Wait ‘Til Next Lifetime

Johnny Podres, hero of the Brooklyn Dodgers lone World Series championship, has died at the age of 75. Entering the World Series with a 9-10 record, Podres wouldn’t have been your first bet to carry a team to a World Series title, but with the Dodgers down 2-0 to the Yankees and anticipating another offseason of waiting ‘til next year, Podres delivered an 8-3 win in Game 3. Then in Game 7, mixed up fastballs and change-ups to win 2-0 on a 8-hitter and Brooklyn erupted. The karmic scale was balanced when Podres endured 5 losing seasons in his 6 years as pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, though he was a member of the 1993 NL Champions’ coaching staff, which has lost 3 members in 11 months (John Vukovich, Mel Roberts).