Yankee Pride: Remembering Bobby Richardson

Second baseman Bobby Richardson was a Yankee for his entire career, starting in 1953 when he was signed as an amateur free agent. Bobby broke in with the Yankees in 1955 and was the part-time second baseman starting in 1957.

By 1959, when Richardson hit .301, he was firmly entrenched in the Yankee infield. From 1961 through 1966, the durable Richardson never had fewer than 600 official at-bats in a season. He led the American League in hits in 1962 with 209. That year he had a career-high .302 batting average, and finished second in the MVP balloting to teammate Mickey Mantle. He was the league' Gold Glove second baseman from 1961 to 1965. He retired after the 1966 season.

Richardson's most valuable work for the Yankees came when it counted most … in October. His limited appearances in the 1957 and 1958 Series produced no hits. But when the Yankees returned to the Series in 1960, their now full-time second baseman proved to be the Yankees' most productive hitter. In that 7-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Richardson drove in 12 runs on 11 hits, including 2 doubles, 2 triples and a home run. For the Series, he batted .367 with a .667 slugging percentage, a performance that earned him the Series MVP despite the fact that the Pirates won the Series.

The Yankees won the 1961 World Series in five games against the Cincinnati Reds, and Richardson again was a hitting star, batting .391. In the 1964 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Richardson pounded out 13 hits in the 7-game series, batting .406. In 36 World Series games spanning 7 different series, Richardson hit .305, nearly 40 points higher than his career batting average.

In the 1962 Series against the San Francisco Giants, Richardson struggled at the plate, hitting only .148 for the Series, but he was pivotal in the decisive seventh game. The game was played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Yankees' pitcher, right-hander Ralph Terry, had won 23 games during the regular season. He was also the pitcher who gave up the walk-off homer to Bill Mazeroski in the 1960 heartbreak loss to the Pirates.

Terry was brilliant against the Giants, pitching a two-hitter and taking a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Pinch-hitter Matty Alou led off for the Giants with a bunt single. Terry responded by striking out Felipe Alou and Chuck Hiller. Then Willie Mays, who had hit 49 home runs and driven in 141 RBIs during the regular season, doubled to right. Roger Maris speared the ball on the run and fired a strike to Richardson at the cut-off, holding the speedy Alou at third.

The next batter, a young Willie McCovey, had hit 20 home runs with 54 RBIs during the regular season. Walk him to set a force out at any base, and Terry would have had to face first baseman Orlando Cepeda, who had driven in 144 runs during the regular season. The Yankees elected to pitch to McCovey.

McCovey, the future Hall of Famer, worked Terry to a 1-1 count. The next pitch was a fastball. McCovey turned on it and sent a screaming drive to right field, except …

The 5-foot-9 Richardson literally rose to the occasion, leaping and snagging the line drive to end the inning and close out the Series. With his bat or his glove, Bobby Richardson was money in the bank for the Yankees at World Series time.