[Big Six]

56 Claremont Park
Boston, Massachusetts

Mr. Joe Kuharich
Vincentian Institute
Madison Avenue
Albany, New York

September 25, 1939

Dear Joe,

Thank you very much for the telegram you sent me after we clinched the pennant. I’m sorry it has taken me so long to write you back. I was flattered to hear from so many of my “old” pals, and I’ve been trying to reply to a few of you every time I have a chance. You can look at it this way: because I didn’t have time to write to you until now, I get a chance to tell you about the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me on a baseball field! And, while I’m sure you have already read all about it in the papers, I hope you’ll still enjoy a first-hand account.

Yesterday, we played the Yankees, and it was my turn to pitch. All season long, Lou Gehrig, who is as fine a fellow as you would ever want to meet, has been coming closer and closer to a truly remarkable achievement: becoming only the second player in baseball history to hit 500 home runs in his career.

Well, Lou hit #499 on Saturday, which also happened to be the last time I pitched. Today he came over to my locker while I was dressing with a big grin on his face. “I have a good feeling about today, Mike,” he said. “I’m gonna hit that homer today, and I’ll help you win a ballgame. How about that?” I grinned too, and told him I hoped he was right.

Spud Chandler pitched for the Yankees, and boy, was he tough. I, on the other hand, was not, at least for the first three innings. The second man I faced, Buck O’Neil, singled, and then Joe DiMaggio hit one so far I think it’s still flying out there somewhere. I know O’Neil is going to win the batting title, and DiMaggio has 40 homers, so they’re both outstanding hitters, but if I’m ever going to be regarded as anything more than an average pitcher, I have to get even the best hitters out most of the time!

Dixie Walker hit another two-run homer off me in the third, so we were behind 5-0. But Carrigan is trying to rest our bullpen so they’re ready for the Series, and that meant I needed to keep throwing as long as I could. Fortunately, I began to settle down and didn't let the Yankees score again, and by the bottom of the eighth, we’d scored three runs and made it 5-3.

Tommy Winslett led off with a single, and Ted Williams walked. That brought up Gehrig, and as he left the on-deck circle, he called back to me. “I guess it’s time now, huh?” He grinned and winked, and I gave him the high sign.

What do you know? Reynolds threw one right down the pipe, and Lou crushed it to dead center field! DiMaggio just turned around and watched it fly. Later on, one of the reporters figured it went 420 feet. It wasn’t as long as DiMaggio’s homer off me, but who cared? It gave us a 6-5 lead, and even more importantly, it gave Lou that big 500.

The fans gave Lou a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes. He came out of the dugout and tipped his cap twice before the cheering finally stopped. It reminded me of a few of the ovations the fans gave my Dad when he was playing.

Bucky Walters had been warming up while we were at bat, and I figured Carrigan would bring Bucky in to save the game for me. I was a little surprised when Carrigan said, “It’s your game, Mike. Let’s see if you can close it out yourself.”

Then again, I hadn’t given up a hit since the fifth, and I didn’t walk anybody all day, so I guess Carrigan thought I could hold the Yankees off for one more inning. I’m happy to say I put them down 1-2-3, and the fans gave me an ovation of my own that really felt good.

I guess you remember that girl I told you I was seeing, the actress from New York? Well, she called me last night and told me that she wanted to see me again, hopefully before the World Series began. I asked her why she hadn’t been so eager to see me after the Red Sox sent me back down to Minneapolis in July. She didn’t say a word, and then she hung up the phone. I had to laugh; I suppose a member of the American League champion Boston Red Sox is a whole lot more attractive to her than a Minneapolis Miller.

I don’t miss her at all. Sure, she’s good looking, and because she knows people who know people, she got me into a few swell parties up in New York. For a while, it was fun acting like a celebrity, and I suppose the fun blinded me to the fact that she only cared about the fact I’m an athlete whose picture is in the paper.

It was great to hear how excited you are about your coaching job. I’m sure you will enjoy it very much, and I’m just as sure you’ll be very successful. Good luck with your season! It looks like my football season will start later this year than usual, and in fact I am thinking seriously about sitting this one out. A few months of rest might do me more good than a few months of getting knocked around by those NFL fellows.

Take care of yourself, and I’ll hopefully hear from you soon.

Your pal,
Mike