Sept. 3, 1963 - You won’t see many like that one. Pete Rose, first up for Cincinnati, hit the first pitch deep into the right field seats at the Polo Grounds, and that was it. The Reds beat Jay Hook, 1-0, with young Jim Maloney racking up win No. 20, after Al Jackson fired a six-hitter for the Mets’ 5-3 win in the opener. There were 19,273 Met faithful on hand to push the Polo Grounds attendance over a million, and that’s not bad for a 10th-place team. If Hook could pitch like that more often, his record wouldn’t be 3-12. The Mets are bound to get him a run or two occasionally, although that’s never guaranteed by a team that has been blanked 23 times to date. This was the sixth time this year a Met pitcher had lost 1-0. Hook took it philosophically. “One pitch,” he said. “The rest of the game was a waste of time.” Ernie White, pitching coach, kidded Jay, “You should have taken one more warmup pitch.” Rose really conked it. The ball traveled over 400 feet, out where the right stands start to bend. Thereafter, the Reds stroked just three singles, two of them infield jobs. At one stage, from the third till one out from the end, Hook retired 19 straight. “I’ve had a better fastball,” Hook said later, “but my change and curve were real good today.” Maloney had that and more. His fastball buzzed, and he was almost untouchable. He whiffed 13, and only Ron Hunt escaped without fanning. During the nightcap, a 10-man sym-phoney, complete with cymbals which happened to be a pair of garbage can covers, paraded through the stands. Most listeners agreed there is little chance they will be offered a recording date.
Comments