CT SABR members enjoyed 2 hours of BB talk, vintage team board game play and refreshments yesterday at the Game Day gathering. Strat-O-Matic Baseball was the board game used to pit the 1978 Yankees vs. Red Sox, the 1953 Dodgers vs. Yankees, and two teams of Hall of Famers against each other.
In attendance were Gary Gold, Joe Runde, Alan Cohen, Steve Krevisky, Tom and Matt Monitto, Stan Dziurgot, Larry Howard and Karl Cicitto.
The Strat-O-Matic Company generously donated 13 Old timer teams as gifts to the players. 6 of those teams remain (1909 Pitt, 1911 Phila, 1934 Det, 1940 Cinn, 1941 Bklyn, 1946 Bos -A) and will be gifted at the next gathering. Thank you, Dan Rozel at S-O-M!
The next Game Day gathering will be our Chapter’s SABR Day event, to be held on January 21, 2017. Details TBA.
On to the game summaries……
Guidry fans 14 as ‘78 Yanks beat Red Sox, 4 – 2.
Summary by Matt Monitto.
In a rematch of the famous Bucky Dent game, the 1978 Yankees rode a Ron Guidry complete game to defeat the 1978 Red Sox 4-2.
Guidry allowed an RBI single to Rick Burleson in the second inning and another to Jerry Remy in the third, but was dominant after that, striking out 14 batters overall and only allowing two hits in the final six innings.
The strongest Red Sox hitters were unable to connect off Guidry, as Dwight Evans went 0-5 with four strikeouts and Carl Yastrzemski went 2-5 with three Ks. Every Boston hitter except Carlton Fisk struck out.
While the Yankees scored an early run on a third-inning Lou Piniella solo home run, Boston’s Dennis Eckersley held the lead until the sixth inning, when doubles by Bucky Dent and Mickey Rivers and a Thurman Munson single gave New York a 3-2 lead.
The Yankees added an insurance run in the seventh, when Roy White doubled off Tom Burgmeier to score Chris Chambliss.
Guidry struck out the side in the ninth, fanning Fred Lynn, Evans and Yastrzemski to end the game.
Cox dinger off Sain decides it, ’53 Brooklyns rout Yanks 8 – 2.
Summary by Karl Cicitto.
Yankee starter Eddie Lopat glided through the first 3 innings but a blast by Billy Cox off Johnny Sain in the 8th resulted in a bad day for the Junkman. The Dodgers routed the Yankees late, 8 -2, in the Bronx.
Lopat retired 9 of the first 10 Brooklyns he faced. The only one of those batters to reach first was Junior Gilliam, who walked.
Shortstop Rizzuto was injured in his first at bat and was replaced by Andy Carey, who went on to mishandle a ground ball by Robinson in the 4th, a misplay that allowed a run to score and tie the game, 2 – 2.
The Yankee offense was meager. Mantle went hitless and K’d three times. The heart of the order – Mickey, Yogi, Woodling – produced 3 hits, all singles, in 13 plate appearances. The Bombers scratched out one run when Bauer singled in McDougald in the 3rd. They scored again when a sac fly by Collins plated Berra in the 4th.
Campanella’s 6th inning home run gave the Dodgers a 3 – 2 lead. In the 8th, Lopat allowed a single by Hodges and a run-scoring double to Robinson, making the Dodger lead 4 – 2. Johnny Sain, immediately inserted to limit the damage, instead gave up the 2-run home run by Cox. Ewell Blackwell then relieved Sain and proceeded to walk Erskine, Reese and Gilliam after yielding a base knock, forcing in another run. By the time Hodges flew out to center, the lead was 7 – 2. Brooklyn added another run in the 9th on singles by Reese, Furillo and Robinson.
The 1953 Yankee starting 9 included Rizzuto, Bauer, Mantle, Berra, Woodling, Collins, Martin, McDougald and Lopat. They were managed by Alan Cohen and Joe Runde.
The 1953 Dodger starting 9 included Reese, Gilliam, Snider, Hodges, Campanella, Furillo, Robinson, Cox and Erksine. They were managed by Gary Gold and Karl Cicitto.
Berra Roughs Up Koufax, Maddux Silences Opponent in 75th Anniversary Hall of Fame Edition
Summary by Matt Monitto.
In a match between two star-studded Hall of Fame lineups, the HOF-Montreal Expos, led by Greg Maddux’s eight-inning effort, defeated the HOF-Seattle Pilots 5-2.
The Expos got all the offense they would need in the fourth inning, as Yogi Berra hit a three-run home run off Sandy Koufax to take a 3-0 lead. Montreal’s George Kell and Hank Aaron also homered, each driving a solo shot off Early Wynn.
The Pilots, playing from behind most of the game, scored a run in the sixth when Cal Ripken singled in Pie Traynor, then added a run in the ninth when pinch hitter Jim O’Rourke doubled and Stan Musial hit another double to score him.
However, Seattle was unable to muster much offense off Maddux, who struck out nine while allowing eight hits. Koufax allowed four hits in five innings for the Pilots, but Berra’s home run decided the game.
The starting 9 for the Expos included Ozzie Smith, Rod Carew, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, Yogi Berra, Eddie Murray, George Kell, Al Simmons, and Greg Maddux. They were managed by Larry Howard and Stan Dziurgot.
The starting 9 for the Pilots included Goose Goslin, Charles Gehringer, Stan Musial, Duke Snider, Pie Traynor, Biz Mackey, Lou Brock, Cal Ripken and Sanford Koufax. They were managed by Tom and Matt Monitto.
Society for American Baseball Research/CT Chapter 