No one is taking anything away from Kershaw , when as loyal Yankee fans, we say “no one comes close to him today”. To us, the class he showed, the team leadership he provided and the fabulous memories he left ( added to his outstanding pitching record) makes him, in our minds, a very special Yankee and unique player that no “one today....... ( even) comes close!”
That play by Mantle allowed the tying run to score in the ninth and forced the game into the bottom of the inning where Maz hit the winner over the left field wall of Forbes Field. BTW that portion of the wall still stands near the new ballpark on the Northside, even though the field was torn down in 1971 to make room for the ever expanding Pitt campus and UPMC facilities.
Bama, I took our Grandson to the "Burgh" recently and one of the things I made sure he saw was that portion of the wall. Unfortunately, the Original Hot Dog is gone but he loved Wholeys.
Oh, yea, I remember the old Boston Braves. Talk about irony. Boston was a Red Sox city and the Braves were dying so they move to Milwaukee and what happens? Arron, Matthews, Spahn Sain and World Series victories.. Sorry but I've got to disagree with you a little on the Mantle and Martin escapade. Billy was from San Diego and was a product of a tough environment. Mantle on the other hand was a kid from Oklahoma who was, from all accounts, very naive and unsophisticated. He admired Billy and followed him like a puppy. True, he made his own choice but I'm not sure that introducing him to New York's nightlife was protecting him. As to being an organ donor, as I recall they moved Mickey up the ladder ahead of many other people and there was quite a brouhaha about it at the time. He did become a spokesman for organ donors but, unfortunately, for only a short time before his death. I had a few meals at Mickey's steakhouse in Oklahoma. Great atmosphere, tough steak.
which was exactly my point re: “nobody close to him today”. Ford, like Gibson, Koufax and the like actually pitched “a game”, a complete game, not just 5 or six innings and claimed victory. Yes, the game was different, but I can’t think of one pitcher today who can successfully pitch complete games like Ford!
Agree somewhat, but the hitters of yesterday knew how to swing a bat just to make contact, move runners over, sacrifice, and above all, bunt! Today, most swing for the fences or whiff, which explains the higher strikeout ratio.
They were last night thank you Tampa BayMore incentive for the Yankees tonight.
BTW, thanks to the Red Sox for singlehandedly sending us to the playoffs.
I hope your efforts will be rewarded.
You can not compare strikeout pitchers of today against strikeout pitchers of 60 years ago.
I believe that last pitcher to come close was Nolan Ryan. The game has drastically changed since Ryan pitched. He ended his career with 5,714 SO and 7 career no-hitters, both are still MLB records. If I remember correctly Ryan is the only pitcher to have his number retired by three differant teams and is those three teams HOF. Those teams are the Angels, Astros (NL), and Rangers.
A class act, Bama. Saw him pitch at Forbes Field many times. He was there for both the best and worst times for Pirate baseball. I always thought that if he had started and finished his career with a team like the Yankees or Dodgers he would be a HOF and won well over two hundred games. But those were the days prior to free agency and the players had no recourse. He was also one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball and was often used as a pinch hitter.Vernon Law, the Pirates ace pitcher in the same 1960 World Series, also won 2 games. He started the final game but could not finish. He had one of my favorite quotes in sports and life in general. He said "Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, and the lesson afterwards". Simple and eloquent, like Vern himself.
