In the late 1940's there were two exciting pitchers named "Page". Joe "Fireman" Page and Leroy "Satchell" Paige. I can attest to this, having seen both of these pitchers
perform their magic on the mound. My story this time is of Joe Page.
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1948 BOWMAN ...……………………………..…….. 1949 LEAF
Sept 30, 1949 Fenway Park, the Red Sox won the 1st game of this 3-game Play-Off series for the A.L. Championship. Oct 1, 1949 Yankee Stadium(69,551 attendance).
Allie Reynolds (starting) did not have it that day. Casey Stengel brought in his ace reliever, Joe Page, in the 3rd inning. Joe Page completely shut-down the Red Sox for
6 and 2/3rd innings (allowing only one Hit and striking out 6 batters). In the 8th inning with the score tied at 4-4, Johnny Lindell hit a HR into the Left-field seats.
Page quickly shut-out Boston's big hitters in the 9th, the Yankees went on to win the play-off series the next day. In relief vs. the Dodgers in the W.S., Page pitched in
3 games, won 1 game, saved 1 game (striking out 8 batters in 9 innings). The rest is history as the Yankees won 5 consecutive World Championships (1949 - 1953).
Baseball historians still consider this 13th win of the year for Page as one of the greatest clutch pitching performances in Baseball history.
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1949 Stats....Joe Page (strictly in Relief pitching role)
W-L...………………….13-8
Saves...……………...27
Games pitched.....60 (League leader)
Games finished....48 (League leader)
Rookie card 1947 TIP TOP bread
I cherish this experience from my youth, so I thought this story was worth sharing with you guys. Hope you found it interesting.
** re: SABR
TED Z
T206 Reference
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