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JIMMY PIERSALL (FEAR STRIKES OUT) ...
The Sox rally to beat the Yankees
May 24, 1952 ... Manager
Lou Boudreau transformed the Red Sox into a scrappy bunch of
ballplayers who beat the Yankees, 5 to 2 at Fenway Park. All this
happened after Jimmy Piersall engaged in a preliminary pre-game bout
with Billy Martin under the stands. The fight lasted only about 60
seconds and the decision went to Martin, who got in two healthy punches at the
Red Sox rookie, before Ellis Kinder and Bill Dickey broke it up. The feud
between the two quick-tempered players had been raging since the Red Sox recent
series in New York.
During the Red Sox batting practice, Piersall was working at shortstop and
Martin was warming up with his teammates outside of third-base. The pair started
hurling insults at one another and Martin invited Piersall under the stands to
engage him one-on-one. The Sox rookie excepted the challenge, tossed his glove
aside and ran to the tunnel under the stands. Martin stuck his glove in his back
pocket and hurried around the batting cage after him.
When the game started, Kinder out battled Vic Raschi in a tense mound match.
Walt Dropo hit a two run homer and the Sox took a 2 to 2 deadlock into the
eighth-inning. Against Bobby Hogue, the Sox broke out with a three run assault
to inflict the first defeat that the ex-Boston Brave had suffered in the
American League.
For five innings, Kinder and Raschi were in complete charge. In the sixth
inning Hank Bauer lofted what should have been an easy to catch foul pop up
between the plate and first base. Dropo charged in, but the ball bounced off his
glove for an error. On the very next pitch Bauer took a knuckleball over the
wall in left field for a home run.
That one run lead was held by the Yankees through the sixth inning. Raschi
rubbed out Clyde Vollmer to start the seventh inning. He then had trouble
locating the plate with Billy Goodman at bat and walked him on four pitches.
That brought up Dropo and he bashed the first pitch well into the nets to put
the Sox outfront 2 to 1.
It didn't turn out to be the game-winner but it was a vital turned around for
Dropo. It meant that Raschi had to be removed for a pinch-hitter in the Yankees
eighth-inning. Gene Woodling started the inning with a double to left-center and
he was bunted over to third by Martin. Johnny Mize pinch-hit for Raschi and
flied deep to centerfield, allowing Woodling to score the tying run, making the
score 2 to 2.
Hogue took over and Dom DiMaggio sliced a line drive down the right-field
foul line for a double. Johnny Pesky was hit by a pitch and Don Lenhardt laid
down a sacrifice bunt that moved DiMaggio to third and Pesky to second. Vern
Stephens was next issued an intentional pass to load the bases.
Vollmer broke up the game when he whistled a single into right field to score
DiMaggio. Pesky tried for home but a perfect relay from Hank Bauer to Irv Noren
to Yogi Berra, nailed him at the plate. Billy Goodman then cracked a doubled to
left-center and Stephens and Vollmer scored two more runs.
The Yankees threatened in the ninth-inning when Phil Rizzuto led off with a
walk, but Kinder got Bob Cerv to pop up and fanned Berra. Gil McDougald got on
base and then Kinder struck out Noren to end the game. |
