In “Pitch By Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game,” Bob Gibson and Lonnie Wheeler take readers through the first game of the 1968 World Series, a game in which Bob Gibson struck out a record 17 Detroit Tigers.
This is the third collaboration between Gibson and Wheeler, who previously worked together on Gibson’s autobiography, “Stranger to the Game,” and “Sixty Feet, Six Inches,” in which Gibson and Reggie Jackson shared memories from their playing days and discussed the intricacies of the showdown between pitcher and hitter.
Squaring off against a Tigers team that featured a loaded lineup and was backed by 30-game winner Denny McLain, Gibson gave one of the best performances of his career, striking out six of the first seven batters he faced and notching at least two K’s in six of his nine innings.
The play-by-play descriptions outline Gibson’s thought process throughout the game – his strategies in attacking hitters, his perceptions of his own strengths and weaknesses, and his general philosophies regarding the art of pitching – and help to mitigate the perception Gibson’s success could be attributed to his intimidating presence on the mound and his willingness to throw at hitters.
Even more interesting, however, are Gibson’s descriptions of his contemporaries on both the Cardinals and Tigers rosters. He describes Lou Brock’s fearless style of baseball and theorizes that his need to defend Brock – who often drew their opponents’ ire by stealing whenever he had the chance, even if that opportunity came when the Cardinals were already well ahead – played a significant part in his reputation as a pitcher who was willing to throw at his opponents.
He does an excellent job describing the personalities of his teammates and the unique clubhouse culture the El Birdos had in those years. He takes an obvious pride in the success of his teammates, many of whom enjoyed long, successful careers after their playing days ended. More than anything, that may have been my most enjoyable takeaway from this book – after a 17-year major league career that saw just about everything baseball has to offer, Gibson still holds a deep and obvious affection for the teammates he shared a clubhouse with 47 years ago.
As a result, Pitch By Pitch belies Gibson’s reputation as the meanest pitcher on the planet. Instead, it showcases the intensity, determination, and intelligence behind his success, and shows the (slightly) softer side of the greatest pitcher in Cardinals history.
In the hours before Mark Whiten made history with a four-homer, 12-RBI performance in the second game of a double-header against the Reds on September 7, 1993, he didn’t appear to be a man on the verge of the greatest performance of his major league career.
The first game of the double-header was an ugly affair, as the Cardinals and Reds set a record by utilizing 15 different pitchers in Cincinnati’s 14-13 victory.[1] St. Louis entered the bottom of the ninth inning with a 13-12 lead, but Jacob Brumfield doubled into the right-field gap, Hal Morris walked, and Reggie Sanders hit a game-winning line drive to center that Whiten misplayed, allowing Brumfield and Morris to score.
“He was buried in his locker after that first game,” Cardinals manager Joe Torre said. “Not that the ball got away from him but the fact that we lost. He takes losses as hard as anybody on this ballclub.”[2]
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound outfielder had come to St. Louis that March when the Indians, who needed pitching after Steve Olin and Tim Crews were killed and Bob Ojeda was injured in a tragic boating accident, traded him for pitcher Mark Clark and minor league shortstop Juan Andujar.
Whiten’s debut season in St. Louis proved to be the best of his career, as he posted career highs in homers (26) and RBIs (99). Both totals would be aided significantly by his performance in the second game of the double-header, and by the time the nightcap was over, Whiten’s frustrations from the first game of the twin bill were long forgotten.
Cincinnati’s Larry Luebbers struggled with his control early in the game, walking Geronimo Pena and Todd Zeile before Gerald Perry singled to load the bases for Whiten. On a 2-0 count, Luebbers challenged Whiten with a fastball. Batting left-handed, the switch-hitting Whitten, standing in the far back corner of the box, extended his arms and sent the ball over the wall in left-center field for a 4-0 Cardinal lead.
The Reds would cut that advantage in half in the bottom half of the first as Morris hit a sacrifice fly off Bob Tewksbury and Jacob Brumfield scored on a throwing error by Tom Pagnozzi. After a rocky first inning, Luebbers settled down, working around a walk to Tewksbury in the second inning and retiring the side in order in the third and fourth.
Finally, in the fifth inning, after Luebbers led off the inning by walking Tewksbury for the second time in the game, Lonnie Maclin hit a sacrifice fly to center field. The score remained 5-2 until the sixth inning, when Reds manager Davey Johnson replaced Luebbers with rookie right-hander Mike Anderson.
Anderson walked Zeile and Perry to lead off the inning before challenging Whiten with a first-pitch fastball. Whiten sent the pitch over the wall in right-center field for his 20th home run of the season.
In the seventh, Anderson retired the first two batters in order before Bernard Gilkey and Zeile each singled into left field. Perry scored Gilkey on an infield single, bringing Whiten to the plate once more. This time, Whiten turned on a 2-1 pitch and pulled it over the right field wall. He punctuated the blast with a casual bat flip and a few steps spent admiring his handiwork before he broke into his home run trot. By this time, with the score 12-2, even the few Reds fans still in attendance applauded Whiten.
Gilkey said after the game that he could tell Whiten was in the zone.
“I was talking to him in the outfield after he hit his third one and it was almost like he didn’t see me,” Gilkey said. “He looked straight through me.”[3]
Tewksbury, who allowed just two runs in a complete-game effort to earn his 16th win of the season, saw the same thing.
“What I saw in his face was complete emptiness – in a good sense,” he said. “There was no emotion. No highs. No lows. He was just existing. Nothing permeates that zone.”[4]
In the eighth, Cincinnati called on Rob Dibble, who allowed a solo home run to Pena to make it 13-2 headed into the ninth.
“Nobody said anything about (my home run),” Pena said. “I didn’t see my name on ESPN. I hit mine farther.”[5]
On the mound for a second inning of work, Dibble struck out Stan Royer before Perry singled to center for his third hit of the day. Despite Whiten’s already historic night, Dibble wasn’t about to pitch around the Cardinals’ center fielder, even as KMOX broadcaster Jack Buck asked his broadcast partner, Mike Shannon, “Do you think Dibble will come after him? Do you think Dibble will let him swing the bat?”[6]
“I’ve walked 30 guys in the last week,” Dibble said after the game. “I’m not going to walk him. That’s not my style.”[7]
On a 2-0 count, Dibble challenged Whiten with a fastball out over the plate and Whiten blasted it 441 feet for his longest home run of the night. All four of Whiten’s home runs came against fastballs.
So were the Cincinnati fans. After celebrating with his teammates in the dugout, Whiten did something almost as rare as a four-homer game – he gave the Cincinnati fans a curtain call from the visiting dugout. Incredibly, the crowd of about 2,000 remaining fans roared their appreciation.[9]
“I’m happy for Mark Whiten,” said Dibble after the game. “He’s a part of history and so am I.”[10]
With the homer, Whiten became the 12th player ever – and the only switch hitter – to hit four home runs in a game, joining a list that included Hall of Famers Ed Delahanty, Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein, Willie Mays, and Mike Schmidt, and tied Jim Bottomley’s 1924 record for the most RBIs in a game with 12.
“It’s like when Michael Jordan gets in the zone,” Whiten said. “He’s going to score 50 points. That’s kind of the way I felt. It didn’t matter. I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s just amazement, I guess.”[11]
After the game, Whiten’s teammates made him a makeshift red carpet comprised of equipment bags and greeted him in the clubhouse with an honor guard, each player raising their bats in salute, as they chanted, “Hard Hittin’ Mark Whiten.” In addition to a couple of bottles of champagne, Whiten also received each of his four home runs balls, which had been retrieved by the Cincinnati grounds crew.[12]
“This is the top of the list for me,” Torre said. “This is the No. 1 achievement I’ve ever witnessed.”[13]
Ozzie Smith agreed. “I’ve been around the game 16 years, I’ve seen some guys do some unbelievable things, but nothing like tonight,” he said.[14]
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[1] Hummel, Rick. “Whiten Marks Up Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 8, 1993: Page D1.
[2] Hummel, Rick. “Whiten Marks Up Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 8, 1993: Page D4.
[3] Hummel, Rick. “Whiten Marks Up Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 8, 1993: Page D4.
[4] Hummel, Rick. “Historic Game ‘Kind Of A Blur,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 9, 1993: Page D3.
[5] Hummel, Rick. “Historic Game ‘Kind Of A Blur,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 9, 1993: Page D3.
[6] Caesar, Dan. “Over The Airwaves: Play-By-Play Of Whiten’s Four Blasts,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 9, 1993: Page D3.
[7] Hobson, Geoff. “Whiten has historic night,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 8, 1993: Page E1.
[8] Hummel, Rick. “Whiten Marks Up Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 8, 1993: Page D1.
[9] Hummel, Rick. “Historic Game ‘Kind Of A Blur,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 9, 1993: Page D3.
[10] Hobson, Geoff. “Whiten has historic night,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 8, 1993: Page E1.
[11] Hobson, Geoff. “Whiten has historic night,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 8, 1993: Page E5.
[12] Hummel, Rick. “Whiten Marks Up Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 8, 1993: Page D4.
[13] Hummel, Rick. “Whiten Marks Up Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 8, 1993: Page D1.
[14] Hobson, Geoff. “Whiten has historic night,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 8, 1993: Page E5.
Prior to his September 3, 2001, start against the Padres, the 11th of his major league career, Bud Smith already had experience throwing no-hitters. As a high school junior, he had thrown one. He had even thrown two the previous season while pitching for the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate in Arkansas, though admittedly both of those were seven-inning affairs.
Nonetheless, when Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan saw Smith’s pitch count reach 70 through five innings, he doubted that his rookie left-hander had enough remaining to get through the rest of the game unscathed.
“I was almost rooting for him to give up a hit so we could get him out of there,” Duncan admitted after the game.[1]
Despite Duncan’s doubts, the graduate of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, approximately 110 miles north of San Diego, completed the feat in front of 40 friends and family members[2], including his mother.[3] It took 134 pitches.
“I didn’t start thinking about it until the seventh inning when I started getting a little fatigued,” Smith said. “Then I realized I had to finish on adrenaline.”[4]
Smith pitched with a lead the entire way. Cardinals second baseman Fernando Viña led off the top of the first with a single into right field, and with two outs Albert Pujols homered to left to make it 2-0.
In the fifth inning, Placido Polanco made it 3-0 when he singled up the middle. On a full count to J.D. Drew, Polanco took off for second, swiping the bag as Drew struck out. Padres catcher Ben Davis’s throw bounced off Polanco’s foot went into the left field gap, allowing Polanco to score when left fielder Rickey Henderson couldn’t pick up the ball.
As the game went on, rather than avoiding Smith, Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire sat beside the 21-year-old and discussed hitting. Smith said that McGwire was annoyed by a defensive shift the Padres made that had stolen a hit from him earlier in the game. Smith, who finished his major league career with seven hits, helpfully advised McGwire to hit it where there weren’t defenders.[5]
“I wasn’t even thinking about pitching,” Smith said. “Whatever he was doing worked.”[6]
As Smith grew fatigued, he relied on the Cardinals’ defense for support. In the sixth, Drew tracked down a foul ball off the bat of Ryan Klesko, climbing the bullpen mound and reaching into the stands to make the play.
“I had my eyes closed after I went across the mound,” Drew said. “I just stuck my glove out. You’ve got to watch for the mound, you’ve got to watch for the (ball)girl sitting down behind the mound. You never know who’s going to poke you in the eye. I was just making sure I came out with both eyes.”[7]
One inning later, Pujols went to the warning track in left field to catch a fly ball off the bat of Bubba Trammell.
“That ball was the biggest scare of the night,” Smith said. “I thought the only chance I had was if Albert jumped and robbed him.”[8]
Polanco added an insurance run for the Cardinals in the seventh. Viña drew a two-out walk and Polanco doubled into the left-field gap, scoring Viña from first.
In the eighth, shortstop Edgar Renteria, who already made a nice play on a line drive off the bat of D’Angelo Jimenez in the third inning, was perfectly positioned for a ground ball up the middle by Tony Gwynn, who came to the plate as a pinch hitter.
“To be honest, when Mr. Gwynn opted to pinch hit, I said to myself, ‘I didn’t go over his report’ because I didn’t expect to see him, being a lefty and all,” Smith said. “Wow. San Diego would have loved to see him break up a no-hitter. Tony Gwynn can hit everything in and out, so I said, ‘I’m going to just throw it down the middle and see what he can do with it.’ Luckily, he hit it right at somebody.”[9]
With Gwynn retired, Smith got Wiki Gonzalez out on a ground ball, leaving him just three outs away from history.
“I was almost shaking, knowing I had to get three outs to get a no-hitter,” Smith said.[10]
The left-hander led off the ninth inning by getting Henderson – who already had walked twice – to ground out to Renteria at shortstop. He then walked Jimenez, his fourth free pass of the game. With Jimenez on second base due to defensive indifference, Renteria made a back-handed stop in the ninth to throw out Klesko. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he considered taking Smith out of the game if he walked Klesko after falling behind in the count 3-0.[11]
“If (Klesko) was going to get a base hit, he was going to have to hit it behind second base,” Renteria said. “I got lucky he hit the ball where I was. That was a hard play to make, but I’m happy for that kid. I think he deserves it.”[12]
The game ended when Phil Nevin hit a bouncer back to Smith, who tossed the ball underhand to McGwire at first to complete the standout game of his career.
It was a much better result than Smith’s previous start, when the Padres had touched him up for seven runs – five earned – in 3 1/3 innings on their way to a 16-14 win. Smith had allowed 14 runs in his previous 14 innings, but the Padres saw a different pitcher this time around.
“His ball has a little movement on it,” Klesko said. “He has a good changeup. He kept a lot of right-handed batters off balance with it.
“You have to give him credit. We beat up on him pretty good last time.”[13]
Smith’s no-hitter was the ninth in Cardinals’ history and the first since another rookie, Jose Jimenez, no-hit the Diamondbacks on June 25, 1999.
Smith’s no-hitter marked the second time that season the Padres had been no-hit – the Marlins’ A.J. Burnett accomplished the feat in May.
“It’s not a lot of fun when you get no-hit,” Bochy said. “(Smith) wasn’t what we saw in St. Louis. Today he was a different pitcher. Great command, good changeup and curveball.”[14]
The win improved Smith to 4-2 on the season. He finished with a 6-3 record and 3.83 ERA, but the Cardinals had concerns about Smith’s size and stamina and shopped him around to prospective trade partners during the offseason.[15]
In 2002, Smith struggled with his mechanics, posting a 1-5 record with a 6.94 ERA in 48 major-league innings. He was optioned to the minors three times that season before the Cardinals traded him, Polanco, and Mike Timlin to the Phillies for Scott Rolen on July 30, 2002.
Smith never appeared in the majors for the Phillies. He pitched in their minor-league system through 2004, then signed as a minor-league free agent with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester in 2005. He finished his professional career by pitching two seasons with the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League in 2006 and 2007.
Smith is now an area scout for the Toronto Blue Jays based out of Lakewood, California.[16]
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[1] Rick Hummel, “No fuss, no muss, no hits,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 4, 2001: D7.
[2] Rick Hummel, “No fuss, no muss, no hits,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 4, 2001: D7.
[3] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C1.
[4] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C2.
[5] Rick Hummel, “Homecoming for Smith turns into one big party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2001: D5.
[6] Rick Hummel, “Homecoming for Smith turns into one big party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2001: D5.
[7] Rick Hummel. “Renteria makes key plays to benefit Smith,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 4, 2001: D7.
[8] Rick Hummel, “Homecoming for Smith turns into one big party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2001: D5.
[9] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C2.
[10] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C1.
[11] Rick Hummel, “Homecoming for Smith turns into one big party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2001: D1.
[12] Rick Hummel. “Renteria makes key plays to benefit Smith,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 4, 2001: D7.
[13] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C2.
[14] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C2.
[15]Joe Strauss, “Cardinals snatch Rolen,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 30, 2002: E1.
“Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher & A Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game Is Played” is a beautifully simple concept for a baseball book. Lonnie Wheeler, who has partnered with Bob Gibson on his autobiography, “Stranger to the Game,” and “Pitch By Pitch: My View of One Unforgettable Game,” about Game 1 of the 1968 World Series, stays almost entirely out of the way and simply allows Gibson and Reggie Jackson to take center stage.
The book is broken out into different topics and records the two men’s conversation as they discuss different aspects of the game and tell stories from their playing days. Wheeler does such a good job of keeping the focus on Gibson and Jackson that even his questions don’t appear in the text. Instead, each section gets a one- or two-word headline and then Gibson and Jackson are off to the races, with the reader observing in fly-on-the-wall fashion.
Both men are thoughtful and articulate, and obviously bring a wealth of baseball knowledge to the book. They seem like a particularly well-suited pairing for this book, not only because of their respective roles as ace pitcher and slugger, but because their similarities and differences both seem to lend an interesting aspect to the book. Much of “Sixty Feet, Six Inches” is built upon the showdown between pitcher and hitter and the thought that both men bring to the confrontation. To me, that showdown is the best thing that baseball has going for it – the closest thing we have these days to the old western movie scenes where the good guy and bad guy square off in the middle of the deserted street.
Gibson played 17 years in the National League, all with the Cardinals, while Reggie Jackson played in the American League for the Athletics, Orioles, Yankees, and Angels. Gibson’s career began in 1959 and Jackson’s began in 1967, so they never faced one another and often faced different opponents, and while both men know what it was like to be a Black Major League Baseball player, Gibson came a generation earlier and had sounds like a very different experience than Jackson did.
Both men bring a sense of humor to the conversation, and seem to enjoy turning the discussion occasionally to how they would approach facing the other and how they would have handled situations differently than the other. There also is an obvious respect between the two and their approaches to the game, even as they approached the game differently.
I think my only suggestion for the book might have been some sort of an introduction covering the challenges and high points of each man’s career. Personally, I was far more familiar with Gibson’s career and less knowledgeable about Jackson’s conflicts with Billy Martin – but other than that small note, I really think Wheeler took the right approach with this material. When you have Gibson and Jackson talking baseball, there’s no need to overthink things.
The result is a book that provides a great glimpse into 1960s and 1970s Major League Baseball while providing tips about the mental side of the game that I would recommend for any young ballplayer today.
Heading into the Cardinals’ May 20, 1964, game against the Chicago Cubs, Bob Gibson knew he needed to do something different. So like the Karate Kid 20 years later, Gibson got to work polishing his car.
“I threw well in spring training, but my shoulder has been stiff since then,” Gibson said. “I had to warm up for 20 minutes to get loose one night, so I thought I’d try polishing the car.”[1]
Had the Cubs known what was coming, they may have paid someone to come polish Gibson’s car for him.
Gibson, who had won 13, 15, and 18 games, respectively, in the preceding three seasons, started 1964 with a pair of complete-game victories, beating the Dodgers 6-2 and the Houston Astros 6-1. On May 9, he picked up his third win of the season, scattering eight hits and two walks in a 5-1 complete-game victory, but stumbled in his next outing, lasting just three innings as the Braves scored four runs on eight hits and three walks. Though the Cardinals – who scored five runs in first inning – went on to win 10-6, Gibson was determined to return to form.
With his shoulder suitably loosened, Gibson opened the game by striking out Cubs second baseman Jimmy Stewart. Right fielder Lou Brock, who would be traded to the Cardinals less than a month later, also went down on strikes. Billy Williams and Ron Santo each singled before Gibson ended the threat by striking out Ernie Banks.
“Hoot, you ought to advertise on poles the way Satchel Paige used to,” fellow Cardinals pitcher Lew Burdette told Gibson. “Paige used to advertise that he’d guarantee to strike out the first nine batters.”[2]
Gibson retired all three Cub hitters in the third inning on ground balls before Chicago threatened again in the fourth. After Gibson retired Williams on a fly ball, Santo singled up the middle and Banks reached on an infield single. Once again, Gibson escaped damage, striking out Rodgers looking and getting Cowan to line out to Ken Boyer at third base.
Gibson wouldn’t allow another runner to reach base the remainder of the game, as he retired the final 17 batters he faced. Holding a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning, he got Brock to ground out to first base and struck out Williams and Santo.
“I never saw anyone throw a breaking pitch that exploded like that one,” said Santo, who had two of the Cubs’ four hits against Gibson but also struck out twice.[3]
Santo was asked how Gibson’s fastball measured up against that of Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds.
“Maloney’s ball rises,” Santo replied. “Gibson’s ball goes this way, that way, up and down. Gibson is more deceptive and throws more easily than Maloney.”
Santo was then asked if Gibson’s fastball measured up to that of the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax.
“Yes, for certain periods, but Gibson throws his breaking stuff as hard as he does his fastball,” Santo said.
Gibson finished the game with 12 strikeouts. He allowed just four hits and lowered his ERA on the season to 2.17.
“Bob had great control and he challenged the hitters all night,” Cardinals manager Johnny Keane said. “In the ninth he went after Billy Williams and Santo as if he were saying, ‘Hurry up, I want to get this over and go home.’”
Cardinals shortstop Dick Groat said he could recall just one game in which Gibson threw as hard as he did against the Cubs that night, and it dated back to 1962, when Groat was on the Pirates and Gibson held him and his teammates to just three hits.
“We got two hits on sliders, one on a curve, none on his fastball,” Groat said. “I felt that for one given night, Gibson was the fastest pitcher I ever faced.”[4]
Chicago’s Larry Jackson, who pitched eight seasons and appeared in three all-star games for the Cardinals before being dealt to the Cubs after the 1962 season, kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard for seven innings and pitched his 2,000th major-league inning in the sixth before finally allowing a run in the bottom of the eighth.
Groat led off the inning with a single that eluded a diving attempt by Stewart at shortstop and rolled into center field. Boyer followed with a single into left that similarly avoided a diving Santo.
“I was playing close to the line, guarding against an extra-base hit,” Santo said. “If I had been playing Boyer in the normal position, I probably would have got the ball. I missed it by just a few inches.”[5]
With runners on first and third, Bill White hit a hard ground ball back toward the mound that bounced over Jackson and into center field.
“White hit the same pitch I got him out with the time before,” Jackson said. “He didn’t try to pull the ball as he did the time before.”[6]
White was caught in a rundown between first and second, and though Jackson walked Johnny Lewis and gave an intentional pass to Tim McCarver, he escaped the inning without further damage.
Nonetheless, as Richard Dozer wrote in the Chicago Tribune, “The Cubs simply were up against another of the superior men of the major league pitching profession, and Jackson was a luckless but brilliant loser.”[7]
[1] Neal Russo, “Gibson Polishes Car, Then Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1964.
[2] “Redbird Notes: Hoot Fans 6 in First 2 Innings,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1964.
