60 YEARS AGO/21: NOW BATTING--THE TWO WORST HITTERS OF ALL TIME...

It was all because of Birdie Tebbetts. 

But what was it, exactly?

It was the matchup of two pitchers--Bob Buhl and Sandy Koufax--who were both in the running for the title of "worst hitter in the history of baseball."

Tebbetts had become the manager of the Milwaukee Braves in late 1961, and he'd taken a dislike to Buhl, who'd been a solid #3 starter for the Braves since coming to MLB in 1953. Buhl "returned the favor," and after a tense off-season, Milwaukee dumped him off to the Chicago Cubs on April 30, 1962 (in exchange for lefty Jack Curtis: Tebbetts would soon take a dislike to him, too).

Buhl would go 0-for-70 at the plate for the Cubs in 1962, and wound up with a lifetime batting average of .087 (76-for-857). As a feeble bit of compensation for this offensive ineptitude, he did become reasonably proficient at the sacrifice bunt (53 in his career).

He arrived in Los Angeles just in time to pitch on May 2, 1962 against the Dodgers and another "legendary" non-hitter--Koufax--whose ineffectiveness with a bat was second only to Buhl: lifetime, Sandy hit .097 (75-for-776), with two lifetime homers (to Buhl's none). Koufax had only 35 sacrifice bunts, however...

There are a million pictures of Koufax on the mound...
but only three of him swinging a bat.

In the game played at Dodger Stadium that day, Buhl and Koufax dueled to a draw--at home plate, that is. They both batted twice--and struck out twice.

On the mound, Koufax--always a bit spotty on defense--dropped a throw while attempting to cover first, giving the Cubs an extra out in the fourth, and they cashed in on that miscue, scoring twice thanks to a two-out double from Andre Rodgers. 

Buhl gave up a homer to Wally Moon followed by a single to Tommy Davis in the bottom of the first--and gave up no more hits over the next five innings before being lifted for Don Elston in the seventh...after the Cubs drove Koufax from the game with an insurance run. Elston blanked the Dodgers for a three-inning save, Buhl got the win (he was 30-21 against the Dodgers lifetime)...and the Cubs now had their fifth one-game winning streak of the year. Final score: Cubs 3, Dodgers 1.

UP in San Francisco, Willie Mays' eighth homer of the year (in the seventh inning off the Pirates' Earl Francis) broke a 2-2 tie and Juan Marichal made it stand up with a complete game win, improving his early season record to 4-2. 

The other notable event of May Day in Candlestick was that Willie McCovey finally started a game for the Giants--playing left field. Final score: Giants 3, Pirates 2.

SEASON RECORDS: SFG 17-5, LAD 14-9.