Sept. 18, 1964 - Ford looks at Ford of the past and gets more excited about the Ford of the future. Somebody told Whitey he had equaled Russell Ford’s record for shutouts by a Yankee lefthander in one season (eight, set in 1910) with the 6-0 victory over the Athletics tonight.
“If you can pitch long enough, you’re going to do something,” Ford said. But mention the strong possibility of the Yankees being in another World Series and desire spreads out from his blue eyes. It lingers there, and the seasoned veteran turns the possibility into a reality.
“This will be like the Brooklyn series,” he said, “hardly any traveling. We might start two righthanders in Philadelphia, and I could open here…” Then his voice trailed off as he resigned himself for the moment to the official Yankee attitude. “It’s still a little early,” Ford added.
That attitude is expressed in the small office where Yogi Berra lives as a Yankee. All Yogi would say tonight was, “We got a chance.” He used to say, “We’re gonna win it,” but he’s changed his tune.
“Every time I said something about us winning it, somebody came up with something. I said it in Baltimore, and Mickey got hurt and we lost four straight to Chicago. I said it again and Kubek got hurt. I’m not going to say it now. I might jinx them.”
If all that can beat the Yankees is a jinx, you have to like their chances. When they were 7-3 on the recent road trip, they were scrambling to win. But since coming home last weekend, the Yanks stopped being respectable and started bruising Twins, Angels, and Athletics. Dean Chance did overpower them, but like Sandy Koufax, he may have descended from a higher league. And now there are no more Dean Chance’s to face.
“I just wish it wasn’t so close,” Whitey said tonight. “It’s like Houk used to say. The hell with the attendance. Let’s win by 15 games.”
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