Boston baseball writers reaffirm their decision to bar women from the press box and refuse to allow Doris O’Donnell, a Cleveland feature writer traveling with the Indians, to sit in the Fenway Park press area.
Dick Williams of the Baltimore Orioles hits a 9th-inning, game-tying solo home run off Paul LaPalme of the Chicago White Sox seconds before 10:20 p.m., the curfew set so Chicago can catch a train out of Baltimore. If Williams had done anything else, the White Sox would have won. The game is later replayed from the beginning and Baltimore wins.
Roberto Clemente’s 4th-inning blast aborts Juan Pizarro’s embryonic no-hitter and puts Pittsburgh ahead of Milwaukee, 1 – 0. “Clemente collected the first hit and it went for everything off Pizarro in the 4th,” reports Jack Hernon of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Clemente gave Bob Friend a lead when he sent his third home run of the season sailing into the few bleacherites in right field.” Although the Bucs never relinquish this lead, Dick Groat’s infield single, a walk to Hank Foiles and Gene Baker’s RBI single in the 7th will be much appreciated when, leading off the bottom of the 9th, Eddie Mathews manages to get one just beyond the grasp of centerfielder Bill Virdon and over the right centerfield fence. Immediately thereafter, Friend’s gratitude is tempered somewhat when Baker boots Joe Adcock’s grounder, putting the tying run aboard with no one out. Having barely grasped the goat horns, Baker is bailed out by Milwaukee’s Chuck Tanner, who misses a bunt sign and bounces into a 4-6-3 double play.
The Yankees top Kansas City, 3 – 0, behind Bob Turley’s four-hit shutout. Mickey Mantle has a homer off Alex Kellner, the 11th time in his last 12 at-bats he’s reached base safely. That night a group of Yankees celebrate Billy Martin’s 29th birthday in raucous fashion. An ensuing fight at Manhattan’s Copacabana Club leads to $5,500 in fines and the eventual trade of Billy to Kansas City. Hank Bauer allegedly starts the fight by hitting a patron, although Bauer denies it. The Yanks fine Whitey Ford, Bauer, Yogi Berra, Mantle and Martin $1,000 each and Johnny Kucks $500.
At Baltimore, the Indians rap Mike Fornieles for five hits and three runs in the 16th to defeat the Orioles, 11 – 8. The Tribe score three in the 8th after an error by Billy Gardner and three more in the 14th after an error by Wayne Causey. Gardner steals home in the 14th for one Bird run and the third run scores on Russ Nixon’s wild throw.
With today’s deadline to cut rosters to 25 players, a number of veterans are handed their walking papers. Among them are: pitchers Ellis Kinder and Jim McDonald, OF Bob Kennedy (White Sox), 1B Preston Ward (Indians), and 1B Eddie Robinson (Tigers).
Even though the game is practically over before the Pirates come to bat, having given up 6 runs runs to the Phillies in the top of the 1st inning, the first Pirate at-bat provides the most memorable moment of the game, Roberto Clemente’s 440-plus-foot inside-the-park home run. Les Biederman of The Pittsburgh Press writes: “Clemente greeted Harvey Haddix with a line drive that gathered momentum as it approached Richie Ashburn and took off over his head and ricocheted off the wall toward the batting cage. By the time Ashburn picked up the ball, Clemente was at third base and he made it to the plate without trouble. The hit provoked an argument between the Phillies and the umpires because the ball rolled under the batting cage but the Phils were told there was no ground rule to cover the situation.”
1957 – Mayor George Christopher of San Francisco confers with Horace Stoneham on a possible shift of the Giants franchise to the West Coast.
At Comiskey Park, Boston slugger Ted Williams hits three home runs, all off Bob Keegan, and drives in all the runs as the Red Sox stop Chicago, 4 – 1.
The Indians clout three homers to back Early Wynn’s 10 – 4 win over the Yankees. Mickey Mantle has a homer and three RBIs for New York.
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