Brian Cavanaugh recaps his 1964 Phillies replay

Here’s a writeup by Brian Cavanaugh on his 1964 Philadelphia Phillies replay. 

I recently finished up my replay of the 1964 Phillies season. I was very anxious and excited to play with this team. This Phillies team is my Fathers’ all-time favorite Phillies team as it was the first time he ever got to experience a Phillies team in contention. My father was 16 years old that summer and I grew up on stories of Tony Taylor (his favorite Phillie), Richie Allen and how my father was in attendance the night Jim Bunning made his first home start for the Phillies that
April.

My goal was to finish in first place and avoid the infamous late season collapse. The Phils got off to a rough start, hovering around
.500 until catching fire around game 50, and never looking back to finish 96-66, 2 games ahead of St. Louis. Things did get interesting at game 151, the game where a Chico Ruiz steal of home triggered the 10 game skid. After defeating the Reds 6-3 that day, I needed just 2 wins for a tie and 3 for the win. The Phils went on to lose 4 in a row, and 7 of 9. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I was able to right the ship and pull out the division with a 7-6 11 inning win over the Cardinals in game 159.

The World Series was set for the Phillies to play the New York Yankees. It was a very interesting series and fun to play. Game 1 saw the Mickey Mantle go 2 for 3 with 2 HR’s and some insurance by a late Elston Howard 2-run homerun as the Yankees won at Connie Mack 4-1. Game 2 saw the Yankees continue to hit the long ball as Roger Maris and Tom Tresh went deep in support of Whitey Ford who went the
distance with 4 K’s. The Phillies got back on track in game 3 at New York as Johnny Callison powered the Phils attack by going 3-5, 2 HR’s, 3BH, 4 RBI as the Phillies won 11-7. Game 4 was a pitchers duel between Chris short and Mel Stottlyemyer with Short going the distance while striking out 9 in the Phillies 3-2 win. Rueben Amaro was the lone offensive star going 3 for 5 with a 2BH and a RBI. Game 5 saw the Rick wise combine with Bobby Shantz, Eddie Roebuck and Jack Baldschun
to shut the potent Yankees lineup. Johnny Callison continued his hot hitting going 2 for 4 with a HR, 2 RBI’s and a 2BH as the Phillies headed back to 21st and Lehigh with a 5-3 win and a 3-2 Series lead.

Game 6 saw Whitey Ford take the mound against JIm Bunning with a chance for the Phils to win what would have been the first championship in team history. The Phils bats were quieted by Ford who earned his second complete game of the series striking out 6 and allowing a late Phillies run. Hector Lopez, making his first start of the series at third base for a slumping Clete Boyer went 2 for 3 with a 2B and a 3B, 2 RBIs to lead the Yankees to a 4-1 victory and evening the series at 3 games a piece. Game 7 had Chris Short squaring off with Mel Stottlemyer for the second time this series. The Yankees held a 5-2  after 7 innings before the Phillies bats came alive and finally got through Stottlemyer. The Phils pulled even with 3 runs in
the bottom of the 8th, highlighted by a 2-run double by Johnny Callison. I handed the ball, and a 5-5 tie over to Jack Baldschun in the top of the 9th. Facing the bottom of the Yankees order, Baldschun did his best 1993 Mitch Williams ( I love you Mitch!!) impersonation as he allowed 3 runs to score, including a 2 run home run by Elston Howard. I was hoping for a final miracle in the bottom of the 9th, but
the game ended with a Wes Covington ground out.

Game Scores:
Game 1: yankees 4 PHILLIES 1
Game 2: yankees 5 PHILLIES 2
Game 3: Phillies 11 YANKEES 7
Game 4: Phillies 3 YANKEES 2
Game 5: Phillies 5 YANKEES 3
Game 6: yankees 4 PHILLIES 1
Game 7: yankees 8 PHILLIES 5
*The home team lost every game of the series.

It was a fun replay and I am sad to put the team away for the time being. I was more than a little upset when the Yankees scored those 3 runs in the top of the 9th inning in game 7, just as i was excited to tie the game up. Richie Allen had a phenomenal season for me, hitting .308 with 41 HRs and 128 RBI’s. Johnny Callison hit 31 HRs while driving in 96, but he hit just .228. Wes Covington was solid contributor hitting a team high .309 with 17 HRs and 83 RBI. Chris Short was dominant on the mound going 23-6 with a 2.27 ERA. Jim Bunning got off to a 15-4, 2.31 start, but went 1-7 in the second half and finished 16-12 with 3.34 ERA. Dennis Bennett was a pleasant surprise as my #3 starter, going 18-7 with a 2.97 ERA. Jack Baldschun was a rock at the end of my bullpen saving 32 games. Eddie Roebuck and Bobby Shantz were a lethal 7th and 8th inning tandem.

Thanks Brian!  Sorry the Phils couldn’t go all the way for you but all in all, a pretty successful season!