Sport: Versatile Trio

By midsummer, it was a foregone conclusion that only a major catastrophe could keep the power-laden New York Yankees from their sixth American League pennant in seven years. By last week the Yankees had it made. Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were both close to breaking Babe Ruth’s home-run record; by week’s end their combined total broke the two-man record of 107 homers set by Ruth (60) and Gehrig (47) back in 1927. The pitching staff was solid: Whitey Ford was safely on the winning side of his first 20-game season, and Veteran Screwballer Luis Arroyo, 34, has become the finest Yankee relief pitcher since “Fireman Joe” Page. The infield was the tightest in baseball, and the Yanks led the league in just about everything that counted: runs, home runs and double plays.

But in the day-to-day grind, it was neither classy fielding, nor reliable pitching, nor booming home runs that assured the Yanks the pennant. Their secret was depth. Manipulating his players with military precision, Rookie Manager Ralph (“The Major”) Houk demonstrated an uncanny ability to find the right man for the job. And whatever the job, the right man usually was a catcher—one of a remarkable Yankee trio whose versatility, both at bat and in the field, is unmatched in baseball history. In a season when both major leagues can boast fewer than half a dozen topflight catchers, the three best belong to the Yankees: ·YOGI BERRA. At 36 the oldest of the Yankee catchers, stumpy (5 ft. 8 in., 191 Ibs.), durable Yogi Berra is nearing the end of his 19-year baseball career. No catcher in history has hit so many home runs (337); no ballplayer has played in more World Series (11) or won the Most Valuable Player award more times (three). Berra can play third base as well as catch, and he is far more at home in the outfield today than he was one day in 1958, when a flyball dropped through his glove and opened a deep gash over his left eye. From deep in leftfield fortnight ago, Berra threw fleet-footed Tiger Al Kaline out at second base in a decisive play that paved the way for a 1-0 Yankee victory. Against Washington last week, Manager Houk actually sent Yogi into leftfield in the eighth inning for defensive purposes. Leaning into the grandstand, Berra robbed Bob Johnson of a ninth-inning line-drive home run that would have put the Senators ahead.

∙JOHN BLANCHARD. Sturdy (6 ft. 1 in., 198 Ibs.), handsome John Blanchard, 28. was an outfielder when he was signed for a $20,000 bonus by the Yankees in 1951. But Yankee Coach Bill Dickey spotted Blanchard at a rookie camp and quickly converted him into a catcher. Blanchard was a perennial standout in spring training, but he was ignored by Manager Casey Stengel; the start of each season found him back in the minors: “I got so used to getting ‘the ticket,’ I was tired of hearing that little speech of regret.” Called up once more as bullpen catcher in 1959, Blanchard finally got his chance to play this year under tobacco-chewing Manager Houk—himself an ex-Yankee catcher, Blanchard has personally accounted for a half dozen Yankee victories with timely home runs; earlier this season, he tied a major-league record by hitting four consecutive homers. In last week’s Washington series, Blanchard was superb: in the first game he played rightfield and collected three hits, including an eighth-inning home run that won the game. Two days later, while assigned to leftfield, he hit two homers to help beat the Senators once more.

∙ELSTON HOWARD. First Negro to become a Yankee regular (in 1955), soft-spoken Journeyman Howard, 32, played for five years in Yogi Berra’s shadow, finally emerged this season as the most versatile and consistent of the three Yankee catchers. At first base, in the outfield or behind the plate, Howard is a competent fielder with a fine throwing arm. Fortnight ago, in the crucial series with Detroit, Howard threw fleet-footed Jake Wood out at second base—the first time Wood had been caught stealing in 17 straight tries. Howard set up two other pickoff plays that caught Tiger base runners, and hit a ninth-inning home run to win one game. At bat, Howard is having the best season of his career—the result, he says, of preseason counsel from Yankee Batting Coach Wally Moses. At week’s end, Howard was hitting .358, just four percentage points behind Detroit’s league-leading Norm Cash.