Notes On Yankees Pennant Clinchers VS Dorrel “Whitey” Herzog Teams

The New York Yankees clinched their 26th American League Pennant, with a win at Baltimore (Orioles) (the teams entered play today, with Baltimore a fraction of a game ahead in a “one eighth division” race) on September 20, 1961.

That game is best known for the Ford Frick deadline imposed (otherwise an asterisk and as cited here before, cited by Dick Van Dyke as “Rob Petrie” to his son “Richie” played by Larry Mathews on the Dick Van Dyke Show) deadline, that if Roger Maris did not pass the Babe’s 60 HRS, within that, the Yankees’ 154th game, an asterisk would be placed next to his name in the record book, if he exceeded the Babe’s 60 home runs, the number Ruth hit in 1927.

In the tilt, Maris hit his 59th home run, passing greats, Jimmy Foxx and Hank Greenberg and joining Babe Ruth, who also hit 60, as the only players to hit 59 home runs in a season.

Phil Rizzuto, who called #59 so well on radio, once told me in an interview of the drama inducing “headache types” produced on his great calls of Roger’s 61st home run 10 days later in ’61 and Chris Chambliss’ ’76 HR, that yielded the Yankees’ 30th Pennant.

As with Superman, when he split into 2, I had help with the fact, it was just after Rizzuto, in the middle innings that 9/20/61, said it would be the Yankees’ 26th pennant, that he intoned “on deck” (for Baltimore) “is Whitey Herzog.”

Yes, that Dorel “Whitey” Herzog, against his managed Kansas City Royals, that the Yankees ended a 12 year pennant drought, winning that 30th such, clinched on Chambliss’ B9, game ending solo home run.

The Yankees won pennants 31 and 32 and titles 21 and 22, the next 2 seasons, again defeating Herzog’s Royals in highly competitive ALCS.