OLD MILL LEGENDS WIN THE 1974 WORLD SERIES
The 1974 World Series matched Old Mill and Long Beach, the 2 teams with the best record in each league. Old Mill is in the World Series for the 2nd year in a row and Long Beach is in the Series for the first time.
Game 1:
This figured to be a pitchers duel between Jim Kaat and Phil Niekro. They didn’t disappoint. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 5th when Dwight Evans hit a 2 run homer. Niekro scattered 4 hits and shut out Long Beach the rest of the way for a 2-0 win and a 1-0 lead in the series.
Game 2:
This game looked like another potential pitchers duel between Ken Holtzman and Jon Matlack and started off like game 1. Things started to fall apart when Holtzman left the game in the 2nd with a sore wrist. Old Mill torched Williams and the Long Beach bullpen in the 3rd when Chalk singled with 1 out, Darrell Evans followed with a single, Money’s single scoring Chalk, Winfield hit a SF, Hisle doubled in Money, Garvey singled in Hisle. Giusti relieved Williams and Hendrick greeted him with a 2-run homer to make the score 6-0. In the 5th Hendrick hit another 2-run homer and added a 2-run triple in the 6th. Old Mill cruised to a 11-0 win behind the 3 hit pitching of Matlack and Sutton to take a 2-0 series lead.
Game 3:
The series shifts back to California with Long Beach still looking to score their first run of the series. Niekro comes back on 2 days of rest to face Ryan. Old Mill jumped all over Ryan in the first when Monday walked, Hisle singled and McCovey crushed a 3 run homer. Long Beach felt a little better when they finally scored in the bottom of the first when Campaneris tripled and Madlock hit a sacrifice fly. Both pitchers settled down and the score stayed 3-1 until the bottom of the 8th when the Long Beach bats came alive. Bradford led off with a walk, Campaneris doubled, Madlock singled in Bradford, Smith’s double scored Campaneris and put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs but Long Beach couldn’t get the go ahead run across when Blomberg hit into a fielders choice forcing Madlock at home, Freehan popped up and Crawford grounded out. The score stayed 3-3 heading to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, McCovey led off with a homer. Old Mill added another run on a Sanguillen SF for a 5-3 win and a 3-0 series lead.
Game 4:
Long Beach is just trying to stay alive as they send Kaat out to face Rooker. Again Old Mill jumps out to a quick lead with 2 runs in the first on a Winfield triple and a Garvey single. They add another run in the 2nd for a 3-0 lead when Chalk singled, was sacrificed to 2nd, was wild pitched to 3rd and scored on a sacrifice fly. Long Beach gets a run back in the 5th when Buckner scores on a Burleson double but they blow an opportunity to score more when they can’t capitalize on a 2nd and 3rd with no outs situation. They have another great scoring chance in the bottom of the 6th when they load the bases with no outs but again only get 1 run. Long Beach finally breaks through and takes it’s first lead of the series in the 7th. Crawford singled with 1 out and Smith followed with a homer. They added another unearned run and the bullpen held on for a 5-3 victory. There is a ray of hope in Long Beach but Old Mill still leads the series 3-1.
Game 5:
Holtzman returns from his injury to face Barr. Old Mill jumped on top early again and took a 3-0 lead in the first behind singles from Money, Winfield, Garvey, Hendrick and Sanguillen. They added another run in the 5th on an RBI double by Garvey for a 4-0 lead. Meanwhile, Barr was cruising along with a 2 hitter until the 9th when Long Beach tried to mount another comeback. With 2 outs, Johnson walked, Burleson and Bradford walked to load the bases. Again the Titans couldn’t capitalize when Campaneris grounded out to short to end the game and the series.
Congratulations to Old Mill for winning the series 4-1.