If Only Vic Wertz's Fourth Hit of Game 1 in 1954 Were 2 Innings Earlier

On August 6, 1954, the first place Cleveland Indians had a 73-32 win-loss record (.695), but despite their blistering pace, their lead over the New York Yankees, who were attempting to win their sixth consecutive pennant, was a razor-thin one-and-a-half games.

The Indians were doing it with pitching. Their five starters all were having solid seasons.

Bob Lemon and Early Wynn would each win 23 games, and Mike Garcia would win 19 and lead the league in ERA.

Former Tiger Art Houtteman finished with 15 wins, while Bob Feller would go 13-3.

The bullpen duo of right-hander Ray Narleski and lefty Don Mossi saved what had to be saved.

Pitching wins games, but pitchers need runs.

On June 1, the Indians acquired left-handed hitting outfielder Vic Wertz from the Baltimore Orioles. Although Wertz had never played first base in the majors, Indians manager Al Lopez decided that he would be his first baseman.

It was a good move.

Wertz was having a subpar season with the Birds from Baltimore, batting only .202 with one home run in 29 games, but he was a powerful batter who was only 29 years old.

Wertz had hit 19 home runs the previous season for the Orioles in Memorial Stadium, which was a pitcher's park. Prior to that he had four consecutive seasons in which he hit 20 or more home runs.

To put those numbers in perspective, in 1952 Wertz' 23 home runs were only nine fewer than those of the league leader, Larry Doby.

With the Indians, Wertz batted .275 with 14 home runs in only 295 at bats as the Indians ended the Yankees' pennant streak at five.

The World Series opened at the Polo Grounds on September 29. Cleveland's opponents were the New York Giants.

Bob Lemon started for the Indians in Game 1, opposed by the Giants' Sal Maglie. It was a memorable game for Vic Wertz, but one that he would not remember fondly, despite getting four hits.

He might have had five, which would have made all the difference in the world.

In the top of the first, Maglie was uncharacteristically wild, missing badly with his first three deliveries and then plunking leadoff hitter Al Smith in his side, bringing American League batting champ Bobby Avila to the plate.

Maglie missed with his first delivery to Avila and finally fired a strike on the next pitch. Avila lined Maglie's third pitch into right field for a clean single that right fielder Don Mueller fumbled for an error, allowing Smith to race to third.

With Indians on the corners and no outs, Maglie settled down to retire Larry Doby and Al Rosen on infield pop-ups. There were still runners on first and third, but with two down.

Vic Wertz was the hitter.

Maglie checked the runners on first and third and delivered.

Wertz hit a line drive to deep right-center field over Don Mueller's head. The ball caromed off the wall, and by the time Willie Mays caught up to it, the Indians led 2-0 and had Wertz on third.

Maglie retired Dave Philley to end the inning.

Although no one knew it at the time, the Indians were finished scoring.

The Giants tied the game in the third with the type of rally that used to be the way teams usually scored before the Earl Weaver approach of going for the three-run home run was embraced by most modern managers.

Whitey Lockman led off with a single to right against Lemon, and Al Dark hit a hard ground ball past the mound, over second, and into center for a base hit, moving Lockman to third.

Don Mueller, whose .342 season batting average was second only to Willie Mays's league-leading .345, hit a ground ball to second. Bobby Avila got the force out on Dark for the first out as Lockman scored.

Lemon walked Mays, moving Mueller to second. Henry Thompson, a powerful left-handed hitter, tied the game with a hard single to right, moving Mays to third.

Lemon fanned Monte Irvin and got Davey Williams on a ground out.

In the eighth inning, with the score still 2-2, Larry Doby led off with a walk against Maglie. Al Rosen followed with hard single off shortstop Al Dark's bare hand, giving the Tribe runners on first and second with no outs.

Vic Wertz, who already had three hits, was the batter.

Giants manager Leo Durocher had seen enough of Maglie. He brought in left-hander Don Liddle to face Wertz. The count went to two balls and one strike.

What followed is now referred to simply as "The Catch."

Liddle delivered and Wertz connected.

He sent a towering drive to deep center fielder, well over the head of Willie Mays. Willie turned his back to home plate as he raced to the baseball and made a magnificent over-the-shoulder catch to rob Wertz of at least a double, maybe a triple, and the Indians of at least one run.

Doby tagged up after the catch, moving to third, but instead of taking the lead, the Indians were still tied with runners on first and third and one out.

Wertz had hit the ball well over 400 feet, and all he had to show for it was moving Doby from second to third.

Durocher took out Liddle, who after the game joked, "Hey, I got my man." The Giants brought in veteran Marv Grissom to face Hank Majeski, who had been announced as a pinch-hitter for the switch-hitting Dave Philley.

When Grissom was announced, Lopez countered with left-handed hitter Dale Mitchell, who became famous as the pinch-hitter who struck out against Don Larsen in the fifth game of the 1956 World Series.

With one out Mitchell walked, loading the bases with Indians.

Weak-hitting shortstop George Strickland was the scheduled batter, but Lopez pinch hit with left-handed Dave Pope. In one of the game's pivotal points, Grissom got Pope on a called third strike.

Jim Hegan could manage only a routine fly ball, and the game remained tied.

Instead of being remembered as the hitter whose hit won the first game of the 1954 World Series, Vic Wertz is remembered for hitting the ball that led to the greatest catch in World Series history.

Vic Wertz smashed his fourth hit of the game when he led off the Indians 10th inning with a double. He was taken out for a pinch-runner as the Indians again failed to score with a runner on third and less than two outs.

He had a four-hit game, but, from a Cleveland perspective, his fourth hit shouldn't have occurred in the 10th inning.

The Giants won in the 10th inning when pinch hitter Dusty Rhodes hit what the newspapers referred to as "a lazy pop up down the right field line" that reached the stands, barely 270 feet away, for a three-run home run off Bob Lemon, who pitched a complete game.

Dusty Rhodes hits a short fly 271 feet to right field and is a hero. Wertz hits the ball 450 feet and is remembered as a victim.

As the old baseball axiom says, "It ain't how you hit 'em. It's where you hit 'em." 

References:

Dean, Bill. “Catching Up With Vic Wertz’s 1954 World Series Drive: Willie Mays’ Catch of Cleveland Slugger’s Deep Fly Was Outstanding Regardless of How Far the Ball Actually Traveled.” Baseball Digest. October 2005.

Drebinger, John. “Giants Win in 10th From Indians, 5-2, On Rhodes Homer; Wertz Gets 4 Hits.” New York Times 30 September 1954: 1.

Sheehan, Joseph M. “Yankees Bow to Indians in Tenth; Avila 4-Bagger Ties Score in Ninth.” New York Times 3 June 1954: 33.

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