Aug. 17, 1964 - Chris Short is rougher than cactus from the middle of July on, but don’t ask Chris Short why. He doesn’t know. Gene Mauch probably knows, but he isn’t saying — he’s too busy enjoying it.
Short pitched a five-hitter today, and the Phillies thumped the Cubs, 8-1, widening their league lead to five full games over the idle Giants.
Last year, Short was 1-8 on July 15, and he finished 9-12. This year, Short was 7-5 on July 15, and he is now 12-6.
“I seem to get stronger the second half,” Short said today. “I’ve never had a real good first half. I don’t think it’s psychological, though.”
“Short is one of the better pitchers around,” said Mauch. “If he doesn’t get shut out by Nuxhall, Koufax, and Ellsworth, and gets beat 2-1 by Farrell, then he could be 16-2.”
Short tries not to think about those games or his ERA, which is second in the league.
“You don’t get paid on ERA,” he said, “and you think about the runs you gave up in those games when you give up three and you only got two.
“I’m getting the changeup over now. Last year, I didn’t walk too many, and this year I haven’t walked too many. The three walks tonight might be the most in any one game.”
The third walk was to Ron Santo in the eighth inning, and it loaded the bases with one out. Mauch came sprinting out of the dugout to chat with Short. If he had brought him a flamethrower, he couldn’t have done any better. Short got Ernie Banks on a popup and struck out Doug Clemens.
“I forget what I told him,” Mauch said, his memory suddenly short-circuited. But he forgot to tell Short to forget.
“He asked me how I felt,” Short recalled, “and I said I felt strong. So, he said rare back and let it go. So, I did.”
It’s easy when you’ve got the kind of arm Short has.
“Over the last two years, when he finished fast, that’s when he learned it all,” catcher Clay Dalrymple said. “It’s hard to learn when you’re not winning. You’re out there just throwing hard and trying to get by. When you’re winning, that’s when you learn.”
Short has the baseball he threw for the last out tonight. Did winning 12 mean anything special?
“No,” Short said. “I just collect a lot of baseballs. And I put the details of the game on them. I don’t keep them any special place. As a matter of fact, I keep them in a waste basket.”
Short gave the Cubs an unearned run in the second when he misfired on a pickoff play. He struck out nine, and his ERA shrunk to 1.91, second only to Koufax.
“I don’t think about it because I know I’m not going to catch him,” Short said.

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