# 53 No Runs, No Hits, and Too Many Errors

Some days it just doesn’t pay to go to the ballpark. One day in 1966, Los Angeles Dodger outfielder Willie Davis was thinking of places he’d rather have been. At the time, anywhere must have seemed more inviting. The game he would like to have skipped was no ordinary test. It was the World Series.

The year 1966 had been a good one for the Dodgers. They had clinched the National League Pennant with ease, and all that was left was the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. As far as most fans and sportswriters were concerned, the “Fall Classic” would be no contest. The Dodgers had powerful hitting and a pitcher who threw the ball so fast that some people insisted it could cause a sonic boom. But something unexpected happened. The Orioles’ pitching sparkled, and their hitters were slugging the ball over the outfield fences. All the Dodger fans could talk about was the “cold Dodger bats”—that is, when they weren’t talking about Willie Davis and “that inning.” In this particular game Davis set a major league record, one that no ball player would be proud of. In one short inning he made three errors. He let an easy hit skid by him. Several pitches later, he lost a fly ball in the glare of the sun. And if that weren’t bad enough, he picked up the ball he had missed and threw it over the infielder’s head. Davis felt bad, but he wasn’t alone. The Dodgers lost the best-out-of-seven series without winning a single game.

# 53 零得分、零安打，失误却太多

有些日子去棒球场根本不值得。1966年的一天，洛杉矶道奇队的外野手威利·戴维斯满脑子想的都是自己更愿意待着的地方。那时候，任何地方似乎都比这儿更有吸引力。他本想跳过的这场比赛可不是普通的考验——那是世界大赛。

1966年对道奇队来说是不错的一年。他们轻松锁定了国家联盟冠军，剩下的就是与巴尔的摩金莺队的世界大赛了。在大多数球迷和体育记者看来，这场“秋季经典赛”根本毫无悬念。道奇队有强劲的打击火力，还有一位投球速度快到有人坚称其球速能引发音爆的投手。但意外发生了：金莺队的投球表现出色，他们的打击手把球猛击过外野围栏。道奇队球迷们谈论的全是“道奇队冰冷的球棒”——当然，除了他们谈论威利·戴维斯和“那局比赛”的时候。在这场比赛中，戴维斯创下了一项大联盟纪录，但没有哪个球员会为这项纪录感到骄傲。在短短一局里，他出现了三次失误：先是让一记轻松的安打从身边滑过；几球之后，他在阳光的眩光中跟丢了一记飞球；更糟的是，他捡起那记没接住的球，却把球扔过了内野手的头顶。戴维斯很难过，但他不是唯一一个状态糟糕的人：道奇队在这个七场四胜制的系列赛中一场未赢，直接落败。