Gehrig
08-30-01, 07:03 AM
Game Six of the 1947 World Series was a nightmare for Yankees fans.
Al Gionfriddo, who had scored the tying run in game four, prevented the tying run from scoring in Game Six with one of the most sensational defensive plays in World Series History...
Game Five had been decided by Joe DiMaggio's solo shot against Rex Barney. The Yankees, who had had hopes of wrapping up the series in Game Six ran afoul of Gionfriddo once more. With the Dodgers leading 8-5 in the bottom sixth, Brooklyn Manager Burt Shotton went to his bench again and inserted Gionfriddo in Left Field as a defensive replacement...
DiMaggio came up and hit a towering blast to the 415-foot sign in deep left center. But Gionfriddo, who got a good jump on the ball, made an unbelievable catch at the bullpen fence, prompting Joe D to kick the dirt near second base in his only on field "emotional outburst"... If he had not gotten to the ball the game would have been tied. the Dodgers went on to win the game, 8-6. So the catch, at the time, turned out to be a game-saving catch and a series-saving grab...
The Yankees of course went on to win game seven 5-2 ...
(Years later DiMaggio said that it incensed him that Gionfriddo was playing him too shallow and it should have been a routine play instead of a sensational catch :eek: ... )
Gionfriddo never played another game in the major leagues...
Now for some trivia: Whom, by the way, did Gionfriddo replace in left field on that October Afternoon ?
**NOTE**
Al Gionfriddo "The Catch" will be appearing Sunday, December 2nd 11:00 - 1:30 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center, 135 Davidson Ave. Somerset, New Jersey
Al Gionfriddo, who had scored the tying run in game four, prevented the tying run from scoring in Game Six with one of the most sensational defensive plays in World Series History...
Game Five had been decided by Joe DiMaggio's solo shot against Rex Barney. The Yankees, who had had hopes of wrapping up the series in Game Six ran afoul of Gionfriddo once more. With the Dodgers leading 8-5 in the bottom sixth, Brooklyn Manager Burt Shotton went to his bench again and inserted Gionfriddo in Left Field as a defensive replacement...
DiMaggio came up and hit a towering blast to the 415-foot sign in deep left center. But Gionfriddo, who got a good jump on the ball, made an unbelievable catch at the bullpen fence, prompting Joe D to kick the dirt near second base in his only on field "emotional outburst"... If he had not gotten to the ball the game would have been tied. the Dodgers went on to win the game, 8-6. So the catch, at the time, turned out to be a game-saving catch and a series-saving grab...
The Yankees of course went on to win game seven 5-2 ...
(Years later DiMaggio said that it incensed him that Gionfriddo was playing him too shallow and it should have been a routine play instead of a sensational catch :eek: ... )
Gionfriddo never played another game in the major leagues...
Now for some trivia: Whom, by the way, did Gionfriddo replace in left field on that October Afternoon ?
**NOTE**
Al Gionfriddo "The Catch" will be appearing Sunday, December 2nd 11:00 - 1:30 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center, 135 Davidson Ave. Somerset, New Jersey