1961 World Series
The louder buzz concerned the "M&M Boys", Yankees hitters Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, who had spent the season pursuing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record of 60 set in 1927; Mantle finished with 54 while Maris set the record of 61 on the last day of the season.
Along with Maris and Mantle, four other Yankees, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Bill Skowron, and Johnny Blanchard, hit more than 20 home runs.
The second-base, shortstop, and catcher positions were platooned, while center fielder Vada Pinson led the league in hits with 208 and finished second in batting with a .343 average.
In the second inning, Boyer backhanded a ground ball by Reds third baseman Gene Freese close to the bag, wheeled, and threw him out from his knees.
Reds first baseman Gordy Coleman and Yankees' left-fielder Yogi Berra traded two-run homers in the fourth.
Coleman hit his into the right-center field bleachers after Frank Robinson reached on an error by Yankees' third-baseman Clete Boyer.
After Roger Maris led off the bottom half of the inning with a walk, Berra tied the score with a drive into the lower right-field stands.
The Reds went ahead for good with two outs in the fifth when Elio Chacón sprinted home from third on an Elston Howard passed ball that didn't get much further than 15 feet (4.6 m) away.
Yankee starter Ralph Terry would give up one more run in the sixth on a Wally Post double and a run- scoring single by eighth-place hitter Johnny Edwards, before being lifted in the seventh for pinch-hitter Héctor López.
Jay would seal the victory for the Reds by retiring six of the remaining seven batters, allowing only a walk to Clete Boyer in the ninth.
After falling to a perceived inferior team (the Pittsburgh Pirates) in the seven-game walk-off 1960 World Series, a loss that cost long-time manager Casey Stengel his job, fans and media were wondering if it could happen again: the Yankees had only scored four runs and gotten 10 hits in the first two games, and their vaunted "M&M Boys" were struggling.
99-year-old Dummy Hoy, a former Red and the oldest living former Major League player at the time, threw out the first pitch.
Purkey also had outstanding control and kept the Yankee hitters off balance, but New York triumphed on a Maris home run in the ninth.
Cincinnati struck first with a run in the bottom of the third when Elio Chacón beat out a bunt and took second when Stafford threw wildly to first.
The Reds regained the lead in their half of the inning when Edwards doubled into the right-field corner and eventually scored on a Kasko single to left.
After Gene Freese struck out, Leo Cárdenas, batting for Johnny Edwards, doubled off the left-center field scoreboard.
Whitey Ford started Game 4 for the Yankees in an attempt to continue his post-season shutout streak, but more importantly to give the Bombers a 3–1 lead in the Series.
Ford remained in the game until the end of the fifth, when an apparent ankle injury forced him to leave, his new record at 32 consecutive scoreless innings.
The Yankees put on the safety squeeze, only to have Ford bunt right to Reds first baseman Gordy Coleman who tagged first base.
After Bobby Richardson singled to start the game, Jay retired Tony Kubek and Roger Maris on fly balls.
Then Yankees finished the rout by added two more runs in the sixth on sacrifices by Lopez (on a squeeze play) and Daley (on a fly ball).
