SI.com's "Things We Miss in Baseball."

The lead changed or the game was tied several times in 1960's Game 7. Here's the box score ...

Code:

                             1  2  3    4  5  6    7  8  9     R  H  E
New York Yankees             0  0  0    0  1  4    0  2  2     9 13  1
Pittsburgh Pirates           2  2  0    0  0  0    0  5  1    10 11  0

    PITCHERS: NYY - Turley, Stafford (2), Shantz (3), Coates [8), Terry [8)
              PIT - Law, Face (6), Friend (9), Haddix (9)

               WP - Harvey Haddix
	       LP - Ralph Terry
             SAVE - none

   HOME RUNS: NYY - Berra, Skowron
              PIT - Mazeroski, Nelson, Smith

It was before my time, and 1991's Game 7 was amazing, but I have to agree that '60 beats out '91 when it comes to Game 7's.

 

I never knew Harvey Haddix was the winning pitcher in Game 7.

I wonder if that helped to make up, even a little bit, for losing his perfecto in the 13th inning the year before?

 

That 2001 Game 7 was pretty classic

 

Well, he kind of backed into that Game 7 win. He'd been the starting and winning pitcher in Game 5, but Roy Face couldn't close out the Yankees in Game 7.

So Bob Friend, who'd been the starter in Game 6 but was knocked out of the box early, came on in the ninth but gave up back-to-back singles. That brought on Haddix, who promptly blew the lead by giving up a hit to Mickey Mantle and a fielder's choice to Gil McDougald --- which could have been a game-ending double play if not for some smart base-running by Mantle, who dove back into first after first baseman Rocky Nelson stepped on the bag and started to throw to second for a 3-6 (tag) DP, allowing the tying run to score. Haddix did get Yogi Berra to ground out and end the inning with the score tied at 9-9.

(Full disclosure: I had to look up some of the specifics, but the general details were still fresh in my mind because I just finished the Marinass bio of Clemente last week).

 

Back to the things I miss.
Hot hot dogs.

 

The balanced schedule, or at least something close to it, and no interleague play. (If teams from different divisions are competing for the wild card, make them play each other more than two series a year. God forbid the Yankees might play the Red Sox fewer than 56 times each season - what would ESPN and Fox do?)

Announcers without catchphrases.

Keith Jackson doing baseball. (Was reminded how good he was while watching a replay of an '86 NLCS game the other day on MLB Network.)

Catching a game on TV without seeing morons on cellphones waving at their girlfriends or texting. At what point did sitting right behind home plate cease to be exciting?

Seeing more than three people (including me) keeping score at a game.

Seeing any kids whose parents make less than $1.5 million a year in the stands at any All-Star or playoff game.

The All-Star Game being a bigger deal than the Home Run Derby.

Wearing any kind of team giveaway item and not feeling like a total tool.

Paying to park at a game for less than $10.

The little "magic motion" coins of players that came in the bottom of Slurpee cups.

Cubs or Red Sox "fans" in opposing ballparks that might actually be able to recognize Andre Dawson or Jody Davis or Jim Rice if he sat down beside them.

The entire league set of small pennants you could get for a couple bucks at the souvenir stand.

And for the 2,598th time in this thread, a weekend postseason game that begins with the sun anywhere the sky, even if it's a 6 p.m. start.

 

The Cardinals' playoffs teams of the '80s always had larger-than-normal stirrups. I seem to remember Tommy Herr's especially.

 

Here's a shot of Herr during the regular season.






But during the playoffs, he used to pull his sliding pants up to show the rings like this.

 

Double Knit, v-necked uniforms.

 

<i>"Announcers without catchphrases.</i>

Who were they? Baseball announcers have always had catchphrases.

 

You beat me to it.