1959 Yankee of the Past: Lew Burdette

"Up to the last five weeks of the 1958 season, no one would have given Lew a chance to become a 20-game winner. But he got red hot and won nine games to enter the charmed circle. In the Series he beat the Yankees with a neat 7-hitter in the second game. Lew also hit a homer  in the second game of the Series."

-1959 Topps No. 440

NEEDLE STICKS STAN

"Lew Burdette has begun needling Stan Musial, a man who is supposed to have no nerves.

In a recent game, the Braves were protecting a one-run lead, but the Cardinals had loaded the bases with one out. Musial was the batter.

Burdette was called in to face Musial. His first two pitches were balls. Burdette walked in to argue with the home plate umpire.

He yelled, 'Don't be giving a .259 hitter a break,' mentioning Musial's batting average at the moment.

Burdette actually intended the conversation for Musial. He hoped to get Stan off stride.

Burdette's next pitch was on the outside corner but Stan tried to pull it, hit it to the second baseman and into a double play that ended the game. Musial did what Burdette wanted. He became overanxious and swung at the next pitch."

Pat Harmon, Cincinnati Post and Times-Star (Baseball Digest, September 1959)

BURDETTE'S GOPHER HUNT

Suddenly Braves' Ace Righty Finds They Go-For-Four On Him

"Now that speculation over Lew Burdette and his alleged spitball seems to have subsided, conjecture concerning the Braves' ace right-hander centers on the abnormal number of home runs hit off his wide assortment of pitches.

Burdette- who, incidentally, has always denied using the spitter except for psychological purposes- admits being concerned about the so-called 'gopher' pitches but he has a pretty good idea of what causes them and also has some plans for remedying the situation.

Of the 98 runs scored off Burdette during the first two-thirds of the season, 51 were made off home runs. He had given up 29, tops in the league, and they had been directly responsible for five of his ten defeats.

'That's a lot of homers, a lot of runs and too many games lost on one pitch,' the fidgety veteran said after he had scored his fifteenth victory despite two homers that accounted for four of the Cardinals' five runs.

Patiently, Burdette checked over the list of home runs in the scorebook without finding any definite pattern that might give him a clue to a possible solution. Seventeen of the homers, for example, had been hit by left-handed batters but there was nothing particularly significant about that.

'It does surprise me, though, that Gus Bell (Cincinnati) had hit three off me this season,' Lew said. 'That's at least two too many for a hitter like Bell.'

There was some slight reassurance in the fact that 16 of the homers had come with the bases vacant and only one (by Earl Averill of the Cubs) with the bases fully occupied.

The record for games at home and away was indicative of nothing special as to ball parks.

Home runs are ordinarily hit off of poor pitches. The pitcher's 'hanging curve' excuse is traditional. But Burdette has as good control as any pitcher in baseball. He annually is among the stingiest of pitchers in walks allowed. This season was no exception. Deducting intentional passes, he had walked an average of only one a game in his first 25 decisions. Also, his wide assortment of pitches includes such breaking stuff as sliders, curves, screwballs and sinkers.

So how come, Lew?

'It means I'm making my pitches too good,' Burdette said. 'They're not hitting any homers off any particular pitch. But they're hitting almost of them off high pitches.

'Even when I was strictly a fast ball pitcher, I had to keep my sinker low. I still have to. That one Ken Boyer hit today was way too high and the one George Crowe pulled into the right field stands was well below the belt but still not low enough. I wanted it down around the knees like the one he popped up on the time before.'

Burdette then paused and then asked, 'So that makes 29 homers off me? What's the record for a season and who holds it?'

Robin Roberts- 46, he was told.

'Yeah, and the hitters could hardly wait to bat against Roberts after he had lost something off his fast ball,' Burdette said. 'They knew he wouldn't throw at them and they trusted his control.

'Maybe that's what's happened to me. They know my control is good so they take a toe hold and wait for the pitch they want. It could just be that I'm going to make them a little less anxious to hit against me.'

Burdette didn't explain whether he meant to accomplish that by a few 'looseners' high and inside or by a stricter adherence to lower pitches that break even lower. He did give the impression of a pitcher who intended to do something about a situation that has become especially galling to a competitor who will do anything- well, almost anything- to win."

-Clem Walfoort, Milwaukee Journal (Baseball Digest, October 1959)

1959 Yankees Rookies of the Past

"Beginning in 1924, there's been a Yankee dandy in almost every beginning group. The Yankees relied more upon shopping from their rivals than upon minor league resources in winning pennants in 1921-22-23.

Earle Combs, high voltage center fielder, was the first of the new parts when the original pennant machine began to wear out in 1924. Combs suffered a broken leg early that season, so his first big year was 1925, when Lou Gehrig was also launched.

The Yankees needed a midway combination in 1926, so they brought up both second baseman Tony Lazzeri and shortstop Mark Koenig- with championship results. George Pipgras and Wilcy Moore were pitchers who added new strength in 1927, another title year. The veterans were sound enough to keep the pennant in 1928, but cocky young Leo Durocher was fitted into the machine as a spare part.

The Yankees had to make way for the Athletics for the next three years. Meantime, they prepared for a fresh surge by adding Bill Dickey, Sammy Byrd and Lyn Lary in 1929; Ben Chapman in 1930, Lefty Gomez in 1931. Shortstop Frankie Crosetti and pitcher Johnny Allen put the finishing touches on the new championship production in 1932.

There were flaws, though, and the Yankees didn't receive the proper new parts in 1933 to prevent a crackup. Dixie Walker, much later a Brooklyn star, was tried and found wanting; Billy Werber was peddled to the Red Sox.

Then, in '36, their leader was taken to the Yankees. Joe DiMaggio opened the throttle for a run of four consecutive world championships.

Now the Yankee pattern was firmly set: have a minor leaguer ready for any weakness that might develop. So they reinforced with Tommy Henrich and Spud Chandler in 1937; Joe Gordon, Joe Beggs and Steve Sundra in 1938; Charlie Keller, Atley Donald, Marius Russo and Buddy Rosar in 1939.

Demand finally exceeded supply in 1940 when pitcher Tiny Bonham was the only pitcher of worth. The Yanks missed the pennant that year, but shortstop Phil Rizzuto came along in 1941 to touch off a three-year reign. The Yankees hung on in 1942 and '43 without too much new help: pitcher Hank Borowy and pitcher Johnny Lindell in '42, though Lindell's real contribution began when he switched to the outfield the next year. Stepping into the wartime breach in 1943 were Billy Johnson, George Strinweiss and Bud Metheny.

It wasn't until 1947 that the Yanks got their player production line rolling again. Meantime, Joe Page, a rescue specialist who first appeared in 1944, was the only important addition. Since then, except for 1953, when only outfielder Bill Renna showed up, for part-time work, the infusion of new blood into the Yankee dynasty has been steady and abundant:

1947: Yogi Berra, Bobby Brown, Karl Drews, Ralph Houk, Vic Raschi.

1948: Tommy Byrne, Frank Hiller, Cliff Mapes, Gus Niarhos, Bob Porterfield, Steve Souchok (this freshman class was comparatively large, but admittedly not up to Yankee standards and this was the club's only pennant miss in a span of seven years).

1949: Hank Bauer, Jerry Coleman, Dick Kryhoski, Jack Phillips (sold to Pittsburgh in midseason), Duane Pillette, Charlie Silvera.

1950: Joe Collins, Jim Delsing, Whitey Ford, Jackie Jensen, Don Johnson (Delsing and Johnson both sold to the Browns)

1951: Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Gil McDougald, Tom Morgan.

1952: Tom Gorman, Bob Cerv, Bill Miller.

1953: Bill Renna.

1954: Andy Carey, Bob Grim, Bill Skowron.

1955: Elston Howard, Johnny Kucks, Tom Sturdivant.

1956: Norm Siebern, Lou Skizas (sold to the Athletics).

1957: Al Cicotte, Woodie Held, Tony Kubek, Jerry Lumpe, Bobby Richardson, Ralph Terry (Terry and Held sold to the A's).

1958: Ryne Duren, Zack Monroe, Marv Throneberry.

And that's how a championship industry is born- and maintained. No other club has had the production consistency of first Ed Barrow and then George Weiss."

-from Can 1959 Match These Rookie Crops?, Bill Bryson, Baseball Digest, March 1959