R.I.P. Johnny Podres
Johnny was an above average lefty who pitched for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1953 and 1966, then closed out his career with a couple of mediocre seasons in Detroit and San Diego, before retiring in 1969.
But he pitched the single most important game in the history of the Dodgers, Game 7 of the 1955 World Series, a complete game shutout against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the only Series Dem Bums would ever win in Brooklyn.
I can remember as a kid reading a science fiction story in which a bunch of space travelers marooned on an alien planet teach the natives baseball. One of the natives is a lefty with a natural sharp breaking curveball, and one of the crew refers to him as a podres, with the explanation that a long time ago on earth, the best lefty who ever pitched the game had that name.
I've looked through dozens of SF anthologies of stories published in the 50s (clearly the story would have been written between October 1955 and say 1959 or 60, because it was certainly clear by then that Podres was no Warren Spahn) without ever finding this story again. Once, in an online discussion about baseball in science fiction, i stumped the multiple Hugo winning editor Gardner Dozois, who also did not know this story. It reminds me of stuff i've read by Robert Silverberg, who was writing that kind of stuff at the time, or maybe William Tenn. If anybody else recalls this story, please leave a note in the comments.
"Elston Howard hits a sharp grounder to short. Reese fields it, sets, fires across the diamond to first. Hodges makes the putout, and the Brooklyn Dodgers are the 1955 World Champions!"
Rest in peace.
But he pitched the single most important game in the history of the Dodgers, Game 7 of the 1955 World Series, a complete game shutout against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the only Series Dem Bums would ever win in Brooklyn.
I can remember as a kid reading a science fiction story in which a bunch of space travelers marooned on an alien planet teach the natives baseball. One of the natives is a lefty with a natural sharp breaking curveball, and one of the crew refers to him as a podres, with the explanation that a long time ago on earth, the best lefty who ever pitched the game had that name.
I've looked through dozens of SF anthologies of stories published in the 50s (clearly the story would have been written between October 1955 and say 1959 or 60, because it was certainly clear by then that Podres was no Warren Spahn) without ever finding this story again. Once, in an online discussion about baseball in science fiction, i stumped the multiple Hugo winning editor Gardner Dozois, who also did not know this story. It reminds me of stuff i've read by Robert Silverberg, who was writing that kind of stuff at the time, or maybe William Tenn. If anybody else recalls this story, please leave a note in the comments.
"Elston Howard hits a sharp grounder to short. Reese fields it, sets, fires across the diamond to first. Hodges makes the putout, and the Brooklyn Dodgers are the 1955 World Champions!"
Rest in peace.
Labels: baseball
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4 Comments:
Back in the good old days of 1955, elementary schools did things like let the kids listen to the World Series over the PA system. I wasn't a big fan, but I vividly remember listening to that game. I think I remember it because the announcer was SO excited. It really made an impression.
By
MK, at 1:59 PM
i was just examining the stats of another stellar dodger, maybe the best of 'em all. it didn't register with me that sandy koufax was with brooklyn in '55. though i don't have the stats in front of me, it seems he didn't have a winning season till his 6th and they had been in l.a. several years by then. kind of sad he didn't get to blossom in brooklyn the way he did in los angeles. but i'll take it ;)
By
Jeff Hart, at 11:07 PM
i'm not 100% certain of this, but i'm pretty sure that Koufax was a "bonus baby." For a number of years in the 40s and 50s (maybe even into the 60s), at least before the draft, players who were signed to a bonus larger than a certain arbitrary figure (maybe $50,000?) were required to be kept on the major league roster for two years. The purpose of this was to discourage clubs from giving large signing bonuses to untested rookies, since it could put them at a competitive disadvantage by carrying players on the roster who were not yet ready to play in the bigs.
Koufax didn't have his first really decent season until 1960. But from 62 through 66 he was the best there ever was. i saw him pitch against the Mets a couple of times in those years. I think they got a total of 5 hits in 27 innings with maybe 40 strikeouts. His best game was probably game 7 of the 65 World Series against the Twins, pitching a 3 hit shutout on two days rest.
i think Podres and Newcombe and Billy Loes were the mainstays of the 55 Dodgers staff. Durham's own Roger Craig was the winning pitcher in game 5 that year.
By
Barry, at 11:27 PM
i didn't know that about craig. i learn something new all the time with you. yeah, koufax had his highest win total his final year, ie 27 wins. his last game in the majors was his loss in the '66 series. the winner of that game? a 20 year old righthander named jim palmer.
By
Jeff Hart, at 11:31 PM
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