Flitgun Frankie
November 17, 2020
I think of all the 1962 radio broadcasts I've listened to, this was my favorite. That eighth inning!
The Mets go into the 8th inning winning 5-2, looking like they might break their seven game losing streak. Then:
Harvey Kuenn singles
Mays singles, Kuenn running on the pitch gets to third.
Cepeda doubles, scoring Kuenn, Mays goes to third, Cepeda on second. Score, 5-3 Mets.
Felipe Alou singles scoring Mays and Cepeda, score tied 5-5, Alou on first.
Bob Miller comes into the game. Throws a wild pitch. Alou goes to second.
Miller throws another wild pitch, Alou goes to third. Alou was credited with a stolen base because he was running on the play, but it was a wild pitch. The scorer gives a SB because they don't assume Alou would have been thrown out. Listening to the description on the broadcast, it didn't sound like a straight steal, but more of a hit & run.
With Alou on third, Miller pitches, and it's a passed ball on Harry Chiti, Alou scores, Giants go ahead 6-5.
I was listening on an iPod, with earphones on and when I heard this sequence of events I was going, "No! No! No!" out loud. Funny how a game played almost 60 years ago can draw you in emotionally. I could imagine what Stengel was thinking as this was going on. "Two years ago I was managing Hall of Famers on the Yankees. What did I do to deserve this!"
So the Mets lost the game 6-5. It was the 8th loss in their 17 game losing streak. Incidentally, the scorecard posted here has an error in that it has Alou going to third on a base hit. It was a wild pitch, though he was credited officially with a stolen base. Maybe the official scorer was feeling bad for Bob Miller and cut him some slack.
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