Pivotal World Series Moments
It's Not How Many Hits; It's How Many Runs
1936 World Series Game 3: New York Giants @ New York Yankees
The Yankees clobbered the Giants 18-4 in Game 2 to tie the Series at one game apiece. The Series then moved to Yankee Stadium for the next three games.
The Game 3 pitchers were two veterans: knuckle-baller Freddie Fitzsimmons, the 35-year-old "pudgy chicken farmer of California," for the Giants and 32-year-old Bump Hadley for the Yanks. They toiled on a beautiful Fall Saturday before a World Series record crowd of 64,842.
Yankees Strike First
The home team took a quick lead on 1B Lou Gehrig's home run into the right-field bleachers leading off the 2nd.
With both starters on their game, the Giants tied the score in the top of the 5th on CF Jimmy Ripple's line drive deep into the right field bleachers near where Gehrig's clout landed. The Giants got two more hits in the inning, both singles, as well as a walk, but a caught stealing helped Hadley escape with no more damage. Yankees 1 Giants 1
![]() ![]() L: Freddie Fitzsimmons, R: Bump Hadley Giants Leave More Runners on Base
The Giants got a pair of two-out singles in the top of the 7th, but Hadley got LF Jo-Jo Moore, "the thin man from Gause, Texas," to lineout to 2B Tony Lazzeri.
The visitors threatened again in the top of the 8th. SS Dick Bartell led off with a single through the SS-3B hole. Terry gave himself the bunt sign, but Hadley nailed the runner at second. That loomed big when RF Mel Ott grounded a single up the middle to send Terry to 2nd. But Bump bore down again and retired Ripple on a weak grounder and C Gus Mancuso on a fly ball to deep left field.
![]() ![]() L: Lou Gehrig, R: Jimmy Ripple Yankees Scratch Out Run to Retake Lead
The bottom of the 8th started with RF George Selkirk's single, just the third hit allowed by Freddie, and a walk to LF Jake Powell. Lazzeri bunted both runners up a base. Then came an interesting move by Yankees manager Joe McCarthy. He pinch hit for Hadley with another pitcher, Red Ruffing. Ruffing hit .291 during the season, which was higher than two Yankee starters although in far fewer at-bats. When Ruffing bounced to Fitzsimmons, Selkirk foolishly tried to score and was thrown out at the plate.
SS Frankie Crosetti, a .288 hitter during the season, bounced a single off Fitzsimmons' glove to score Powell. If Fitz, who prided himself as a great fielding pitcher, had kept his hands off the ball, it easily would have rolled to 2B Burgess Whitehead for the third out. Yankees 2 Giants 1
![]() ![]() ![]() L-R: George Selkirk, Jake Powell, Tony Lazzeri Malone Mops Up in 9th
With Hadley out for a pinch hitter, Pat Malone took the mound for the Yanks in the 9th. He started only nine games during the season but led the club in completing games with 25.
Malone struck out Whitehead and got pinch hitter Mark Koenig to bounce out to shortstop. Pinch hitter Sam Leslie kept the Giants' hopes alive by lining a single to center field. But Moore grounded into a forceout, shortstop to second, to seal the victory for the Yankees. FINAL SCORE: Yankees 2 Giants 1
The Giants lost despite getting 11 hits to the Yankees' four.
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