McGrath: Dick Schofield’s connection to the only two World Series that ended on home runs
From Kaitlyn McGrath at The Athletic on October 27, 2018:
The most dramatic play in baseball is arguably the walk-off home run. But of the 113 editions of the World Series that have been contested, only twice has a final-inning homer ended the series.
The first occurred in 1960. The series between the mighty New York Yankees and the underdog Pittsburgh Pirates had been lopsided, with the Yankees outscoring the Pirates 46-17 through six games thanks to three blowout wins. And yet, the Pirates had won three nail-biters and the series went the seven-game distance. In Game 7, in the bottom of the ninth, with the score knotted at 9-9, second baseman Bill Mazeroski hit a solo home run to lift the Pirates over the Yankees, the franchise’s first championship since 1925.
The second time a walk-off ended the Fall Classic came in 1993. In Game 6 of the World Series between the Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies, Joe Carter hit his iconic home run off Mitch Williams that sailed over the left-field wall of Toronto’s then-dubbed SkyDome. It gave the club its second consecutive World Series title, the first team to win consecutive championships since the 1977–78 Yankees.
When Mazeroski trotted to home plate, his arm swinging in celebration, among the crush of teammates awaiting him at home plate was Dick Schofield. Thirty-three years later, when Carter leaped along the third-base line to home plate, among the mob of Blue Jays was, again, Dick Schofield.
Baseball is a treasure trove of weird and wonderful facts and stats. This is yet another. In the only two World Series that ended with a walk-off home run, the Schofields — father and son, both named Dick — were part of each.
Read the full article here (subscription required): https://theathletic.com/615714/2018/10/27/only-two-world-series-have-ended-with-a-walk-off-home-run-a-dick-schofield-was-there-for-both/
Originally published: October 29, 2018. Last Updated: October 29, 2018.