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In 1959 Harvey Haddix pitched perhaps the best game ever — and lost
BOB DVORCHAK
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Perfection then yielded to the bizarre in the unlucky 13th inning when an error broke the spell. Following a sacrifice and an intentional walk, Joe Adcock hit a high slider out of the park for Milwaukee's only hit. But what should have been a three-run home run morphed into a one-run double.
A script with such zaniness would be summarily rejected. Yet it actually was a dark and stormy night, with a surreal backdrop of jagged bolts of lightning and wind and rain. Suddenly, a perfect game broke out. And the ending was so flawed that the events of May 26, 1959, could only be called perfect theater.
"There's never been a game like this," said Bill Virdon, the Pirates center fielder that night.
As Mr. Haddix wove his masterpiece, Lew Burdette also went the distance, scattering 12 singles without walking a batter. He was bailed out by three double plays, which the participants say were induced by his spitball. ----- "I have to be the greatest pitcher who ever pitched," the Milwaukee pitcher would say in later years, "because I beat the guy who pitched the greatest game ever pitched." LOL
In pregame preparations, Mr. Haddix, 33, noted how he intended to pitch against a team that had won two consecutive National League pennants and that included Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock, Wes Covington, Del Crandall, et al.
"If you do what you say you're going to do, Harv, you'll pitch a no-hitter," said third baseman Don Hoak. ---- Laughter rippled through the clubhouse at the thought.
The Pirates would play without two future MVPs that night. Dick Groat was benched because he was slumping. Roberto Clemente, burdened with various ailments, didn't start a game between May 19 and July 9.
Pitch counts and radar guns had yet to invade the sport, but according to the Western Union account, Mr. Haddix threw 115 pitches -- 82 of them for strikes. The most he threw in an inning was 14 in the 12th when he was tiring.
Not a single Braves hitter could solve the lively fastball, sharp slider or deceptive curve being thrown with pinpoint control.
Teammates in the dugout were awed.
"He was like a machine. We were breathing with him on every pitch," said pitcher Bob Friend. "It was the best game I ever saw pitched."
"Harvey was magnificent that day. He was throwing strikes, getting ahead of the hitters," the Braves shortstop, Mr. Logan said. "Everybody on our bench wanted it to be a solid hit. We didn't want it to end on anything cheap."
Like his Pirate teammates, Mr. Schofield knew something special was unfolding. "It seemed like every time I'd glance up at the scoreboard, there were two strikes on the batter and there were two outs," he said.
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Baseball had its superstitions, and the closest anyone came to mentioning all the obvious zeroes on the scoreboard was when Mr. Haddix came to bat in the ninth. Through his catcher's mask, Del Crandall said: "Say, you're pitching a pretty good game." ---LOL
There was no TV that night, but Bob Prince gave hints all night. "Don't go away," he told a rapt radio audience. "We are on the verge of baseball history." Nine innings were complete when Mr. Burdette became the eighth and final strikeout victim. The County Stadium crowd of 19,194, which included a younger Bud Selig, the current commissioner of Major League Baseball, rose as one to salute Mr. Haddix. But it wasn't over.
By phone after the game, Mr. Burdette told Mr. Haddix he deserved to win. And in that droll manner that once defined baseball players, he told the man who had just lost a one-hitter: "You have to learn how to spread your hits out." LOL
God bless baseball.
Baseball retroactively decided it was no longer a no-hitter.
I guess because eventually the Braves did get a hit and won the game. I think it was classified as a perfect game for many years because he was perfect for the first nine innings.
He was also a great pitching coach for the Cards.
I always wondered how many pitches Haddix made in 13 innings. Turns out it was only 115.
Great story, thanks!