1954 World Series Game 1: Indians vs Giants

Claveland Indians vs New York Giants
Bob lemon vs Sal Maglie
willie mays makes a famous, great over the shoulder catch
Bob Lemon vs Sal Maglie
Indians Lineup
Al Smith LF
Bobby Avila 2B
Larry Doby CF
Al Rosen 3B
Vic Wertz 1B
Dave Philley RF
George Strickland SS
Jim Hegan C
Bob Lemon P

Giants Lineup
Whitey Lockman 1B
Al Dark SS
Don Mueller RF
Willie Mays CF
Hank Thompson 3B
Monte Irvin LF
Davey Williams 2B
Wes Westrum C
Sal Maglie P

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• baseball
• World Series
• Baseball
• Game
• dusty
• rhodes
• hits
• game
• winning
• Homerun
• bottom
• 10th
• inning
• classic
• golden
• age
• say
• hey
• willie
• makes
• catch
• over
• the
• head
• 50s
• 1950s

[UncleMikeNJ]

Willie Mays' catch is available in several YouTube clips, as it should be. But if you want to see the winning home run, you have to check this clip. You type in "Dusty Rhodes," and you'll get a bunch of clips of some goofball who calls himself a wrestler.

[avalsonline2]

@UncleMikeNJ yeah, dusty rhodes never really made a name for himself. even a world series game winning homerun does not always register in the majority of people's minds, with a few exceptions, like kirk gibson or bill mazerowski

[huskyjerk]

Wow! What a great and notable game ! Very historic, with the Wertz's 4 hits, the Mays catch, and the Rhodes HR. I love the Polo Grounds. I ache because I never got to see it in person. I love the bigger parks of yesterday because they made teams play a more strategic game. Nowadays, it's Sit-back-and-wait-for-the-3-ru­n-HR, so no one hits and runs, no one moves the runner over, no more Rod Carews, who slaps the ball around. It's all muscle-up-and-swing-for-the-fe­nces.

[avalsonline2]

@huskyjerk not true, nowadays we have guys like ichiro, sandoval, brandon phillips and jimmy rollins. they slap the bll around pretty well.

[MickeyMorandini1]

What happens to the World Series if that ball deflects off of Mays' glove and Cleveland wins game 1 ? I love baseball. But I will never understand the obsession with numbers and statistics. There are emotional dynamics at play.

[avalsonline2]

you know whats a jinx? giving up a homerun with men on base. that will lose you the game every time. ortiz handed the bullpen a 5 run lead. THE BULLPEN blew it. its not as though the angels were not properly motivated before felix rodriguez took the mound. baker did not lose the game

just like steve bartman did not lose the game for the cubs.

this was ortiz's last game for the giants. he was likely never to get to world series again. and he pitched 6 good innings. i would give him the ball too

[deepcosmiclove]

Because it is a Jinx to give the game ball to a departing picture and not hand it over to the reliever. The guys on the Angels bench saw that and were riled up. Baker was the Jinx. It's real. He jinxed the Giants.

[avalsonline2]

@deepcosmiclove you know, thats just typical. you know how many times the giants made the postseason after 1989 and before baker? 0

baker got us to the postseason 3 times. fact is, the bullpen blew it. worrell and rodriguez gave up a bunch of runs. and nen, already with a busted arm, could not hold it. but we blame it on baker? why?

[Rapappport]

@deepcosmiclove Wow that was far. Mays musta had a fast jump. Notice he looks up over his head when tracking the ball, not just over one shoulder. Pure athleticism and aMaysing.

My catch, while surely nothing close to his, was my best. Once I saw the ball on a high liner headed way up in my left field direction, surely way over my head, I ran straight back, back to plate, w/o even once looking back. finally looked over my right shoulder.The ball was coming right down and I gloved it. How?

[Rapappport]

@deepcosmiclove The Angels felt that Baker had taken their defeat for granted?

(even tho', Yogi said ........................ ) I feel your pain, as I had in 1954 on that amazing catch on a drive that wudda been way out of any other ballpark.