RIP Whitey Ford | The Boneyard

RIP Whitey Ford

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I remember when he broke the record of consecutive world series scoreless innings with 33. I was shocked then to learn the former holder was Babe Ruth! I also remember that he once pitched both games of a double header to get into the world series. Pitchers sure were used different then.
 

oldude

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Yet another idol from my childhood. Whitey Ford’s all time record was 236-106, with a 2.75 ERA. While that’s impressive enough on its own, the truth is that Whitey could have chalked up another 50 or so wins, had Casey Stengel not routinely held him out to pitch against the aces on opposing staffs, rather than every 4 days, as was the common practice in his day.
 
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Yet another idol from my childhood. Whitey Ford’s all time record was 236-106, with a 2.75 ERA. While that’s impressive enough on its own, the truth is that Whitey could have chalked up another 50 or so wins, had Casey Stengel not routinely held him out to pitch against the aces on opposing staffs, rather than every 4 days, as was the common practice in his day.
It's safe to say Whitey could've had over 300 wins because he also missed the 1951 and 1952 seasons due to military service.
 

Bama fan

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I was 9 years old when Whitey Ford pitched two complete game shutouts in the 1960 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That series was like David and Goliath with the mighty Yankees scoring more runs by a wide margin than the lowly Pirates. But in the seventh game Bill Mazeroski of the Pirates hit a walkoff homer in the rubber game of the match. The Yankees were clearly the better team, and Whitey Ford was magnificent. It was the only seventh game walkoff ever; and the MVP , Bobby Richardson, was a member of the losing team for the only time in series history. The Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27, they outhit the Pirates 91-60, and hit 10 homers to the Buccos 4. But three of those Pirate round trippers came in the seventh game. It was an historic victory by the underdogs. That series featured six hall of fame players and seven league MVPs. That night was a glorious time in Pittsburgh for sure. They let us out of school early for several games. It didn't get better than that!
 
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More incentive for the Yankees tonight.
BTW, thanks to the Red Sox for singlehandedly sending us to the playoffs. :D
I hope your efforts will be rewarded.
 
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I was 9 years old when Whitey Ford pitched two complete game shutouts in the 1960 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That series was like David and Goliath with the mighty Yankees scoring more runs by a wide margin than the lowly Pirates. But in the seventh game Bill Mazeroski of the Pirates hit a walkoff homer in the rubber game of the match. The Yankees were clearly the better team, and Whitey Ford was magnificent. It was the only seventh game walkoff ever; and the MVP , Bobby Richardson, was a member of the losing team for the only time in series history. The Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27, they outhit the Pirates 91-60, and hit 10 homers to the Buccos 4. But three of those Pirate round trippers came in the seventh game. It was an historic victory by the underdogs. That series featured six hall of fame players and seven league MVPs. That night was a glorious time in Pittsburgh for sure. They let us out of school early for several games. It didn't get better than that!
My memory, fallible that it may be, is that I was in 7th grade when the 1960 WS was played. I had a bet with another kid, backing the Pirates. I had a shop class late in the day of game 7, and the kid I made the bet with happened to be in the class. Shop was the only class where a radio could be on and game 7 was on. The kid I bet with began looking for the quarter or dollar or whatever the bet was as the 9th inning was going on. I was more or less getting ready to pay off when loud and clear from the radio - home run!
 
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Back in the early 50's I was a fan of the White Sox who had been a second division club forever
but now were the go-go Sox. They had a good little left-hander, Billy Pierce, and whenever there
was a weekend series with the Yankees it seemed like the Friday night game was always Billy
Pierce against Whitey Ford.

It seemed like Ford always won those matchups 1-0 or 2-1 in 10 innings. But I consoled myself
with the thought that Billy had to pitch to the Yankee lineup while Whitey only had to pitch to
the light hitting Sox lineup.
 
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I live in Westport, CT. When my son Alan was small Whitey Ford came to sign balls at a sport memorabilia store in town. We met one of my Yankee heroes when I was a kid and a person who is probably one of the best pitchers ever. It was a different era. Whitey would usually pitch most of the game and I remember Luis Arroyo saving the game for him. Well anyway I have a ball signed by Whitey a true "Hall of Famer". RIP!
 
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No one even close to him today!

Honestly, I don't know how you can say that. Consider Kershaw:

Ford 16 seasons 236-106 2.75
Kershaw 13 seasons 175-76 2.43

I won't spend any time arguing who is better, but it seems to me he is in the same general league as Ford.
 

oldude

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Honestly, I don't know how you can say that. Consider Kershaw:

Ford 16 seasons 236-106 2.75
Kershaw 13 seasons 175-76 2.43

I won't spend any time arguing who is better, but it seems to me he is in the same general league as Ford.
It’s a little harder to make that case for postseason pitching.

Ford: 10-8, 2.71 era (all in the World Series)
Kershaw: 11-11, 4.21 era (includes LDS, LCS & World Series games)
 

KnightBridgeAZ

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Honestly, I don't know how you can say that. Consider Kershaw:

Ford 16 seasons 236-106 2.75
Kershaw 13 seasons 175-76 2.43

I won't spend any time arguing who is better, but it seems to me he is in the same general league as Ford.
I think it is difficult to compare pitchers across eras.

Complete Games - Ford - over 150, about 11 a season
Complete Games - Kershaw - 25, about 2 a season

Just one of many examples of changes over the years.
 
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When we eulogize a little slack is in order, if just for a day.

Agreed. Which is why I didn't make any argument about anyone being superior to Ford. But no one "even close" to him. That's not even close to being true. Can remember and eulogize Ford without demeaning those that survive him. Perhaps a better way to state the same thing is "that we will not see the likes of him again."

Ford is a HOFer. And he belongs there with his Yankee teammates and Red Sox rivals.
 
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It’s a little harder to make that case for postseason pitching.

Ford: 10-8, 2.71 era (all in the World Series)
Kershaw: 11-11, 4.21 era (includes LDS, LCS & World Series games)

Fair point. Not arguing who is superior, but that one can compare them without being ridiculous.
 
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I think it is difficult to compare pitchers across eras.

Complete Games - Ford - over 150, about 11 a season
Complete Games - Kershaw - 25, about 2 a season

Just one of many examples of changes over the years.

This point was made even more tellingly when Gibson died. He had 255 complete games, including 56 in two seasons (1968-69). Like so many of you, I miss complete game shutouts.
 
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I was 9 years old when Whitey Ford pitched two complete game shutouts in the 1960 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That series was like David and Goliath with the mighty Yankees scoring more runs by a wide margin than the lowly Pirates. But in the seventh game Bill Mazeroski of the Pirates hit a walkoff homer in the rubber game of the match. The Yankees were clearly the better team, and Whitey Ford was magnificent. It was the only seventh game walkoff ever; and the MVP , Bobby Richardson, was a member of the losing team for the only time in series history. The Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27, they outhit the Pirates 91-60, and hit 10 homers to the Buccos 4. But three of those Pirate round trippers came in the seventh game. It was an historic victory by the underdogs. That series featured six hall of fame players and seven league MVPs. That night was a glorious time in Pittsburgh for sure. They let us out of school early for several games. It didn't get better than that!
It also features the most intuitive base running play in World Series history. Mickey Mantle was on first when Yogi hit a bullet on the ground to first. The Pirates infielder stepped on first and turned to throw to second; Mantle slid safely back to first! He did a lot more than just hit homers.
 

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