June 30, 1962.
In San Pedro de Macoris, a shortstop was born. Of course, the birth of a shortstop was essentially a daily occurrence in San Pedro de Macoris back in the day, so allow me to be a bit more specific: future Mets shortstop Tony Fernandez was born.
I Can’t Stop Loving You by Ray Charles was the number one song in America, and Hell is for Heroes was tops at the box office. (Hell is for Heroes is a WWII action flick that was apparently cast by a mental patient– it featured Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, and Bob Newhart.)
And in Los Angeles, the Dodgers were hosting the 20-52 Mets at their sparkling new stadium in Chavez Ravine.
Bob L. Miller was on the mound for New York, facing a 26-year-old southpaw who was just starting to figure things out. Guy by the name of Koufax…
Richie Ashburn, Rod Kanehl, and Felix Mantilla put up little to no fight in the top of the first inning, striking out swinging, swinging, and looking, respectively.
Miller retired Maury Wills and Jim Gilliam to start off the bottom of the inning, but then the wheels fell off faster than you can say Bob G. Miller.
A triple/single/walk/single/double/single sequence led to four Dodger runs and brought Casey to the mound to replace his starter.
Stengel called on former Brooklyn farmhand and Mystery Met subject Ray Daviault to stanch the bleeding, and he did so by retiring Koufax on a foul pop to Frank Thomas.
Daviault pitched 7.1 innings in relief that day, allowing no further damage beyond a solo homer to Frank Howard. He did not get a win, but it was the longest and finest performance of a big-league career that amounted to 81 innings pitched, a 1-6 record, and a 6.22 ERA for those motley newborn Mets.
Koufax? Well, he went on to pitch the first of four career no-hitters on June 30, 1962, striking out 13 in the process…
Of course…I should have had that.
damn. the hall of fame ”hint” you gave had me thinking tom seaver, so i was running thru references on who tom played with in the 60’s to see who this guy might be.
what’s most astounding to me, on top of the obscurity of a man ( daviault ) whose own wife probably forgot about him, is the amount of details you seem to vividly recall on a specific date 53+ yrs ago. christ, i hope you’re never sitting next to me at the blackjack table. i have come to the conclusion that this authors name ( doug parker ) , is the pseudonym of marilu henner.
once again, another great piece.
for the record, my next guess was going to be cleon jones. this guy’s a dead ringer for him……..
As much as I love the comparison to Marilu Henner, I have to confess and say I haven’t really earned it. Mr Daviault’s time with the Mets predates my existence on this planet, so all of the details come from Google and baseball-reference.
I will, however, continue to strive toward a more Hennerish existence…