Leo Durocher, who managed him with the Dodgers and Giants, once summed up Stanky's talents: he said the second baseman "can't hit, can't run, can't field he just knows how to win." Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto still complained years later about a notorious play during Game 3 of the 1951 World Series in which Stanky kicked the ball loose from Rizzuto's glove as he slid into second base, instrumental in the Giant win that put them ahead two games to one, although they lost the next three and the Series with it. Stanky himself said, "I would spike my mother if it meant being safe on a close play."