60 YEARS AGO/106: WOULD YOU BELIEVE...EIGHT PITCHERS?!

Johnny Podres, more important than ever to the Dodgers due to the ongoing absence of Sandy Koufax (three weeks and counting), did not flub his chance on August 6, 1962 when he drew an assignment against the New York Mets, who were still in search of their 30th win of the year.

But it was close: LA's batters had a devil of a time against Jay Hook, who'd come into the game with an ERA of 5.79. (Hook would have by far his best stretch of pitching in '62 during the five weeks between August 6 and September 8--a 2.40 ERA: despite this, he would go 1-5 and the Mets would lose seven of his eight starts during this time frame.) 

The Dodgers' first run came in on a double play ball (second inning), and their other run scored only because Mets' catcher Chris Cannizzaro bounced a throw when he had Maury Wills picked off second. Willie Davis then hit a bad-hop grounder to second that eluded ex-Dodger Charlie Neal to get what proved to be the winning run home. Final score: Dodgers 2, Mets 1.

(The Dodgers had a relatively high number of such low-scoring games at home in '62--a total of 23, third-highest in the league, despite a reasonably solid offense. It was a preview of what was coming in the wake of the impending strike zone change: from 1963-66, they would average just under 40 games at home where both teams totaled five runs or less, about 15 more per year than the Giants.)

But what stands out more to us today is the number of pitchers the Dodgers were employing. Teams today sometimes have fourteen pitchers on their roster at a time; during August 1962, the Dodgers used a total of eight pitchers. (That is not a misprint.) Pete Richert took Koufax' slot in the rotation, the relief troika kept burning the candle at both ends, and Phil Ortega brought gasoline with him to the mound. As the numbers (above right) indicate, it was Ron Perranoski's month.

AT Candlestick against SF did not have any trouble scoring runs, thanks to Willie Mays, who went 5-for-5, hit two homers and drove in five runs. Billy Pierce, recovered from his lingering injuries, kept the Philadelphia Phillies off balance, scattering six hits as he improved his season record to 10-3. Final score: Giants 9, Phillies 2.

SEASON RECORD: LAD 76-37, SFG 71-41