1960 World Series

The 1960 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1960 season. The 57th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates against the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees. In Game 7, Bill Mazeroski hit the series winning ninth-inning home run, the first time a winner-take-all World Series game ended with a home run, and the first World Series to end on a home run. Mazeroski's home run gave the Pirates their third title overall and their first since 1925.

Despite losing the series, the Yankees scored 55 runs, the most runs scored by any one team in World Series history, and more than twice as many as the Pirates, who scored 27. The Yankees won three blowouts (16–3, 10–0, and 12–0), while the Pirates won four close games (6–4, 3–2, 5–2, and 10–9) to win the series. The Pirates' -28 run differential is the lowest ever by any team, winner or loser, in a World Series. The Series MVP was Bobby Richardson of the Yankees, the only time in history that the award has been given to a member of the losing team, though the rules were different at this time. Votes had to be in by the start of the 8th inning of Game 7, at which point the Yankees were in the lead, and this was the first time since the series MVP award was created in 1955 that the team leading at that point did not go on to win. Richardson was also the first non-pitcher to be named MVP.

This World Series featured seven past, present, or future league Most Valuable Players. The Pirates had two – Dick Groat (1960) and Roberto Clemente (1966) – while the Yankees had five: Yogi Berra (1951, 1954, 1955), Bobby Shantz (1952), Mickey Mantle (1956, 1957, 1962), Roger Maris (1960, 1961), and Elston Howard (1963).

The Yankees, winners of their 10th pennant in 12 years, outscored the Pirates 55–27 in this Series, out-hit them 91–60, out-batted them .338 to .256, hit 10 home runs to Pittsburgh's four (three of which came in Game 7), got two complete-game shutouts from Whitey Ford—and lost. The Pirates' inconsistent pitching and Yankees' manager Casey Stengel's controversial decision not to start Ford in Games 1 and 4 resulted in the peculiar combination of close games and routs. Ford (Games 3 and 6) and Vern Law (Games 1 and 4) were excellent, while Pirates relief pitcher Roy Face was a major factor in Games 1, 4 and 5. The Yankees also committed twice as many errors as the Pirates in the series. The Yankees had 8 errors while the Pirates had four errors.

NL Pittsburgh Pirates (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (3)

The Yankees threw Art Ditmar against the Pirates' Vern Law (the NL Cy Young Award winner) in Game 1. In the top of the first inning, New York right fielder Roger Maris, the eventual 1960 AL MVP, drilled a home run off Law to give the Yankees a 1–0 lead. In the bottom half, however, the Pirates evened the score when Bill Virdon walked, stole second, advanced to third on an error by shortstop Tony Kubek, and scored on a double by eventual National League Most Valuable Player Dick Groat. Bob Skinner then singled to drive in Groat and stole second, coming home on a single by Roberto Clemente. Pittsburgh now led 3–1. This was enough to compel Casey Stengel, the Yankee manager, to pull Ditmar in favor of Jim Coates, who finished the inning.

In the fourth, New York cut the lead to one run when Maris singled, moved to second on a Mickey Mantle walk, took third on a fly out by Yogi Berra, and scored on a single by Bill Skowron. But the Pirates extended their lead to 5–2 in the fourth when Don Hoak walked and Bill Mazeroski homered. Pittsburgh added an insurance run in the sixth when Mazeroski doubled with one out and scored on Virdon's double off Duke Maas, and although the Yankees cut the lead in half on a ninth-inning 2-run home run to right field by Elston Howard, reliever Roy Face successfully closed it out to give the Pirates a 6–4 victory and a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2, matching New York's Bob Turley against the Pirates' Bob Friend, saw the Yankees pummel Pittsburgh 16–3.