October 3, 1962: The West Coast Giant-Dodger Playoff

Felipe Alou walks home with the winning run

October 3, 1962, 60 years ago: The Giants beat the Dodgers in a Playoff for the National League Pennant again -- this time on the West Coast, and at the Dodgers' home. At Dodger Stadium, San Francisco wins the rubber game, beating Los Angeles, 6-4 as Don Larsen (yes, the hero of 1956 bedevils the Dodgers again) gets the win in relief of Juan Marichal.

The Giants took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning, but the Dodgers got a run back in the 4th, and took a 3-2 lead on a home run by Tommy Davis in the 6th. Maury Wills steals 3rd base in the 7th inning, and scores on a bad throw by Giant catcher Ed Bailey.

So, another parallel: The Giants needed to come back from a 4-2 deficit. Actually, in 1951, they had to come back from 4-1, but it was already 4-2 when Bobby Thomson hit that home run. And, this time, instead of at home, the Giants had to do it on the road.

They did. Matty Alou, pinch-hitting for Larsen, led off the top of the 9th with a single. Harvey Kuenn's groundout moved him over. Ed Roebuck, one of the Dodgers' holdovers from Brooklyn, walked Willie McCovey and Felipe Alou to load the bases. Willie Mays singled Kuenn home, and it was 4-3 L.A., with the bases still loaded, and still only 1 out.

Dodger manager Walter Alston pulled Roebuck, and brought in Stan Williams. Orlando Cepeda hit a sacrifice fly that made it 4-4. Following a wild pitch, Alston ordered Williams to intentionally walk Bailey to set up the double play, or at least a forceout at home plate. Instead, he walked Jim Davenport, forcing Felipe Alou home with what turned out to be the Pennant-winning run. And José Pagán reached on an error that made it 6-4. Billy Pierce, who had pitched for the American League Pennant-winning Chicago "Go-Go White Sox" of 1959, sent the Dodgers down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, to end it.

This was the 3rd and last time the Dodgers had lost a Playoff for the Pennant, all on an October 3. They did, however, win one in 1959, against the Milwaukee Braves, but that was on a September 29.

Thanks to the extended season, Wills sets a major league record for the most games played in a season, appearing in 165 games. This was the year he stole 104 bases, setting a new major league record. However, like Roger Maris' 61 home runs the season before, he didn't break the old record in 154 games, so his achievement and Ty Cobb's 96 steals in 1915 were listed as separate records. As with Babe Ruth's 60 homers in 1927 and Maris' 61 in '61, there was never actually an asterisk in the
record book.

The Giants played the Yankees in the World Series, losing in 7 games.