{"id":88414,"date":"2024-10-29T01:41:38","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T05:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=88414"},"modified":"2024-10-29T01:41:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T05:41:38","slug":"1952-world-series-dodgers-yankees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/29\/1952-world-series-dodgers-yankees\/","title":{"rendered":"1952 World Series: Dodgers, Yankees, Loes, Too Much Spit, Low Shining Sun, And Sarge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again, this time in 1952, the Brooklyn Dodgers broke their fans\u2019 hearts, and the New York Yankees were culpable. The Dodgers had previously lost the World Series to the rival Yankees in 1941, 1947, and 1949. It was known as a fierce rivalry<\/a>. Then again, there\u2019s the old saying that where one team dominates, it\u2019s not a true rivalry. Regardless, the rivalry has produced many great moments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1952 World Series: Dodgers, Yankees, Loes, Too Much Spit, Low Shining Sun, And Sarge<\/h2>\n

For Brooklyn fans, nothing compared to 1950-52. In 1950 and 1951, the Dodgers lost the National League pennant on the season’s final day. Then came the 1952 World Series. The Dodgers took a three-games-to-two lead over the Yankees and returned home to Ebbets Field, needing to win only one of two to win the championship.<\/p>\n

Zany And Flakey, Or A Professional?<\/h3>\n

Yankees manager Casey Stengel<\/a> sent his best pitcher, 33-year-old right-hander Vic Raschi<\/a> to the mound for Game 6. Raschi was 16-6 with a 2.78 ERA in 1952. He had won 21 games in each of the three previous years. Chuck Dressen<\/a>, the Dodgers manager and a legend in his own mind, countered with his sad-eyed, 22-year-old \u201cbonus baby\u201d Billy Loes<\/a> to clinch the 1952 World Series. In 1952, Loes, also a right-hander, was 13-8 with a 2.69 ERA. He was a genuine New York street kid who spoke with an obscenity-laden New York accent. The media described him as \u201czany\u201d and \u201cflakey.\u201d Before the World Series, reporters asked him his opinion of the upcoming matchup. They quoted him as picking the Yankees in six games. When confronted by Dressen on the subject, Loes said he was misquoted. He\u2019d actually picked the Yankees in seven.<\/p>\n

Loes\u2019 Dodgers teammate and fellow pitcher<\/a> Carl Erskine<\/a> defended him in a 1980 United Press International article. \u201cI always had a feeling that underneath that brassy, New Yorkish exterior, Billy had a great sensitivity to his role as a Dodger pitcher,\u201d said the articulate Erskine. \u201cI think his reputation for being bizarre was fed by circumstances and that he didn\u2019t actually relish the role he was cast in. . . Billy always had a complete grasp of what was going on and was entirely professional out there on the mound.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Too Much Spit”<\/h3>\n

When Loes went to the mound in the top of the seventh inning, he had a 1-0 lead courtesy of Duke Snider<\/a>\u2019s sixth-inning home run off Raschi. Loes promptly surrendered a home run to the Yankees\u2019 Yogi Berra<\/a>. Then things got weird. Gene Woodling<\/a> bounced a single up the middle. With Irv Noren<\/a> at bat, Loes stood on the pitching rubber as the ball mysteriously dropped from his hand and rolled off the mound. It was an automatic balk, sending Woodling to second base. After the game, Loes mumbled to a United Press reporter, \u201cIt never happened to me before \u2013 nothing like it. The ball completely got away from me. My hands weren\u2019t sweaty.\u201d But according to other accounts, Loes said, \u201cToo much spit on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

“That Low Shining Sun”<\/h3>\n

It looked like Loes might escape the inning with just one Yankees run after he struck out Noren and got Billy Martin<\/a> to pop out. He had only to retire Raschi, who hit .188 in 1952. Raschi hit a grounder back to the mound that deflected off Loes\u2019 right knee and headed toward right field. By the time first baseman Gil Hodges<\/a> cut it off, Raschi reached first base safely and Woodling scored to put the Yankees ahead, 2-1. After the game, Loes claimed to have lost Racshi\u2019s grounder in the sun. \u201cI might have had the [censored] thing if it wasn\u2019t for that low, shining sun in my face!\u201d he told the assembled media.<\/p>\n

In that same 1980 UPI article, Loes defended himself. \u201cRemember how the sun used to come over the top of the grandstand at Ebbets Field late in the game?\u201d he asked. \u201cWell, that\u2019s what happened. It was an everyday occurrence and they made it sound like some kind of phenomenon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snider and Mickey Mantle<\/a> traded solo home runs, and the Yankees won 3-2. The Dodgers had another chance to take the 1952 Series the next day. Unfortunately for them, only Snider was hitting. His two home runs in Game 6 gave him four for the Series, tying Babe Ruth<\/a>\u2019s record. The Dodgers team, however, hit .215\/.291\/.322 for the entire Series. Hodges went hitless in the seven games. Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/em> reported that Dressen said, \u201cSomebody better start hitting around here besides Duke Snider or this is going to be a long winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game 7<\/h3>\n

Dressen turned to Joe Black<\/a> to pitch Game 7. Black won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1952 when he went 15-4 and registered a 2.15 ERA for the Dodgers. He appeared in 56 games, of which only two were starts, and recorded 15 saves while leading the majors by finishing 41 games.<\/p>\n

Stengel went with 35-year-old left-hander Eddie Lopat<\/a>. Lopat was 10-5 with a 2.53 ERA in 1952. It was thought to be suicide to pitch a left-hander against the Dodgers, who were dominated by right-handed hitters, even more so in cozy Ebbets Field. But Stengel didn\u2019t have much of a choice. He had big, hard-throwing Allie Reynolds<\/a> scheduled to pitch in Game 7. However, he\u2019d brought in Reynolds to save Game 6.<\/p>\n

Stengel got three scoreless innings from Lopat. When the Dodgers loaded the bases on three consecutive singles in the fourth inning, Stengel turned to Reynolds. Reynolds pitched out of trouble, allowing only one run. As the bottom of the seventh rolled around, the Yankees had a 4-2 lead. This was the crucial half-inning of the game. Raschi began the inning in relief of Reynolds, but he was wild. After two walks, a single, and an out, the Dodgers had loaded the bases.<\/p>\n

Enter “Sarge”<\/h3>\n

With left-handed-swinging Snider due up, Stengel summoned left-handed pitcher Bob Kuzava<\/a> from the bullpen. Nicknamed \u201cSarge,\u201d Kuzava was the epitome of a journeyman. The Yankees were his fourth team. (He would pitch for four more.) In 1952, starting and relieving, Kuzava was 8-8 with a 3.45 ERA. Stengel hadn\u2019t yet seen fit to use Kuzava in the Series. But Stengel knew that when both were in the minor leagues, Snider had little success against Kuzava. Now Snider and Kuzava battled to a full\u00a0 \u00a0count until Snider popped out to third base.<\/p>\n

With the right-handed Jackie Robinson<\/a> due up, everybody expected Stengel to go back to the bullpen. Instead, he stayed with Kuzava. Brooklyn fans in attendance were licking their chops. Explaining the decision in The Era<\/em> by Roger Kahn, Stengel said, \u201cThe reason I left him in is the other man [Robinson] has not seen hard-throwing left-hand pitchers much [just 90 times in 1952] and could have trouble with the break of a left-hander\u2019s hard curve, which is what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a 2-2 count (some accounts say it was 3-2; they\u2019re wrong), Robinson hit a high pop near the mound. It was first baseman Joe Collins<\/a>\u2019 play to make, but he lost it in the sun. Second baseman Martin quickly realized what was happening and sprinted at the suddenly wind-blown ball, catching it at his shoe tops, ending the threat and saving at least one run.<\/p>\n