Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 57

DETROIT FREE PRESS Thursday, Oct. 3, '68 l-f i i i i i i 12 Cash J. i Kalinc Mffltiang! QOSgMl iffe Horton Frf? Kaline Wert Northrup 'Mathews Cash 17 Kalme Northrup McLam Cash Freehan Horton i i mi. in ijininijuiBiuniMimij! ruiiimnmiimdi i iiiinmiiiuiui.i..u jiim .1 1111 ii.iiinii fimu 1 1 mmi 11.1.1 "mm ob Gibson Strikes' Out rm 0 tigers. B.

'jt, AP Photos For the record when Bob Gibson this was the moment (above) makes the pitch that gets Norm Cash swinging (below) for strikeout No. 16, the record-breaker. Gibson then fanned Horton to make it No. 17 and end the game. If Tigers' Sick Look Needn't Be Fatal BY JOE FALLS Fret Press Sports Editor ST.

LOUIS They wept in the streets of Detroit when Dizzy-Dean did it to the Tigers in 1934. The score was 11-0. Now what does everybody do? Dive off the Ambassador Bridge? This was only 4-0 but it was worse. Far worse. Bob Gibson squelched the Tigers in this opening game of the 1968 World Series Wednesday as no team has ever been squelched in the 65-year history of the classic.

TURNING THE GREAT confrontation with Denny McLain into a spectacular one-man show, the great St. Louis pitcher struck out everybody in the ballpark except Mayo Smith. The 32-year-old righthander, who breathes fire and throws smoke, fanned 17 Tigers (count 'em if you've got the time) and broke Sandy Kouf ax's mark of 15 set against the Yankees in the opener of the '63 series which the Dodgers swept. And you could only ask yourself when it was over just who were those guys there in the. gray flannel Detroit uniforms? J.

It certainly wasn't the team which streaked to the American League pennant by the overpowering margin of 12 games the which turned our town upside down with their histrionics in this most exciting season of all. IT WAS ONLY one game, true. But the Tigers played like a bunch of high school sophomores in their first game for the varsity. They stuttered and they stumbled, they quivered and they quaked. they played like a team which was scared to death of the kid at shortstop, Mickey Stanley, and after it was over, everyone seemed to forget the great shortstop experiment.

There was only one name that counted Bob Gibson. The Tigers were guilty of three errors. They let the Cardinals steal three bases. Denny was, wild. Bill Free-Turn to Page 4D, Column 1 What9 Inside 'surprised the Tigers," says Gib-sonPg.

2D. Schoendienst says difference was control Pg. 2D. was haring trouble in bullpen" says Denny Pg. 3D.

All the Tigers impressed with Gibson Pg. 3D. What the writers thought of first game Pg. 5D. ST.

LOUIS THE COLUMNIST FROM NEW YORK sat there with a leer on his face. It was the kind of a leer only New York columnists can have on their faces. "You're team," he said, very satisfied with himself, "was overmatched and outclassed." Yes, this was the sort of game that New York Columnists like to write about. The Cardinals, the pros, exerting their superiority. The Tigers, the neophytes, gagging in the big one.

You could fill pages with all sorts of innuendo. Were the Tigers tight? Did they feel the pressure? Did the tension of playing in their first World Series get to them? They could push it right up to the old familiar label: "choke -vi-? Be- -v 71 And the thing-is, nobody could dispute them, Gibson Be Tougher LANK PANTS sculptured stringbean loo kforl ean-agers In etroi Y) comes on strong in solid hopsacks from BY AL KALINE ST. LOUIS It was just too much Gibson. We weren't surprised that he threw as hard as he did but we, were surprised that his slider was so good. I think he's one of the greatest pitchers I've ever faced.

I feel good that I was able to get a hit off him. The pitchers have a definite advantage in a series like this and, of course, he's something else. Kazoo. It's super tiaht, The first three times up he threw me all breaking stuff I hit a slider, low and away, for the double. I think he took-a Kttle.

something off the THE LAST time up he threw all fastballs. We weren't aware that he was going for a strikeout record and I-guess we were as surprised as he was. cause the Tigers did play like they were tight. They did act as if they felt the pressure. They like this whole thing got to them.

''tt'f' 1 Now the question is How will they play in Thursday's second game? Will they still play as if there is a .22 pressed to? their temples: Or will, they -come out and start wheeling and dealing as they did all throughout the 1968 season? The Shake's Were Present Early MAYO SMITH KEPT INSISTING that his team was not tight, that it didn't force its play. He said a man like Bob Gibson can make you play like that. What else could Mayo say? He could hardly accuse his guys of having the jitters. But to say that Gibson was entirely responsible for the shaky showing of the Tigers isn't true, either. Now that it's over now that he's got those 17 strikeouts in the book 9 now when you have time to think about how awesome he was out there with -blazing fastballs it seems as if he dominated the entire game.

But the Tigers started to get the shakes long before Gibson finished off his magnificent masterpiece. They were playing like they were jumpy as early as the third inning. When Bill Freehan threw that ball into the infield grass on Lou Brock's steal in the third inning, you suddenly felt as if you'd been here before as if you'd seen this in another World Series. It seemed, in that moment, as if everyone knew the Cardinals1 were going to take command of this game. It was just one act in a long drama, but everyone seemed to sense what the ending was going to be.

Freehan Tried Hard Too Hard IN THAT INSTANT, as Freehan's horrible throw bounced crazily into centerfield, I remembered sitting in Freehan's room in Baltimore a week ago and asking him about Brock. His answers spilled out easily, almost too easily, as if he had done much rehearsing in his mind for these inevitable questions. If he steals second, it won't be the end of the world," Freehan had said. No, that's true. But on this autumn afternoon on the banks of the Mississippi it was the end of the game for the Tigers.

Every Detroit spirit had to sag when they saw Freehan's throw dove-tail into the grass like a wounded sparrow. I think Freehan wanted to throw out Brock so badly, he probably wanted to gun him out more than anything else he had done in his life because this was man against man, reputation against reputation, pride against pride He wanted so badly to win this personal battle that he overreacted and messed up the play. That's what the Cardinals can do to you, that's what they did to the Tigers in this first game of the Series. The Tigers were guilty of three errors. They were glaring errors not the kind you saw them make very often this season.

The Cardinals ran on them almost at will. One team played baseball, the other was trying to hit Bob Gibson's fastballs into the seats. Swing Differently Next Out GATES BROWN MAY HAVE said it better than anyone else. He said: "The Dodgers handle Gibson pretty good, eh? I think I know why." "They stack the lineup with lefthanded batters?" "No," said Gates. "They don't try to jerk the ball out on him.

Look at the way they played us today. Turn to Page 2D, Column 1 I i i I it, X-'" super trim, and it's here in two favorite versions, both in a no-iron blend, of DacronVcotton: the traditional belt-loop model or the up-tempo continental. Both in black, blue, beard blue, s.age green, boss straw or toast; both in waist sizes 25-30; each at 7.50. The latter part of the game he stayed with his hard stuff he just reared back and threw. I hate to say this, but if he pitches in Detroit he can be a lot tougher, if that's possible.

We have shadows across the field from the light stands and It would be even tougher to pick up the ball. This was not only the first World Series game I've played in but the first one I've ever seen. I watched on television in other years but I never saw a game. There's a story that I said I'd never go to a World Series game until I was playing in it. But that's all it was a story.

I never went because I was always tired at the end of the season and I wanted to play golf. The weather changes so fast and gets cold that there isn't much time to play so I like to get in as much golf as I can. I was nervous before the game but it didn't really hit me until after batting practice. Then everyone was milling around, all the writers and everything, and I got a little nervous then. It was all right after the game started.

I'm happy that it worked out at shortstop Mickey Stanley played it real well there and got two hits. Mickey did so well that I understand we're going with the same lineup and I'll be in rightfield again- Now we've got to get them in the second game. Stanley Fields 1.000 ST. LOUIS Mickey Stanley batted .500 and fielded 1.000 in his World Series debut as a shortstop. The Mick got two singles In four tries against Bob Gibson and flawlessly handled three chances in the field.

He threw out Lou Brock in the first inning, made a tag play to catch Dal Maxvill off second base in the third inning and then tossed out Mike Shannon by an eyelash In the sixth. OPEM THURSDAY, FRIDAY SATURDAY TO 9 P.N. Exceptions: Birmingham open Sat. -to Shelby open Fri. i Sat.

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