Don Demeter made the fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers with one swing.
Demeter’s walk-off homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth gave the Dodgers a 4-3 win over the Washington Senators in the first round of the Strat-O-Matic 1959 Tournament presented by Press Room Pass.
The contest began as if the Dodgers wouldn’t need any heroics late in the game.
Gil Hodges knocked in a run in the first with a double. In the second, Johnny Roseboro homered and Maury Wills added a run-scoring single to make it 3-0.
Los Angeles starter Don Drysdale retired the first seven hitters he faced before the Senators began a hit parade.
Hal Naragon singled and Ron Samford followed with a double. Reno Bertoia drove in Naragon with a single. The final run of the fame as Samford scored on a single by Faye Throneberry.
The affair stayed at 3-2 until the top of the eighth as Drysdale and Washington’s Camilo Pascual both settled down.
Throneberry added his second RBI single of the game to tie it at 3-3.
Demeter’s hit was his only one in the game after striking out twice and flying out to left.
Hodges and Wills topped the Dodgers with three hits each, while Naragon also had three hits for Washington.
The Senators also turned a triple play as Wally Moon hit a line drive to Julio Becquer to end a rally in the third.
1959 TOURNAMENT RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
(Top Bracket Opening Round)
(A1) Chicago White Sox 7, (N8) Philadelphia Phillies 1
(N5) Cincinnati Reds 5, (A4) Detroit Tigers 3
(A6) Baltimore Orioles 2, (N3) San Francisco Giants 1
(N2) Milwaukee Braves 4, (A7) Kansas City A’s 1
(Top Bracket Second Round)
(N5) Cincinnati Reds at (A1) Chicago White Sox
(A6) Baltimore Orioles at (N2) Milwaukee Braves
(Bottom Bracket Opening Round)
(N1) Los Angeles Dodgers 4, (A8) Washington Senators 3
(A5) Boston Red Sox at (N4) Pittsburgh Pirates
(N6) Chicago Cubs at (A3) New York Yankees
(N7) St. Louis Cardinals at (A2) Cleveland Indians
(Bottom Bracket Second Round)
(A5) Boston Red Sox/(N4) Pittsburgh Pirates
winner at (N1) Los Angeles Dodgers
IN REAL LIFE:
Don Demeter hit 163 homers in his 11-year career with just one walk-off homer.
That home run came in what was probably the best game of his career in 1959 as the Dodgers won 9-7 in 11 innings over San Francisco at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Demeter tagged Giants reliever Al Worthington for a two-run shot with one out to win the game as he completed the only three-homer game of his career on April 21.
That blast followed the only career inside-the-park homer for Demeter off Giants starter Dom Zanni in the third.
One inning later, Demeter’s second home run came off 1967 Cy Young Award winner Mike McCormick, who was just 20-years old at the time.
Demeter knocked in six runs that day, while the other three came on a homer by Don Zimmer. Despite swinging a hot bat that day, Demeter also had a sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning against Worthington.
Beginning his pro career in the minors with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953, Demeter got the call to the big leagues for three games in 1956. He had 41 homers and 128 RBI in Double-A for Fort Worth.
In 1957, he spent the entire season with Triple-A St. Paul as he finished with 28 homers and 86 RBI.
Splitting time in the majors and minors in 1958, Demeter was a rookie in 1959 as the Dodgers won the World Series over the Chicago White Sox.
With the emergence of others in the Dodgers outfield, particularly Tommy Davis, Demeter was shipped to Philadelphia early in 1961.
His best season was in 1962 for the Phillies when he batted .307 with 29 homers and 107 RBI.
After the 1963 season, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers in a deal that had Jim Bunning going to the Phillies.
Demeter played with the Tigers until 1966 when he was sent to Boston. He ended his career a year later with the Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians.