Today in 1952 - Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees...Worst versus First with a Twist

August 25, 1952 – Today in 1952, the lowly Detroit Tigers visited the mighty New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York.

It was a case of last place versus first place, an easy Yankee win.  But Detroit had something to say about that. 

Going into the 6^th inning, the only hit either team could muster was a single by Tiger catcher Matt Batts.  That was in the 2^nd inning and he was left on base.  In the 6^th, Detroit’s Walt Dropo hit a double into left field.  Then Bud Souchock hit a single down the left field line and Dropo scored.  Tigers led 1-0.  Yankee pitcher Bill Miller was able to finish the inning making Detroit leave men on base.

Tiger pitcher Virgil Trucks had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the 9^th.  He had to face the top of the Yankee order, which meant slugger Mickey Mantle was up first and...Trucks struck Mantle out.  Joe Collins was next.  He hit a line drive to center field and Johnny Groth caught it for the second out.  Hank Bauer was Trucks’ last obstacle for a no-hitter.  Bauer hit a grounder to second baseman Al Federoff, who threw Bauer out at first.  Game over.  The last place Detroit Tigers beat the first place New York Yankees 1-0, a no-hitter by Virgil Trucks.

Trucks went to 5-15 with the win.  He struck out 8 and batted 0-2.  Bill Miller went to 3-5 with the loss.  He struck out 7 and batted 0-1, with a sacrifice hit.

The Detroit Tigers improved to 42-81.  They were 29 games behind the Yankees, deep in last place in the American League.  The New York Yankees fell to 72-53 with the loss and were a game ahead of the second place Cleveland Indians. 

Notables

• There were 5 Hall of Famers playing or managing in this game, all with New York: Players Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Johnny Mize, and manager Casey Stengel.
• Virgil Trucks pitched his second no-hitter of the season that day.  The first one was on May 15 against the Washington Senators.  Those would be his only two career no-hitters.
  
• This was Fred Hutchinson’s first year managing the Tigers.  He was there as a player/manager.  He managed the team until 1954.  Hutchinson would lead the Cincinnati Reds to the NL Pennant in 1961 and a World Series loss to the New York Yankees.
  
• Hutchinson played for the Tigers from 1939-53.
  
• This was Stengel’s fourth season managing the Yankees.  He led the team to a World Series victory that year over the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Stengel managed the Yankees from 1949-60 and won 7 World Series titles (5 in a row) and the AL Pennant every year of his tenure there, except two (1954, 1959).
  
• Hank Bauer went on to manage the Baltimore Orioles from 1964-68.  In 1966, he led the team to a World Series championship over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• Johnny Pesky went on to manage the Boston Red Sox from 1963-64, and again in 1980.

• Yogi Berra went on to manage the Yankees in 1964, 1984-85.  He led the team to the AL Pennant in 1964, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.  He also managed the Mets from 1972-75, leading them to the NL Pennant in 1973.  The Mets lost to the Oakland A’s in the World Series.
  
• Billy Martin had a colorful career as a player and a manager, most of it well known.  He managed the Yankees off and on from 1975-88, getting hired and fired multiple times in the process.  He led the team to an AL Pennant in 1976, getting swept by Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine in the World Series, and a World Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977.  He led the Oakland A’s from 1980-82 and introduced “Billyball”, the aggressive style of play that brought the A's from pretenders to contenders.
  

Game stats and other data can be found on Baseball-Reference.com at Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees - August 25, 1952