Vin Scully photo courtesy of Schaefer Brewing Co. and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y. |
Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. On Sept. 9, 1965 -- 60 years ago today -- two baseball legends were at the top of their craft inside Dodger Stadium. One was Hall of Fame left-hander Sandy Koufax, who made history by throwing a perfect game with 14 strikeouts against the Cubs. The other was iconic Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, whose account of the game -- and especially Koufax's final inning -- became historic in its own right. It might be the best piece of baseball broadcasting to grace the sport. Koufax and others spoke to MLB.com earlier this summer to reflect upon the game and Scully's imprint on it 60 years later. The story of their recollections, as written by Sweeny Murti, features the full audio of Scully's call of the top of the ninth. |
When you listen to it, you will notice how Scully repeatedly stresses the local time in Los Angeles throughout the inning: 9:44 p.m., 9:46 p.m. He would later say that he did so as a gift to Koufax so the Dodgers ace could listen back to the broadcast in the future and envision it like an artifact from a time capsule. That gift was unknown to Koufax until all these years later. "This is the first time I heard about that," the 89-year-old told MLB.com. "If that's the case, I appreciate what [Scully] did. But I didn't know anything about him doing that as a present to me. That comes as a surprise to me right now." Koufax's outing and Scully's narration hit a climax with the lefty's final pitch to pinch-hitter and 10-time All-Star Harvey Kuenn. It's a call that has been replayed over and over on baseball highlight reels. But since it's Scully's mellifluous voice on the mic, it never gets old, even after 60 years: "Two-and-two to Harvey Kuenn, one strike away. Sandy into his windup, here's the pitch … swung on and missed, a perfect game!" History made. Koufax had his fourth no-hitter -- then a Major League record -- and a perfect game that would serve as the icing on a special season that saw him capture his second Cy Young Award. But without Scully being there to perfectly set the stage and tell the story, Koufax's momentous night just wouldn't have been as special. "No matter what Vinnie did, it was pretty impressive," Koufax said. "I don't know if there's ever been anybody as good or even close." -- Brian Murphy |
- Tigers at Yankees (7:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV and TBS): A Yankee for the first seven years of his MLB career, Gleyber Torres returns to the Bronx for the first time since joining the Tigers. Torres doesn't know what to expect from the fans: "Hopefully good, but who knows."
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IT'S HOW YOU FINISH, NOT START |
While the MLB season being a marathon and not a sprint is one of the game's most well-worn clichés, it would be foolish to overlook the importance of a strong finishing kick down the stretch. Sometimes, an extremely hot player cannot only carry a team on their back, they can separate themselves from the pack come awards season.
From Don Mattingly's 40-RBI final month in 1985 to Albert Belle's 17-homer September in '95 to Barry Bonds' incredible 1.685 OPS to close out his record-breaking 2001, Jason Foster has compiled some of the best stretch-run finishes of the Expansion Era (since 1961).
Two of baseball's marquee stars could be the next to join the list. With the Blue Jays attempting to hold off the Yankees and Red Sox for the AL East title, Vladimir Guererro Jr. is certainly doing his part, batting a ridiculous .560 (14-for-25) with three doubles, two homers, eight runs scored and five RBIs through the first six games of September. Over in the NL, Mets slugger Juan Soto is doing his best to secure a Wild Card berth for his new club, going 10-for-26 (.385) with five extra-base hits, nine RBIs, seven runs scored, three steals and a 1.361 OPS in seven games this month. -- Ed Eagle |
Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz has already delivered one of the greatest rookie seasons MLB has seen. The way he's finishing it off suggests this may be just the beginning of a career bound for the history books. You won't be surprised to learn that Kurtz took the top spot in the American League rather handily in our final Rookie of the Year Award poll of the season. He's the overwhelming favorite to claim AL honors this year, and he has been for a while. As Mike Petriello detailed in his deep dive into Kurtz's season, the youngster is currently on track to post the highest OPS+ (177) by a rookie in MLB history (minimum 400 PAs). The three players immediately following Kurtz on that list -- José Abreu, Aaron Judge and Mike Trout -- all went on to win an MVP Award. The group after that includes four Hall of Famers (Dick Allen, Carlton Fisk, Johnny Mize, Ted Williams), a 12-time All-Star (Mark McGwire) and a nine-time All-Star/MVP winner (Fred Lynn). But that's not all. Kurtz is also putting together one of the best second halves any hitter has had since the advent of the All-Star Game in 1933. He owns a 1.192 OPS since the All-Star break, a stretch that includes his four-homer epic -- a 6-for-6 performance that saw him tie the single-game record with 19 total bases -- on July 26. The list is littered with elite sluggers, including some absolute legends like Williams, Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Jimmie Foxx. In other words, it's really hard to start off like this and not produce one of the best hitting careers of your generation. That may sound ambitious for a player who isn't far removed from college, but that's the type of company Kurtz is keeping. -- Thomas Harrigan |
In the chase to lock down the NL East title, the Phillies have brought Big Mozz to the ballpark. If you're looking for sizable mozzarella sticks oozing with melted cheese, come out to Citizens Bank Park during this seven-game homestand. And definitely don't forget about the Schwarburger 2.0, which debuted last season and is Kyle Schwarber's favorite burger, topped with cheese, pepper bacon, a fried egg, onions and a signature sauce. |
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