Former Dodgers star Johnny Podres dies

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - Johnny Podres, who pitched the Brooklyn Dodgers to their only World Series title in 1955, died Sunday at the age of 75.\nA spokesman for Glens Falls Hospital confirmed Podres’ death but said he didn’t know any details.\nThe left-hander pitched in four All-Star games and was the first Most Valuable Player in World Series history. He became a hero to every baseball fan in Brooklyn when the Dodgers ended decades of frustration by beating the Yankees to win the World Series.\nIt was the first time a team had won a best-of-seven World Series after losing the first two games, and it was Brooklyn’s only World Series victory. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.\nThe Dodgers lost the first two games of at Yankee Stadium, then won the third 8-3 at Ebbets Field. Podres, going the distance on his 23rd birthday, scattered seven hits.\nIn the climactic seventh game, at Yankee Stadium, Podres shut out New York 2-0 on eight hits, relying on his fastball and a deceptive changeup.\nAs the story goes, Podres told his teammates to get him just one run and the Dodgers would win Game Seven. They got him two, and the franchise celebrated its first and only championship while playing in Brooklyn.\nYears later, Podres was uncertain he made such a brash statement.\n“I don’t know if I said it or not. That’s what they said I said,” a grinning Podres recalled in 2005. “Probably young and dumb – something like that would haunt you your whole life. ... You put on a big league uniform, you’ve got to think you’re pretty good.”\nTommy Byrne, the losing pitcher in that game, died Dec. 20.