Did the Dodgers get robbed of the pennant in Tommy Davis' career year in '62?
Tommy Davis’ career year came in 1962 when he led the league with a .346 average and 153 runs batted in. The table-setter for Davis and Los Angeles was shortstop Maury Wills. Wills was historically great on the base paths, stealing a modern-day record 104 bases. No other team in baseball had a
Did the Dodgers get robbed of the pennant in Tommy Davis' career year in '62?
Tommy Davis’ career year came in 1962 when he led the league with a .346 average and 153 runs batted in. The table-setter for Davis and Los Angeles was shortstop Maury Wills.
Wills was historically great on the base paths, stealing a modern-day record 104 bases. No other team in baseball had as many thefts as the Dodger in ’62. In fact, no NL player had stolen even half of Wills’ total since Pittsburgh’s Max Carey in 1920. Davis and Will proved to be a dynamic duo for the ’62 Dodgers.
Los Angeles battled San Francisco all season long. From May 10 through the end of the season the two teams traded first and second place in the NL.
The Dodgers dominated the first ten games between the two clubs, going 7-3. That included a three-game sweep in Los Angeles at the end of July.
On August 10 the Dodgers headed to San Francisco with a 5 1/2 game lead. Winners of four in a row and eight of their last ten, the Dodgers looked to keep the pressure on.
The Giants were desperate. Another Dodger sweep would put San Francisco 8 1/2 games behind with six weeks to go. That’s when Giants manager Al Dark came up with an unconvention solution to slow Wills and the Dodgers.
The skipper directed the San Francisco grounds crew to keep the path between first and second base so watered down that base runners would be unable to get solid footing. Dark’s nickname the “Swamp Fox” was born.
The boys in blue complained about the soggy real estate to no avail. In the first game the Giants hammered the Dodgers 11-2. The team hoped Saturday would be different. Manager Walt Alston tabbed ’62 Cy Young Award winner Don Drysdale who was 11-0 with a save in his last 13 outings.
Davis put the Dodgers ahead with a three-run homer in the first inning. In a rare show of emotion, the usually level-headed Wills allowed his frustration to boil over. Arguing with plate umpire Al Forman about staying in the batter’s box, Wills was ejected in the third inning. The Giants rallied for two in the fourth and three in the sixth then held on to beat the Dodgers 5-4.
In the series finale, Davis tallied the team’s only stolen base of the series. The Giants won 5-1 to complete the sweep.
The two teams finished the regular season in a dead heat atop the standings. San Francisco prevailed in the three-game playoff to capture the pennant.
Had the Dodgers won just one of the August games played in soggy San Francisco, they would’ve claimed the flag. Perhaps the Giants grounds crew kept Los Angeles from winning their 15th pennant in Tommy Davis’ finest season.
Tommy Davis won back-to-back batting crowns for the Dodgers in '62 and '63
Two-time All Star and former World Series champ Tommy Davis won consecutive batting crowns for the dodgers in 1962 and 1963. He remains the only Los Angeles player to lead the league in batting average twice. He was also one of the most proficient pinch-hitters ever with a .320 batting average (63-for-197) – the
He was also one of the most proficient pinch-hitters ever with a .320 batting average (63-for-197) – the highest in major league history upon his retirement.
Davis finished his 18-year MLB career with 2,121 hits and a .294 average. Shown here is a 4×6 card that Davis has autographed and inscribed, “62 +63 Batting Champ”.
They tried and tried again. No matter what National League clubs did, they just couldn’t slow down Maury Wills in 1962. Wills’ Dodgers were in their fifth year in Los Angeles and thirsty for another World Series appearance. Winners of the 1959 Fall Classic, the team finished a disappointing fourth in 1960. They climbed to second place in ’61 and seemed poised for a post-season return in ’62. Wills did his part. The Dodger shortstop was historically great on the bases, swiping 104 bags. To put that into perspective, the last time a National Leaguer stole even half that many was in 1920. No big league team matched Wills’ total in ’62. The Dodger squad had one .300 hitter in batting champ Tommy Davis whose 153 runs batted in led the league. Davis got help from Frank Howard, the only other Dodger to tally 100 RBI. Together they counted on Wills to get aboard and make his way into scoring position. Dodgers and Giants vie for NL supremacy While Wills was on his way to the stolen base record, the Dodgers fought the Giants for the top spot in the NL. Behind Wills, Davis, and the pitching of Cy Young […]
Greatest leadoff hitter of all time. No debate.
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