October 3, 1947. Game 4 of the World Series. Ebbets Field, Brooklyn. Bill Bevens had thrown eight innings without allowing a hit -- something no pitcher had ever done in the Fall Classic. He'd walked 10 batters, a World Series record, and his command was a mess. But the scoreboard told one story: no hits. The Yankees led 2-1. Bevens was three outs from immortality. He didn't get there.
The Wrong Man for a Masterpiece
Bevens wasn't the guy central casting would've picked for a no-hitter. He'd gone 7-13 during the regular season with a 3.82 ERA -- the kind of pitcher who eats innings and stays out of the way. Bucky Harris started him in Game 4 because the rotation needed a body, not because anyone expected history.
But baseball doesn't care about expectations. Through eight innings at Ebbets Field, Bevens held the Brooklyn Dodgers hitless. He wasn't dominant in any traditional sense -- the 10 walks proved that. He was wild, working in and out of trouble all afternoon, the kind of performance that had the Yankee dugout holding its breath every inning. The Dodgers scored a run in the fifth without getting a hit (walks and a sacrifice fly). Despite the no-hitter, the margin was razor-thin.
The Ninth Inning
Bruce Edwards flied out to open the bottom of the ninth. Two outs to go. Carl Furillo walked -- Bevens's ninth free pass of the day. Spider Jorgensen fouled out. One out to go.
Then it unraveled. Al Gionfriddo came in to pinch-run for Furillo and stole second base, putting the tying run in scoring position. Bucky Harris ordered an intentional walk to Pete Reiser -- Bevens's 10th walk of the afternoon, a World Series record. Dodgers manager Burt Shotton had one card left to play.
He sent Cookie Lavagetto to pinch-hit for Eddie Stanky.
Lavagetto was 34 years old, a backup infielder hanging on at the end of a career that had been interrupted by three years of military service. He wasn't a threat. He wasn't supposed to be the man who changed history.
Bevens threw. Lavagetto swung. The ball lined to right field and ricocheted off the wall. Two runners scored. Dodgers 3, Yankees 2. The no-hitter, the shutout, and the game -- all gone on one swing.
Swung on, there's a drive hit out toward the right-field corner. Gionfriddo scores! Reiser scores! And the Dodgers win it on Cookie Lavagetto's double off the right-field wall!
Two Careers, One Pitch
The aftermath carried a symmetry that felt like fiction. Bevens never pitched in the major leagues again -- arm trouble ended his career after the 1947 World Series. Lavagetto's double was his final hit in a major league game. He never played again either.
Two men defined by the same moment, then erased by it. Bevens became the pitcher who almost threw a World Series no-hitter. Lavagetto became the man who broke it up. Neither had anything left to give after that October afternoon in Brooklyn.
and the Yankees would recover -- they took Game 5 and eventually won the Series in seven -- but Game 4 stood as the most gut-wrenching loss of the entire Fall Classic. One out away. One pitch away. That's a distance that feels infinite when you're on the wrong end of it.
| Date | October 3, 1947 |
| Game | World Series Game 4 |
| Location | Ebbets Field, Brooklyn |
| Pitcher | Bill Bevens (Yankees) |
| No-Hit Innings | 8 2/3 |
| Walks Issued | 10 (World Series record) |
| Score Before Hit | Yankees 2, Dodgers 1 |
| Final Score | Dodgers 3, Yankees 2 |
| The Hit | Cookie Lavagetto, pinch-hit double to right field |
What Could Have Been
No pitcher has ever thrown a no-hitter in the World Series. in 1956 is the closest thing baseball has -- and that was a perfect game, not merely a no-hitter. Bevens came closer than anyone else to the lesser feat, and he did it with the worst command of any near-no-hit pitcher imaginable. Ten walks. Ten times the Dodgers reached base without swinging the bat. The fact that Bevens kept them hitless through all of that makes the final result even harder to stomach.
For the Yankees, Game 4 became a ghost story -- the kind of loss that haunts a franchise despite winning the series. They'd take the championship three days later behind Joe Page's relief brilliance in Game 7. But Bevens's ninth inning stayed with everyone who watched it. One out away from something that had never been done, undone by a backup infielder's final swing.
Bevens Works Through Trouble
Bevens walks batter after batter but doesn't surrender a hit. The Dodgers score one run in the fifth on walks and a sacrifice fly. Yankees lead 2-1.
The No-Hitter Holds
Bevens continues his hitless pitching through eight full innings despite continued wildness. The crowd at Ebbets Field grows restless.
Two Outs Away
Bruce Edwards flies out. Furillo walks. Jorgensen fouls out -- one out to go. Gionfriddo pinch-runs and steals second. Harris orders an intentional walk to Reiser.
Lavagetto's Double
Cookie Lavagetto pinch-hits and lines a double off the right-field wall. Two runs score. Dodgers win 3-2. The no-hitter dies one out from completion.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close did Bill Bevens come to a World Series no-hitter?
Bevens was one out away. He carried the no-hitter through 8 2/3 innings of Game 4 in the 1947 World Series before Cookie Lavagetto's pinch-hit double to right field broke it up and gave the Dodgers a 3-2 walk-off win. No pitcher has ever completed a no-hitter in the World Series.
How many walks did Bill Bevens issue in his near no-hitter?
Bevens walked 10 batters in Game 4 -- a World Series single-game record. Despite the terrible command, he didn't allow a hit until Lavagetto's double with two outs in the ninth inning. The Dodgers' only run before the ninth came via walks and a sacrifice fly.
Did Bill Bevens pitch again after the 1947 World Series?
No. Bevens never appeared in another major league game after the 1947 World Series. Arm trouble ended his career. Cookie Lavagetto -- the man who broke up the no-hitter -- also never played in the majors again. The double was his final career hit.