Richardson’s Slam Sparks Yankee Rout
New York, Oct. 8 — Bobby Richardson, smallest man in a lineup of giants, swung the biggest bat in Yankee Stadium Saturday as New York flattened the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10‑0, to take a 2‑1 lead in the World Series.
Before 70,001 roaring fans, the bantam second baseman, who had hit only one home run all season, smashed a grand‑slam drive into the left‑field stands in the first inning and drove in six runs, a Series record. The Yankees sent eleven men to bat in that opening frame, piled up seven hits, and routed Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell before he could catch his breath.
Clem Labine followed and fared no better, as the Bombers rolled on with a 16‑hit assault that buried six Pirate pitchers.
Whitey Ford, cool and untroubled, scattered four hits and never allowed a runner past third, posting his sixth Series victory to tie the mark for left‑handers held by Lefty Gomez and Herb Pennock.
Mickey Mantle joined the fireworks with a two‑run homer, his fourteenth in Series play, leaving him one shy of Babe Ruth’s all‑time total.
Bob Cerv, playing left field for Yogi Berra, started the landslide with a single, and Moose Skowron, Gil McDougald, and Elston Howard followed with hits that loaded the bases for Richardson’s historic blow.
The Yankees added four more in the fourth when Mantle lashed a 430‑foot shot into the lower stands, Skowron singled, McDougald beat out a roller, and Howard’s liner off Don Hoak’s chest drove in two more. Richardson capped the scoring with a slashing single to left that sent Skowron and McDougald home, breaking the Series RBI record.
Ford handled the rest with ease as the Pirates flailed helplessly. When the teams meet again Sunday in Yankee Stadium, the Yanks will send Ralph Terry, 10‑8 on the season, against twenty‑game winner Vernon Law, who captured the opener for Pittsburgh. The Yankees, merciless and confident, now stand one victory away from commanding the Series.
BaseballReference.com Boxscore
Courtesy of The Philadelphia Inquirer from October 9, 1960 via Newspapers.com