May 16, 1964: Relief pitcher Dick Radatz wins Red Sox game for himself with a walk-off base hit

“The Monster” – Dick Radatz – was a Boston Red Sox fan favorite in the early 1960s. Listed as 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, he was a right-handed relief pitcher who led the American League by appearing in 62 games and closing 53 of them in his rookie season, 1962. He was 9-6 that year, with a league-leading 24 retroactively credited saves and a 2.24 ERA.1 Radatz’s use as a multi-inning fireman gave him occasional opportunities to bat, and in each of three games in 1962 – May 12, May 15, and August 18 – he contributed two RBIs to Boston’s offense.2

Overall, however, Radatz was better known for his pitching durability than his batting skill. The three two-run singles were his only hits of 1962 in 31 at-bats, and he went just 2-for-29 with no RBIs in 1963.

He drove in a run on May 10, capping a 9-4 win. His next RBI was on May 16, 1964, and it gave the Red Sox a 6-5, 10-inning win over the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox came into this Saturday afternoon game last in the 10-team AL. With a record of 10-16 in the still-young season, they were already six games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox. They had lost on Friday night, 1-0, to the visiting Twins. Camilo Pascual’s six-hitter improved fourth-place Minnesota’s record to 15-12, 1½ games back of the White Sox.

Manager Johnny Pesky had Jack Lamabe start on Saturday. Lamabe had been 7-4 with a 3.15 ERA, working mostly in relief in 1963. Converted to a starter in 1964, he won his first three decisions but was bombed for six runs in five innings in his most recent outing, an 11-7 loss to the Cleveland Indians on May 11.

Lamabe retired the first three Twins and was quickly given two runs of support when Boston’s leadoff batter – 20-year-old rookie second baseman Dalton Jones – singled to center field and, one batter later, center fielder Carl Yastrzemski hit his fifth homer of the season into the Twins bullpen in right field.

Lee Stange was the victim. A right-hander starting his third full season with the Twins, Stange had been 12-5 (2.62) for third-place Minnesota the year before.3

It was 2-0, Red Sox, after the first inning.

Twins first baseman Bob Allison set the stage to climb back with a leadoff double in the second, the ball glancing off rookie left fielder Tony Conigliaro’s glove. Allison scampered to third on a passed ball charged to Boston catcher Bob Tillman and scored on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Jimmie Hall. After two outs, catcher Earl Battey singled but didn’t advance.

Conigliaro led off Boston’s second inning with a single but never got past first base.

Neither team scored in the third, though Red Sox shortstop Eddie Bressoud doubled with one out and advanced on a passed ball assessed to Battey.

In the bottom of the fourth, Boston added a run on a solo home run by the 19-year-old Conigliaro, hard-hit but just barely making it into the left-field screen.4 Conigliaro’s sixth home run in 27 big-league games made it 3-1, Red Sox.

The Twins tied it up in the fifth inning. Battey drew a leadoff walk. Second baseman Bernie Allen singled, Battey advancing 90 feet. Attempting a sacrifice, Stange hit a ball back to Lamabe, who threw in the direction of third base but wildly into left field, with Battey scoring from second on the error. Shortstop Zoilo Versalles singled, and Allen scored from second. There was still nobody out, but Lamabe struck out Rich Rollins, got .425-hitting rookie Tony Oliva to ground to second, and struck out Allison.

Stange set down the Red Sox in order in the bottom of the inning, and Minnesota took a 4-3 lead in the sixth on a solo home run by left fielder Harmon Killebrew, hit on Lamabe’s first pitch, into the screen atop Fenway Park’s left-field wall. It was the seventh homer of the season for Killebrew, who was headed for his fourth career home-run title.5

Boston third baseman Frank Malzone led off the seventh with a single, but Dick Stuart flew out and Conigliaro hit into a 1-6-3 double play.

Neither team scored in the seventh, though Lamabe walked Stange leading off the inning. Versalles sacrificed to send Stange to second, but Rollins and Oliva hit flyball outs. The Red Sox went down in order in their half.

Allison led off the eighth with a solo home run to left, bringing the Twins’ lead to 5-3. It was his 10th of the season, tying Rocky Colavito of the Kansas City Athletics for the AL lead. After Hall singled to right, Pesky called on Bob Heffner to take over from Lamabe. Heffner induced Killebrew to hit into a double play. Battey reached first on Malzone’s error, but Allen grounded out.

Stange took the two-run lead to the bottom of the eighth, but Bressoud got a run back with a one-out homer to left. Minnesota manager Sam Mele summoned left-hander Bill Pleis from the bullpen, who got both Yastrzemski and Malzone to ground out. It was 5-4, Minnesota, heading into the ninth.

Pleis hit for himself and Heffner struck him out. Versalles popped up to catcher Tillman and Rollins struck out.

It was the last of the ninth. Stuart, hitless in his last 14 at-bats, led off with a single, and Félix Mantilla ran for him. Mele called on veteran Bill Fischer to take over from Pleis.6 Conigliaro attempted to sacrifice, but Fischer turned it into a force at second. Tillman then popped up foul to Battey and the Red Sox were down to their last out.

Russ Nixon pinch-hit for right fielder Román Mejías and singled, Conigliaro stopping at second base. Earl Wilson – Boston’s scheduled starting pitcher in the second game of the next day’s doubleheader, making one of his 39 career pinch-running appearances – ran for Nixon.

Dick Williams pinch-hit for Heffner, despite being 0-for-11 on the season. On a 2-and-2 count, the 35-year-old veteran singled to left field. Conigliaro scored the tying run and the play ended up with runners on second and third. Jones was walked intentionally. Bressoud grounded out, third to first, and the game went into extra innings.7 

Dick Radatz took over pitching for Boston. It was his 14th appearance of the season. AL Rookie of the Year-bound Oliva grounded back to Radatz, who threw to first base for the first out. Allison struck out. Hall flew out to right field.

Left-hander Gerry Arrigo was the Twins’ new pitcher. He’d pitched briefly in each of the last three seasons and had a 2.87 ERA over five appearances in 1963. Officially a rookie, he was 2-0 (5.23) in 10 appearances to this point in 1964, and had started a game just two days before, leaving in the fifth after surrendering five runs.

The first batter he faced was Yastrzemski, who walked. Malzone failed to lay down a bunt and Arrigo struck him out. Lou Clinton hit a curveball and doubled to left-center, and Boston had men on second and third with just one out. Mele called on Jim Perry to take over on the mound. Conigliaro was walked intentionally, loading the bases.

Tillman hit a checked-swing roller to Allison at first base. He threw home and Yastrzemski was out at the plate.

Though the bases remained loaded, the Twins were one out from pushing the game to the 11th inning. Radatz was allowed to bat for himself – even though Yastrzemski had called Radatz “the worst hitter in baseball.”8 To this point in his career, Radatz had a .106 average in 66 at-bats, even with the three RBI singles as a rookie and singles in his two most recent appearances in 1964. Pesky had pretty much run out of batters.9

The first two pitches to Radatz were strikes, but the next three were balls. With a full count, Arrigo threw a fastball. As the Minneapolis Tribune reported, “Radatz swung hard and the ball went just over second baseman Bernie Allen’s glove and fell in front of the on-charging Tony Oliva in right field.”10 He had singled to right, driving in Clinton and winning the game. “It was a lucky hit,” he said after the game. “I just hit it off the bat handle.”11 He had won the game and may even have won some money with the hit.12

The Red Sox won, 6-5, in 10 innings. By season’s end, however, they were in eighth place, 27 games behind the first-place New York Yankees. Radatz hit .162 on the season. On June 28, he worked in both games of a doubleheader against Cleveland, earning a save in each game, and drove in a pair to boost a 6-5 lead to an 8-5 final. They were his only other RBIs of 1964. He finished the year 16-9; his 29 saves led both leagues as did his 67 closing appearances. His 183 strikeouts has remained the major-league single-season relief record through the 2025 season.

He had one more moment of batting glory in his seven-season big-league career. Against the Athletics on June 5, 1965, Radatz worked the ninth and 10th innings in relief and then homered to give the Red Sox the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th. He closed out the bottom of the inning to secure a 5-3 win at Kansas City.

Acknowledgements

This game was fact-checked by Victoria Monte and copy edited by Keith Thursby.

Photo credit: Dick Radatz, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and several other New England and Minnesota newspapers.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS196405160.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1964/B05160BOS1964.htm

Notes

1 Saves did not become an official statistic in major league baseball until 1969.

2 In each game, Radatz singled to drive in two runs: against Ron Nischwitz of the Detroit Tigers on May 12, Jim Bouton of the New York Yankees on May 15, and Jackie Collum of the Minnesota Twins on August 18.

3 Stange later pitched for the Red Sox from 1966 into 1970. His 2.77 ERA led the staff during the 1967 “Impossible Dream” year, and served two stretches as pitching coach for the team (1972-74 and 1981-84).

4 Larry Claflin, Red Sox Hit Wins for Sox in 10th, 6-5,” Boston Sunday Advertiser, May 17, 1964: 41, 42.

5 Killebrew’s 49 homers in 1964 gave him the league lead for the third season in a row.

6 It was the next-to-last appearance of Fischer’s nine-season big-league career.

7 It was noted that Bressoud played the entire 10-inning game without ever handling a ball in play at shortstop.

8 Staff writer, “‘Soft Touch’ Radatz Kills Twins at Plate,” Minneapolis Tribune, May 17, 1964: section 2, page 1. Afterward, Radatz said, “That’s my third hit this year, I’m hitting .428 now and neither Yastrzemski nor Tony Oliva of the Twins can make that statement.”

9 Pesky did say, “I had Chuck Schilling left on the bench (a right-handed batter), but with two out and the thought of another inning I wanted Radatz to be the pitcher. He’s a lousy hitter, but we got a break today.” “‘Soft Touch’ Radatz Kills Twins at Plate.”

10 Tom Briere, “Radatz’ Hit Trips Twins,” Minneapolis Tribune, May 17, 1964: section 2, page 1.

11 Briere.

12 Radatz said, “After my last hit, Yaz bet me five bucks I wouldn’t get a hit the rest of the year.” He went on to say he hit .600 one year in high school. But Yastrzemski may have reneged on the bet. “Sure, I made the bet, but I’m not going to pay him for a lucky hit like that. He’s the worst hitter in the league.” Will McDonough, “Yaz Won’t Pay Radatz Game Winning Bet for Lucky Single,” Boston Globe, May 17, 1964: 71.