Casey: Pirates Outfielded and Outpitched Yankees
Pittsburgh, Oct. 5 — In six plain words, Casey Stengel summed up the Yankees’ loss in the World Series opener today. “They outfielded us and outpitched us,” he said, his voice carrying the sting of truth. “That is, they did today. I don’t say they’ll do it tomorrow or any other day, but today they were more alert. We made mistakes and they didn’t.”
The Yankees’ bats showed flashes of power, but not enough to overcome the sharp pitching of Vern Law and Elroy Face. Roger Maris singled off Law’s curveball in the first inning, and Elston Howard managed another off Face in the ninth, but between those two hits the Bombers were silent. Mickey Mantle, who struck out twice on curves, once from each Pittsburgh pitcher, described Face’s forkball afterward. “He threw me two,” Mantle said. “They looked like knuckleballs. One was low and I missed the swing, the other was outside.”
Stengel’s troubles began early when Art Ditmar, his starting pitcher, lasted only 17 pitches before being pulled — possibly the shortest start in World Series history. “We hit homers off their two best pitchers, didn’t we?” Casey said later, trying to find a silver lining. But the defensive lapses told the story. Yogi Berra’s throw to second in the first inning was ruled an error when Bill Virdon stole the base. “Nobody covered,” Berra said. “I held back the throw, tried to take something off it so I could lead him to the bag. That’s a tough way to get an error.” Tony Kubek admitted he was late covering second. “Our scouting reports said to wait until the last possible second when Groat’s up,” he explained. “I waited too long.” Bobby Richardson added, “We got confused.” Ditmar himself said he felt off from the start. “I warmed up fine, but when I got on the mound, I couldn’t pitch down. The ball jumped.”
The Pirates capitalized on every Yankee misstep, turning alert fielding and steady pitching into a 6‑4 victory. Stengel, ever the realist, tipped his cap to the winners. “They were more alert,” he said. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Courtesy of The New York Daily News October 6, 1960 via Newspapers.com
Booboos in 1st Start N. Y. Collapse
Pittsburgh, Oct. 5 — So nervous were the palpitating Pirates at the thought of facing the power‑packed Yankees that they couldn’t stand still. They ran the bases in a jittery frenzy, working the crowd of 36,676 into a go‑go uproar. They were so awed they made a mockery of Yogi Berra, the all‑time World Series catcher, and took liberties with the arms of Yankee outfielders. The quaking Buccos were so frightened they knocked out Art Ditmar in the first frame, then kept swinging with tapping nervousness at Jim Coates and Duke Maas to run off and hide with a 6‑4 victory in the opener of the 57th World Series.
It was a complete reversal of pre‑Series predictions. The Pirates were supposed to freeze in petrified awe of the Yankees’ tradition, haunted by memories of New York’s four‑game sweep of a jittery Pittsburgh club in 1927. But if anyone was jittery, it was the suave Yanks. They outhit Pittsburgh 13‑8 but couldn’t come through in the clutch, committing two costly errors that set the tone.
The Yankee lapse came in the opening inning after Roger Maris had launched one of Vern Law’s serves into the upper deck for a 1‑0 lead. In the bottom half, Bill Virdon drew a walk, and when Groat came up, Virdon took off on a delayed steal. Kubek and Richardson froze, neither covering second, and Berra’s throw sailed into center field.
Groat doubled, Skinner singled, and the Pirates led 2‑1 before Ditmar could settle down. Clemente’s motor‑driven single made it 3‑1, and Ditmar was finished after only 17 pitches. Jim Coates relieved and escaped further damage, but the Yankees never recovered.
In the third, Groat tried to stretch a single and was thrown out at third by Lopez, but Law kept the Yanks off balance despite their hits. Stengel shuffled his lineup, sending Dale Long to pinch‑hit, but the moves failed. Berra’s overconfidence cost another out when he was doubled off second by Mazeroski’s quick throw. Maz, the Pirates’ superb second baseman, figured in three double plays, including the one that ended the game.
Law’s right hand was steady through seven innings, allowing only two infield singles from the fifth through the seventh. Mazeroski’s fifth‑inning homer over the scoreboard made it 5‑2, and Virdon’s double in the seventh stretched it to 6‑2. Elroy Face, the forkball specialist, relieved Law in the eighth and struck out Mantle and Skowron while Berra flied to right. Howard’s ninth‑inning homer made it 6‑4, but Face calmly finished the job.
The Pirates, nervous and scrappy, had outplayed the Yankees in every department. Stengel’s men made mistakes, and the Bucs didn’t.
Courtesy of The New York Daily News October 6, 1960 via Newspapers.com