Phillies Wallop Reds — Too Late

Oct. 4, 1964 - The Phillies will have all winter to ponder what might have been. They failed to win the National League pennant by the closest of margins after seeming to have it wrapped up two weeks ago.

On the final day of the season, the Phillies lambasted the Cincinnati Reds, 10-0, before 28,535 today at Crosley Field. But all it got them was a tie with the Ohioans for second place in the hectic race won at the wire by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The last-place New York Mets, who had won two in a row from the Cardinals Friday and Saturday to keep the Phillies’ hopes alive, ran out of miracles in the finale. The Redbirds won, 11-5, to dissolve a tie with the Reds and win the pennant by one game when another loss to the Mets would have resulted in a three-way tie and a playoff.

Jim Bunning pitched and Richie Allen batted the Phils to the victory which capped a historic season, one which Phillies’ fans always will recall with bitter memories. Their favorites lost the flag after holding a 6½-game lead with just two weeks and 12 games remaining.

A 10-game losing streak, which started with seven games at home and continued through a three-game series at St. Louis, killed the Phillies’ chances. As it turned out, a solitary win in Busch Stadium earlier this week would have won the pennant for Philadelphia.

“We could’ve won a couple more some place — some place…” Philadelphia manager Gene Mauch said, half to himself, when today’s game — and the season for the Phillies — had ended.

No manager ever took a 10-0 victory harder.

Mauch walked straight into the clubhouse staring grimly straight ahead. He sat down in front of his locker without looking up, lit a cigarette, and took a long drag. He obviously didn’t feel like talking.

“All I can say is I wish I did as well as the players did. They did a great job. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

With that, Gene got up and walked away from the reporters, most of whom had trouble hearing the words he spoke in a low monotone.

Asked later if he meant to imply he had done some things wrong, Mauch snapped: “I’m not implying nothing.”

The bitter disappointment was evident in every word he spoke.

“If I knew how it was going to come out,” he said, “I might have done a couple of things different. When you manage the way I want to manage, you don’t miss something by a game or two.”

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