top of page
Search

Mauch: Phillies Will Bounce Back

Jan. 16, 1965 - The Phillies, who pulled the biggest swoon in memory to blow the National League pennant last year, will bounce back this year stronger than ever, according to pilot Gene Mauch.

“Our failure in ’64 is ancient history,” said Mauch today. “Once we open the gates to our spring training camp next month, it’ll be forgotten. We’ll be thinking about the 1965 pennant.”

Since the season closed, the Phils acquired slugger Dick Stuart and pitchers Bo Belinsky and Ray Herbert, sacrificing southpaw Dennis Bennett and an assortment of lesser players to land them.

“This unquestionably will be my strongest team,” said Mauch. “Stuart gives us a first baseman who can play every day and drive in a lot of runs. It’s not like bringing in an American Leaguer to face our league’s pitching. Stuart used to top 100 RBI’s when he played in Pittsburgh. And with Dick in the lineup, we won’t be so vulnerable to left-handed pitching.”

Belinsky will be a regular starter, but Mauch plans to use Herbert in spots “unless he pitches himself into the regular rotation.”

Trigger-tempered Gene is well-known as a no-nonsense manager, which naturally raises the question of how he plans to handle his temperamental tandem, Stuart and Belinsky.

“I’ll do what the particular situation calls for,” said Mauch. “I’m confident that the dedication of Callison, Dalrymple, and the others will be contagious to the new players on our team.

“Speaking for myself, I’ve never seen Stuart fail to hustle. As for Belinsky, all I know about him is he’s got an outstanding major league arm. I don’t know the fellow. I tried to call him several times, but I understand he’s in Hawaii.”

Recounting the Phils’ swan dive, Mauch says it all started when Cincinnati’s Chico Ruiz stole home to beat Art Mahaffey, 1-0.

“We lost that one and two more to the Reds,” he said, “and then Milwaukee came in and took us four straight. We had two of those seven games won going into the eighth inning, but Vada Pinson won one with a homer, and Rico Carty beat us another with a triple.

“Then we went into St. Louis and lost three more. We only beat the Cardinals five times all season, and this was the only time during our slump that I felt any real uneasiness.

“I rather sensed at this point that our players doubted whether they could win the pennant.

“I’ve been second-guessed for overworking Jim Bunning and Chris Short at that time, but it was disproved in our final series in Cincinnati. Short and Ed Roebuck teamed up to beat the Reds Friday night, and Bunning blanked ‘em Sunday.”

Given the benefit of hindsight, what would Mauch have done differently?
“The only thing I’ve felt bad about in looking back was that I didn’t have any pitcher except Bunning and Short who was mentally prepared to pitch a winning game,” said Mauch.

“I don’t know what I could’ve done to get one prepared, but that’s what the manager gets paid to do, so I’ll take the rap.”



Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Comments


© 2024 by Joe Rubenstein

bottom of page