The date was October 10, 1964. Game 3 of the World
Series between the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals was under
way with the Series tied at 1-1. 67,101 fans packed into Yankee
Stadium to watch the pitching matchup between twenty-five year old Jim
Bouton and Cardinal veteran Al Simmons.
With the game tied 1-1 going into the bottom
of the ninth inning, Mickey came to bat as the lead-off hitter.
He had made an error in right field earlier in the game that eventually
allowed the Cardinals only run so he was hoping to redeem himself to his
teammates and the fans.
Cardinal manager, Johnny Keane called on his
38-year-old, right-handed, knuckleballer Barney Schultz to replace Simmons
who had been lifted in the top of the ninth for a pinch hitter. Keane
surely realized that Mickey's batting average from the left side was just
.241 compared to .424 from the right side so by removing the lefty Simmons,
he would force Mickey to hit lefty.
As Mickey was about to step into the on-deck
circle, manager Yogi Berra gave him specific instructions. "Get up
there and hit one. I'll meet you inside." As Mickey exited the
dugout, he passed by Elston Howard who was in the on-deck circle preparing
to bat. Mickey told Howard, "Elston, you might as well go on back to
the clubhouse, because I'm going to hit the first pitch out of here for a
home run."
Schultz's first pitch to Mickey was a
knee-high knuckler. Mickey unleashed a mighty swing and connected
solidly with the ball. It soared upwards towards the right field upper
deck seats. It landed in about the third row of the upper deck and the
game was over with the Yankees winning 2-1.
