A very incomplete game
Bruins touch to Panthers win. Big win for college athletes. Belmont Stakes at Saratoga
Good morning, all!
There were 15 games played in MLB last night. Only one complete game was thrown and that was eight innings. Texas Rangers pitcher Patrick Corbin pitched eight innings in his club’s 2-0 loss to the Washington Nationals.
Baseball has changed in so many ways, but you already knew that. Starting pitching, however, has really felt the brunt. Starters rarely pitch beyond the fifth inning. If they do, it is cause for celebration. Managers now do cartwheels if their starters pitch twice through the batting order. If a pitcher does not have Tommy John surgery, it is now considered headline news.
I write this because it was 61 years ago, in a game that was dated June 6, 1964, but did not end on the east coast until June 7 at 2:45 in the morning, that the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels, 2-0, in 15 innings.
Angels starter Dean Chance, a Yankees nemesis, pitched the first 14 innings for the Halos. Yankees starter Jim Bouton hurled 13 innings, allowing 10 hits and five walks. That would be unheard of today. Some might say pitchers were manhandled back then. Others would say pitchers are coddled today. All I will say was it was a better game, when I was growing up. Fans who were not alive back then will disagree because they have nothing to compare. Trust me, it was a better game.
Incidentally, a couple of side notes to that classic. Elston Howard’s two-run double in the 15th off of the Angels second reliever Dan Osinski, who would later pitch for the 1967 pennant winning Red Sox, was the difference in the contest. And Yankees manager Yogi Berra was ejected in the ninth inning for arguing a call at third base. Twenty years to the day before that ejection, he was among the troops who landed on the beach at Normandy, during the D-Day invasion. I wonder if umpire Bill McKinley, who threw him out, knew that?
The game was played at Dodger Stadium before more than 30,000 fans. The Angels played their home games there, while Anaheim Stadium was under construction. Dodger Stadium was also the site, where the Dodgers completed their four-game sweep of the Yankees in the World Series, the season before.
Here are some other DAN ON SPORTS top stories for Saturday, June 7, 2025:
Former Bruin Brad Marchand scores winning goal in double OT as Panthers win Game 2 of Stanley Cup finals to draw even with Oilers
Settlement approved. Schools can now directly pay college athletes
MLB executive hired by college sports power conferences
Belmont Stakes at Saratoga today
Broken toe and all, Lindor lifts Mets to victory
Tommy John for Corbin Burnes
Buehler not happy with how he pitched against Yankees
X-rays, scan on Volpe negative
Report: How Thibodeau coached Knicks in playoffs cost him his job
Knicks interested in Kidd?
Bruins turn to ex-player as new head coach
Chiefs, Royals closer to staying in KC?
Low ratings for Game 1 of NBA Finals
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DAN