HEIGHTS AND DEPTHS OF THE '57 WORLD SERIES
Mathews' Defensive Play Biggest Surprise
"Biggest Surprise: Ed Mathews' play at third base. Proved to be a sound infielder who made several clutch plays.
Best Infielder: Gil McDougald of the Yankees.
Scrappiest Player: Milwaukee shortstop Johnny Logan, who slid as if he were going for a first down every time.
Best Strategy: The intentional pass (only one in the Series) to Yogi Berra in the first inning of the last game. It worked when McDougald popped up.
Best Shine: On Nippy Jones' shoes in the fourth game. Tommy Byrne's pitch clipped Jones' foot and the polish on his shoe came off on the ball to convince Umpire Augie Donatelli, who wasn't convinced until then.
Guttiest Player: Lew Burdettte.
Deepest Sleep: By Fred Haney's board of strategy that permitted the Braves' outfielders, especially the man in right (the opposite field in this case) to station themselves nine miles away from the plate when Jerry Coleman, a notorious short hitter, was at bat. Three of his blows fell for safeties because no one on the Milwaukee bench moved the outfielders in.
Most Dramatic Pitch: Bob Turley's third strike to Hank Aaron in the sixth game, a ball that caught the outside half of the plate and had Aaron fooled completely.
Most Damaging Pitch: Tom Sturdivant's knuckler in the fourth inning of the fourth game. Aaron slammed the soft pitch over the left field fence.
Biggest Question: Why didn't Casey Stengel order Bob Grim to pass Mathews in the tenth inning of the fourth game, with the winning run on second, two out and first base open? Mathews' homer that followed was ruinous to the Yankees.
Worst Luck: Don Larsen's in the last game. He lost out because Berra goofed on a pop foul, starting late, and because Tony Kubek and Joe Collins failed to make infield plays.
Best Switch: Joe Adcock, who couldn't find himself at the plate, to Frank Torre [with the heart of a winner], who made several sensational pickups at first base and contributed two home runs.
Most Daring Switch: Stengel's on his first baseman in the first game. When Moose Skowron was hurt, Stengel gambled on Elston Howard, whose previous major league first-basing experience was 16 innings total.
Major Contributor to the World Series: The weather, ideal or almost ideal for all seven games.
Best Game: The fifth, with Burdette edging Whitey Ford, 1-0.
Pitcher Deserving Better Fate: Ford.
Player You'd Most Like to Have on Your Side: Hank Bauer, Hank Aaron and Gil McDougald tied. And, of course, Lew Burdette in clutch games.
Worst Play: The Braves (twice) when they had Coleman in one game and Bauer in another trapped between second and third on taps to he mound and permitted both to regain second base safely. This is a fundamental exercise high school players know how to execute.
Best Catches: Wes Covington's pair of catches, on Bobby Shantz in the second game and on McDougald in the fifth game. His catch on Shantz saved two runs that surely would have scored; his fence-smashing grab of McDougald's robbed Gil of a double, at least.
Best Single Play by an Infielder: Mathews' grab of Harry Simpson's wicked bounder in the fifth game to start a double play. Had the ball gone for a hit, Burdette might have been yanked and not have gotten the chance to pitch those 24 scoreless innings.
Bust of the Series: Harry Simpson. At bat 12 times (seven times with men on base) Simpson got only one hit, an infield single.
Purely Personal Puff: The umpiring in general was excellent.
Summation: A corking World Series, with drama, suspense and top-drawer plays."
-Franklin Lewis, Cleveland Press (Baseball Digest, December 1957)
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