View Full Version : Herb Score's Decline
Does anyone know what caused Score's dramatic decline after the McDougald line-drive to his face? I've read that in subsequent years this was attributed--by Score--to a sore arm developed on a cold damp night. I can't remember when, exactly, he said that incident occurred. I was about 16 when the McDougald incident occurred and remember well the shock it caused all around. However, after Score's decline itself, I don't remember accounts of its cause that did not attribute it to the May '57 incident. As I recall--more dimly each year--there was an initial "gun shyness" explanation after Score's return to action, with the sore arm business coming somewhat later in time.
Chuck The Mets Fan!
06-01-2009, 05:59 PM
The infamous incident happened nearly a decade and one half before I was born, but with "Doc" Gooden bursting on the seam, Herb was ofetn spoken about during Doc's first three years. Many believed that he was more affected by an injury similar to what Dizzy Dean had that actually had him altering his delivery therefore injuring his throwing shoulder. I met a Yankee fan when I was younger who told me that had Herb stayed healthy he would have been known as one of the greatest pitchers of all time. He had a blazing fastball but so so breaking stuff.
Eyeshade
06-02-2009, 05:41 AM
Supposedly, Herb tore a tendon in his arm after coming back. He regained 20/20 vision and denied being "gun shy" from the Mc Dougal liner. After the tendon healed, his motion was different and he ended up with chronic soreness/injuries from the new and non-natural pitching motion.
A damn shame as Bob Feller will tell you that Herb had as good or better stuff than Koufax. The Cleveland curse lives on!
Supposedly, Herb tore a tendon in his arm after coming back. He regained 20/20 vision and denied being "gun shy" from the Mc Dougal liner. After the tendon heale[INDENT]d, his motion was different and he ended up with chronic soreness/injuries from the new and non-natural pitching motion.
A damn shame as Bob Feller will tell you that Herb had as good or better stuff than Koufax. The Cleveland curse lives on!
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On the point made by Feller: many of us who were Yankee fans were in dismay during the summer of 1954. However, this was less because the Yankees were trailing Cleveland than because we were reading The Sporting News's AAA statistics of Score's performances in Indianapolis and hearing reports of his incredible stuff. It became obvious in 1955 that these reports were true, and even more obvious in 1956. Nevertheless, I knew no one--Yankee fan or not--who was not shocked by the injury in 1957.
ol' aches and pains
06-02-2009, 12:52 PM
A damn shame as Bob Feller will tell you that Herb had as good or better stuff than Koufax. The Cleveland curse lives on!
Feller also said if Jackie Robinson was white, he wouldn't even be considered Major League material, so I'm not sure I trust him as a judge of talent.
Bill Burgess
06-02-2009, 02:41 PM
Reminds me completely of the Dizzy Dean comparison. It wasn't the broken toe or line drive to the eye that did the damage.
Apparently, from all of my readings, it was the change in their delivery motions that caused the problems. Maybe they came back too soon.
rkoch
06-04-2009, 08:59 PM
As Bill says, what killed Diz was after the toe incident his delivery was never the same and that contributed to his demise.