60 YEARS AGO/139: HALF-GAME SEPARATION 4

The Dodgers and the Giants both won again on 9/11/62, forty-night years before that date became a haunted specter for a suddenly much-less-innocent America. Forty-nine years ago, the unwieldy marriage of progressive politics and Cold War imperialism did not seem to be an overreach...and there were still unitary pennant races. (A master's thesis has likely been written using that last sentence--or some close variant thereof--as its point of departure.)

Speaking of which...here are NL offensive leaders from July 1 through September 10. They are juxtaposed with the season-to-date leaders, which follow directly underneath:

BA--White STL .379, Robinson CIN .364, T. Davis LAD .340, Wills LAD .335, Musial STL .331,  Howard LAD .325

BA--Robinson CIN .341, T. Davis LAD .339, Musial STL .334, Burgess PIT .331, Aaron MIL .327, F. Alou SFG .325

SLG--Robinson CIN .695, Howard LAD .650, Mays SFG .610, Aaron MIL .608, Skinner PIT .554

SLG--Robinson CIN .623, Mays SFG .609, Aaron MIL .609, Howard LAD .582

OBP--Musial STL .434, Robinson CIN .431, Ashburn NYM .427, White STL .421, Fairly LAD .414

OBP--Ashburn NYM .425, Musial STL .424, Robinson CIN .416, Fairly LAD .401, Skinner PIT .400

HR--Robinson CIN 24, Mays SFG 22, Aaron MIL 21, Howard LAD 18, Coleman CIN 17, Thomas NYM 16

HR--Mays SFG 43, Aaron MIL 39, Robinson CIN 36, Banks CHC 33, Cepeda SFG 32, Thomas NYM 30

RBI--Howard LAD 67, Robinson CIN 67, Mays SFG 56, T. Davis LAD 56, Coleman CIN 56

RBI--T. Davis LAD 137, Robinson CIN 126, Mays SFG 123, Aaron MIL 115, Cepeda SFG 104, Howard LAD 102

Hits--White STL 103, Robinson CIN 99, Wills LAD 92, Cardenas CIN 90, T. Davis LAD 89

Hits--T. Davis LAD 198, Robinson CIN 188, Wills LAD 184, Groat PIT 180, Aaron MIL 180, White STL 178

SB--Wills LAD 47, W. Davis LAD 14, Pinson CIN 12, Altman CHC 9, Robinson CIN 8, Aaron MIL 8, Ashburn NYM 8

SB--Wills LAD 89, W. Davis LAD 32, Javier STL 22, Pinson CIN 20, Taylor PHI 19

AT Candlestick, Pirates starting pitcher Tom Sturdivant was nearing the end of a strange year, his best since winning 16 games in back-to-back seasons for the Yankees in 1956-57. Now slow to round into shape due to a series of injuries, Sturdivant had been bombed by both of the NL's doormats in the early going and was relegated to the bullpen, where he pitched indifferently until the summer weather kicked in. Manager Danny Murtaugh put him back in the starting rotation in mid-August, and he was suddenly lights out.

He allowed only four hits to the Giants on 9/11, but one was a bomb: Felipe Alou's 25th (and final) homer of the season. Alou had also figured in an unearned run that SF had scored in the fourth. Meanwhile Jack Sanford found a way to scatter eight hits, dodging several late-inning threats from the Pirates. 

Sturdivant would get his revenge when the Giants hit the road--and hit the skids--in the next following week, but this round went to the crafty Sanford, who improved his record to 22-6. Final score: Giants 2, Pirates 0.

IN Los Angeles, Stan Williams dominated the Cubs for eight innings (allowing just three hits) and Maury Wills stole his 90th base as the Dodgers inched their way past Chicago. Wills made things exciting in the ninth by making two throwing errors on consecutive plays, but Ron Perranoski came in and got the final three outs with only one unearned run scoring in the inning. Final score: Dodgers 3, Cubs 1.

SEASON RECORDS: LAD 95-51, SFG 94-51