4
games
3 games
1962 LA Angels defeat 1962 Chicago White Sox (click on
links below to view boxscores)
Game #1 LAA 3, CHW 2
Game #2 CHW 6, LAA 3
Game #3 CHW 4, LAA 2
Game #4 LAA 10, CHW 3
Game #5 LAA 7, CHW 6
Game #6 CHW 4, LAA 3
Game #7 LAA 5, CHW 2
GAME 1 - Dodger Stadium - LAA 3, CHW 2
Ray Herbert vs Dean Chance
 |
| Game winning Sac Fly |
After loading the bases with nobody out Chicago was poised for a big inning.
Dean Chance dug down deep and got Joe Cunningham to pop out and Cam Carreon
to ground back to the box for two quick outs and no runs allowed. Up stepped
the number 8 hitter Bob Sadowski, who must have thought he was a cleanup
hitter since he line a 2 run single to right to score Floyd Robinson and Jim
Landis to make it 2-0 Chisox. For most pitchers and most franchises this
type of an inning can be deflating, but not for the second year Angels who
are gritty and resolute. The Halos made it 2-1 in the 5th when George Thomas
walked and eventually scored on a Bill Moran groundout. Still it looked like
the pitching rich Sox were going to be able to hold on. Reliever Turk Lown
was brought on in relief of Hebert who allowed a lead off single to Felix
Torres in the bottom of the 9th. Lown would leave 3 batters later having not
recorded an out and having walked in the tying run. Catcher Buck Rodgers
singled to greet Lown, who proceeded to walk the next two hitters. The walk
to Jim Fregosi plated Torres to tie the game at 2. Dean Stone was brought in
to face
Tom Satriano, who lifted a fly ball deep enough to score the slow
footed Rodgers from third, which made it a 3-2 final in favor of the Halos.
Angels lead series 1-0
GAME 2 - Dodger Stadium - CHW 6, LAA 3
Juan Pizarro vs Bo Belinsky
 |
| 3-5 + 2RBI's for Luis |
Popular legend has it that the "playboy" Bo Belinsky was out for a night on
the town prior to his important game 2 start. Bo says, "Game time is
7:30pm, so no one should be concerned what I'm doing at 7am". Simply put
Belinsky didn't have much on his fastball and the way Pizarro was pitching
it probably didn't matter much anyway. For the second day in a row Chicago
would be the first to post a pair of runs on the scoreboard in the second. Luis
Aparicio would have himself a 3 for 5 day and 2 RBI's in the second to
put his team on top 2-0. Angel secondbaseman Billy Moran would single home
Koppe with 2 outs to make it 2-1. For the next 3 innings Belinsky looked to
be in fine form by posting donuts on the scoreboard. Chicago struck for 2
more runs in the 6th thanks to Belinsky's lack of control on the mound and
his lack of control off of it, as he airmailed a comebacker into the fourth
row to allow Floyd Robinson to get to second and Nellie Fox to move to
third. A walk to Jim Landis loaded the bases and a ground out by Cunningham
would score Fox to make it 3-1. A two out single by Mike Hershberger would
score Robinson and make it 4-1. A walk to the opposing pitcher, a single by
Aparicio and a pair of consecutive wild pitches would spell the end of
Belinsky's up and down day. Chicago would score two more runs in the 7th
thanks to balls in the dirt, not balls resting safely past the infield. A
two run homer by Felix Torres off of reliever Dom Zanni in the 8th gave some
hope to the hometown fans, as did a two out rally in the 9th. The "walking
man" Eddie Yost singled with 2 out while pinch hitting and Moran followed
with a single of his own. Albie Pearson came to the plate as the potential
game tying run, but instead popped out weakly to Al Smith at third to end
the game.
Series tied 1-1
GAME 3 - Comiskey Park - CHW 4, LAA 2
Ken McBride vs Early Wynn
 |
| 3 scoreless relief
innings |
Once again it was a day for the willey vet, Early Wynn who scattered 7 hits
over 6 innings and gave up just 2 runs before giving way to reliever
Frank Baumann. While many speculate that Wynn is hanging around just to
pad his numbers in his personal quest for 300 wins, others say the veteran
still has enough in the tank for those big pressure games when the money is
on the line. Judging by his performance during this tournament I would have
to agree with the latter. Floyd Robinson would single home Nellie Fox with
2 out in the first to make it 1-0. After 3 shutout innings Wynn would have
2 skaky ones. After getting 2 quick outs in the 4th it looked like he was
on cruise control, but 3 consecutive singles (inclduing 1 by the pitcher)
led to a 1-1 tie. Wynn himself would let his bat do the talking in the
bottom of the 4th. With runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out he hit a bullet to
third that ate up Yost and allowed Cunningham to score all the way from
second. The official scorer gave Yost an error on a ball that would eat up
anyone not named Brooks or Clete. Aparicio followed with a clean single to
center to score Hershberger to make it 3-1 Chisox. Bill Moran's lead off
homer in the 5th made it 3-1, which is how it stayed until the 7th when the
Pale Hose scored on a wild pitch from Angel reliever Tom Morgan. That was
what we in the trade call a back breaking run since it occurred with 2 outs
after Jim Landis tripled. Morgan then served up a single to Cunningham,
which would have scored Landis anyway, but you can't speculate just how he
would have pitched him if Landis was still on third. Baumann was locked in
and allowed just 2 two out hits over his 3 scoreless innings in relief to
post the save in relief of Wynn.
White Sox lead series 2-1
GAME 4 - Comiskey Park - LAA 10, CHW 3
Eli Grba vs John Buzhardt
 |
| 3-4 + a walk & 2
HR's |
The Halos scored early and often off of Buzhardt who walked 8 and gave
up 11 hits over 6 eventful innings of work. With the game tied a 1
after 2 innings LA went on a run scoring spree that added 7 unanswered
runs, which blew the game wide open. Eli Grba went 7 innings and gave
up just 1 unearned run in the second. Ryne Duren cleaned off his
glasses and finished the game out fine after a shaky 8th inning that
cost him 2 runs. Every regular in the Angel lineup had at least 1
hit. Lee
Thomas had himself a 3 for 5 day where he had 3 runs scored
as well as 3 runs knocked in. Thomas' 2 homers were not cheapies
either. Light hitting shortstop Joe Koppe, who hit .227 in the
regular season, went 3 for 4 out of the 8th hole as the Halos won this
one walking away.
Series tied 2-2
 |
| Felix Torres / Luis
Aparicio |
GAME 5 - Comiskey Park - LAA 7, CHW 6 (10 inn)
Dean
Chance vs Ray Herbert
Ray
Herbert left the game with 2 outs gone in the 7th and his team up 4-0. Dean
Stone came on board to fan lefty Leon Wagner to end the inning and seemingly
end the Angels chances. Stone would start the 8th by getting Lee Thomas to
pop out to third, but it would all be downhill from there. Felix Torres would
double to right center and Buck Rodgers would single, but when pinch hitter
Steve "Sgt" Bilko fouled out to catcher Cam Carreon the Chisox looked to be
dodging a bullet. Reliever Turk Lown was able to get Bilko out, but could not
do the same when he walked the appropriately nickamed "walking man" Eddie Yost
on 5 pitches to load the bases. Tom Satriano was once again called upon in a
pinch and the backup backstop delivered an RBI single to get the Halos on
board. Albie Pearson would be the next to deliver a key hit. Pearson's 2 run
single to left center scored Rodgers and Yost and just like that a comfortable
4-0 lead was now a tight 4-3 crapshoot. Mike Joyce would start the top of the
9th for the Pale Hose in search of 3 big out for victory. Leon Wagner led off
the inning by grounding to Cunningham at first who took it unassisted to the
bag for out #1. Lee Thomas hit a routine grounder to short that Aparicio
fielded cleanly, but inexplicably threw wide of the bag, which pulled
Cunningham into foul territory to allow Thomas to reach on an error. All
looked good as Felix Torres hit virtually the same grounder to "Little Luis",
who this time easily threw out the runner to put the Chisox 1 out from
victory. Buck Rodgers came to the plate and used his batter's eye pefectly to
work out a walk as he battled back from an 0-2 count. Bilko did the same and
now the bases were loaded for rookie shortstop Jim Fregosi. At the start of
the 1962 campaign Fregosi was toiling in the minors like so many other young
players hoping for a chance. Fregosi got his chance and made the most of it
by slashing a liner to right field to tie the game at 4. A huge hush came
over the crowd in the Southside of Chicago, who only a few innings before were
watching their team cruising toward victory. As extra innings loomed the
momentum truly shifted to the visitors from Southern California. A 3 run
outburst in the top of the 10th led by an RBI double by Leon Wagner and a two
run single by Felix Torres sucked the remaining air out of Comiskey. To their
credit the Chisox were not about to roll over and die. Angel reliever Bobby
Botz gave up doubles to Joe Cunningham and Cam Carreon to cut the Halo lead to
2. A two out single by Aparicio scored Carreon and got the crowd back into
the game. With Aparicio on 1st and two outs already on the board Chicago
needed to get "Little Luis" into scoring position. With his running mate
Nellie Fox at the plate there were two options: steal second or play hit and
run. After throwing over twice Halo reliever Ken Bowsfield was paying close
attention to the speedster on 1st. Aparicio tried to extend his lead just a
bit further, but in doing so got caught leaning. Bowsfield's pick off throw
to Bilko at first was right on the money and Aparicio was called out to end
the game.
Angels lead series 3-2
GAME
6 - Dodger Stadium - CHW 4, LAA 3
Eddie
Fisher vs Bo Belinsky
Returning
home turbo charged from the game 5 comeback victory the Halos jumped out to
a 3-0 lead vs surprise starter Eddie Fisher.
Bo
Belinsky who made a concerted effort to get home before the sun rose was
dominating Chisox hitters for 5 innings. Belinsky was a bit wild in walking
5, but for 5 innings he was posting goose eggs. In the top of the 6th the
Chisox finally cracked the scoreboard. With the bases loaded and nobody out
Belinsky's day was done. Dan Osinski was called on to minimize the damage
and he went right to work by striking out Joe Cunningham for the first out
of the inning. Mike Hershberger would not fall victim to Osinski and a run
would score on "Hershey's" line single to center. After Al Smith easily
scored the Chisox got aggressive and sent Floyd Robinson from second in
hopes of getting another run. Albie Pearson, who was charging hard, made a
great play to throw Robinson out at the plate by a stride. Sherm Lollar was
then given an intentional pass to load the bases and force Chicago's hands
on whether to allow Fisher to hit or go with a pinch hitter. Fisher, who
started out slow (3 runs over 1st 3 innings) had settled down into a nice
run, but the game was on the line and Charlie Maxwell was ready to go.
Osinski attempted to jam Maxwell, but the pitch caught way too much plate.
Maxwell turned on it and on most days and in most other ballparks he would
have had himself a grand slam homer. Dodger stadium is 420 feet to dead
center and that's just where the ball died as Pearson was able to catch it
just before colliding into the wall for what looked to be a game saver. LA
still had a 3-1 lead and the Chisox were running out of outs. No additional
scoring occurred, and so the game headed into the top of the 9th with
Chicago down to their last 3 outs and needing at least 2 runs to tie.
Inexplicably reliever Frank Baumann led off the inning and somehow managed
to get a single. Either the Chisox manager was a genius in rolling the dice
this way or he was busy on the phone making his flight reservations.
Somehow we might never know the answer to that question. When Aparicio
single there were now runners on the corners. Nellie Fox fought off a few
pitches then slapped a slow roller to short that easily scored Baumann and
easily advanced Aparicio to second with 1 out. With the score now 3-2 Angel
fans were now beginning to feel the same way White Sox fans felt two days
earlier. They began biting their nails and wondering if what they were
seeing was really happening. Up stepped
Al Smith,
who before this at bat might best be
remembered
for having beer spilled on his head as he stood against the left field wall
in Comiskey during the 1959 Series while watching a Dodger batter hit a big
homer. Now was the time for Smith to etch himself into a more positive
light as he launched a sailing shot over Pearson's head in center that
easily scored Aparicio and landed Smith on third with a stand up triple.
Just like that the game was now tied. Floyd Robinson came to the plate and
wasted no time serving an opposite field single into left to score Smith and
give the Chisox a 1 run lead. The next two batters would easily make out,
but the damage was already done. Chicago now had to get 3 outs and live for
tomorrow. Baumann, who started the whole rally in the 9th, was back on
board to close out his win. It was his game to either win or lose as the
Chisox pen was empty. Billy Moran hit a sinking liner to center that Jim
Landis easily gobbled up for out number one. Leon Wagner grounded easily to
short and up stepped Lee Thomas as the final out. Thomas would single for
the fourth consecutive time on the afternoon to keep the Angels fading hopes
alive, but Buck Rodgers would end all hopes by fanning on 4 pitches to send
the series to a decisive game 7.
Series tied 3-3
GAME 7 - Dodgers Stadium - LAA 5, CHW 2
Juan Pizarro vs Ken McBride
With
all the hyperbole surrounding game 7 the fans of this newly christened
expansion club, the Angels, were just not sure how to react. After 3 1/2
scoreless innings even the novice baseball fan began to feel the tension
mount. The home team was able to load up the bases with one out in the
bottom of the 4th, but all Felix Torres could do was lift a sac fly to left
to score Billy Moran. The Angels had Pizarro on the ropes and more often
than not when you squander those opportunities in big games it comes back to
bite you. This time however the bottom of the fourth served merely as the
appetizer for the meal that was going to be served up by Pizarro in the
5th. Buck Rodgers, who struck out to end game 6, opened the 5th with a
clean single right back through the originator. Albie Pearson, who was
batting 8th today vs a lefty, showed he can hit anyone with a rocket to
right center that culminated in a stand up RBI double. LA was now up 2-0.
Pitcher Ken McBride, who was doing a wonderful job on the hill, grounded
weakly to short for the first out. Young Fregosi, who looks to be a star in
the making, lined a single to left to score Pearson to make it 3-0. Moran
would ground to Smith at third for the second out and up came
Leon Wagner.
Odds heavily favored the left handed Pizarro vs the lefty batting Wagner,
who hit in the low .200's all year vs southpaws. Today turned out to be the
day that Wagner solved his portside jinx as he launched a mammoth opposite
field homer to left center that only a man with power and timing could hit.
LA was now up 5-0 and as hard as it is for me to say it fans back in Chicago
could have turned off their Dumont consoles and found other tasks at hand to
be more rewarding than watching this agony. Chicago threatened in the 6th
but a tailor made DP by Hershberger ended an inning that netted just one run
and started out looking like it had possibilities. Tom Morgan would start
the 9th for LA and easily get 2 quick outs. Dom Zanni, the Chisox reliever,
was allowed to hit for himself in a situation which his team looked to have
thrown in the towel. Morgan let his guard down and Zanni wound up with a
Texas leaguer that flared into right center for hit. Aparicio's one hopper
to short was booted by Fregosi and Fox's single to center scored Zanni to
make it 5-2, which shouldn't have panicked anyone, but after all the great
comebacks in this series nothing
could be taken for granted. The Angels went to the pen one more time and
this time it was veteran
Don Lee
who got the call. Lee warmed up quickly and was ready to face Al Smith, who
was sporting a 2-3 with a walk day. On Lee's third offering Smith hit a one
hop bullet back to the box that easily found Lee's glove. The veteran
righhander took three strides toward first, then flipped a perfectly timed
underhand toss to Tom Burgess who was covering the bag to end the series.
The LA Angels improbable run to the 1962 AL Pennant would now setup the
first ever All-SOCAL series as the Angels will face their landlord, the
Dodgers in a series that will be played entirely in Dodger Stadium. Just
five years earlier major league baseball wasn't even played on the West
Coast. Now the World Series would be played in it's entirety here. Boy has
the world changed !
Angels win series 4-3.
Aug 16, 1962 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
1962 Chicago (A) 7-1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 0
1962 Los Angeles (A) 8-1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 8 1
Chicago (A) AB R H BI W K Avg Los Angeles (A AB R H BI W K Avg
Aparicio SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 .294 Moran,B 2B 4 0 0 1 0 1 .343
Fox 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 .333 Pearson,A CF 4 0 2 0 0 1 .243
Smith, A LF 3 0 2 0 1 1 .367 Thomas,L 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 .143
Robinson,F RF 4 1 1 0 0 0 .226 Wagner LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 .250
Landis CF 4 1 1 0 0 0 .192 Torres,F 3B 4 1 1 0 0 0 .273
Cunningham 1B 3 0 1 0 0 0 .259 Rodgers C 4 1 2 0 0 0 .323
Carreon C 4 0 0 0 0 1 .077 Thomas,G RF 1 1 0 0 2 1 .133
Sadowski 3B 4 0 1 2 0 0 .286 Burke PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Herbert P 3 0 1 0 0 0 .125 Koppe SS 3 0 2 0 0 0 .125
Lown P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Fregosi PR-SS 0 0 0 1 1 0 .375
Stone P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Chance P 1 0 0 0 0 1 .200
33 2 8 2 1 2 .271 Yost PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Fowler P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Satriano PH 0 0 0 1 0 0 .333
29 3 8 3 5 5 .249
Chicago (A) IP H R ER W K Ct S B ERA BF EPC Act Stf
Herbert 8.0 7 2 2 3 5 111 76 35 1.38 32 130 124
Lown L(0-1) BS(1) 0.0 1 1 1 2 0 16 8 8 0.00 3 30 30
Stone 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 1 5.40 1 25 29 +
8.1 8 3 3 5 5 132 88 44 2.27 36
Los Angeles (A IP H R ER W K Ct S B ERA BF EPC Act Stf
Chance 7.0 7 2 1 1 2 111 79 32 1.99 31 125 125
Fowler W(2-0) 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 12 10 2 0.00 6 35 33
9.0 8 2 1 1 2 123 89 34 2.09 37
1 out when winning run scored
LAA: Yost hit for Chance in the 7th
Fregosi ran for Koppe in the 7th
Burke hit for Thomas,G in the 9th
Satriano hit for Fowler in the 9th
E-Thomas,G(1)
3B-Pearson,A(1) Wagner(1)
HBP-Cunningham(CWS) by Chance(LAA)
SF-Satriano
SH-Chance
LOB-Chicago (A) 6 Los Angeles (A) 8
DP-Chicago (A) 2 Los Angeles (A) 2
GWRBI-Satriano
Game MVP:Art Fowler
Dodger Stadium, Time 2:50, 86ø, 5mph In from LF
Aug 16, 1962 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
1962 Chicago (A) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 0
1962 Los Angeles (A) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 8 1
1962 Chicago (A) Ab1 Ab2 Ab3 Ab4
1 Aparicio SS 1>G43 F7 5>B24 B14/fo,B1
2 Fox 2B S P2 G63 G6u3/dp
3 Smith, A LF K 4>S W 8>S
4 Robinson,F RF G43 S,12 F8 G163/dp
5 Landis CF 2>P6 S,23,12 6>F9 P6
6 Cunningham 1B S P4 HBP 9>G63
7 Carreon C G64/fo,B1 G12 K G63
8 Sadowski 3B L4 S+e9,3H,2H,1 G43 F9
9 Herbert P 3>G43 F8 7>S
Lown P
Stone P
1962 Los Angeles (A) Ab1 Ab2 Ab3 Ab4
1 Moran,B 2B 1>G13 P2 G43,3H,23 K
2 Pearson,A CF S K G13 8>T
3 Thomas,L 1B G643/dp 4>Fd9 6>G43 F9/92
4 Wagner LF 2>F8 T K F9
5 Torres,F 3B G53 G43 P3 9>S
6 Rodgers C S F8 7>G13 S,12
7 Thomas,G RF W,12 5>W K
Burke PH W,23,12
8 Koppe SS G53 S,12 S
Fregosi PR-SS W,3H,23,12
9 Chance P 3>K B34,23,12
Yost PH W,12
Fowler P
Satriano PH F7,3H/SF,23,
Chicago (A) IN OUT
Herbert AB1-1 AB4-5
Lown AB4-6 AB4-8
Stone AB4-9 End
Los Angeles (A IN OUT
Chance AB1-1 AB4-2
Fowler AB4-3 End
