Hodges’ big day sparks World Series comeback

Written by: Evan Gerike

Gil Hodges’ single in the second inning of Game 2 of the 1956 World Series seemed innocuous at the time, but it sparked the second largest comeback in World Series history and began Hodges’ record day at the plate.

By the time of that first at-bat leading off the second inning on Oct. 5, 1956, Hodges’ Brooklyn Dodgers were already trailing the New York Yankees 6-0.

Hodges would score on a sacrifice fly three batters later to get the Dodgers on the board. By the end of the inning, his single had sparked a rally punctuated by a three-run home run off the bat of Duke Snider that tied the game at 6-6.

An inning later, Hodges led off with a walk and scored on a single to give his team the lead.

The back-and-forth battle continued as the game went on. The Yankees knotted the game back up in the top of the fourth, but it didn’t stay tied for long. Hodges came back to the plate with runners on first and third in the fourth inning and slammed a double to left field, putting the Dodgers up 9-7.

“Of all the hits I got today, that double in the fourth inning gave me the biggest kick,” Hodges said to United Press International.

The double spurred Hodges. In the fifth inning, Hodges doubled again, this time into the left-center gap. The drive scored Snider and Jackie Robinson for his third and fourth RBI. He came to the plate one more time in the seventh, walking again, but was stranded on first. The Dodgers would beat the Yankees, 13-8.

Hodges became the second player in World Series history to go 3-for-3 with two walks and four RBI, joining Babe Ruth, who achieved the feat in 1926. His day was the talk of the comeback between both managers.

“Hodges’ two doubles – Snider’s home run – there were a couple of turning points, really,” Dodgers skipper Walter Alston told the Associated Press.

“We ain’t pitching right to Hodges,” Casey Stengel, New York’s manager, told UPI.

After driving in three runs in Game 1 of the series, Hodges had to replace his broken bat. If there were any superstitious fears the new bat would cool him off, Hodges made quick work of the theory in Game 2.

He ended the game with seven RBI in the series, two short of Lou Gehrig’s World Series record at the time.

However, Hodges would finish with eight RBI while the Yankees’ Yogi Berra would break the record with 10 to help his team win the championship in seven games.

But Hodges’ World Series experience wasn’t yet complete. Hodges, who was part of four World Series-losing Dodgers teams before Brooklyn won in 1955, returned to the World Series in 1959 after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. The Dodgers beat the White Sox in six games and Hodges batted .391.

As the manager of the New York Mets, Hodges led his 1969 squad to a 100-win season and the first World Series championship in franchise history.

Hodges was inducted into to the Hall of Fame in 2022.

Evan Gerike was the 2022 public relations intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development