Tag: Boston Red Sox

Oct 25: Through the legs

OCTOBER 25, 1986 | NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Today is the day in 1986 a seemingly routine grounder went through Bill Buckner‘s legs prolonging the Boston Red Sox agony of not winning a World Series since they sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1919.

It wasn’t all Buckner’s fault though. When the day started the Red Sox had a 3 games to 2 lead over the New York Mets. It was the tenth inning of game 6. Boston had a 5-3 lead with 2 outs and nobody on base for the Mets.

The Mets started a rally, scored two runs to make the score 5-5. If Buckner had made the play it would have been the third out with the game still tied. Instead the Mets scored the winning run on that play, and won the Series in the next game.

Did you notice Buckner had high-top cleats on that night because he had a sore ankle? He’s the first player I ever saw wearing high-tops. It’s surprising they became so popular. Does anyone wear low-cut cleats anymore?

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
1986 World Series Game 6 box score & play-by-play

This baseball history calendar is brought to you by TODAY in BASEBALL.

Oct 21: Drama at Fenway

OCTOBER 21, 1975 | BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – Many regard the game played on this date in 1975 as the best World Series game ever. Certainly game 6 of the ‘75 Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox ranks up there as one of the most exciting. The 12 inning classic is most remembered for Carlton Fisk‘s walk-off home run – more like “wish-off” home run – to force a game seven, but there was much more.

The ball Fisk hit was down the left field line. Fisk had to wish the ball, coax the ball, symbolically push the ball right, otherwise it’s a long strike. The ball stayed right. Game over.

But the opportunity wouldn’t have presented itself to Fisk without teammate Bernie Carbo hitting a pinch hit, 3-run homer with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game at 6.

Later in 11th, Dwight Evans made a game-saving catch in right of a long drive off the bat of Joe Morgan, then doubled Ken Griffey, Sr. (as in Ken Griffey, Jr.’s Dad) off 1st.

As exciting as that game was, it did not turn out to be a Cinderella story for Boston. Cincinnati won game 7 the next day 4-3.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Game 6 1975 World Series box score & play-by-play
More on 1975 World Series

This baseball history story about Carlton Fisk is brought to you by TODAY in BASEBALL.

Oct 2: Bucky a 4-letter word

OCTOBER 2, 1978 | BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – Boston Red Sox killer Bucky Dent became a wanted man in New England on this date in 1978. The New York Yankees were down by 2 runs in a dramatic one-game playoff when Dent came to the plate against Mike Torrez, but not when he got back to the dugout.

It was a classic baseball rivalry, and the ultimate do-or-die situation in baseball, in a classic venue – Fenway Park. It had been an exciting American League East race. The Yankees made a remarkable comeback from 14 games behind to move 3 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox with two weeks left in the season. Then the Red Sox won eight straight to end the season and tie the Yankees for first in the division, hence a one-game playoff.

In the top of the seventh, the Red Sox were ahead, 2-0. (Can you say “curse?”) The Yankees’ Chris Chambliss singled off of Mike Torrez. Roy White singled. Two on, two out.

Shortstop Bucky Dent, a .243 hitter, stepped up to the plate.

The count went to 1-1. Dent realized his bat was cracked, so he got a fresh piece of wood and returned to the batter’s box. The Savannah, Georgia native who hit 40 home runs in his 12-year career, hit the next pitch over the Green Monster, a three-run home run. The Yankees took the lead.

Torrez peppered his analysis of Dent’s homer with a few mild expletives: “I was so damn shocked. I thought maybe it was going to be off the wall. Damn, I did not think it was going to go out.” The Yanks extended their lead to 5-2. The Red Sox tried, valiantly as always, to come back. They almost did, but lost the game, 5-4. The Yankees went to the World Series in ‘78, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2.

Contributing sources;
October 2, 1978 box score
Sports Illustrated Greatest Teams, by Tim Crothers, 1998

SEP 6: The AL race of ’67

SEPTEMBER 6, 1967 | CHICAGO, DETROIT, BOSTON, MINNEAPOLIS – Splitting the National and American Leagues into divisions in 1969 brought more teams into the postseason, but it pre-empted some great pennant races, one of those was the American League race of 1967.

The “Pennant” winner, do they even use that term anymore, used to be decided by regular season games.There were no division champions or wildcard teams. The only postseason was the World Series and only two teams made it. Every regular season game was crucial.

On this date in ’67 4 teams were tied for 1st place – not to get to the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) or American League Championship Series (ALCS) – to get to the World Series. This is what the American League standings looked like at the end of the day – September 6, 1967:

American League
—————–W–L– -Pct.–G.B.
Minnesota……78  61  .561    –
Chicago……….78  61  .561    –
Boston…………79  62  .560    –
Detroit…………79  62  .560   –
California……72   67 .518   6
Washington….66  74  471  12
Cleveland…….65  76  .461  14
Baltimore……..62 75  .453  15
New York……..62 78  .443  16
Kansas City…..57 82 .410  21

The Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers all went down to the last weekend of the season to decide the pennant. From August 19th on none of the four teams was ever more than 3 games out. Minnesota and Boston were still tied for the lead on the last day of the season and were playing each other. The Red Sox won 5-3. They went on to play St. Louis in the World Series.

If the original divisional alignment had been in play that year there would have been two 2-team races in the Eastern Division (Boston and Detroit) and the Western Division (Minnesota and Chicago). Four teams is a little more dramatic.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
1967 AL pennant race
Red Sox-Twins final game of the season

Oct 20: Back from the brink

OCTOBER 20, 2004 | THE BRONX, NEW YORK | By defeating the New York Yankees 10-3 on this date in 2004, the Boston Red Sox became the first MLB team to win a best of seven playoff series after losing the first three games. Every game after the third was an elimination game for the Red Sox, and games four and five were not for the faint of heart.

It was the bottom of the ninth in game 4. The Red Sox were three outs from going home, down 4-3. Kevin Millar walked to lead off. Brian Roberts ran for Millar and proceeded to steal second. Roberts scored the tying run on a base hit by 3rd baseman Bill Mueller. The Red Sox were unable to bring the winning run around, so extra innings it went.

No one scored in the 10th or 11th. The Yankees went down in the 12th without scoring, but the Red Sox wasted little time putting the game away. Manny Ramirez singled to left and David Ortiz followed with a walk-off home run.

The Red Sox trailed late in game 5 too. They tied the Yankees in the bottom of the eighth. Again, it went into extra innings, and again, David Ortiz drove in the winning run with a walk-off single in the 14th.

The Red Sox had to win the next two in Yankee Stadium, which they did, 4-2 and 10-3. The next stop – the World Series. The Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games to win their first World Series since 1918.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Game 4 box score/play-by-play
Game 5 box score/play-by-play
MLB postseason