Don Larsen Pitches Perfect Game in World Series
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Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game, with the New York Yankees, in the history of the World Series. It occurred in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, on October 8, 1956. His perfect game remains the only no-hitter of any type ever pitched in postseason play.
Larsen's opponent in the game was Brooklyn's Sal Maglie. The Larsen start was a slight surprise considering his performance in Game 2 of the Series. Despite being given a 6-0 lead by the Yankee batters, Larsen had lasted less than two innings, allowing four runs on four walks (and a crucial error by first-baseman Joe Collins). Larsen maintains that he did not even know he was going to start the fifth game of the World Series until he arrived in Yankee Stadium that morning and discovered a baseball tucked inside his baseball spikes, although newspapers across the country had him listed as the starter that day. Fifty years later, teammate Moose Skowron recalled, "I couldn't believe he was pitching that day. I still can't believe the look he had on his face when he saw the ball... shock or something." Backup catcher Charlie Silvera, who warmed up Larsen in the bullpen "very casually," remembered, "It wasn't like I went to anybody and said, 'He really has it, we're in'."
Unlike his previous start, Larsen's control did not desert him. He needed just 97 pitches to complete the game, and only one Dodger batter (Pee Wee Reese, in the first inning) was able to get a three-ball count. In 1998, Larsen recalled, "I had great control. I never had that kind of control in my life." Larsen's catcher Yogi Berra said, "His stuff was good, good, good. Anything I put down, he put over."
There were two close calls. The first was a "bang-bang" play in the second inning, when Dodger second baseman Jackie Robinson hit a line drive that caromed off Yankee third baseman Andy Carey's glove. Fortunately for Larsen, it bounced straight to shortstop Gil McDougald, who threw out Robinson in a close play. In the fifth inning, center fielder Mickey Mantle made a one-handed catch in left center, running down a deep drive by Gil Hodges. The next batter, Sandy Amoros, hit a long drive to right field that went just foul; asked about the play later, umpire Ed Runge held his thumb and index finger an inch apart and said, "That much."
Brooklyn's Maglie also pitched an outstanding game, giving up only two runs on five hits. Mickey Mantle's fourth-inning home run broke the scoreless tie. The Yankees added what would prove to be an insurance run in the sixth.
The later innings were tense for players and fans alike. Larsen's teammates remained silent. Baseball custom dictates that players never discuss the possibility of a no-hitter as it unfolds. Announcer Red Barber was criticized for mentioning the no-hitter during his broadcast of the game. This particular tradition meant little to Larsen, who playfully asked his teammates if they thought he could complete the no-hitter, earning a gruff dismissal from Mantle. Larsen says that Mantle stalked away in silence; some teammates remember Mantle saying, "Shut the fuck up." The unconcerned Larsen even took a cigarette break in the clubhouse during the seventh inning stretch. "I had no tension on the mound," remembered Larsen, "but the dugout was a morgue. No one would talk to me. I was more comfortable on the mound than there."
With the score 2-0, manager Casey Stengel had Whitey Ford warming up in the bullpen during the eighth and ninth innings, in case Larsen got into trouble. After Larsen got Carl Furillo to line out for the first out of the ninth, Ford and Silvera stopped warming up and watched the conclusion of the game.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Larsen faced pinch hitter Dale Mitchell, a .311 career hitter. Throwing fastballs, Larsen got ahead in the count at 1-2. On his 97th pitch, a called strike, Larsen caught Mitchell looking for the 27th and last out. Mitchell complained that the pitch was high and outside to home plate umpire Babe Pinelli (who was working his final game behind the plate, retiring after the season). Mickey Mantle later admitted that the pitch looked high from his center-field angle. Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider said, "I think he (Pinelli) wanted to go out with a no-hitter," adding, "But there were 26 outs before that and he got them all. You can't take anything away from him."
But all eyes were on Larsen. As he walked off the mound, Yankee catcher Yogi Berra leaped into his arms, creating an indelible, iconic image in American sports. After it was over, Berra reportedly quipped to Larsen that he had performed the baseball equivalent of walking on water. Years later, Larsen said, "He jumped on me, my mind went blank. Probably still is."
Don Larsen's unparalleled game earned him the award for World Series MVP. Alluding to Larsen's carousing habits and lackluster record, the following day's New York Daily News included the well-remembered lead suggested by columnist Dick Young, "The imperfect man pitched the perfect game."
