Will not play:
SP Jim McGlothlin (21-13, 4.12, 1.34 WHIP)
(strained bicep tendon, Sept. 26)
CF Don Demeter (.288-27-93, .819) (fractured ribs, Sept. 30)
SS Andy Carey (.239-7-51, .641) (fractured foot, Sept. 24)
CF Tommie Agee (.287-8-26, .807) (fractured wrist, Sept. 16)
Manhattan
C Joe Torre (.375-35-118, 1.074 OPS)
1B Willie Stargell (.316-26-108, .946)
3B Pete Ward (.309-34-107, .919)
CF Vada Pinson (.313-18-58, .925, 53 SB)
LF Rico Carty (.291-18-60, .843)
Will not play:
SP Tom Seaver (8-5, 3.74, 1.27 WHIP) (ruptured bicep tendon, June
18)
C Joe Torre (will miss first two games with fractured hand suffered
Sept. 26)
