RetroSimba

For overall excellence with bat and glove, second baseman Julian Javier earned a place alongside future Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Lou Brock as a standout for the Cardinals in the 1967 World Series.

The trio capped their consistently strong postseason with clutch performances in the decisive Game 7 against the Red Sox at Boston on Oct. 12, 1967.

After the Cardinals and Red Sox split the first six games, St. Louis prevailed in the finale, 7-2, at Fenway Park. In that game:

_ Gibson pitched a three-hitter, struck out 10 and contributed a home run. He won all three of his starts against the Red Sox and was named recipient of the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.

_ Brock produced two hits, a walk, three stolen bases and scored a run. For the Series, he hit .414 (12-for-29) with seven steals and eight runs scored.

_ Javier delivered the key hit _ a three-run home run. For the Series, he hit .360 (9-for-25) and fielded splendidly. Javier made 12 putouts, helped turn four double plays and made 20 assists. His lone error occurred on a hurried relay throw in the finale.

Brock told United Press International he believed the World Series MVP trophy “has to go to Javier. He made some of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen in addition to his nine hits.”

Strategy session

Through five innings of Game 7, the Cardinals led, 4-1. With Gibson at peak form, the Red Sox realized they likely would need to keep the Cardinals from scoring again in order to have a chance to rally.

In the sixth, Tim McCarver, hitless in his previous 10 at-bats, led off for the Cardinals and stroked a low liner to right against Red Sox ace Jim Lonborg. Ken Harrelson charged in and attempted a diving catch, but the ball glanced off his glove. McCarver hustled to second base with a double.

Mike Shannon followed with a one-hop smash that clanked off third baseman Joe Foy. With McCarver holding at second, Shannon reached first base safely and Foy was charged with an error.

Red Sox manager Dick Williams visited Lonborg on the mound. “I went out there to take him out,” Williams told The Sporting News.

Lonborg asked to stay in. He explained to Williams that the next batter, Javier, likely would try to advance the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Williams agreed.

After Javier, the Cardinals’ eighth- and ninth-place batters, Dal Maxvill and Gibson, were due to bat. If Javier sacrificed, Lonborg figured, he liked his chances of escaping the inning unscathed.

“Jim said he still felt good,” Williams told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “and we thought Javier would be bunting.”

Instead, Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst, sensing a chance to drive a dagger into Boston’s hopes, allowed Javier to swing away.

Game changer

Looking to make contact, “I wasn’t trying to hit the ball hard,” Javier said to the Associated Press.

Relying on breaking pitches, Lonborg got ahead in the count, 1-and-2.

The next pitch, a slider, lacked a sharp break and hung in the strike zone.

Javier connected _ “It went up there,” he said of the ball_ and the high drive carried over the Green Monster wall in left field for a home run, giving St. Louis a 7-1 lead.

“This one is a crusher,” Cardinals broadcaster Harry Caray said. Video

As McCarver, Shannon and Javier rounded the bases and reached home plate _ “A joyous parade,” Caray crowed _ many in the Boston crowd fell silent.

The Red Sox managed to score a run in the eighth before Gibson sealed the win in the ninth. Boxscore

Noting that two of the Cardinals’ top hitters had struggled throughout the World Series _ Orlando Cepeda batted .103 and McCarver hit .125 _ Javier said “we could have beat them in five games” if the middle-of-the-order duo had produced better.

A few days after the championship celebration, Javier returned to his home in the Dominican Republic. Arriving at the airport in Santo Domingo, Javier was “given a hero’s welcome,” according to the Post-Dispatch. In a public ceremony, President Joaquin Balaguer presented Javier with the Order of the Fathers of the Country, the Dominican Republic’s highest decoration.

Previously: George Scott: Bob Gibson ‘won’t survive 5’ in Game 7

Previously: World Series duels: Norm Siebern vs. Bob Gibson