July 28, 1964 - The Phillies beat the Giants, 4-0, at Connie Mack Stadium today, and Jim Bunning — while nursing a finger blister — threw all but the last pitch. Jack Baldschun threw the last one — a screwball. Willie McCovey rapped it into a double play, and the Phillies own a 1½-lead in the National League scramble.
Bunning now has 10 victories and four shutouts, and manager Gene Mauch reminded newsmen that in the 21 games Bunning has started, “he gave us a chance to win in 19 of them.”
It was a hot, sticky day, and Bunning works hard. And he did have that blister. But just the same, you’d think he’d show some emotion after blitzing the Giants.
Nope. He acted like he had spent the night adding up ledgers or doing something dull and ordinary. That’s the way Bunning is, and it may turn out to be just as important a contribution to the Phillies as the games he wins and the hitters he fans.
“You can’t get up too high when you win one,” he explained while the writers babbled in capital letters about Big Game and Critical Series. “If you do, then the letdown is too great when you lose one. You try to stay on an even keel.”
The only time Bunning showed any real emotion was when he pitched that perfect game last month. He has won two and lost two since that memorable afternoon, but the record is deceiving.
“I could have won in Cincinnati, and I could have won in Pittsburgh,” he said. “I did get bombed in Milwaukee. And after that bad performance, you do like to come back with a good one.”
Bunning came back with a good one today. He had a no-hitter with two out in the sixth when Hal Lanier bounced a single into left field.
“I didn’t think about a no-hitter,” said Jim. “I was happy when Lanier got that hit. He hit a good pitch by the way. It was a curveball, down and away. I had enough of that stuff last month. Let’s just win games. That’s what I’ve got to do — win games.”
See, there was nothing special about it being the Giants. “There’s more pressure to beat the Mets,” he said. “If you lose to the Mets, you’re a bum. If you lose to San Francisco, you’re not a bum.”
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments