Big surprise, I know. My APBA simulation of the 1953 World Series wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the real thing. Sometimes it’s like that. It was fun, though. With the juggernaut Brooklyn Dodgers down three games to none

FIFTH IN FOUR: YANKEES SWEEP DODGERS

BROOKLYN (Oct. 3, 1953) – The New York Yankees claimed their fifth consecutive World Series title this afternoon by beating the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0 at Ebbets Field on a four-hit shutout by Vic Raschi. Gil McDougald doubled and homered and Hank Bauer had two more hits. The four-game sweep brings New York its 15th world championship, and second straight over the Dodgers.

Raschi and Dodger starter Billy Loes matched zeroes for the first six innings, and it appeared Brooklyn would have a chance to claw its way back into the series. But with two out in the top of the seventh inning, Loes hung a curve ball and McDougald drilled it over the scoreboard in right for a 1-0 New York lead.

A Carl Furillo leadoff walk and an infield pinch hit by Bobby Morgan put the lead run on base in the bottom of the inning, but Raschi escaped by getting Junior Gilliam to hit a pop fly to center and inducing a threat-ending ground ball to short from Pee Wee Reese.

The Yankees added an insurance run in the eighth off reliever Jim Hughes. Bauer drew a one-out walk (his ninth time on base in four games), advanced to second on a ground ball and then scored on Gene Woodling‘s single over Gilliam’s head.

Again the Dodgers threatened, with Jackie Robinson (who went 1-for-13 in the series) drawing a leadoff walk. Raschi retired Gil Hodges on a fly ball to center, struck out Roy Campanella (2-for-15 in the four games) and coaxed an inning-ending ground ball to second off the bat of Duke Snider (2-for-16) to keep Brooklyn off the board.

With the crowd of 36,775 (which included several hundred Yankee fans) on its feet in the ninth, Raschi quickly retired Don Thompson and Billy Cox on grounders to first. When pinch-hitter Wayne Belardi popped up to catcher Yogi Berra (who was named Most Valuable Player of the Series, with a .308 average, three home runs and a team-high six RBIs) to end it, the Yankees had their sweep, giving the American League its seventh consecutive Fall Classic.

Brooklyn was able to muster just four runs in four games and hit a paltry .154 with only three extra-base hits in dropping the World Series for the seventh time in as many tries.

1953 WORLD SERIES GAME FOUR
At Ebbets Field

1953 New York Yankees 2, 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers 0
Saturday, October 3, 1953

1953 New York Yankees (4-0)                              1953 Brooklyn Dodgers (0-4)                             
Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      
------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      
Mantle cf       4  0  1  0  0  0  4  0  0  2   .375      Gilliam 2b      4  0  1  0  0  0  1  4  0  0   .200
Collins 1b      4  0  0  0  0  1  4  2  0  0   .278      Reese ss        4  0  1  0  0  0  1  1  0  3   .286
Bauer rf        3  1  2  0  1  0  4  0  0  0   .533      Robinson lf     3  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  2   .077
Berra c         4  0  0  0  0  0  8  0  0  2   .308      Hodges 1b       3  0  1  0  1  1  13 0  0  0   .267
Woodling lf     4  0  2  1  0  1  0  0  0  0   .250      Campanella c    4  0  0  0  0  1  7  0  0  0   .133
Martin 2b       4  0  0  0  0  2  2  2  1  1   .125      Snider cf       4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  2   .125
McDougald 3b    4  1  2  1  0  0  1  1  0  0   .267      Furillo rf      2  0  0  0  1  1  1  0  0  2   .000
Rizzuto ss      4  0  1  0  0  0  3  2  0  0   .267       Thompson pr rf 1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   .000
Raschi p        4  0  1  0  0  1  1  0  0  2   .250      Cox 3b          3  0  0  0  1  1  2  3  0  0   .154
                                                         Loes p          2  0  0  0  0  1  0  3  0  0   .000
                                                          Morgan ph      1  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   .500
                                                          Hughes p       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   .000
                                                          Belardi ph     1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   .000
                -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---                            -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---            
Totals          35 2  9  2  1  5  27 7  1  7             Totals          32 0  4  0  4  5  27 12 0  9  

                              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E
                              -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -     -  -  -
1953 New York Yankees         0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0     2  9  1  
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0     0  4  0  
E- Martin(1)
LOB- 1953 New York Yankees 7, 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers 9
2B- McDougald(1)
HR- McDougald(1)
RBI- McDougald(2), Woodling(3)
GIDP- Berra(1)
RLSP- Berra, Mantle, Raschi 2, Furillo, Reese, Robinson  
DP- 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers 1
 
 
1953 New York Yankees            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA
Raschi(W 1-0)                    9.0  4  0  0  4  5    0.00  
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA
Loes(L 0-1)                      7.0  8  1  1  0  3    1.29  
Hughes                           2.0  1  1  1  1  2    1.80  
 
Batters faced- Raschi 36, Loes 28, Hughes 8 
Umpires- Gore, Grieve, Stewart, Hurley, Dascoli, Soar