The Dodgers' games against the Milwaukee Braves are fascinating to
study since the teams finished the regular season tied and faced each
other in a playoff to decide the 1959 National League champion.

In a typically close game, the Dodgers edged the Braves, 4-3, in 13
innings. The Dodgers moved into second place with the victory, wedged
between the first-place Giants and the third-place Braves.

What stood out was how pitching has changed. Milwaukee's Warren
Spahn took the loss after pitching 5 2/3 innings in relief of starter
Joey Jay.

Spahn was still a top pitcher. He would win 21 games in 1959, the
fourth of six consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins. What was he
doing coming out of the bullpen?

The Dodgers' relief staff was similarly quiet. Roger Craig was the
winning pitcher and he really earned it, pitching the final 11 innings.
There's a reference in the story to how few pitches Craig threw, but 11
innings is a lot under any circumstance. Wonder how many pitchers the
Dodgers and Braves would use in a similar game today.

And this wasn't a rare case. The next afternoon, Don Drysdale came
out of the bullpen to pitch the Dodgers past the Braves in the final
game of the series. Drysdale had pitched two scoreless innings the
night before, but the game was rained out in the third inning. He was
scheduled to pitch the first game of the next series in Cincinnati but
was called in when Sandy Koufax struggled. There was no one else?
Drysdale pitched six innings.

It's impossible to imagine a current manager juggling such a star pitcher.

— Keith Thursby