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Wednesday, November 19, 2003
More Info on Gene Mauch
By Nick Acocella
Special to ESPN.com
Signature Game
Sept. 27, 1964 - The Phillies had lost six straight and their 6½-game lead less than a week earlier had dwindled to a mere half game. To stop the slide, manager Gene Mauch called on Jim Bunning, even though his ace righthander would be working on only two days rest against the Milwaukee Braves. (Lefthander Chris Short already had started - and lost - with two days rest two days earlier.)
The strategy didn't work. The Braves scored two in the first, and Bunning was battered again in the fourth. His record dropping to 18-7, Bunning allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 3-plus innings as the Phillies lost, 14-8, despite three homers by Johnny Callison.
With the second-place Cincinnati Reds sweeping a doubleheader from the New York Mets to run their winning streak to nine, the Phillies surrendered the National League lead for the first time since July 16. The emotions of the 20,569 fans at Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium were best expressed by a banner hanging in the rightfield stands. It read, "Help."
But help didn't come. The Phillies never regained first. Their losing streak reached 10 - with Short and Bunning each losing again on two days rest. For his handling of the pitching staff and the Phillies' fade, Mauch was severely criticized by the Philadelphia fans.
Mauch by the numbers
| Career Statistics |
| Year |
Tm/Lg |
AB |
Runs |
Hits |
BA |
HR |
RBI |
OBP |
SLG |
| 1944 |
Bro-N |
15 |
2 |
2 |
.133 |
0 |
2 |
.235 |
.200 |
| 1947 |
Pit-N |
30 |
8 |
9 |
.300 |
0 |
1 |
.432 |
.300 |
| 1948 |
Bro-N/Chi-N |
151 |
19 |
30 |
.199 |
1 |
7 |
.320 |
.265 |
| 1949 |
Chi-N |
150 |
15 |
37 |
.247 |
1 |
7 |
.339 |
.333 |
| 1950 |
Bos-N |
121 |
17 |
28 |
.231 |
1 |
15 |
.316 |
.298 |
| 1951 |
Bos-N |
20 |
5 |
2 |
.100 |
0 |
1 |
.333 |
.100 |
| 1952 |
StL-N |
3 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
.250 |
.000 |
| 1956 |
Bos-A |
25 |
4 |
8 |
.320 |
0 |
1 |
.393 |
.320 |
| 1957 |
Bos-A |
222 |
23 |
60 |
.270 |
2 |
28 |
.339 |
.369 |
| TOTAL |
9 yrs |
737 |
93 |
176 |
.239 |
5 |
62 |
.335 |
.312 |
Managing record
|
By the Numbers
|
| Year
|
TM/L
|
G
|
W
|
L
|
PCT
|
STD
|
| 1960
|
Phi-N
|
152
|
58
|
94
|
.382
|
4* (8)
|
| 1961
|
Phi-N
|
155
|
47
|
107
|
.305
|
8
|
| 1962
|
Phi-N
|
161
|
81
|
80
|
.503
|
7
|
| 1963
|
Phi-N
|
162
|
87
|
75
|
.537
|
4
|
| 1964
|
Phi-N
|
162
|
92
|
70
|
.568
|
2*
|
| 1965
|
Phi-N
|
162
|
85
|
76
|
.528
|
6
|
| 1966
|
Phi-N
|
162
|
87
|
75
|
.537
|
4
|
| 1967
|
Phi-N
|
162
|
82
|
80
|
.506
|
5
|
| 1968
|
Phi-N
|
54
|
27
|
27
|
.500
|
6* (7*)
|
| 1969
|
Mon-N
|
162
|
52
|
110
|
.321
|
6E
|
| 1970
|
Mon-N
|
162
|
73
|
89
|
.451
|
6E
|
| 1971
|
Mon-N
|
162
|
71
|
90
|
.441
|
5E
|
| 1972
|
Mon-N
|
156
|
70
|
86
|
.449
|
5E
|
| 1973
|
Mon-N
|
162
|
79
|
83
|
.488
|
4E
|
| 1974
|
Mon-N
|
161
|
79
|
82
|
.491
|
4E
|
| 1975
|
Mon-N
|
162
|
75
|
87
|
.463
|
5E*
|
| 1976
|
Min-A
|
162
|
85
|
77
|
.525
|
3W
|
| 1977
|
Min-A
|
161
|
84
|
77
|
.522
|
4W
|
| 1978
|
Min-A
|
162
|
73
|
89
|
.451
|
4W
|
| 1979
|
Min-A
|
162
|
82
|
80
|
.506
|
4W
|
| 1980
|
Min-A
|
125
|
54
|
71
|
.432
|
4W (3W)
|
| 1981
|
Cal-A
|
13
|
9
|
4
|
.692
|
4W (4W)
|
|
|
Cal-A
|
50
|
20
|
30
|
.400
|
7W
|
| 1982
|
Cal-A
|
162
|
93
|
69
|
.574
|
1W
|
| 1985
|
Cal-A
|
162
|
90
|
72
|
.556
|
2W
|
| 1986
|
Cal-A
|
162
|
92
|
70
|
.568
|
1W
|
| 1987
|
Cal-A
|
162
|
75
|
87
|
.463
|
6W*
|
| Totals
|
26
|
3,942
|
1,902
|
2,037
|
.483
|
|
*Tied for position in standing
( )parenthesis reflects team's final standing
Odds 'N' Ends
In 1947, the Pirates sent Mauch to the Dodgers in a trade that
brought Billy Cox and Preacher Roe, two mainstays of the Boys of Summer, to Brooklyn.
Mauch's minor league stops were at Durham (Piedmont League, 1943), Montreal (International League, 1943-44), St. Paul (American Association, 1946), Indianapolis (American Association, 1947), Milwaukee (American Association, 1951-52), Atlanta (Southern Association, 1953) and Los Angeles (1954-56, Pacific Coast League).
The only years Mauch played in more than 100 games before 1952 was 1946, when he hit .248 as St. Paul's shortstop.
Mauch says he knew he wanted to manage as early as 1943 when he first met Leo Durocher, the Dodgers manager when Mauch signed.
Twenty-six years later, during Mauch's first season with Montreal, an angry Durocher, then the Chicago Cubs manager, blasted Mauch, "As long as that little genius manages your team, it'll finish last."
On June 29, 1961, Mauch listed three pitchers as position players in the Phillies' lineup, because he wasn't sure whether the Giants starter would be a righthander or lefthander. When Billy O'Dell, a southpaw, began the game, Mauch replaced the three pitchers with righthanded batters. But Giants manager Alvin Dark outmaneuvered Mauch, lifting O'Dell for a righthander after one batter. The Giants won in 11 innings on a homer by Willie Mays.
Mauch's expertise in baseball's rules has led to some bizarre situations. On July 4, 1966, he smacked Jerry Grote in the arm as the Mets catcher reached into the Philadelphia dugout to catch a pop foul. The rules say a player reaches into an opposing dugout at his own peril.
Mauch protested a game when umpire Ed Vargo called three balls on a Phillies pitcher for going to his mouth during his warmups on May 1, 1968. National League president Warren Giles did not uphold the protest, but instructed umpires not to call a ball in similar circumstances, because the ball is dead while a pitcher warms up.
While managing Montreal, Mauch attacked Philadelphia ace Steve Carlton in the aftermath of several beanballs on June 25, 1972.
He won National League Manager of the Year honors with Montreal in 1973.
In the final game of the 1976 season, Mauch almost got into a fight with Hal McRae, who accused the Twins manager of ordering outfielder Steve Brye to allow George Brett's fly ball to drop, thereby giving Brett (who is white) the batting title over McRae (who is black).
One of the ironies of Mauch's resignation with Minnesota in
1980 is that only a few months later owner Calvin Griffith sprang for one of the heftiest free-agent contracts in the club's history, holding onto shortstop Roy Smalley, Jr., who is Mauch's nephew.
One of Mauch's favorite ploys was to have his infielders drop a pop fly and take a forceout at second when there was a fast runner on first and a slow runner hitting.
Another was to signal a pitcher to throw behind a batter instead of
pitching out when he thought the opposing team was going to hit-and-run. That way, the batter couldn't even throw his bat at the pitch.
He taught infielders to put on an act to convince baserunners that a popup was a ground ball and get them to run full speed; the Phillies once doubled up Frank Robinson with just such a performance.
Among his four major league managerial stops, Mauch had a winning record just with California (379-332).
Only Connie Mack, John McGraw, Bucky Harris and Sparky Anderson managed more than Mauch's 3,942 games.
Only Mack (3,948) and Harris (2,218) lost more games than Mauch (2,037).
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