THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, January 17, 2020 Page 15 cated to Baltimore for the 1954 season, becoming the Orioles. The team finished seventh that season, winning only 54 games while losing 100. In the off-season Larsen was The Seasons Change By Bill Stewart, The Old Sachem A s the Patriots’ ship rides off to the sunset, it’s time to look elsewhere. Yes, I know the Celtics are doing very well and the Bruins may be on their way to a Stanley Cup, but it’s time for baseball. Few of my readers know of the only pitcher to hurl a perfect game in the World Series. Don Larsen did it for the hated Yankees in 1956. Larsen was born on August 7, 1929, in Michigan City, Indiana, and died January 20, 2020, at the age of 90 in Hayden, Idaho. His major league record was just OK, and as the commercial says, “OK is just not good enough.” He amassed a record of 81 wins and 91 losses, an earned run average of 3.78, and 849 strikeouts, over a period of 14 seasons. He was what they look for today as a pitcher. Height computes to long arms; that computes to faster speed for a pitcher. Larsen stood six feet four and weighed in at 215 pounds. A right-handed overhand power pitcher, but admitting to having poor control, in relation to most pitchers of his era. He placed his trust in his catcher, Yogi Berra, to signal for low and outside, mostly across the body. He threw with a windup and leg kick, which was common in this period, and threw few changeups or breaking balls. Because of his direct throws, runners had a difficult time in trying to steal second with Larsen on the mound. Pitchers in his day were also batters, and he swung right. A very good batter for a pitcher, his career batting average was .242, he swatted 14 home runs and 72 runs batted in. Larsen was often used as a pinch hitter, going 66 times over his career. Larsen’s family moved to San Diego, California, in 1944, and Don attended Point Loma High School, where he played both basketball and baseball. He was selected as an All-Metro Conference basketball player, and many college coaches offered scholarships to entice him to choose their college. His baseball team, the local American Legion team, became his spotlight, and the St. Louis Browns scout, Art Schwartz, signed Larsen to a minor league contract in 1947 in which he received $850 as a signing bonus. When asked later why he chose baseball over a college basketball career, he stated I was “never much with the studies.” Don Larsen started his professional career with the Aberdeen Pheasants of the Class-C Northern League, where he appeared in 16 games, with four wins, three losses and an ERA of 3.42. The following year he had 17 wins and an ERA of 3.75 in 34 games. In 1949 he advanced to the Globe-Miami Browns Bill Stewart The Old Sachem of the Class-C Arizona-Texas League, then moved up again to the Springfield Browns of the Class-B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. His next move was to the Wichita Falls Spudders of the Class-B Big State League for the first half of the 1950 season, then up to the Wichita Indians of the Class-A Western League, where he had a six and four record and a 3.14 ERA in 21 games. Larsen was drafted into the United States Army in 1951 for the Korean conflict. He was a noncombatant and was released in 1953. In the spring of 1953, he was moved up to the St. Louis Browns roster and had his major league start on April 17 against the Detroit Tigers. He pitched five innings, gave up three earned-runs and had no decision. A month later in May, Larsen notched his first MLB win over the Philadelphia Athletics, tossing seven and twothirds innings, giving up only one earned run in a seven to three win. For his rookie season Larsen had a seven and 12 record, an ERA of 4.16, 98 strikeouts, starting 22 games and appearing in 38 games. Don also created an MLB record of seven consecutive hits, batted .284 and had three home runs in 81 at bats. The Browns relotraded to the Yankees, who had an aging group of pitchers, and the club wanted some young talent to bring the team up. From 1955 through 1959, Larsen was used by manager Casey Stengel as a backup starter and occasional reliever, winning 45 games while losing 24, making 90 starts and 128 appearances. Don Larsen had his best career year in the 1956 season when he had 11 wins and five losses and an ERA of 3.26. In that season with the Yankees, Larsen pitched the only perfect game in the World Series – the only pitcher to ever accomplish this feat – in the fifth game of the Series against Brooklyn’s Sal Maglie. He started the second game of the Series and quickly had a six-run lead, but only lasted one-andtwo-thirds innings in a 13-8 loss in which Larsen gave up a single hit, walked four batters and allowed four runs; an error by the first baseman made all the runs unearned. Game five was to be his best ever. Larsen only tossed 97 pitches, and only Pee Wee Reese of the Dodgers got a three-balls count, which exhibited extreme control. In 1957 Don Larsen had two starts in the World Series against the Milwaukee Braves, both resulting in losses. He won another Series game in 1958, but the team lost the seventh game that year. The 1959 Yankees slipped to third place in the American League, and it was time for changes. Larsen was traded to the Kansas City Athletics with three other players, and the Yankees got Roger Maris and two other players. In July of 1960 Larsen was sent to the minors. In ~ Letter-to-the-Editor ~ A Reflection on the Supt. of Schools To the Editor: It is January 2020 – a new year and a new vision. All those running for reelection on the School Committee were voted out. The only person left with input at School Committee Meetings was/is the Superintendent of Schools. The voting booths in November 2019 did not provide the ability to vote him out. Had that been an option, he would be gone. This new School Committee begins this New Year with the burden of absorbing so much. Unfortunately the only input they will be forced to absorb is the regurgitated priorities of a failed Superintendent of Schools. While we need to sympathize and understand the need for this new group to access and encompass what needs to be done, we can only hope that our votes for each of them has not been misplaced and they are taking the time they need to determine where we are and what needs to be done. This past year has provided many important bullet points in assessing the performance of the current superintendent. After 3 years as Superintendent of Schools, the following headlines deserved to be contributing factors in his evaluation: District Review Report of Saugus Public Schools issued by State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) – “Questions persist over whether Saugus Public School resources are being allocated adequately and effectively.” DESE – “Saugus Public Schools hindered by lack of leadership and school improvement plans.” DESE – High Turnover in administration hampered efforts for professional development of Saugus Public Schools educators.” “Replacement of school custodians was the top news story of 2019” MCAS report card for Saugus SHS and Belmonte Middle School receives a POOR requiring assistance or intervention of State DESE.” The following election issue of the SAUGUS ADVOCATE column “ADVOCATE ASKS” gave the then School Committee candidates the opportunity to discuss MCAS results and the superintendent’s upcoming evaluation/pay raise. The following were the take-aways for me that I took into the voting booth in November 2019. Candidate Ryan Fisher – “Of course MCAS improvements need to be key criteria for the Superintendent in his performance evaluations and is absolutely appropriate to link salary increases by contract, to results. In last week’s answer, I talked about the need to hold the Superintendent accountable for raising academic achievement, for the School Committee to advocate for every possible resource he needs to make achievement happen, and also to have all of the stakeholders in the district anonymously weigh in on his performance, and make the crux of his responses public.” Candidate Joseph “Dennis” Gould – “With my 40 years experience in business and with nonprofit leadership, I always believed setting achievable REFLECTION | SEE PAGE 16 1961 he played for the Athletics and was traded to the Chicago White Sox. In June 1961 he was yarded again, this time to the San Francisco Giants, where he became a reliever. He registered five wins and 11 saves for the Giants, and the Giants won the pennant when he won the third playoff game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the 1962 World Series Don Larsen won game four in relief, giving him a World Series record of four wins and two losses. He was sold to the Houston Colt .45s in 1964 and became a starter again. In 1965 he was traded back to the Orioles, who then released Larsen prior to the 1966 season. He ended up pitching for the Phoenix Giants in the Class-AAA Pacific Coast League. He was on the roster of the Chicago Cubs for two weeks on the 1967 season and spent the rest of the season with the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs of the Class-AA of the Texas League. The 1968 season saw him in the Cubs minor league system, for the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League and the Tacoma Cubs of the Pacific Coast League. He retired in the summer of 1968. After working in the front office of a major league organization then as a liquor salesman, he finally found a place for himself as an executive for a paper company working with farmers in California’s Salinas Valley. Don Larsen was inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame. He worked with author Mark Shaw to put together an autobiography, “The Perfect Yankee: The Incredible Story of the Greatest Miracle in Baseball History,” which was published in 1996. There have been many perfect games in MLB, but Larsen’s World Series game will forever stand out.
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