No Place Like Home: Billy Pierce’s 1962 Season

Players wearing the uniform of the San Francisco Giants have performed many amazing feats in the four decades since the franchise moved west from New York. but no player has produced a more intriguing record than Billy Pierce did during the 1962 season. As the Giants engaged a season-long pennant race that culminated in a memorable playoff series against their archrivals from Los Angeles, Pierce was called upon to pitch 12 games at Candlestick Park — and he proceeded to nail down 12 wins! He then converted his victory total at the so-called ”Wind Tunnel” to a baker’s dozen by casting a spell on the powerful New York Yankees in Game Six of the World Series.

Because the ’62 Giants edged the Dodgers for the National League flag by such a narrow margin, the significance of Pierce’s contribution to the pennant drive is obvious. The lefthander posted a 16-6 record and an earned run average of 3.49 in 162 innings, achievements that were unexpected by many baseball observers and certainly unforeseen by the Chicago White Sox. Pierce had been a mainstay in the Windy City from 1949 through 1961, but the Pale Hose traded him to San Francisco on November 30, 1961. (The deal also sent Don Larsen to the west coast, while the Chisox obtained pitchers Eddie Fisher, Dom Zanni, and Verle Tiefenthaler, and first baseman/outfielder Bob Farley).

Although only Fisher would later make a splash in Chicago and Larsen would be a valuable addition to the Giants, the trade was not considered to be one-sided. Pierce’s victory total had dropped to 10 in 1961, and he had been able to complete only 13 of 58 games in the past two seasons — after leading the American League in that category in 1956, 1957, and 1958. Even Alvin Dark, his new manager, stated during spring training that he planned to reduce the veteran’s role to that of a spot starter.

Pierce’s weak performance in Cactus League action — 31 runs allowed in 14.2 innings — temporarily gave credence to the views of those who believed that his best days were behind him. But the storyline changed drastically when the regular season began, as the seven-time American League All-Star was victorious in his first eight decisions.

Pierce’s amazing string of important triumphs at Candlestick Park in 1962 merits analysis and, after facts relating to each of the 13 games have been reviewed, explanations for the establishment of such an unusual record will be evident.

April 13, 1962

Pierce retired the Cincinnati Reds’ first 13 batters and gave up only two hits as he and the Giants rolled to a 7-2 victory. Throwing an assortment of fastballs and sliders on a breezy and chilly evening, Pierce allowed a solo home run to Wally Post in the fifth inning but remained in control throughout the contest. He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 23,775 when he was relieved by Stu Miller with one out in the top of the eighth inning.

April 29, 1962

After Jack Sanford had recorded a three-hit shutout against the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader, Pierce matched that performance in the nightcap by blanking Chicago with a three-hitter of his own. Aided by three double plays, he faced only 30 batters and allowed only one Cub to advance past first base. The Giants, in the meantime, were supporting Pierce with six runs and 12 hits.

May 15, 1962

Pierce was spotted a six-run lead in the first three innings, and then wobbled to victory over the Cardinals on a cool evening. He surrendered two runs in the fifth inning (one on a homer by Bill White) and was removed from the game in the eighth after another run had crossed the plate and Doug Clemens and Ken Boyer singled. Miller stymied the Cards’ budding rally and San Francisco won, 6-3.

May 20, 1962

Pierce pitched a complete game against the Houston Colts — an expansion club in its first season — as the Giants salvaged a split of a Sunday doubleheader with a 7-4 win. The Giants’ hitters had produced six runs in the bottom of the first inning before Pierce was victimized by Bob Aspromonte’s two-run homer with two out in the top of the second. (The drive, which followed a base on balls to Hal Smith, passed just inside the right field foul pole.) Pierce yielded seven hits, but the Colts were able to put a sequence of safeties together only in the fifth inning, when Hal Smith and pinch hitter Pidge Browne both doubled and Don Buddin singled.

May 25, 1962

Pierce staggered to a 10-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and was fortunate to be credited with a win. He threw his slider effectively in the early innings, but nevertheless allowed 11 hits and required help from Miller in the ninth inning.

The Phillies scored a run in the first inning on a triple by Johnny Callison and a sacrifice fly by Ted Savage. Then, with San Francisco leading 4-1 in the fifth inning, Pierce escaped from a jam by fanning the dangerous Roy Sievers with the bases loaded and two out. The Giants were holding a comfortable 10-1 lead three innings later when three runs crossed the plate, two of them on a home run by Tony Gonzalez. When Callison smashed a three-run homer in the top of the ninth, Miller was called upon to preserve the victory.

August 2, 1962

Having been out of action from June 14 (when he suffered a spike wound in Cincinnati) until July 15 (when he lost to the Mets in New York), Pierce received his first starting assignment in more than two weeks and defeated the Cubs by a 4-3 score. Singles by Don Landrum and Ron Santo produced a Chicago run in the first inning, but Pierce then shut the proverbial door until two men had been retired in the top of the ninth. With victory within his grasp, Pierce experienced difficulty as Billy Williams and Andre Rodgers walloped back-to-back solo homers. but Larsen answered Manager Dark’s distress call and enticed pinch hitter Bob Will to swing futility at a 3-2 slider to end the contest.

August 6, 1962

Pierce scattered six hits and recorded his first complete game since May 20 as the Giants rolled to a 9-2 victory over the Phillies. Supported by an offense that delivered 17 hits and provided six runs in the first two innings (Willie Mays homered in both stanzas), Pierce retired 13 men in succession at one point and entered the seventh inning with a 9-0 lead. The Phils did score two runs on a single by Gonzalez and doubles by Savage and Sievers, but the outcome of this afternoon game was never in doubt.

August 11, 1962

The Dodgers battered Pierce for three runs in the top of the first inning (Jim Gilliam was safe on second baseman Chuck Hiller’s fielding error, Willie Davis was hit by a pitch, and Tommy Davis homered over the right field fence), but the lefty maintained his composure and was rewarded with the 200th victory of his career.

The Giants began to erase the three-run deficit by scoring twice in the fourth inning, and then Willie McCovey pinch hit for Pierce in the sixth inning with two men on base. McCovey’s 430-foot shot into the right-field bleachers handed Don Drysdale his first loss after 12 consecutive wins and presented another win to Pierce. Miller pitched the final three innings in relief and limited the Dodgers to one run.

August 31, 1962

Pierce had a dismal beginning on this foggy, misty, and cold evening as leadoff hitter Eddie Kasko of the Reds homered off the left field foul pole on a 3-2 pitch in the top of the first inning, but the Giants then took control and posted a decisive 10-2 win. Although Leo Cardenas’ solo homer later produced Cincinnati’s second run, Pierce virtually slammed the door after Kasko’s blow; he allowed no more hits until the fifth inning and was touched for only five safeties while pitching the entire game.

September 8, 1962

Pierce hurled seven innings and surrendered 10 hits as the Giants defeated the Cubs. 7-2. After working his way out of tight situations in each of the first four innings, Pierce lost his shutout when Andre Rodgers, Moe Thacker, and Billy Ott singled in the top of the sixth. Chicago’s other run crossed home plate an inning later when Ken Hubbs walked, Ernie Banks singled, and Billy Williams hit into a 4-6-3 double play. By winning, the Giants remained a mere one-half game behind the Dodgers with three weeks left in the season.

September 26, 1962

With a 6-3 defeat of the Cardinals. Pierce improved his record to 15-6 and attained his highest victory total since posting 17 wins for the 1958 White Sox (he had won 18 games in 1953, and had reached the 20-game plateau in both 1956 and 1957). All of the Cards’ runs resulted from a home run by pinch hitter Stan Musial in the eighth inning, but the drive by the future Hall of Famer was one of only three hits allowed by Pierce in seven and one-third innings. Despite the victory, time was growing short for the Giants; they trailed the Dodgers by two games with only four to play.

October 1, 1962

Elated that his ballclub had been able to tie the Dodgers for first place on the final day of the regular season and force a best-of-three playoff series, Dark selected his valuable southpaw to oppose Sandy Koufax in the opening game of the decisive set. Pierce proved equal to the tough assignment on a sunny and virtually windless afternoon; disbursing three hits (singles by Andy Carey and Ken McMullen, and a double off the bat of Doug Camilli) and allowing only four baserunners. As Pierce used 109 pitches to extend the Dodgers’ string of scoreless innings to 30, Mays tagged two homers and Jim Davenport and Orlando Cepeda each slugged one. (Two days later, Pierce would pitch the bottom of the ninth inning of the third playoff game and seal the National League championship by retiring the Dodgers in order).

October 15, 1962

Pierce responded to a pressure-packed situation by tossing a tidy three-hitter against the Yankees to even the World Series at three games apiece, and in doing so shoved aside the disappointment associated with his outing in the third game of the Fall Classic. (He had lost the earlier game in New York by a score of 3-2 as the Bronx Bombers scored three times in the seventh inning with an unearned run resulting from errors by outfielders Felipe Alou and McCovey). Pierce handcuffed the Yanks on this afternoon. permitting only a solo homer to Roger Maris in the fifth inning and a double by Clete Boyer in the eighth that was followed by Tony Kubek’s run-scoring single. The adversity late in the game was short-lived, however, as Pierce avoided a second heartbreaker by disposing of Tom Treat, Mickey Mantle, and Maris in the ninth inning.

OBSERVATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS

How can Pierce’s incredible record in Candlestick Park be explained? Statistics from the 1962 season clearly reveal two fundamental factors upon which his high degree of success was based:

Offensive Support

In the 12 regular-season games pitched by Pierce in San Francisco, the Giants’ offense produced an average of 7.08 runs. Lineups featuring Mays, Cepeda, Davenport, McCovey, Alou, Harvey Kuenn, and either Tom Haller or Ed Bailey posted ten runs on two occasions and provided at least four runs in each game. In his 11 starting assignments in road games, Pierce was forced to rely on his own abilities to a greater extent, because his teammates averaged only 4.09 runs per game.

Pierce’s Performance

Pierce’s exceptional won-loss record at home and his 4-6 record in other National League ballparks were indicative of his relative levels of effectiveness, because he was certainly a better pitcher at home than on the road. His earned run average in the 12 regular-season games at Candlestick Park was 2.70, but he allowed 4.89 runs per contest when away from the “City by the Bay.”

In addition to these two important factors, at least two other variables apparently influenced Pierce’s fortunes in San Francisco and on the road:

Quality of Opponents

Pierce thrived against second-division teams at Candlestick Park, compiling an 8-0 record against the Cardinals, Phillies, Colts, and Cubs. (He did not pitch in San Francisco against the last-place Mets.) In contrast, his cumulative record against the “bottom five” was 3-3 when on the road.

Ballparks

The extent to which characteristics of ballparks contributed to Pierce’s success in 1962 may be observed by contrasting his effectiveness in three starting assignments against the Cubs in San Francisco with his starts in Chicago. Pierce dominated the Cubs at Candlestick Park, winning all three games while registering an earned run average of 1.82, but at Wrigley Field he won only one of three decisions and his ERA jumped to 529! Similar patterns emerged against the Giants’ two major challengers in the National League’s pennant race. He won two games at “The Stick” against Los Angeles while allowing 1.20 runs per nine innings, but gave up five runs in four innings in losing his only decision at Dodger Stadium. And he defeated the Reds twice in San Francisco by holding Cincinnati’s hitters to 2.20 runs per game, but dropped two of three games at Crosley Field as his earned run average rose to 3.52 in those appearances.

Pierce himself believes that his winning streak was fostered by a combination of fortuitous circumstances. He gives credit first to his teammates who, he emphasizes, were not only good hitters but also members of “a good team.” He also notes the favorable characteristics of Candlestick Park, including its consistently cool weather which was kind to his 35-year-old body.

Pierce acknowledges that he generally had good control of his pitches and that he was able, in a windswept ballpark, to “pitch to the elements.” Since the prevailing breezes blew toward right field, and because opposing managers loaded their lineups with right-handed hitters against him. Pierce was able to lure hitters into pulling the ball toward the wind. To do so, Pierce “kept fastballs on the inside corner of home plate. placed sliders carefully, and threw fewer curves than in other ballparks.”

Although he continued to pitch in the big leagues for two more years, Pierce’s exceptional performance during the Giants’ championship season can be viewed as the “last hurrah” for his long and impressive major-league career. He returned to hurl 99 innings for San Francisco in 1963 (many of them in relief) but won only 3 games and lost 11 as his earned run average increased to 4.27. Assigned almost exclusively to the bullpen in 1964, he won 3 games without a loss and posted an ERA of 2.20 in 49 innings.

As one of the best pitchers of his generation, Billy Pierce should be remembered for many achievements: 211 victories, a lifetime earned run average of 3.27, and a perfect game for eight and two-thirds innings against the Washington Senators in 1958. But his winning of 13 consecutive games in Candlestick Park in 1962 — 11 in the midst of an intense pennant race and one in the bright glare of a World Series stage — will always stand as an unusual and even unique feat.