The 1961 New York Yankees used their relentless offense to top the 1962 San Francisco Giants 7-3, clinching the Best of the 1960s World Series in 5 games. Through 6 innings, the ending was in question as fans watched a pitcher’s duel between Whitey Ford and Billy O’Dell. Roger Maris hit an RBI single in the 3rd, but the Yankees grounded into 3 double-plays, erasing other opportunities. Ford held the Giants to 4 hits before Willie Mays hit an RBI double in the 6th to tie the game 1-1. New York finally broke through in the 7th with back-to-back 2-out RBI base hits from Bobby Richardson and Tony Kubek. Bob Cerv hit a 2-run homer in a 3-run 8th off Bobby Bolin to signal the end for the Giants. Yogi Berra added an insurance run with an RBI single in the 9th, putting the Yankees up 7-1, with 6 of those runs scored in the final 3 innings. Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda hit back-to-back homers to lead off the 9th to end Ford’s night, but Luis Arroyo retired the next three batters to end any comeback hopes. While skewed by a massive Game 3, the Yankees had a World Series team batting average of .330, compared to .257 for the Giants, out homering San Francisco 12-10 and outscoring them 39-23. The ’61 Yankees become the 1st Yankees team to win a Best of the Decades Tournament, after the 1939 and 1998 Yankees failed to make the World Series in those decades, despite being a #1 seed. The Best of the Best Tournament is now guaranteed to have a Yankees representative.
