Farewell Comes Full Cirle For Joltin' Joe

            

It all started in 1936 with a winning season and a World Series victory over the Giants…

In his 13 years with the Yankees, Joe DiMaggio joined the military, took a hitting streak so far that they wrote a song about it, and just generally played some of the best baseball ever.  Although 1951 wasn’t his best season (.263, 12 homers, 72 RBI, 109 hits, 22 doubles), Joe fought through some nagging injuries and still gave whatever he had left to the team he loved and the fans who adored him.  He was just 36 years young when he retired, but he knew that the abuse he inflicted upon himself season after season had made his body feel at least 20 years older than that. 

Although he seemed too young to leave the game, he knew he could not rob the fans or himself of the only thing he truly wanted, a legacy of having given the Yankees all of what Joe DiMaggio had to offer.  Only problem was that he just couldn’t be “Joe” the way he wanted to be Joe anymore.  Whether it was fate or just chance, 1951 was time to call it quits. 

…and it all ended as he walked off the field for the last time after a winning season and a World Series victory over the Giants.  He had come full circle and left behind the legacy he had so dearly fought for throughout his distinguished career.

"I feel like I have reached the stage where I can no longer produce for my club, my manager, and my teammates,” he said a few months later.  “I had a poor year, but even if I had hit .350, this would have been my last year. I was full of aches and pains and it had become a chore for me to play. When baseball is no longer fun, it's no longer a game."

With the series tied a game a piece, the Dodgers built a 4-1 lead in game three that they carried into the bottom of the ninth.  It looked like the series was over.  But the Giants fought back, scoring a run and putting two more runners on base.  Then, Bobby Thomson stepped to the plate and smashed a dramatic three-run homer over the left field fence to win the game and the series.  He would forever be known for firing “the shot heard ‘round the world.”

To hear the actual radio call of Bobby Thompson's "shot" click here.                      

Hail to the Super Chief

By: Alex Frey

In July of 1951, Allie Reynolds was pitching a shut out against his former roommate Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians. Not completely understanding the superstitious nature of most ball players, he cheerfully asked fellow hurler Ed Lopat if he though he could throw a no-hitter; Lopat shuddered and nodded, quickly looking away. Reynolds, probably wondering if Ed felt all right, went back out to the mound and proceeded to pitch the first of his career. He already had 5 shut outs under his belt when he would pitch his second on September 28, in a pennant clinching game against the Red Sox the same year.

Maybe a six-time AL All-Star, a guy who was a two-time AL Strike Out King and a two-time AL Shut Out leader, a pitcher with a lifetime ERA of 3.03 and a World Series ERA of 2.79 (with a win or a save in every appearance) gets lost in the shuffle. 

While the rest of the country talked about Stengel, Di Maggio and Mantle, RH Allie Reynolds quietly pitched nearly 13 years of great baseball yet; he is not in the Hall of Fame.

Were there just too many great players in that era to let them all in, or do six World Series rings count for nothing?  I’m here to say that they count to me, Allie.

New York's Notable Rookies

By: Alex Frey

New York was baseball in 1951.  They had three teams vying for first place!  Not only was New York host to the World Series in 1951, but the city was also home to two notable rookies.

Twenty-year-old Willie Mays joined the Giants in the Outfield in May and racked up 127 hits, 68 RBI, and had a .274 average against such pitchers as: Warren Spahn, Preacher Roe and Robin Roberts.

Meanwhile, in the Bronx, another 20-year-old named Mickey Mantle was set to take DiMaggio’s place in center. He hit .267 and still managed 65 RBI in only 96 at bats.

Both fellows ended up in the World Series that year and both would end up in the Hall of Fame.              

Who Said That??

"He was the greatest living ball player I've ever seen play"

                                      --Yogi Berra, on Joltin' Joe

"That boy hits balls over buildings.  He runs as fast as Ty Cobb."

                                                         --Casey Stengel, on Mickey Mantle

"Always try for perfection.  There's never been a perfect ballplayer.  Willie Mays came closest..."

                                                       --Joe DiMaggio, on Willie Mays

"Did you ever notice that the teams who signed more black players faster tended to win more games?"

                                                       --Willie Mays

New York Debate Forum: 

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Should Allie Reynolds be in the Hall of Fame? 

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