Back to the Baseball Seasons series. After the 1961 episode, there was a 4 year gap; 1965 was up next. I wonder why they skipped years… In this case, maybe because it would have been like a broken record. To start off the 60s, the Yankees made the World Series 5 straight times, winning twice. We talked about how they lost on the walkoff to Mazeroski in 1960; they bounced back to repeat in 61 and 62 against the Reds and Giants. In 63 & 64, they lost to the Dodgers and Cardinals respectively; I guess I’m glad they skipped 1964…
1965 brought the end of the Yankee dominance, and the beginning of the end for all time great Mickey Mantle. It was 1976 before the Yankees returned to the series; I guess for them that’s a long drought. The injuries would finally catch up to Mantle. From what I’ve seen, he played through a lot of pain in his career, making it even that much more impressive. Another guy that played through a lot of pain down the stretch of his career was Sandy Koufax. In Spring Training, after Koufax threw a complete game (imagine that today), his elbow was black and blue. Forget about pitching… he was told he might lose full use of his arm! You think that kept him off the mound? Hell no. 335 innings, 382 strikeouts, and 26 wins with a 2.04 ERA later, Koufax claimed his 2nd Cy Young award; that’s fricking unbelievable. Oh yeah, and then there was the perfect game he threw… I guess there’s a reason why he’s looked at as one of the best ever. The Dodgers would represent the NL in the World Series after a back and forth battle with the Giants in the final month, highlighted by both teams going on double digit winning streaks; that’s some good stuff. It’s nuts that there was only 1 team from each league that made the “playoffs” and that it only consisted of the World Series back then. How many good teams got left out? How would history have changed if there was at least a championship series before the World Series?
The surprise for me came when I found out who the AL representative was: the Minnesota Twins! It was their first time winning the pennant, although the franchise, the Washington Senators had been there 3 times previously going 1-2. I learned about a new player too: Zolio Versailles, the Twins SS, who was actually the MVP that year. Never heard of him; maybe this information will come in handy one day in a trivia contest… Yes, the Twins, who hosted the All Star game as well that year would face off against the Dodgers.
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Back to the Series, and some controversy. Sandy Koufax declined to start Game 1 because of his observance of Yom Kippur, a major Jewish holiday. I wonder how that would go down today… He came back in Game 2 and won, evening the series. He pitched in Game 5, shutting the Twins out, to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead, and then again in Game 7, on 2 days rest, after all those innings, dealing with arm issues, and threw ANOTHER shutout! He was the World Series MVP.
Koufax would only pitch one more season before having to retire due to the arthritis in his throwing arm. Mantle would go onto play through the 68 season, joining the 500 home run club in the process, before hanging it up. I knew both of these guys were legends, but after what I’ve seen in these first few episodes, I’m seeing it with my own eyes. Continuing to work my way through the 60s next.
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