The 1956 World Series was tied 2-2 between the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees.
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| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF | GSc | IR | IS | WPA | cWPA | RE24 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Larsen, W (1-0) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0.00 | 27 | 94 | 0.586 | 0.85 | 26.74% | 70.52 | 4.6 |
The Dodgers never really recovered from Don Larsen's perfect game. The Dodgers were also shutout through nine innings in games 6 and 7. But back in Ebbets Field for game 6 the Dodgers scored a run in the tenth inning to tie the series 3-3 and live to possibly pull out their second consecutive World Series win over the Yankees. They must have thought that fate was providing one last chance, as they must have known that most of the starting lineup was over the hill and unlikely to continue at a championship level.
The Dodgers would have the best pitcher in baseball in 1956 starting game seven in Brooklyn: 27 game winner Don Newcombe. No matter that Newcombe had never won a World Series game. Newcombe would win both the 1956 NL MVP award and the new Cy Young award for the best pitcher in both leagues. The Yankees wound up starting Johnny Kucks. In four World Series, 1955-1958, Kucks pitched in 8 games and the Yankees won only one: Kucks complete game shutout of the Dodgers in 1956 game 7.
The Dodgers won a slugfest game two 13-8. Larsen and Newcombe started but neither finished the second inning.
HR: Yogi Berra (1, off Don Newcombe, 2nd inn, 3 on, 2 outs to Deep RF).
Game 7:
HR: Yogi Berra 2 (3, 2 off Don Newcombe, 1st inn, 1 on, 2 outs to Deep RF; 3rd inn, 1 on, 2 outs to Deep RF); Elston Howard (1, off Don Newcombe, 4th inn, 0 on, 0 outs to Deep RF); Bill Skowron (1, off Roger Craig, 7th inn, 3 on, 0 outs to Deep LF).
But it was the Dodger hitters who aged before people's eyes.
The Dodgers scored 25 runs in the series but 19 were scored in the first two games. The Dodgers had only 7 hits in the final three games. This was the Dodgers starting 8 in Larsen's perfect game 5 and in most of the series (age in decimal as of the perfect game date):
Pitcher Sal Maglie batted twice and his pinch hitter Dale Mitchell took a third strike for the final out.
In a regular no-hitter, batting average counts. But in a perfect game it's On Base Percentage (OBP) (really average) that counts. Also, in a perfect game the pitcher must pitch to the other team's best hitters. He can't walk them.
There was a perceptible decline in seasons 1954-1956 for Reese, Robinson and Campanella. Robinson retired and Campanella was paralyzed in a car accident after the 1957 season, the Dodgers last in Brooklyn. Hodges had had his last big season. Snider had one more with 40 home runs in 1957, Snider's fifth consecutive season with at least 40. Those 40 home runs were all hit against right handed pitchers; 23 home, 17 road.
This puts Don Larsen's perfect game in perspective.
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