data-mm-id=”_9kouubeks”>Everyone knows that Don Larsen twirled a perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. What very few, including myself, knew before last night is that the legendary performance was aided by a decision to remove the batter's eye in centerfield. Eagle-eyed Keith Olbermann brought this to the world's attention with the help of some archival footage airing on MLB Network. This amazing truth -that the true stunner was not that the Dodgers got no hits but that the Yankees got five, or ANY- is backed up by two photos from the collection of photos I obtained from the widow of a fan who attended. This is pre-game. This is where the Batters’ Eye WASN’T pic.twitter.com/2VUqrMKBSP— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 13, 2020That certainly changes the conversation. There's quite a difference between picking out a baseball against a dark background and making it out against hundreds of light circle-shaped objects. It's no wonder there were only five hits and two runs combined in the contest considering the circumstances. Olbermann also made this point back in January when Jay Jaffe wrote about Larsen's perfection for FanGraphs. “[Update: As Keith Olbermann reminded me, Larsen may have had another thing going for him that day: the crowds that day were so great that the Yankees allowed them into the batters’ eye, the empty area in center field against which batters are to be able to see the ball. The photographic evidence is compelling… But such a theory doesn’t explain how there weren’t any other perfect games thrown in the 41 other World Series games during which the Yankees hosted even bigger crowds. Where were they putting fans then?”The announced attendance that day was 64,519, which ranks as the 42nd-biggest gathering at old Yankee Stadium. Where were they putting the excess people if not in the batter's eye? Interestingly, Game 5 had the smallest crowd of the series in the Bronx. Game 3 drew a stunning 73,977 and Game 4 brought in 69,705. Is it possible fans weren't sitting in hitters' eyelines during the previous matchup? That would mean almost 9,000 more people were able to fit in significantly less space, somehow.A posting on Baseball Reference says:”One example of a batter’s background is the black area in the center-field bleachers section of Yankee Stadium, known simply as The Black. At one time, there were seats where the black area is now, but because of distractions the seats were removed and the area painted black. (Before the stadium’s mid-1970s renovation, a batter’s eye screen was often put up in front of the section.)”This photo from the 1950 World Series and has fans in the area. Highlights from a 1952 game show Mickey Mantle snagging a fly ball in deep center in front of occupied seats.Perhaps most helpful is this color footage from the day prior showing a similar seating configuration. Games 3 and 4 at Yankee Stadium saw 16 combined runs. In 1955, the four contests saw a grand total of 25 runs. Previous World Series reflect a relatively low-scoring averages at the House That Ruth Built:1953: 91952: 71951: 5.81950: 61949: 11947: 10.5Through the decade, that's an average of 6.83 runs/game at Yankee Stadium during the Fall Classic. There were an unusual amount of shutdown performances, though: a pair of 1-0 games in 1949, a 2-0 game in 1952, Johnny Podres' Game 7 masterpiece in 1955, and Larsen's gem in 1956. So what can we deduce from all this? Larsen no doubt benefitted from a rough hitting background. But so did other pitchers who took the mound there, none of whom managed to throw a no-hitter, let alone a perfect game.
Related Posts
Borussia Dortmund are ready to sell Manchester United target Jadon Sancho in the summer of 2021, according to , as relayed by . It has been reported by the German publication that Bundesliga outfit Dortmund are willing to part company with the former Manchester City winger for €100 million.
United wanted to sign Sancho from Dortmund in the summer of 2020, but they did not want to pay what the Bundesliga club wanted. Dortmund are now willing to cash in on the 20-year-old winger and make up for losses made this season due to Covid.
Sancho is one of the best young attacking players in Europe and has already played 18 times for England. According to , the 20-year-old has scored three goals and provided seven assists in 17 Bundesliga games and has scored two goals and prov…
Xherdan Shaqiri scored a last-minute winner to give Switzerland one foot in the last 16 of the World Cup after a 2-1 victory over Serbia.
The Stoke City forward kept his cool to put the finishing touch on a brilliant second-half fightback from Vladimir Petkovic s side that began when Granit Xhaka scored a thunderous equaliser early in the second half.
Arsenal midfielder Xhaka defied Switzerland s reputation as a side lacking in attacking threat when he rattled the ball into the net from 25 yards, pulling his team back into a game that had threatened to get away from them.
Aleksandar Mitrovic wreaked havoc in Switzerland s box throughout the first half, scoring the second opportunity presented to him for a Serbia team that looked assured and confident after beatin…
Manchester City are interested in signing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2021, according to . It has been reported that the former Premier League champions could move for the Norway international striker if they are unable to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan.
City are on the hunt for a new striker. Sergio Aguero has had injury problems, and while the Argentine remains one of the best strikers in the world, he is now 32 years of age. Gabriel Jesus is still progressing and developing, and manager Pep Guardiola does need at leats two fully fit and established strikers to challenge on all front.
Haaland has made 14 starts and one substitute appearance in the Bundesliga for Dortmund so far this season, scoring 14 goals and providing three assist…
Manchester City will no longer face Arsenal on October 19, after the Premier League game was postponed to enable the Gunners to fulfil a Europa League fixture.
Arsenal were set to face PSV in their second Europa League group stage game on Thursday, only for that match to be called off in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Thursday s game was postponed due to severe limitations on police resources and organisational issues related to the ongoing events surrounding the national mourning of the United Kingdom s late monarch.
UEFA has now confirmed the match at Emirates Stadium will take place on October 20, with Arsenal s home match against City – which was set to take place a day earlier – postponed by the Premier League.
In a statement, Euro…
Zenit will hope to continue their unbeaten home record this season when they host Porto in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Luciano Spalletti s side have not lost in all 10 of their home fixtures in all competitions, with seven of them ending in victories.
As a result, they sit three points clear at the top of the Russian Premier League, with the goals of Danny and Hulk crucial.
Midfielder Danny has netted 12 this season already three times more than he scored last term while ex-Porto forward Hulk has weighed in with nine, including two in the Champions League.
Zenit sit second in Group G and have already beaten one side from Portugal this season, toppling Pacos de Ferreira 8-3 on aggregate in the play-offs for Europe s premier club competition.
The…
Thomas Tuchel is looking forward to his return to Mainz with Borussia Dortmund in Friday s Bundesliga fixture.
Tuchel coached Mainz for six years, leading them into Europe twice, including courtesy of a seventh-place Bundesliga finish in 2013-14.
But the 42-year-old asked to leave at the end of that campaign despite having a year of his contract to run.
He reached a settlement with Mainz that meant he was not allowed to take on another job without seeking his former club s permission.
A year away from coaching followed before he was appointed as Jurgen Klopp s successor at Dortmund.
This week, Mainz president Harald Strutz described the manner of Tuchel s departure as borderline and claimed that both men have different conceptions of respect .
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo thinks Lionel Messi has pushed him to become a better player and says he enjoys a good relationship with the Barcelona star.
The pair dominated the Ballon d Or voting for a decade, winning it five times apiece before Luka Modric broke their stranglehold last year.
Messi and Ronaldo were second and third respectively for the UEFA Men s Player of the Year award for 2019, which was won by Virgil van Dijk.
Ronaldo swapped Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018 and Messi recently confessed he has missed having the Portugal international in LaLiga.
Speaking at UEFA s award ceremony ahead of Thursday s Champions League draw, Ronaldo thanked Messi for helping to raise his game and vowed to maintain his high performance levels.
Leeds United are among the clubs interested in signing Ivan Toney from Brentford in the summer of 2021, according to . It has been reported that Arsenal, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City and West Ham United are also keen on the former Newcastle United striker.
Wolves, Leicester, West Ham, Arsenal and Leeds all have asked to be kept informed of the situation of Toney. The striker joined Brentford from Peterborough in the summer of 2020 and has been brilliant for the Bees in the Championship so far this season.
According to , Toney has made 32 starts and one substitute appearance in the Championship for Brentford so far this season, scoring 25 goals and providing nine assists in the process. The Bees are aiming to finish in the top two of the Championship table thi…
David Beckham may have led the Los Angeles Galaxy to the MLS championship game but he has been left off the league s all-star squad.
While Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan and Swedish star Freddie Ljunberg made the squad there was no room for Beckham.
Beckham s Galaxy will face Real Salt Lake in the 2009 MLS Cup game in Seattle on Sunday.
Donovan and Ljunberg were two of the five midfielders on the 11-man all-star team which also comprised one goalkeeper, three defenders and two forwards.
Chivas USA s Zach Thornton was picked as a goalkeeper while the defence featured Columbus Crew centre back Chad Marshall, Houston Dynamo s Geoff Cameron and the Chicago Fire s Wilman Conde.
The league s top two goal-scorers from the regular season, FC Dallas str…
Rising German football star Toni Kroos will return to Bayern Munich next season after being loaned to Bayer Leverkusen since January, club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said Friday.
Toni will return to Bayern and will become an important player for the club, said Rummenigge.
Leverkusen had hoped to hold on to the teenager, who is under contract with Bayern until June 2010.
The 19-year-old was voted player of the tournament at the Under-17 World Cup in 2007, but had failed to regularly break into the Bayern first-team.
He joined Leverkusen to get more play as his game was limited at Bayern with the presence of Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni and Lukas Podolski.
Kroos played 19 times for Bayern between 2007 and 2009.
He has played 23 games for …