Harvey Haddix: The Imperfect Masterpiece
You may not have heard of Harvey Haddix, even though he goes down in Pirates lore as pitching one of the most notable games in the team’s history. His career with the Pirates wasn’t long, as he pitched for five teams over the course of his career and spent only four seasons with the Buccos, from 1959-1963.
Haddix began his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he was nicknamed “The Kitten,” and he had his best season there in 1953 in which he went 20-9 and had 163 strikeouts (yes, that was actually a lot of punch-outs in those days), a 3.06 ERA, 19 complete games, and six shutouts. After pitching several seasons for the Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Redlegs, Haddix found himself with the Pirates.
Haddix was on the Pirates 1960 team that beat the Yankees in the World Series, and was the final winning pitcher as he had pitched in relief in Game 7 of that series – in the top of the famed ninth inning in which Bill Mazeroski smacked the final, winning home run.
But the main legend about Haddix isn’t about his success in that final Game 7. It’s about the near perfect game he pitched for the Pirates on May 26, 1959. Haddix took a perfect game against the Milwaukee Braves, in Milwaukee, into the 13th (yes, you read that correctly) inning, only to suffer the loss in the bottom of the 13th.
Haddix retired 36 consecutive batters in 12 innings, essentially relying on two pitches: fastball and slider. The challenge for him was that the Braves’ pitcher, Lew Burdette, was also pitching a shutout. Now, Burdette’s game was no perfect game: he gave up 12 hits over the course of 13 innings to the Pirates. The problem for the Buccos, was, however, that they just couldn’t close the deal. Every time they got close to scoring a run, something went wrong and the inning was over.
Haddix’s perfect game bid ended in the 13th, when Pirates third baseman Don Hoak had a fielding error that allowed Felix Mantilla of the Braves to reach base. Mantilla then advanced to second on a sac bunt by the Braves’ Eddie Matthews, which was then followed by an intentional walk to Hank Aaron. So it was first and second with one out.
Now here’s where it gets really interesting, though the outcome of the game would effectively have been the same:
Joe Adcock of the Braves then came to the plate, and hit what was an apparent walk-off home run. In the confusion over whether it was actually a home run, though, Hank Aaron left the base paths and was passed by Adcock while he was running the bases, which was actually the second out of the inning. But due to the home run, the game was ruled to be over by virtue of a walk-off and the final score was booked as 2-0. (Remember, there were no manager challenges nor instant replay in those days. Whatever the umps on the field said, went.)
As a postscript, eventually, the Adcock hit was changed from a home run to a double by a ruling from then National League president Warren Giles – so ultimately, only the lead runner Mantilla's run counted, resulting in a final score of 1-0; but the Pirates and Haddix still lost the game.
Haddix's 12 and 2/3-inning, one-hit complete game, against the team that had just represented the National League in the two previous World Series, is considered by some to be the finest pitching performance in MLB history. (Recall: In that fateful 13th inning, there was an error, a sac bunt, a walk, and a double. Still just a one-hitter.)
Mazeroski later said of Haddix's dominance in the game, "Usually you have one or two great or spectacular defensive plays in these no-hitters. Not that night. It was the easiest game I ever played in.”
Haddix went on to the Baltimore Orioles to finish out his on-field career, where Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer said he learned a lot from him. But back in the day when having an effective two-pitch arsenal was all a top pitcher needed to be successful, Harvey Haddix was one of the toughest in the game to contend with.