On May 12, 1959, Pirate starter Harvey Haddix tied up with Lew Burdette of the then Milwaukee Braves in a monumental pitching duel in what baseball historians argumentatively proclaim was “the greatest game ever pitched in major league history,” perhaps THE greatest game ever played.

Haddix saw previous pitching experience in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Cincinnati before coming to Pittsburgh in 1959.  His best years were 1953 and 1954 with the St. Louis Cardinals where he finished 20-9 and 18-13.  Over his 14 year career, he was 136-113 and a 3.63 ERA.

Burdette pitched a total of 18 seasons, 12 1/2 with the Braves (from 1951 to mid-1963) after breaking in with the Yankees.  In 1963, Burdette was traded to St. Louis where he played for part of 2 seasons, then to the Chicago Cubs, the Phillies before closing out his career with the L.A. Angels in 1966 and ‘67.  Burdette finished his career with a lifetime record of 203-144 and a 3.65 ERA.

Through the innings of the game, the goose-eggs on scoreboard mounted up.  After the regulation 9 innings, the score was 0-0.  Burdette was pitching well, it was just that Haddix was pitching better.  Through 9, Haddix was 27 up, 27 down.  Through the 10th, the 11th and the 12th, the goose-eggs continued, for Haddix it was 36 up, 36 down.  Burdette also carried a shutout through 13 innings but had given up 12 scattered hits to the Pirates, and was the beneficiary of 3 double-plays to preserve the Pirate goose-eggs.

In the Milwaukee 13th, Felix Mantilla opened by reaching first base on a Pitsburgh error by normally sure-handed 3rd baseman Don Hoak.  Then after Haddix issued an intentional walk to Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock followed with a home run to right-center field for an apparent 3-0 win. 

But wait, as described by Baseball Library, Aaron does a “Merkle,” (for Frank Merkle of the NY Giants famous for his bonehead play on September 23, 1908) leaving the field as Adcock passed him on the basepaths.  As a result, Mantilla scored, both Aaron and Adcock were ruled out, Adcock was awarded a double instead of a home run and the game ended in a Braves 1-0 victory on one hit.  Lew Burdette, of course, was the winning pitcher giving up 12 Pirate hits while Harvey Haddix took the loss going the route and giving up but 1 hit, the homer turned double to Joe Adcock.

Baseball Almanac’s “Fast Facts” recalls, “After the game, Lew Burdette told the media, “I called Harvey that night in the visiting clubhouse. I told him ‘I realize I got what I wanted, a win, but I’d really give it up because you pitched the greatest game that’s ever been pitched in the history of baseball. It was a damned shame you had to lose.’ ”

Haddix went on to finish the 1959 season with a 12-12 mark with an ERA of 3.13 while Burdette finished the season with a 21-15 mark and an ERA of 4.07.

Later, in trying to talk Braves management into a raise, Baseball Library recounts how “the puckish Burdette asked for a $10,000 raise, explaining: ‘I’m the greatest pitcher that ever lived. The greatest game that was ever pitched in baseball wasn’t good enough to beat me, so I’ve got to be the greatest!’”

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 at 8:49 pm and is filed under All Time Baseball Highlights, All Time Team Highlights, All Time Pitching Highlights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.