For those familiar with Diamond Mind Baseball, the 1967 World Series is being played in pitch-by-pitch mode with the bullpen warm up rule on. The computer manager makes base running and fielder throwing decisions. Game tactics for the visiting club are managed by the computer. Game tactics for the home club and substitutions for both clubs are manually done.
Detroit, Oct. 4 – If the remaining games of this Series match the drama of the opener, America should prepare for one of the greatest Fall Classics ever. The unfolding storyline twisted and turned every inning where potential goats turned heroes and heroes became goats. The St. Louis Cardinals drew first blood due the first gaffe of the Series by Tiger first baseman Norm Cash. Tim McCarver hit a two-out bouncer to Cash with Lou Brock stationed at third base. The ball went under Cash’s glove. Second baseman Jerry Lumpe recovered but was unable to get McCarver in time as Brock crossed home. The Tigers responded in the second with consecutive doubles by Willie Horton and Jim Northrup. But Northrup was stranded at third after Brock ended the inning with an unbelievable leaping catch of Don Wert’s fly to the left field wall.
To open the top of the fifth, Orlando Cepeda doubled off the fence in right center field. McCarver sliced the first pitch from Detroit starter Earl Wilson to left. Horton could not reach the ball as it landed, and Cepeda scored on the safety. However, the hero McCarver was caught off guard soon thereafter by Wilson. McCarver appeared to be ready to move on the 2-1 pitch to Mike Shannon. Wilson fired the ball to first. McCarver fell on his way back to the bag and was an easy out. Despite the reprieve, Wilson was not out of the woods. Shannon singled, and Tiger bull pen began to stir. The cavalry could not come fast enough for Wilson. Julian Javier lined Wilson’s 2-2 fastball over the left field wall for a two-run clout and a three-run Cardinal lead. Dal Maxvill, who singled in his first two Series at-bats, struck out. Wilson retired his counterpart Gibson on a ground out to end the inning.
With the lead, Gibson began to make some of the Tiger batters look foolish. But Detroit would not go quietly. A pair of singles were put together by Dick McAuliffe and Lumpe in the sixth, and Al Kaline plated McAuliffe with a sacrifice fly. In the eighth, Eddie Mathews pinch-hit for reliever John Hiller and knocked a routine grounder to the slick-fielding Maxvill. But Dal’s throw to first was low, in the dirt, and past Cepeda. Mathews chugged into second, and Mickey Stanley replaced Mathews on the base paths. McAuliffe’s slow roller to Gibson advanced Stanley to third, and another innocent roller to second by Lumpe cut the Redbirds lead to one run.
Though the spotlight was on Gibson, the work turned in by the Tiger relievers should not go unappreciated. After Javier’s home run, Fred Lasher, John Hiller, and Fred Gladding kept the Cardinals from adding to their lead as Detroit chipped away at Gibson’s armor. Despite trimming the Cardinal lead to a mere run, the Tigers had failed to hit the ball out of the infield since Kaline’s sacrifice fly in the sixth. Gibson remained in control on the mound despite the rising tide. In the bottom of the ninth, Willie Horton whiffed on a Gibson curve. Northrup singled through the hole to right field, but Gibson remained ever so imposing on the mound. Norm Cash stepped in, and Cash flinched at a 2-2 outside fastball. Home plate umpire Johnny Stevens of the American League also flinched, but the arm stayed down. Gibson threw his arms in the air as McCarver protested the call. After order was restored, Gibson again took his place on the mound, but a chink in the armor appeared. Perhaps ever slightly disturbed over his thoughts of the missed call, Gibson missed his mark with the following pitch. The veteran Norm Cash swung and deposited the ball into the standing throng in the right field upper deck. The game was tied, Bob Gibson was furious, and the city of Detroit was delirious. McCarver dared not to visit his pitcher, and Gibson struck out Freehand and retired Wert to end regulation play.
Gibson was determined to finish this game. The Cardinals failed in an attempt to manufacture a run in the tenth. After Gibson struck out, Brock singled and stole second base. But a ground out by Flood and a strikeout by Roger Maris failed to score the fleet left fielder. Gibson retired the Tigers in order in the tenth, but finally left the game when Horton singled with one out in the eleventh. Reliever Joe Hoerner surrendered a single to Northrup, but then struck out Cash and Freehan to end the threat.
Rookie Mike Marshall was now pitching for Detroit. The Cardinals failed to cash in Javier’s first-pitch single to open the twelfth. Marshall struck out Maxvill. Pinch-hitter Bobby Tolan and Brock both flied out to Horton in left. Jack Lamabe took the hill for Red Schoendienst in the twelfth. Wert led off with a base hit in front of a sliding Brock in left. Dick Tracewski failed to get down a sacrifice bunt, and bounced into a force play at second base. McAuliffe flew out to deep center field, and the Series opener appeared to be going to thirteen innings. Pinch-hitter Jim Price, who had seen little action during the season, stepped up to bat as the final position player off Manager Mayo Smith’s bench. Price grounded to Maxvill, and a second throwing error by the shortstop pulled Cepeda off the bag as Price crossed. With the crowd on the edge of their seats, Al Kaline launched a 1-1 pitch deep to left field. As the crowd stood, the ball curved in front of the foul pole. The crowd drew quiet with the next pitch, but they were not in their seats for long. Kaline lined the 1-2 pitch in the hole between Maxvill and Shannon at third. Brock charged in as Tracewski rounded third. The ball and the runner arrived at home plate, and Tracewski slid past before McCarver’s tag. Umpire Stevens signaled safe, and the Detroit Tigers won a hard-fought opening game, 6-5, in twelve innings.
For the Cardinals, a workman effort from Gibson and fourteen base runners were wasted. Maxvill who opened the Series with consecutive singles ended with consecutive errors that cost his team the game. Norm Cash maintained his hero status among the Detroit youth. But with any World Series, a hero or a goat is only a day-long tag.
10/4/1967, STL67-DET67, Tiger Stadium
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E LOB DP
1967 St. Louis 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 16 2 14 0
1967 Detroit 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 6 11 1 7 0
St. Louis AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB
Brock lf 7 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .429 3 0 0 0
Flood cf 6 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 2 0 0 0
Maris rf 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 1 0 0 0
Cepeda 1b 4 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 17 1 0 0
McCarver c 6 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 10 0 0 0
Shannon 3b 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 5 0 0
Javier 2b 6 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 1 3 0 0
Maxvill ss 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 8 2 0
Gibson p 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 2 0 0
Hoerner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Tolan ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Lamabe p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
52 5 16 4 2 0 1 3 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 35 19 2 0
Detroit AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB
McAuliffe ss 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 0 3 0 0
Lumpe 2b 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 2 1 0 0
Marshall p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Price ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Kaline rf 5 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200 1 0 0 0
Horton lf 5 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 0 0 0 0
Green pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0
Northrup cf 5 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .600 2 0 0 0
Cash 1b 5 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 12 1 1 0
Freehan c 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 14 0 0 0
Wert 3b 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 0 6 0 0
Wilson p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 1 0 0
Lasher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Hiller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Mathews ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Stanley pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Gladding p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0
Tracewski ph 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0
47 6 11 6 2 0 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 36 12 1 0
St. Louis INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA
Gibson 10.1 8 5 4 0 8 147 98 40 1 0 0 0 0 3.48
Hoerner 0.2 1 0 0 0 2 16 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Lamabe L 0-1 0.2 2 1 0 0 0 19 14 5 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
11.2 11 6 4 0 10 182 121 48 1 0 0 0 0
Detroit INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA
Wilson 5.1 11 5 4 2 4 102 66 29 1 0 0 0 0 6.75
Lasher 1.2 1 0 0 1 3 30 19 7 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Hiller 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 14 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Gladding 2.0 2 0 0 0 3 30 20 8 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Marshall W 1-0 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 17 13 7 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
12.0 16 5 4 3 14 193 127 55 1 0 0 0 0
STL: Tolan batted for Hoerner in the 12th
DET: Mathews batted for Hiller in the 8th
Stanley ran for Mathews in the 8th
Tracewski batted for Gladding in the 10th
McAuliffe moved to 2b in the 11th
Tracewski moved to ss in the 11th
Green ran for Horton in the 11th
Green moved to lf in the 12th
Price batted for Marshall in the 12th
GWRBI: Kaline
Temperature: 69, Sky: clear, Wind: out to left at 10 MPH.