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Touch ’Em All

This is Mel Allen with my partner, the old redhead, Red Barber, coming to you on this gorgeous, hot July 4, 1956, afternoon from Yankee Stadium where the bombers will play the second in a two game series with hated rival, Boston Red Sox.

The Yanks lost a close one yesterday, 7–6, with Johnny Kucks getting the loss. Willard Nixon got the win for the Sox with help from the always colorful and unpredictable Jim Piersall who had a big day, going three for six while the great Ted Williams had a home run.

Today, it will be 27-year-old right hander Don Larsen on the mound for the Yanks against the veteran, rightie, 34-year-old Mel Parnell, pitching for the Sox.

And now for the announcement of today’s roster, let’s go to Yankee announcer Bob Shepherd.

Batting first and playing shortstop, Gil McDougald. At second base, Billy Martin; Hank Bauer gets the call in right field; Yogi Berra behind the plate, Bill Skowron will be at first; Phil Garber in centerfield; Elston Howard in left; and Larsen batting ninth.

And for the Red Sox, it will be Bill Goodman at second base, Billy Klaus at the hot corner, Ted Williams in left field, Dick Gernert at first base, Jackie Jensen in right field, Jim Pierson in centerfield, Sammy White will don the tools of ignorance, Don Buddin will handle shortstop and Parnel will pitch and bat ninth.

The Yankees have a good hold on first place with a 48–26 record while the Red Sox are playing just above .500 ball with a record of 37 wins and 35 losses, good enough for fourth place.

Mickey Mantle is getting a well-earned rest today as he continues a break out season. As of yesterday, Mantle was hitting .371 with 29 home runs. If he keeps up that pace he just may surpass Babe Ruth’s record of 60 homers in 1927.

Talk about pressure, in Mantle’s place for today’s game will be 19-year-old Phil Garber who was called up from the Yanks’ Triple A team in Richmond where he has been hitting at a torrid pace of .390. Manager Casey Stengel has high hopes for the six-feet-three, 210 pound switch-hitting Garber who is in only his second year of professional ball and hails from Hackettstown, N.J.

The Yankees take the field for the first inning and God only knows what can be going through Garber’s mind. Two years ago, he was playing high school baseball and now he is patrolling the most famous outfield pastures in all of baseball history.

Before the game, Garber told sportswriters that he hoped to prove that Stengel was right in bringing him up to the big leagues. Garber got his initiation by fire in the first inning when with a 3–1 count, Williams clubbed one to deep centerfield. Garber misjudged the ball and stumbled slightly at first but has good speed and was able to run it down, before slamming into the wall. Fortunately, he was not hurt although he was a bit roughed up.

The game was a tight 0–0 pitcher’s duel for the first eight innings. But in the top of the eighth, with no outs, Williams tagged one deep to right field where it was run down by the ageless Bauer who threw the ball to McDougal, holding Williams to a double. Gernert then struck out and the power-hitting Jensen looked as if he would blow the game wide open with a towering shot to the deepest part of centerfield. Again, Garber was on the run and made an incredible over the shoulder catch that would be a great catch for the most seasoned veteran, before whirling and using a cannon of an arm was able to catch Williams at home plate.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Yanks went down one, two, three. And in the top of the ninth, the Red Sox’ Don Buddin managed a bunt single off Yankee reliever Bob Grim who was rookie of the year as a starting pitcher two years earlier but had later succumbed to injuries and was relegated to the bull pen. Parnell and Goodman then both struck out to end the inning, leaving it up to the Bombers in the bottom of the ninth.

Now, these stories usually only happen either in books or in movies. This time it was the real thing with Berra leading off the bottom of the ninth with a hard single that took a bad hop and nailed Budden square in the jaw. Budden had to be carried of the field but seemed not badly injured.

Berra, not known for his speed, was taking a short lead off first when the Moose, Bill Skowron, came to the plate. Parnell who had pitched a whale of a game, struck out Skowron on a 3–2 curve that fairly fell off the table, leaving Skowron scratching his head. That brought up Garber, who had made two terrific catches patrolling centerfield but had gone hitless in three times at the bat, striking out once, weakly popping to second in another at-bat and hitting a stinging liner that Goodman was able to snare at second base in his third time at the plate. Stengel considered pinch hitting for Garber but decided to give the youngster a chance.

Batting from the left side against the right handed Parnell, Garber looked at a fast ball that just nipped the black part of the plate. Home plate umpire Johnny Stevens called it a strike and you could hear the jeers from the Yankee dugout. Garber stepped back into the box and got in front of a Parnell curve, sending it foul into the stands behind first base. With the count at no balls and two strikes, Garber felt what it was to play in the big leagues, as every hair on his body stood up as if it wanted to leave the young man’s body. He took the third pitch and Stevens called it a ball outside, bringing the count to one and two. A fast ball in the dirt and a curve that missed the plate by a foot brought the count to full.

Every one of the stadium’s 34,564 paid fans was on his feet, waiting to see if this youngster in his first Major League challenge would hold up or would he melt in fear, standing in the shadow of the legendary Joe Dimaggio and the phenom Mickey Mantle. Garber stepped in the batter’s box and it felt like everything had stopped. He heard nothing, not a cheer, not a boo, and it was like time had stopped. This time, Parnell sent a blazing fastball right down the pipe. Garber could see the stitching on the ball and very nearly could read the words “American League” on the horsehide. He stepped in and came around with his 32-ounce Louisville slugger and the ball took off, going and going and going, while all Williams could do was stand with his big number nine on his back to homeplate and watch Garber’s first Major League hit sail deep into the upper deck in the right field stands. It was enough to bring the entire team out of the dugout while Garber rounded the bases, got cheers from first base coach Bill Dickey and third base coach Frank Crosetti, who was jumping so high it looked like he might just take off.

Garber arrived at home plate, his feet barely touching the beautiful red clay of Yankee Stadium and the whole Yankee team mobbed the young player, and first in line to offer his congratulations was Mantle. The crowd went wild and all Garber could do was smile.