Needless to say, Damon's Dash(TM) is the #1 smartest play in the WS history. I mean, what would a good TV featurette be without a little bit of current appeal. Oh, did I forget to mention? You can watch the top 9 tonight with film/video footage from MLB archives.

Usually "World Series history" would mean since, oh, about 1975. In this case he's got one from 1907, a hidden ball trick. Otherwise, however, nothing before 1946.

I kinda like #4 and #5 actually. In the 7th game in 1960 Mickey Mantle was on first with one out in the top of the 9th and the Yankees trailed 9-8. The tying run was on 3rd. Yogi hit a rocket to 1st baseman Rocky Nelson who caught the ball (on the short hop) and stepped on first for the out before anybody, Nelson included, knew what had happened. Mantle had gotten barely a step toward 2nd base, then dove back into first, safely, as the tying run came home. Of course, nobody remembers this because of Maz's HR in the bottom of the inning.

Then, in 1972, it was Fingers vs. Bench with a 3-2 count. The A's then made a big show of saying, the hell with it, and just walking Bench. Gene Tenace stood up with his mitt stretched way out "there" for ball four, when suddenly he jumped back into the box and Fingers grooved one right down the middle for strike three. Bench never moved.

Those are better than Damon's Dash. Maybe better than the Twins deke on Lonnie Smith.

The Gibson play is classic bullsh*t. That type of scenario when Eck wasn't walking anybody happened maybe a handful of times. The notion that a scout would be able to recognize any type of pattern is nonsense.

As far as "smart" goes, all of these plays are trumped by one manager's decision - Connie Mack handing the ball to Howard Ehmke for Game One of the 1929 World Series...

Vortex is correct.

What also makes the Fingers-Bench confrontation great is that Joe Morgan totally read it: he was on third, yelling "They're gonna pitch to you!" See, he used to say smart things, dammit!

their remorseless battle of 1991

How does "remorseless" fit that context?

In other words, Ehmke24 was preferable to Earnshaw2? But think of the rust factor. Besides, Howard Ehmke was the Chad Gaudin of his day :)

How does "remorseless" fit that context?

Has Jack Morris ever shown a shred of remorse for what he did?

That criticism aside, if Keith is going to devote a few minutes of his show to a video version of this, I'm thrilled to watch it.

The smartest play in World Series history was Don Larsen striking out Dale Mitchell. I don't know if that was Yogi's idea or Larsen's, but it was brilliant.

Has Jack Morris ever shown a shred of remorse for what he did?

Or has Kent Hrbek? Just ask Sam Hutcheson!

I was almost 100% sure the Cardinals successfully pulled off the hidden ball trick in the '64 World Series. Am I insane?

The smartest play in World Series history was Don Larsen striking out Dale Mitchell. I don't know if that was Yogi's idea or Larsen's, but it was brilliant.

I know Larsen was pitching (perhaps literally) out of his mind that day, but I've always thought that last pitch looked nowhere near a strike. Early example of the Maddux Mind-Meld?

I was almost 100% sure the Cardinals successfully pulled off the hidden ball trick in the '64 World Series. Am I insane?

Groat got Mantle out w/ the hidden ball trick at 2nd base in the 4th game of the '64 series.

You didn't answer his question, though.

Hidden ball trick is scored as a pickoff? Weird.

Considering Slaughter's actually WON THE SERIES, I don't see how he's not #1.

The Bench Non-Intentional Walk was certainly quite the play - I remember seeing it live, and thinking how foolish Bench must be feeling right then.

The smartest play in World Series history wasn't one play, but a sequence of plays that the Cubs pulled off in the fourth game of the 1908 Series. The Cubs were leading 2 to 1 in games and 2 to 0 in the bottom of the 4th, when the first two Tigers got singles, putting runners on first and second and Ty Cobb coming up.

Three Fingered Brown was pitching, and he called third baseman Harry Steinfeldt over to the mound. Brown told Steinfeldt that he "knew" that Cobb was going to lay a bunt down the third base line, but that Steinfeldt should cover third.

Brown then deliberately threw a knee high pitch on the outside corner, but instead of his normal followthrough he took off straight to the third base line, grabbed Cobb's bunt and whipped a throw to third to force the lead runner Charley O'Leary.

Brown then threw a brushback on the next pitch, and while everyone's concentration was focused on the home plate area, Johnny Kling immediately fired a perfect throw to Joe Tinker at second to pick off Sam Crawford. Brown then struck out Claude Rossman for the third out. The Tigers never threatened again, and went down meekly again the next day, getting only three hits to hand the Cubs their last championship.

The longer description is in Johnny Evers' classic memoir, Touching Second, which is probably the best baseball book written in the deadball era. Too bad that there's no film of it.

The Gibson play is classic bullsh*t. That type of scenario when Eck wasn't walking anybody happened maybe a handful of times. The notion that a scout would be able to recognize any type of pattern is nonsense.

I have heard from Peter Gammons that the scouting report exists, but that it was bogus. Didier made it up.

#16. If you read Posnanski's book, The Machine, you might get the impression that feeling foolish was a commonplace thing for Johnny Bench.

What also makes the Fingers-Bench confrontation great is that Joe Morgan totally read it: he was on third, yelling "They're gonna pitch to you!" See, he used to say smart things, dammit!

He probably still randomly yells smart things at people on the field. I can picture an exasperated producer explaining "for the fiftieth TIME, dumb things quiet, smart things into mic!"

My experience of listening to Morgan is that he's at his best when he's talking about the physical actions involved in playing baseball. It's when he gets into big-picture stuff that he falls down.

I know Larsen was pitching (perhaps literally) out of his mind that day, but I've always thought that last pitch looked nowhere near a strike. Early example of the Maddux Mind-Meld?

The guy had a perfect game going. You better get the bat off your shoulder. I don't think any ump is calling ball 4 in a world series perfect game unless it bounces three times.

Plus the home plate ump was umpiring the last game of his career before retiring. Hoe do you think he wanted to go out?

I don't think any ump is calling ball 4 in a world series perfect game unless it bounces three times.

It was a 1-2 count, though. And Mitchell swung at the two pitches before that.

The Gibson play is classic bullsh*t. That type of scenario when Eck wasn't walking anybody happened maybe a handful of times. The notion that a scout would be able to recognize any type of pattern is nonsense.

The notion that a scout would think himself of capable of recognizing any such pattern is extremely believable.

In the footage I've seen strike 3 looked a bit high, though it's hard to judge location from the behind-the-catcher cam. One of my favorite bits of Larsen trivia: that last batter, Dale Mitchell, was extraordinarily difficult to strike out. He K'd just 119 times in 4357 career PAs, but ended his career with that famous strikeout.

I know it's not a play, but I've always liked Bucky Harris's gamesmanship in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series. McGraw was platooning his 1bmen that series: Highpockets Kelly against lefties, and Bill Terry (who hit .429/.529/.786), against righties. Harris wanted to start lefty George Mogridge, but did not like the idea of Terry ready to pinch hit in a crucial situation. So he started midseason pickup Curly Ogden, and after 2 batters brought in Mogridge.* McGraw decided to stick with Terry anyway; he went 0-2 before being pinch hit for in the 6th.

*Oddly enough, staying with Ogden might not have been a bad idea. His ERA that year was almost a full run lower than Mogridge's. It was the easily the best year of Ogden's nondescript 5-year career.

PF:

I am saying that a scout would have to have been present for a scenario more than once to discern a pattern strong enough to claim a pitcher "always" does practice "x".

Given Eck in 1988 there were few 3-2 counts. Fewer still against left-handed hitters (because of lefties relative to the batter population). Fewer yet against lefty power hitters. Hence, it's a BS comment.

I believe in scouting. I don't believe in contrived stories.

I am saying that a scout would have to have been present for a scenario more than once to discern a pattern strong enough to claim a pitcher "always" does practice "x".

Or, had to have been pretty full of himself.

Robinson was at third, but up for the Dodgers was the weak-hitting Frank Kellert. And, after all but taunting pitcher Whitey Ford and catcher Yogi Berra of the Yankees, Jackie seized the day, and broke for the plate. No catcher has more emphatically argued a call, and no moment has better summed up a player, his influence, or the changes he would bring to the game.


Just nitpicking here, but I've never really thought of Jackie as a big base-stealer. Sure, he was great at stealing home, but I never thought he brought "changes" to the game as far as basestealing. I thought that was Brock and Wills. Unless Keith is just talking about more African-Americans in the game?

That Enos Slaughter story is completely new to me. I had no idea he was such a Charlie Hustle. For some reason I guess because of his name, I thought of him as a powerful slugger who plodded on the basepaths, but looking at his career, he was nothing like that.

Having Damon #1 is silly.

That Enos Slaughter story is completely new to me. I had no idea he was such a Charlie Hustle. For some reason I guess because of his name, I thought of him as a powerful slugger who plodded on the basepaths, but looking at his career, he was nothing like that.

as a Cardinal fan that just seems so wrong of a comment to me, heck I always thought of Enos Slaughter as a Pete Rose hustling type of guy, if you told me he only had 74 steals I wouldn't have believed you. (Heck for most of my youth I thought he was a second baseman because of that play for some reason--I attributed 'grit' with playing second, that was my position so maybe that is why)

Wait, what Enos Slaughter story is new to you? The run in the World Series? Really? I am actually a little stunned. I thought that was about as well known a story as exists, this side of Ruth's called shot. But for a longtime poster here to be unaware means I am wrong there.

Brown then deliberately threw a knee high pitch on the outside corner, but instead of his normal followthrough he took off straight to the third base line, grabbed Cobb's bunt and whipped a throw to third to force the lead runner Charley O'Leary.

Can you imagine the reaction of a 1907 BTF to Ty ############# Cobb laying down a sac? Down by two in the fourth? In the deadball era?

If there weren't several well attested examples, I'd never believe that the hidden ball trick would work at the Major League level. How is it with all the fans and the opposing team there, there isn't somebody screaming to the runner "He's still got the ball! He's still got the ball!"?

Can you imagine the reaction of a 1907 BTF to Ty ############# Cobb laying down a sac? Down by two in the fourth? In the deadball era?

It wasn't a sac at all. Cobb was bunting for a hit, as he nearly always was. And if Brown hadn't anticipated the play, he would have easily beaten it out.

Just nitpicking here, but I've never really thought of Jackie as a big base-stealer. Sure, he was great at stealing home, but I never thought he brought "changes" to the game as far as basestealing. I thought that was Brock and Wills. Unless Keith is just talking about more African-Americans in the game?

Robinson wasn't an uber-basestealer a la Wills or Brock, but particularly early in his career it was a major part of his game, and he was usually among the league leaders. And look at the graph here. Stolen bases steadily declined throughout baseball history, but started to climb again just about at Robinson's debut. But Olbermann's comment, I believe, is speaking to Jackie's aggressiveness on the basepaths, something that really hadn't been seen during the high scoring 30s and 40s. It wasn't just the stolen bases, but when he'd steal them, as well as taking the extra base. And the steal home emphasizes that aggressiveness. Wills stole home once in his 586 steals, Brock twice in 938. Robinson stole home 19 times, which I believe is still a post-war record.

#17 is fascinating, and the latest good example of why I enjoy reading this site.

Walter Alston inserting Sandy Amoros as a defensive replacement in 1955 Game 7 has to rank up there. I guess that makes him the anti-John McNamara.

I was always pretty impressed with Reggie Jackson's hip-check against the Dodgers, too. Sure, it was illegal, but he got away with it, and it was a heady play that required some quick thinking.

Robinson stole home 19 times, which I believe is still a post-war record.

The other great stealer of home in the post-war era was Rod Carew, who did it 17 times, including seven times in 1969.

Seems to me that for all that is made of the Slaughter dash, it wasn't a very heady play at all. Indeed, it may have been really a stupid play that happened to turn out well. Slaughter just lucked out. But, indeed, Slaughter was often seen as the template for Pete Rose, and a number of comments, as I recall, were made in exactly those terms in the '70's and '80's.

As for the Mantle one, it was quite typical of Mantle's "instincts". He wasn't just brawn. He was as "natural" a player as DiMaggio or Mays, and a superb baserunner with great natural instincts. However, what's really great and special about that play is that it require two lightining quick instinctive reactions--one by Mantle but also one by McDougal. McDougall is kind of the forgotten man of the Yankee great teams of the '50's, but as Bill James points out in the HA, he was an excellent player, a versatile player excellent in all dimensions. He's pretty much why Stengel got to do a lot of that platooning. A gold glove at three premium defensive positions, McDougal was a vital cog in those teams.

BTW, he also saved Larsen's perfect game with a heady play. Jackie Robinson hit a shot off Larsen so hard that the third baseman couldn't handle it. It luckily deflected off his glove, though, right at McDougal, who whirled and got Robinson in a bang-bang play at first. "It was strictly a reaction play," McDougald said. "I was going into the hole anyway because I didn't know whether Andy (Carey) would get to the ball. It popped off his glove, and I slid into the play. I never had a great arm. If I had had an arm like the kids I see on television playing shortstops I would have thrown him out maybe by three steps."

McDougald was indeed one of the key players on those Stengel teams, one whose most prominent moment was unfortunately that line drive he hit off Herb Score's face. The irony is that while Score recovered to full health, McDougald himself had earlier in his career taken a line drive off his ear during batting practice, a gruesome incident that eventually resulted in a near total loss of his hearing. It was only in the past decade that his doctors were able to find a way to restore his hearing back to normal.

Yeah. I understand he has cancer now.

I kind of reinforced the taken for granted thing by not getting his name right. Every day another micro-chip blinks out.

I fail to see how Damon's double steal is even close to being the smartest play in WS history. It is an obvious threat since the days they were pulling this on Williams. If there is a bad throw then basically third bas is free for the runner unless the pitcher immediately breaks for third which would be next to impossible.

I also seem to recall Gibson saying he couldn't even see the pitch he hit for a homer. His bat speed was so slow that he started his swing before the pitch was even released. I think that was in an SI article in 1988.