Whiz Kids (baseball)
The starters in the game were Robin Roberts for Philadelphia and Don Newcombe, Brooklyn's 17-game winner from the prior season.
In May, the team amassed its longest winning streak of the season, when they won six consecutive games—one against the St. Louis Cardinals, a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Redlegs, one against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the last against the Giants.
[10] In the middle months of the season, the Whiz Kids played strongly, notching winning records of 14–11 in June and 21–13 in July.
[10] Early in July, the Phillies put together a four-game winning streak against the two National League teams from New York, sweeping the Giants in a two-game set and taking two of three from Brooklyn.
Among the casualties were pitcher Bob Miller, who injured his back slipping on wet stairs; outfielder Bill Nicholson, diagnosed with diabetes, was out for the remainder of the season.
In the bottom of the fourth, Pee Wee Reese hit a double for the Dodgers, but Roberts retired the next three batters in order.
[17] Jones singled to left field, driving him in for the first run of the game;[18] his hit has been called "the most important in Phillies history to that point".
[19] The Dodgers tied the game on a home run by Reese in the bottom of the sixth; the ball landed on a ledge in right-center field and, caught by a wire screen along the foul line, stayed in play but out of Del Ennis' reach.
[23] With runners now on second and third, Roberts walked Robinson intentionally to load the bases, then induced Carl Furillo to foul out to Eddie Waitkus.
[20] Sisler came to the plate and hit a high outside fastball from Newcombe over the left-field wall, dancing to first base as he watched it fly out.
[21] Comfortable on the mound again with a 4–1 lead, Roberts retired the side in the tenth inning to secure the complete-game victory and the Phillies' second pennant in franchise history.
[20] Sawyer turned heads around the league by naming Konstanty, his closer, the starter for Game 1;[20] he had few options without Robin Roberts, who had started four games in eight days,[14][24] rookie Bubba Church, who had been hit in the eye with a line drive,[25] and Curt Simmons, who was activated into military service on September 10.
[27] With Ken Heintzelman on the mound in Game 3, the Phillies outhit the Yankees, but could not push enough runs across the plate.
[34] As the catcher, Seminick provided veteran leadership for the team and helped guide the young pitching staff.
"[35] Six players have since been elected members of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame: outfielder Ashburn; pitchers Roberts, Konstanty, Simmons; and infielders Hamner and Jones.
[39] Many thought that the Whiz Kids, with a young core of talented players, would be a force in the league for years to come.
[43] The Phillies did not integrate until 1957, a decade after Robinson's entry,[44] when John Kennedy made his major league debut on April 22, 1957, at Roosevelt Stadium.
