1957 World Series: Milwaukee's Best

The Teams
National League: Milwaukee Braves (95-59) - First World Series
American League: New York Yankees (98-56) - 23rd World Series (won 17 previous times)

What Happened
It was a breath of fresh air to see the Milwaukee Braves in the World Series in 1957. After all, every World Series game played since 1948 had been won by a team based in New York City. After a run like that, it was good to see a new team try to take on the Yankees. And while the Braves weren't exactly "new" - they had been based in Boston for more than 60 years, after all - they weren't the Giants or the Dodgers, so they were OK by most of America.

They were also underdogs, which seems bizarre in retrospect considering the star power that was on that team. But despite having Hall-of-Famers Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron batting back-to-back in the batting order and Warren Spahn, baseball's all-time winningest lefty, in the starting rotation, the Braves were, in fact, the underdogs. Mostly because they weren't the Yankees.

But after Whitey Ford beat Spahn in a Game 1 battle of Hall of Fame lefties, the Braves made the baseball world happy with their 4-2 win in Game 2. They were the first non-New York team to win a World Series game in nine years, and they had done so in Yankee Stadium, stealing home-field advantage away from New York.

The Yankees took the advantage right back with a 12-3 thrashing in Game 3, but even that game couldn't have upset the Braves too much; the Yankees got their 12 runs on just 9 hits, drawing 11 walks from the Braves pitchers. Milwaukee hadn't lost as much as they had given the Yankees the game. Drawing inspiration from that, the Braves won the next two in instant classics, winning Game 4 in 10 innings and getting a complete-game shutout from Lew Burdette in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead back to New York.

After dropping Game 6, the Braves picked for their Game 7 starter not Spahn, who had pitched all 10 innings of Game 4, but Burdette, the Game 5 winner. Despite the short rest, Burdette was just as unhittable as he had been the previous game. This time, he got more support, and Milwaukee's 5-0 win ended the city of New York's monopoly on baseball championships. Milwaukee celebrated like mad, reveling in their new team's sudden success. They had good reason: the 1957 championship was the only one the Braves won in Milwaukee, and it remains the only time any Milwaukee team has won a World Series.

Defining Game
Hank Aaron had the biggest hit of Game 4, crushing a three-run home run to put the Braves ahead 3-1 in the fourth inning.

But then New York's Elston Howard had the biggest hit of Game 4, stunning Spahn and the Braves with a two-out, three-run home run that tie the game in the ninth.

Then New York's Hank Bauer had the biggest hit of Game 4, hitting a two-out triple off Spahn to give the Yankees the lead in the top of the 10th.

Then, it was Mathews' turn. In some cases, it wouldn't have been, as he came up with runners on second and third and one out in the bottom of the 10th. With the game-winning run already on second, Mathews' run meant nothing, and walking him would set up a double play. But walking him would also bring Aaron to the plate, and Aaron had been lightning hot all series long. The Yankees wanted nothing to do with that, so they pitched to Mathews. And Mathews got what was truly the biggest hit of Game 4, ending the game with a three-run rocket to right.

MVP
The Yankees couldn't figure out Aaron during the series, as the future home run king batted .393 - for a Braves team that collectively hit only .208 - with a series-high three home runs and seven runs batted in. But Lew Burdette shut out the Yankees twice, including in Game 7, and won all three of his starts, giving up only two runs. In World Series MVP voting, the tie generally goes to the pitcher, and in this case, it might not have even been a tie. Burdette was the deserving winner. 

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Milwaukee	1	4	3	7 (10)	1	2	5
New York	3	2	12	5	0	3	0

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

30. 1957 - Milwaukee (N) def. New York (A) 4-3
31. 1985 - Kansas City (A) def. St. Louis (N) 4-3
32. 1969 - New York (N) def. Baltimore (A) 4-1
33. 1935 - Detroit (A) def. Chicago (N) 4-2
34. 1934 - St. Louis (N) def. Detroit (A) 4-3
35. 1964 - St. Louis (N) def. New York (A) 4-3
36. 2003 - Florida (N) def. New York (A) 4-2
37. 1977 - New York (A) def. Los Angeles (N) 4-2
38. 1996 - New York (A) def. Atlanta (N) 4-2
39. 1921 - New York (N) def. New York (A) 5-3

Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles (A) 2, Minnesota 0
29. 1964: St. Louis 7, New York (A) 5
30. 1957: Milwaukee 5, New York (A) 0
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
34. 1934: St. Louis (N) 11, Detroit 0 
36. 1985: Kansas City 11, St. Louis 0

1958 World Series: The Edge of Dynasty

The Teams
American League: New York Yankees (92-62) - 23rd World Series (won 16 previous times)
National League: Milwaukee Braves (92-62) - Second World Series (won in 1957)

What Happened
People might have been having a flashback as the 1958 World Series started, as the Braves and the Yankees met for the second straight year. It's possible the Yankees overlooked the Braves as country bumpkins the year before, they knew better than to do that again this year. And the Braves had a different viewpoint, too; in 1957, they were happy to have finally made the World Series. After beating the Yankees in seven games that year, now they were champions, the ones possessing the killer instinct. Instead of hoping they could beat the Yankees, they knew they could.

Despite Lew Burdette's three wins in the 1957 series, the Braves again picked Warren Spahn to start Game 1 in the rematch. The Yankees again went with Whitey Ford, and it was the second straight year that the two future Hall-of-Famers faced each other in Game 1 of the series. The Yankees gave Ford a 3-2 lead in the fifth on home runs by Hank Bauer and Bill Skowron, but the Braves knocked Ford out in the 8th, then tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Wes Covington. Two innings later, Bill Bruton's line drive single scored Joe Adcock, and the Braves had the series lead.

Game 2 was a joke. The Braves scored seven runs in the first, and Lew Burdette took it from there, pitching a complete game for some reason despite entering the ninth with a 13-2 lead. After the Yankees took Game 3 - paced by Bauer's four runs batted in - Spahn threw his second complete game of the series, needing only nine innings in a Game 4 win.

One win from a second straight World Series title, the Braves were on top of the world. All three of the games would be started by either Burdette or Spahn, and the last two would be at Milwaukee County Stadium. They had opened the door and were about to enter the halls of the dynasties.

Then they tripped over the threshold.

The Yankees only led 1-0 entering the sixth Bob Turley matching Burdette pitch-for-pitch. Then it all fell apart for Burdette. Yogi Berra started the damage with a run-scoring double, and after an intentional walk, Skowron drove in another one with a single. Burdette was gone, but the bases were still loaded. By the time the inning was done, all three had scored, and the Yankees were on their way to a 7-0 win.

Back in Milwaukee, the games got tight. Berra hit a sacrifice fly to tie Game 6 in the 6th inning, and the game stayed that way until Gil McDougald led off the 10th with a home run off Spahn, who still had not been relieved in the series. He was, though, when Skowron drove in the Yankees' second run of the 10th; that run ended up being huge, as the Braves got one run back in the bottom of the frame but couldn't find a second.

That set the stage for Game 7. It started out as a battle between Burdette and Don Larsen, but Larsen was pulled after getting into trouble in the third inning. Turley got out of that jam, then the pitchers settled down, and the game was tied 2-2 entering the eighth inning. Burdette got McDougald and Mickey Mantle for the first two outs of the inning, but Berra started another rally with another double. After Elston Howard drove in Berra to give the Yankees the lead, Andy Carey beat out an infield single. Skowron then put the series out of reach with a three-run blast. Suddenly, the Yankees were up 6-2, and the fight was out of the Braves. Turley finished off the game and the series, and the Yankees were back on top. The Braves, meanwhile, wouldn't get back to the World Series until 1991, when they were playing in Atlanta.

Defining Game
The biggest question about Game 6 might have been why on earth Fred Haney refused to take Warren Spahn out of the game. It's not like the Braves' bullpen was that bad. Sure, the 37-year-old Spahn had proven to be virtually ageless the last two season, but there was no reason for him to be batting with two outs in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game, in a situation where one run wins you the World Series. But there he was, striking out meekly to send the game into extra innings, then giving up a home run to lead off the 10th. The second run of that inning was charged to him, too - another big hit for Skowron - and that was the big one, because Henry Aaron drilled a two-out single to left in the bottom of the 10th to cut the deficit to 4-3. Joe Adcock was next, getting another single to send Aaron to third. Frank Torre came up next, pinch-hitting, and he hit the ball solidly, but right at McDougald at second, forcing another Game 7.


MVP
Turley won the MVP, and deservedly so - he got two wins and a save and pitched the Yankees out of several tight spots. It could have easily been Bauer, though; he had a team-high four home runs and eight runs batted in, and it probably would have been him if he hadn't submitted an 0-fer in Game 7. Another logical choice would have been Skowron. His stats weren't great, but how many times does his name appear above because of a key hit?

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

New York	3	5	4	0	7	4 (10)	6
Milwaukee	4 (10)	13	0	3	0	3	2

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

42. 1958 - New York (A) def. Milwaukee (N) 4-3
43. 1959 - Los Angeles (N) def. Chicago (A) 4-2
44. 2008 - Philadelphia (N) def. Tampa Bay (A) 4-1
45. 1933 - New York (N) def. Washington (A) 4-1
46. 1929 - Philadelphia (A) def. Chicago (N) 4-1
47. 1982 - St. Louis (N) def. Milwaukee (A) 4-3
48. 1923 - New York (A) def. New York (N) 4-2
49. 1944 - St. Louis (N) def. St. Louis (A) 4-2
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

12. 1979: Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 1
13. 1955: Brooklyn 2, New York (A) 0
16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
18. 1987: Minnesota 4, St. Louis 2
19. 1958: New York 6, Milwaukee 2
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis (N) 4, Philadelphia (A) 2
26. 1982: St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
28. 1965: Los Angeles 2, Minnesota 0 
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago (N) 3
33. 1909: Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0

April 8, 1974: 715

ATLANTA - With one swing, it was all over.

The sacred chase to catch the legend, one that had started 20 years earlier, was over in the time it took him to connect with a waist-high fastball. The magnitude of the moment became apparent as the scoreboard flashed the number "715" as he rounded the bases. The weight that piled on him as he endured a full year of death threats was lifted as quickly as it took him to realize that the two people running next to him on his home run trot were nothing more harmless than two fans congratulating him. And the greatest moment of his life was punctuated when he stepped on home plate and was greeted by teammates and reporters ... and his mother, there to give him a huge hug.

It's almost hard to comprehend now what Hank Aaron went through on his way to breaking Babe Ruth's career home run record. As the 1973 season wound down, and Aaron was getting closer and closer to the magic number of 714 home runs, he started receiving death threats from people who were horrified that a black man would dare challenge the great Babe Ruth. When he ended 1973 one painful home run short of tying Ruth's record, there was genuine fear Aaron wouldn't live to have a chance to break the record; staff members of the Atlanta Journal even received threats for daring to even cover Aaron's quest, to the point where staff writers wrote out Aaron's obituary with the fear he would be murdered.

But Aaron persevered. On his first swing of the season in 1974, he tied Ruth. After the Braves came home to Atlanta, they faced the Dodgers in their home opener. Aaron walked in his first at bat against Al Downing without swinging the bat, then got a pitch he liked on his second. His first swing at home that year cleared the left field fence and entered into history.

All along, Aaron downplayed the home run chase, preferring to simply play the game. Even his record-breaking home run trot was routine, if interrupted by congratulatory hand shakes from the Dodgers' infielders. When those two fans caught up to him between second and third, there was a moment of fear in him, but they were only there to congratulate him. He started to smile. The stoic mask he wore, the one that hid all the struggles he went through, was starting to lift. The smile got bigger.

Then he stepped on home, and he hugged his mom. And the tears started to flow.