The 1954 Indians were so focused on beating out the Yankees, the players seemed worn down by the time they played the World Series -- according to Al Rosen.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I sat with Al Lopez at the kitchen table. We stared out the window at his backyard -- and the Gulf of Mexico.
The year was 1995, and I went to visit Lopez at his modest ranch home in Tampa, Fla.
"We had Hall of Famers on that pitching staff, and we were swept in four games," said Lopez.
Forty-one years after it happened, the former Tribe manager couldn't believe it happened. Not to that team, the 1954 Indians.
Lopez died in 2005. That spring morning in 1995 was the only time I ever spent with the man whose Tribe team had a 111-43 record that season.
It remains the best record in history for a 154-game season. The 2001 Seattle Mariners now have the overall record (116-46 in 2001).
Lopez wore glasses that day, just as he did when he managed. He was a man who once caught Walter Johnson. He was a former big league catcher who had a few gnarled fingers, souvenirs of foul tips from 19 years in the big leagues.
Growing up in Tampa, Lopez sold Cuban bread from the back of a horse-drawn wagon. He later spent 17 years as manager.
Between 1949-64, the Yankees failed to win only two American League pennants. Both times, the teams were managed by Lopez (the 1954 Tribe, 1959 White Sox).
He had seen almost everything, and little surprised him.
But the 1954 World Series ... he could barely speak about it. There were a few shakes of the head.
Finally, he said, "We just picked the worst time to have a slump."
Lopez was a quiet man, a gentle man. Herb Score told me that Lopez was -- by far -- the best manager that he ever played for. He insisted Lopez was one of the best ever.
Lopez battled ulcers for much of managerial career. You can be sure that some of them came from the 1954 World Series -- and how the Indians were never able to return to the World Series.
I became fascinated with the 1954 season, especially the World Series. A few newspaper stories led to my writing a long chapter on it in my book, OUR TRIBE. Bill Madden just published a brilliant book called "1954," looking at why this was such an important year in baseball history.
The 1954 World Series was 60 years ago, but it's still hard to figure out what happened to the Tribe.
HATING THE YANKEES
Also in 1995, I met with former Tribe star Al Rosen in his home near Palm Springs, California. Rosen said to understand the 1954 Indians, you needed to know what it was like to try and beat the Yankees in the 1950s.
Consider the Tribe's records:
- 1950: 92-62.
- 1951: 93-61.
- 1952: 93-61.
- 1953: 92-62.
The Indians had excellent teams, but the Yankees were always better.
Every year ... the frustration mounted.
Every year ... missing the World Series.
Every year ... it was Wait 'Til Next Year.
Rosen's point was that Lopez drove the Tribe very hard in 1954. It was not to set a Major League record for victories. It was to make sure that they would not lose to the Yankees.
At the All-Star break, the Indians were 56-27 -- but the Yankees were only a half-game behind.
Remember, this was 1954. Baseball was two leagues -- 16 teams. No playoffs. No wild cards. No way to creep into the postseason. You started a six-month, 154-game marathon and only one winner in each league went to the World Series.
The Indians feared the Yankees. The Indians hated the Yankees. And down deep, they wondered if they would ever beat the Yankees in a tight pennant race.
A DIFFERENT GAME
In 1953, Rosen was the American League Most Valuable Player, batting .336 (1.034 OPS) with 43 homers and 145 RBI. He played third base.
In the spring of 1954, the Indians unleashed a spring phenom named Rudy Regalado. Under the bright sunshine of Tucson, Regalado hit 11 homers and batted .447. He was a third baseman.
Lopez asked Rosen to move to first base.
Think about that. He wanted to move a star third baseman to first to make room for a rookie. Rosen didn't like it, but back then -- you did what the manager asked.
He moved to first -- and two bad things happened.
Leaving Arizona, Regalado forgot how to hit. He batted .250 with two homers and was sent back to the minors after 65 games.
Rosen was holding a runner on base at first when Jim Rivera hit a smash down the first base line.
"For a split second, I lost the ball because I was shielded by the runner," said Rosen.
The ball took a wicked hop, bounced over the glove on his left hand and struck his right index finger.
He played with a sore, swollen finger for a week before it was determined that he had suffered a fracture. He played all year with it.
Rosen said he'd broken his nose 13 times between bad-hop grounders and other incidents on the diamond.
"But I couldn't hold the bat right all year," he said. "I lost a lot of power."
Rosen moved back to third when Regalado was sent back to the minors. The Indians traded for Vic Wertz, who hit .275 with 14 homers and 48 RBI in 98 games for the Tribe. He took over at first base.
PITCHING AND MORE PITCHING
The 1954 Indians had a 2.78 ERA. They completed 77 starts -- exactly 50 percent of their games.
- Bob Lemon (23-7, 2.72 ERA).
- Early Wynn (23-11, 2.73 ERA).
- Mike Garcia (19-8, 2.64 ERA).
- Art Houttman (15-7, 3.35).
- Bob Feller (13-3, 3.09).
That's right, Feller was the fifth starter on the team. At the age of 35, Feller completed 9-of-19 starts.
How great was that staff? It's easier to name the starters NOT in the Hall of Fame: Garcia and Houtteman.
Lopez is credited with creating a right/lefty combination in the bullpen. Ray Narleski and lefty Don Mossi combined for 20 saves.
That's why Lopez can't understand how his team could have been swept by the Giants.
WHAT HAPPENED
On the surface, the Giants were hot -- the Indians were not.
Willie Mays made that great back-to-plate catch deep in center field in Game 1. There were two runners on base in a 2-2 game. Estimates were that Mays was at least 440 feet from home plate when the ball settled into his glove.
Feller once told me, "They say that was the best catch in baseball history. It was a great catch, but I saw Willie make even better ones in spring training."
Rosen was on first base when Wertz connected. He feared Mays would catch it.
"Back then, he caught almost everything," said Rosen.
The Indians lost that game, 5-2. Dusty Rhodes hit a pinch hit homer ... 261 feet.
That's right, a 261-foot homer to right field. The Polo Grounds was an insane place. Center field was bigger than the Grand Canyon, right field 260 feet away.
"A wind-blown pop up," Lopez recalled.
You can look up all the other bad stuff. Rhodes was 4-of-6 with two homers and seven RBI in the four games.
"Dusty Rhodes' time on earth," is how Rosen remembered it.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
"It was a letdown, pure and simple," Rosen told me back in 1995.
He meant the team was physically worn down.
Rosen's finger was still a mess. He also was limping on a bad leg.
Larry Doby hit 32 homers with 126 RBI that season.
"Both of us had bad hamstrings," said Rosen. "Larry's leg was raw from all the tape they kept putting on and taking off."
Doby had a bruised shoulder. Bobby Avila won the batting title (.341), but the second baseman was 2-of-15 in the World Series.
The Tribe scored only nine runs in four games, batting .190 as a team. Doby and Rosen were a combined 5-of-28, all singles.
The pitchers weren't quite as sharp. Was it due to all the innings and complete games? Who knows?
When the Tribe finally clinched the pennant, there was a parade downtown with more than 250,000 fans lining the street to see the players roll by in convertibles.
The Yankees won 103 games, finishing eight games behind the Indians. But the Tribe never really felt safe.
"In many ways, beating out the Yankees was like winning the World Series to us because we had been a bridesmaid for so long," said Rosen.
The 1954 New York Giants were 97-57, so they were an excellent team. But the Indians were better -- only not in October.