Word: pennants
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...closest pennant race in the American League since 1948, when the Cleveland Indians, the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Athletics eased into August in a virtual tie.* Now it was the Indians, Yankees, White Sox and Red Sox scrambling for the flag. Their four managers were on the spot. Each one was expected to win; each one was looking wildly for help. There was a chance for each of them, and a single new pitcher or long-ball hitter or sure-handed infielder could make a big difference...
Arnold Hano, 33, is an unhappy author who suffers from an unpleasant and probably incurable social disease: he is a Giant fan. Most of the time he succeeds in keeping his secret to himself, but on those rare occasions when the Giants win a pennant, Hano suffers from unmistakable symptoms. He comes down with World Series fever. Years of frustration curdle his spleen; choleric misanthropy consumes him. The cure is drastic: he must spend an afternoon in the Polo Grounds bleachers snarling his defiance at the civilized world-pleading with a succession of Giant pitchers to skull a batter...
...next two years, the Dodgers came close-but never quite close enough -to another pennant. Campy, too, had good years and bad breaks. In September 1950 he grabbed at a foul tip and suffered a dislocation of his right thumb. That winter, the hot-water heater in his home blew up in his face. As the year wore on, Campy picked up a startling assortment of injuries: a split thumb from a foul ball hit by the Athletics' Eddie Joost in an exhibition game, a bruised hip (during a slide), a chipped elbow when Whitey Lockman of the Giants...
...through the third game of the memorable 1951 pennant playoff with the Giants, Campy kept ducking into the dugout toilet to pray for victory. When Bobby Thomson connected for his unbelievable, game-winning home run for the New York Giants, Campy swore at the soaring ball: "Sink, you devil, sink!" He kept muttering until the ball disappeared...
...What a Fella!" For Campy, 1952 was a slow year; he had a bad arm and his hitting was off. The Dodgers won the pennant, but once again they lost the World Series to the Yankees. In 1953, his arm healed, Campy went to town. He had the best hitting year for any catcher in the history of organized baseball. He caught 144 games (of 154 scheduled), got 162 hits, walloped 41 home runs, wound up with an average of .312 and the most-valuable-player award. Once more, the Yankees won the World Series...