Brooklyn Dodgers Pitcher Johnny Podres Passes Away at Age 75
Johnny Podres was a fan and hero to all Brooklyn Dodgers fans as he beat the Yankees in game 7 of the 1955 World Series. Podres had been selected in 4 All Star games during his career and also won the World Series Most Valuable Player award that year. 1955 was the first year in which a player was named the MVP of the World Series. He pitched 15 years during his playing career. During that career, he pitched for the Dodgers, Tigers and Padres. He finished his career with 148 wins.
During the 1955 World Series, the New York Yankees had won the first two games of the series. In Game 3, Johnny Podres pitched and won the game by a score of 8-3. In Game 7 of the 3-3 tied World Series, Podres pitched once again, leading his team at Yankee Stadium to a 2-0 victory.
Johnny Podres had a pitching career similar to that of Yankees Pitcher Whitey Ford. Both men were World Series MVPs, although Whitey Ford gained more recognition during his career for throwing the only perfect game in World Series history. However, the paths of both men were the same and so were their throwing motions. Whitey Ford finished his career with 236 wins which was more than Podres. However, both men had low Earned Run Averages as Whitey Ford finished his career with an earned run average of 2.75
Comparisons of Johnny Podres have also been made to his fellow teammate Don Drysdale who received more fame than him. Don Drysdale did have more wins and a more acclaimed career but when you watched Podres pitch and his statistics, he ns'twasn't far behind Drysdale. Drysdale finished with 209 wins and 166 losses. He also had an earned run average of 2.95
Podres was made famous for his guarantee to teammates during that 1955 World Series by declaring that if his teammates scored one run for him, he would win the game. In later years, according to ESPN reports, Podres didn't recall saying that and perhaps it may have been a myth created for his legacy. However, Podres did deliver the shut out as promised, ending the Yankees streak of World Series wins. In later years when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Podres would follow the team before signing with elsewhere.
Podres' death was morned by Dodger fans across the country as his legacy, particularly his memorable Game 7 World Series victory will be enshrined in the hearts and minds of fans forever.
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5 Comments
Post a CommentWho is your baseball historian? Don Larsen pitched for the NY Yankees.
As a journalist, I abhor bad fact checking. It was Don "No Windup" Larsen who fired the only perfect game in World Series history. Your writer should also have mentioned that Johnny Podres had one of the finest changeups in baseball history. It was frequently his out pitch.
Correction: Don Larsen was a Yankee. The 1956 World Series game was against the Dodgers.
From what I remember, Whitey Ford did not pitch a perfect game in the World Series. The only perfect game in World Series history was by Don Larsen of the Dodgers in 1956.
I first heard of him when he was the beloved pitching coach for the Phillies in the early-mid 90's. So he did make an impact on people even after he stopped pitching himself. RIP.