Chicago’s Juan Pizarro pitched well, holding the 1961 New York Yankees to 5 hits, but it wasn’t enough. One mistake in the 2nd inning led to an Elston Howard solo home run. Roger Maris took advantage of a weird bounce, leading off the 4th with a triple. Mickey Mantle followed with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly to account for the 3 Yankee runs. Meanwhile, Ralph Terry stepped up when the Yankees needed him. The lone Chicago run came with the help of a passed ball and an error. Ron Hansen tripled with 2 outs in the 9th, but it was too little too late, as the Yankees won it 3-1, sending the White Sox home. This is the 1st Best of the Decades Tournament that saw a New York Yankees team with the top overall seed, but this is the 1st time that the team has made it to the World Series. They’ll face the winner of the series between the 1962 San Francisco Giants and the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates. Elston Howard was a terror to White Sox pitching. Howard was 11 for 20 with 4 HR and 9 RBI.

’64 White Sox @ ’61 Yankees – 10/5/25

The New York Yankees didn’t get their 1st hit off John Buzhardt until the 6th inning. In fact, Buzhardt and Whitey Ford held the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox to just 3 hits combined through 6. Mickey Mantle finally broke through with a triple in the 7th. Yogi Berra followed with a double, and two batters later, Elston Howard took Buzhardt deep to center for a 2-run home run to give New York a 3-0 lead. A couple of singles and a sacrifice fly in the 8th broke up Ford’s shutout. Berra led off the 9th with a single off Ray Herbert, and Johnny Blanchard followed with his 1st homer of the Tournament, a 2-run shot that gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead. A tiring Ford retired Pete Ward, but Ron Hansen and Dave Nicholson followed with back-to-back homers to end his day. Hal Reniff retired the next two batters to give the Yankees a 5-3 win. Chicago will need to win Game 5 in New York to avoid elimination and force a Best-of-7 series.

’61 Yankees @ ’64 White Sox – 10/3/25

Vern Law and Billy O’Dell battled to a stalemate through 9 innings when the San Francisco Giants faced the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. An RBI double by Dick Groat in the 3rd gave Pittsburgh an early lead, but Tom Haller doubled and scored in the 8th, and Willie McCovey hit a solo home run in the 9th to give the Giants a lead. Don Hoak took O’Dell deep in the bottom of the 9th to tie things back up. After Bill Mazeroski tripled, O’Dell put Bill Virdon and Groat on to load the bases. With everyone in, Bob Skinner struck out, and Dick Stuart grounded out to send the game to extra innings. Two double plays erased Giants baserunners in extra innings. Skinner singled to lead off the 12th against Bobby Bolin. Stuart singled to put runners on the corners, and Rocky Nelson hit a deep fly ball to win it for the Pirates. After a few days off, the teams will meet in a winner-take-all best-of-7 series to determine the National League champion.

’62 Giants @ ’60 Pirates – 10/3/25

One loss away from being swept by the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates in their initial best-of-five series, the 1962 San Francisco Giants offense exploded. After just 3 innings, the Giants had scored 11 runs on 14 hits against Pittsburgh ace Bob Friend. Orlando Cepeda alone was 3 for 3 with a double, a home run, and 6 RBI. The Pirates chipped away, scoring runs in the 4th, 5th, and 6th against Juan Marichal, to cut the lead to 11-6, but no closer. Willie Mays hit a 2-run homer off reliever Joe Gibbon in the 7th to expand the lead. Meanwhile, Dick Stuart and Roberto Clemente hit solo homers in the 9th to finish the game 13-8. Mays and Willie McCovey each finished 4 for 6. Stuart was 3 for 5, with his 12th homer of the Tournament. Marichal allowed his 8 runs on 11 hits, but went the distance. San Francisco’s Jim Davenport pulled his hamstring running to 1st base in the 6th inning. The Pirates are 0-3 against the Giants at home at Forbes Field.

’62 Giants @ ’60 Pirates – 10/2/25

Down by a run late, the 1961 New York Yankees tied the game in the 8th, only to strand the bases loaded with no outs in extra innings, and watch the 1964 Chicago White Sox walk it off in the 11th inning. The Yankees got in front early against Joe Horlen when Elston Howard singled in Mickey Mantle in the 2nd inning. In the bottom of the inning, Pete Ward hit a solo home run off Bill Stafford to tie things up. Gene Stephens tripled in another run and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ron Hansen, giving Chicago a 3-1 lead. Floyd Robinson singled in another run in the 5th. The Yankees’ Bill Skowron hit a 2-run double with 2 outs to cut the lead to 4-3. In the 8th, Yogi Berra hit a solo homer to tie things up and give New York some hope of a comeback. In the 10th, the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs against Hoyt Wilhelm, but Johnny Blanchard struck out, and Howard popped out before Skowron grounded out to end the threat. They wouldn’t get another chance. In the bottom of the 11th, facing Hal Reniff, J.C. Martin drew a one-out walk, and Tommy McCraw singled, before Don Buford hit a walk-off single to give Chicago a 5-4 win and a 2-1 series lead. If Chicago can win the series, they’ll force a best-of-7 against New York.

’61 Yankees @ ’64 White Sox – 10/2/25

Juan Pizarro held the New York Yankees to 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 8 to tie the series at a game a piece. J.C. Martin got the White Sox on the board with his 1st home run of the Tournament. Tommy McCraw singled, and Don Buford hit a double in the gap to put Chicago up 2-0. Buford scored on Pete Ward’s single to give the Sox a 3-0 lead. That inning was all they’d need, which was good, since Ralph Terry held Chicago to just two baserunners the rest of the game. Pizarro allowed an RBI single to Elston Howard in the 4th, and a solo homer to Roger Maris in the 9th, but was able to close out a complete game. Pizarro is now 4-1 in the Tournament with a 2.84 ERA. The series heads to Chicago for Game 3.

’64 White Sox @ ’61 Yankees – 9/30/25

Harvey Haddix kept the San Francisco offense in check, allowing just an Orlando Cepeda solo home run, and scattering 11 hits for a 10-1 Pittsburgh win. The Pirate defense helped, turning 4 double-plays to keep the Giants off the basepaths. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh offense was merciless. Dick Stuart capped a 3-run 1st inning with a 2-run homer off Jack Sanford. In the 7th, Bill Virdon added a 2-run shot to make it 5-1. Don Hoak added another in the 8th off reliever Mike McCormick. Finally, in the 9th, Pittsburgh piled on with three straight 2-out RBI singles off Jim Duffalo. Every Pirate had a hit, as Pittsburgh took a 2-0 series lead. As the series moves to Pittsburgh, the Pirates need just one more win to force a 7-game series to determine the National League champion.

’60 Pirates @ ’62 Giants – 9/30/25

Willie McCovey had another monster day at the plate, but it wasn’t enough as the 1962 San Francisco Giants fell to the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. After Harvey Kuenn scored on a wild throw by Bill Virdon in the 1st, McCovey hit a solo home run to give the Giants a 2-0 lead against Vern Law. The Pirates came back in the 2nd inning against Billy O’Dell. After a single and a pair of walks loaded the bases with 2 outs, Bill Mazeroski doubled into the gap, scoring two, but Don Hoak was thrown out at home to end the inning. McCovey came through again in the 7th with another solo shot to give San Francisco the lead. O’Dell allowed just 4 hits leading into the 8th, but couldn’t hold the lead. Dick Stuart’s 2-out double drove in Dick Groat to tie the game. Three straight singles off reliever Bobby Bolin led to a 2-run 9th for the Pirates. Roy Face closed things out for Pittsburgh to earn his 4th save of the Tournament. Law allowed 2 earned runs on 9 hits to improve to 3-1. McCovey finished 4 for 4 with a walk, 2 homers, and 2 RBI.

’60 Pirates @ ’62 Giants – 9/29/25

Yankees ace Whitey Ford shut out the 1964 Chicago White Sox, allowing just 6 hits and striking out 5 as the Yankees won it 5-0. With Mickey Mantle going 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts, it was Elston Howard who stepped up in a big way. Howard singled and scored on a wild pitch in the 2nd inning for the 1st Yankees run. Howard hit a massive solo home run in the 4th inning to deep centerfield to give New York a 2-0 lead. Then, in the 8th, with two on and one out, Howard connected for another homer, a 3-run shot that put the Yankees up 5-0. Howard finished 4 for 4 with a double, two homers, and 4 RBI, all against Gary Peters. Peters managed to strike out 9, but fell to 2-2 in the Tournament. The Yankees made the most of their 7 hits to take the 1st game in the American League Championship Series.

’64 White Sox @ ’61 Yankees – 9/29/25

Chicago’s John Burzhardt made the most of his 1st start of the Tournament. The White Sox #4 starter came through, holding the 1969 Baltimore Orioles to 5 hits, and striking out 7, in a shutout. Dave McNally had a tough-luck loss. McNally held the White Sox to one run on 4 hits, but fell to 0-4 in the Tournament. The only Chicago run came on a 2-out single by Floyd Robinson in the 3rd inning. No player on either team made it past 1st base after that inning. Baltimore’s Paul Blair tripled off Burzhardt in the 1st inning with just one out, but Frank Robinson got caught looking at strike 3, and Boog Powell grounded out to end the inning. The White Sox will get a rematch against the 1961 New York Yankees, with the winner going to the Best of the 1960s World Series.

’69 Orioles @ ’64 White Sox – 9/26/25