Of course, everyone remembers the out.
Vic Wertz did everything he could to beat the Giants that September day. Nobody remembers that he had four hits and drove in each of his team's 3-2 runs in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.
Nobody remembers any of that.
When baseball fans hear the name Vic Wertz the thought they develop is not that he absolutely clobbered the ball all day, but that his furthest hit was chased down with a beautiful, over-the-shoulder catch by Willie Mays.
It was the center fielder's signature moment and has been immortalized with statues, pictures and the video of him spinning like a top, his arm unfurling at the right moment as he launches the ball toward the infield to keep the runners from scoring.
When the play is over and being described as an "optical illusion" Mays looks like he's screwed himself into the ground.
Wertz of course is nowhere in the picture.
Like the other York and Adams countians who've made it to baseball's biggest stage, he never shines in the spotlight. Sometimes it wasn't a lack of effort or even production that kept the local boys from being the star. Sometimes there's a connection to a teammate or opponent's glory. Usually, though, their playoff experience is lost to the dusty shelves and box scores of history.
And Wertz is the prime example.
Come to think of it, nobody seems to remember that Wertz had one of the most dominant performances in series history that year. He batted a robust .500. That's right, with a "5." Not .400 or .300.
He also hit a home run, a triple and two doubles.
But he's remembered for the out.
The problem for Wertz is that his teammates never seemed to get on base in that series. So he only drove in three runs.
Again, the circumstances just weren't right.
Which seems to be the theme for area players who've made appearances in the playoffs.
More bad luck for a local boy
Of all the players from Adams and York counties, there's no doubt who was the best: Hall of Famer Eddie Plank.
The Gettysburg native has a very impressive resume.
- He was the first left-hander to reach the 300 win plateau.
- He had eight 20-win seasons.
- He won two World Series championships.
His post-season numbers were a mixed bag. During four World Series, he won just two games while losing five.
However, a closer look shows he had just a 1.32 ERA, which is fantastically low. He had just an .878 WHIP, striking out 32 and walking 11.
Plank's won-loss record is, like Wertz' long drive for an out, a matter of circumstance.
Someone could try to discredit Plank's low numbers because he pitched in the deadball era, but compare his numbers to some of his contemporaries, who also made it to the Hall of Fame.
Mordecai Brown, who pitched in four World Series for the Chicago Cubs from 1906 to 1910, finished his post-season career with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.092 WHIP.
Chief Bender, Plank's teammate, finished his career with a 6-4 record. However, his other numbers aren't as good as Plank's. He had a 2.44 ERA and a 1.012 ERA.
Perhaps the best way to compare Plank to his era is to look at that generation's best pitcher.
Of course, you could also argue Christy Matthewson is the greatest pitcher of all time.
He finished his career with 373 wins and a 2.13 ERA.
Matthewson's greatest accomplishment came in the 1905 World Series, when he pitched three shutouts. That's right, 27 innings without giving up a run. Mathewson still holds many single season records because of that dominant performance.
One of his victims was Plank, who lost Game 1 of that series 3-0.
Matthewson's 1905 performance helped him hold a record 0.97 ERA in 100 post-season innings pitched. While that's much better than Plank's .132, their WHIPS were nearly identical. Matthewson's was .836.
A brief cameo
Red Lion native Hinkey Haines is one of York County's greatest athletes. One of his many accomplishments was a cup of coffee with the 1923 New York Yankees, the first group from The Bronx to win the Series. He got into 28 games, batting .170 with three runs batted in and three stolen bases.
Haines replaced Wally Pipp (Lou Gehrig did a better job of that) in the lineup and Babe Ruth in the field in Game 3, going 0-for-1.
Haines' highlight came when he pinch-ran for pinch hitter Fred Hofmann who batted for Hall of Famer Herb Pennock in Game 6.
Haines scored on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Bob Muesel that ended up being the Series-winning hit.
That play was the high-water mark for Haines' career.
Nothing to show for it
Bill Sherdel was a member of the 1926 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Sherdel had a fantastic 2.12 ERA, but went 0-2 against the Yankees.
He returned with the Red Birds two years later and again went 0-2. That time, however, his team did not win as they were dominated by the Bombers.
New York outscored St. Louis 27-10 during the series and trailed just three times.
The stiff competition got the better of Sherdel.
He gave up two home runs to Babe Ruth and another to Lou Gehrig in Game 4.
That rough outing, however, didn't stop him from finishing his career with a 3.26 ERA.
School ties
While there aren't many who were born in York and Adams counties who made it to the playoffs, there is a Gettysburg College alum who saw some time in the Fall Classic.
George Winter pitched the last inning of Game 4 of the 1908 World Series. He gave up one unearned run when Johnny Evers scored on an error on a Frank Chance fly ball.
The Bronx Zoo
Jim Spencer was born in Hanover and won a World Series ring with the 1978 Yankees. He got into four games, batting .167 during 14 plate appearances. He went 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored in Game 6 of that series.
Clutch
Greg Gross is the last player from York or Adams counties to reach the post season. One would think his career .143 average, 144 points below his career average, in post season play is something to sniff at.
It's not.
In 1980, the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros battled in an NLCS that went down as one of the greatest playoff series of all time.
Four of the five games went into extra innings. The Phillies outscored the Astros 20-19 in the series.
The Phillies eventually won the series 3-2.
And Gross was in the thick of it all.
In the eighth inning of Game 5, the Phillies trailed the Astros 5-2 and Nolan Ryan was on the hill.
It was almost too much to even ask for a glimmer of hope.
Then Larry Bowa singled. Bob Boone followed with a single and Gross stepped in to pinch hit. He dropped a near-perfect bunt and loaded the bases. He eventually scored on a Del Unser single.
He finished the series with three hits in four at-bats, two runs scored and one driven in.
Not alone
There are other players who came through York and Adams counties and made it to the playoffs.
Brooks Robinson, who played for the York White Roses, starred in the 1970 World Series, earning the MVP award with a memorable defensive performance. He even finished his career with a .303 World Series batting average.
However, none of these players were born in the region or spent more than a year here.
While the area doesn't have as many ties to the playoffs as fans would like, it can be very proud of the ones it does.
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