Teammates Willie Mays and Daryl Spencer each have four extra-base hits as San Francisco beats the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 16 – 9. Mays hits two home runs, two triples, a single and drives in four runs, and Spencer has two home runs, a triple, a double and six RBI for a combined 28 total bases.

Teammates Willie Mays and Daryl Spencer each have four extra-base hits as San Francisco beats the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 16 – 9. Mays hits two home runs, two triples, a single and drives in four runs, and Spencer has two home runs, a triple, a double and six RBI for a combined 28 total bases.

ByBaseball

Teammates Willie Mays and Daryl Spencer each have four extra-base hits as San Francisco beats the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 16 – 9. Mays hits two home runs, two triples, a single and drives in four runs, and Spencer has two home runs, a triple, a double and six RBI for a combined 28 total bases.

After six straight home rainouts, the Yanks play their first home night game of the year, against Washington. Mickey Mantle breaks a 2 – 2 tie in the 3rd with an inside-the-park solo homer off Pedro Ramos. New York rolls to a 9 – 5 win.

ByBaseball

After six straight home rainouts, the Yanks play their first home night game of the year, against Washington. Mickey Mantle breaks a 2 – 2 tie in the 3rd with an inside-the-park solo homer off Pedro Ramos. New York rolls to a 9 – 5 win.

At Wrigley Field, the Reds score eight runs in the 9th inning to overcome an 8 – 2 deficit and beat the Cubs, 10 – 8. Cincy’s last three runs come on a homer by Smoky Burgess.

ByBaseball

At Wrigley Field, the Reds score eight runs in the 9th inning to overcome an 8 – 2 deficit and beat the Cubs, 10 – 8. Cincy’s last three runs come on a homer by Smoky Burgess.

Commemorating the three-year anniversary of his party-crashing heroics, Roberto Clemente again disrupts Willie Mays’s birthday celebration, if not quite so dramatically. Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle reports: “Only a spectacular catch by Clemente on a 400-foot blast by Mays in the 6th with the bases loaded and George Witt on the mound prevented San Francisco from making a genuine rout of the thing.” Circus catch notwithstanding, the Bucs’ bats fail to ignite as they suffer a 7 – 0 whitewashing.

ByBaseball

Commemorating the three-year anniversary of his party-crashing heroics, Roberto Clemente again disrupts Willie Mays’s birthday celebration, if not quite so dramatically. Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle reports: “Only a spectacular catch by Clemente on a 400-foot blast by Mays in the 6th with the bases loaded and George Witt on the mound prevented San Francisco from making a genuine rout of the thing.” Circus catch notwithstanding, the Bucs’ bats fail to ignite as they suffer a 7 – 0 whitewashing.

As fate would have it, Roberto Clemente’s first visit to the newly-opened Candlestick Park coincides with the 29th birthday of his one-time mentor Willie Mays, and once again Mays’ student steals the spotlight. While all three Willies – i.e. Mays, McCovey and Kirkland – go deep to power San Francisco’s 5 – 1 win over Pittsburgh, it’s Clemente who gets the crowd’s attention with a shot to left center into the teeth of a vicious wind. Arnold Hano, California-based biographer of both Mays and Clemente, witnesses this moment: “Clemente’s bat hit the ball, and the result absolutely clubbed the crowd into awed silence for a long moment. Right into that wet whipping wind the ball carried. Right on through, hit 120 feet high in a long soaring majestic parabola that came down finally over 450 feet away. There is just no way of telling how far Clemente’s home run blast would have traveled had it not been for that wind. Suffice it to say partisan Giant fans suddenly broke their shell-shocked silence and let loose a gigantic roar. For two innings the stadium buzzed. For days the Giants talked about it. Even today if you slip up behind a Giant pitcher and suddenly whisper in his ear: ‘Remember the home run Clemente hit?’ he’s likely to jump as high as if he’d been caught putting spit on baseballs.”

ByBaseball

As fate would have it, Roberto Clemente’s first visit to the newly-opened Candlestick Park coincides with the 29th birthday of his one-time mentor Willie Mays, and once again Mays’ student steals the spotlight. While all three Willies – i.e. Mays, McCovey and Kirkland – go deep to power San Francisco’s 5 – 1 win over Pittsburgh, it’s Clemente who gets the crowd’s attention with a shot to left center into the teeth of a vicious wind. Arnold Hano, California-based biographer of both Mays and Clemente, witnesses this moment: “Clemente’s bat hit the ball, and the result absolutely clubbed the crowd into awed silence for a long moment. Right into that wet whipping wind the ball carried. Right on through, hit 120 feet high in a long soaring majestic parabola that came down finally over 450 feet away. There is just no way of telling how far Clemente’s home run blast would have traveled had it not been for that wind. Suffice it to say partisan Giant fans suddenly broke their shell-shocked silence and let loose a gigantic roar. For two innings the stadium buzzed. For days the Giants talked about it. Even today if you slip up behind a Giant pitcher and suddenly whisper in his ear: ‘Remember the home run Clemente hit?’ he’s likely to jump as high as if he’d been caught putting spit on baseballs.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers play their first game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of a crowd of 78,672. Carl Erskine gets the win, besting Al Worthington and the San Francisco Giants, 6 – 5.

The Los Angeles Dodgers play their first game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of a crowd of 78,672. Carl Erskine gets the win, besting Al Worthington and the San Francisco Giants, 6 – 5.

ByBaseball

The Los Angeles Dodgers play their first game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of a crowd of 78,672. Carl Erskine gets the win, besting Al Worthington and the San Francisco Giants, 6 – 5.

The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics execute a 13-player trade. Among the players involved are second baseman Billy Martin, outfielder Gus Zernial and pitcher Mickey McDermott, who are headed to Detroit. The Athletics acquire pitcher Duke Maas, catcher Frank House, and outfielders Bill Tuttle and Jim Small

The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics execute a 13-player trade. Among the players involved are second baseman Billy Martin, outfielder Gus Zernial and pitcher Mickey McDermott, who are headed to Detroit. The Athletics acquire pitcher Duke Maas, catcher Frank House, and outfielders Bill Tuttle and Jim Small

ByBaseball

The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics execute a 13-player trade. Among the players involved are second baseman Billy Martin, outfielder Gus Zernial and pitcher Mickey McDermott, who are headed to Detroit. The Athletics acquire pitcher Duke Maas, catcher Frank House, and outfielders Bill Tuttle and Jim Small