MLB: Yogi Berra Made Allie Reynolds Retire Ted Williams Twice in the Ninth
August 12, 2011 · Harold Friend · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Mention the 1951 pennant race and the image produced is Bobby Thomson’s home run that won the pennant for the New York Giants, but there was another pennant race that year.
With nine games remaining, the New York Yankees led the second-place Cleveland Indians, who had only five games left, by a mere one-half game.
The Yankees were in Boston to play the third-place Red Sox in a three-game set. The defending world champs had lost every one of the previous eight games they had played in Boston, but this time, they managed to win two out of three.
A few days later, the teams played a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees now had a 2.5-game lead over the Tribe.
Allie Reynolds started the first game with the chance to clinch a tie for the pennant. The Yankees had an 8-0 lead in the ninth inning, but things were far from comfortable.
Reynolds had not allowed a Boston hit through eight innings.
He had a chance to become only the second pitcher in baseball history to pitch two no-hitters in the same season. Reynolds had no-hit the Indians on July 12 in Cleveland, beating Bob Feller, 1-0.
In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer had hurled consecutive no-hitters against the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers, two teams that no longer exist.
Reynolds retired the first two Bosox batters in the ninth, bringing up Ted Williams.
His first pitch was a called strike on a fastball. Reynolds then peered in to Yogi Berra to get the signal, nodded assent, and fired another fastball.
Williams swung and hit a high, twisting foul pop fly behind home plate. Yogi went after it, waited, and when the ball hit his mitt, he dropped it.
The Yankees’ Super Chief patted Yogi on the back, telling him that they would get Williams out.
Ted was almost upset as Yogi.
“You sons of bitches put me in a hell of a spot. You blew it, and now I’ve got to bear down even harder even though the game is decided and your man has a no-hitter going.”
Williams swung, lifting another pop-up behind home plate, but this one was a little closer to the first-base side. Berra caught the ball as Reynolds caught Berra.
The Yankees had clinched a tie for the pennant, and Reynolds had his second no-hitter.
The Yankees, behind Vic Raschi and a three-run Joe DiMaggio home run, won the nightcap, 11-3, to clinch their third-consecutive pennant.
The 1951 Indians were a formidable team.
Bob Feller led the pitching staff with 22 wins while Early Wynn and Mike Garcia each won 20. Bob Lemon won 17.
The Red Sox lacked the Indians’ pitching but had Williams, Vern Stephens, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and the great Dom DiMaggio.
Winning the 1951 pennant was not easy for the Yankees, and although the pennant race wasn’t as close as the one in the other league, it ended almost as dramatically when Reynolds clinched a tie by tossing his second no-hitter.
Reference:
Drebinger, John. “Yanks Clinch Flag, Aided by Reynolds’ No-Hitter; Berra Goes Sprawling; Some Anxious Moments.” New York Times. 29 September 1951. p. 25
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