expletive preceding it. Who is it, and why is that?
Alas, with MLB utilizing a different schedule these days (13 games against divisional foes, and either six or seven against fellow league opponents) there is no need for tiebreaker games these days.
But back in 1978, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees finished with identical 99-63 records that included an 8-8 record against each other.
Off to Fenway Park the teams went for a Monday afternoon matchup on October 2 for a 1-game playoff.
Things were clipping along well for Red Sox starter, Mike Torrez. He was spinning a shutout for six innings, having allowed just two hits and was staked to a 2-0 lead. But then singles from Chris Chambliss and Roy White (followed by a flyout by pinch-hitter Jim Spencer) set the stage for a man who is still despised in Boston to this day: Bucky “F-ing” Dent.
The ninth hitter in manager Bob Lemon‘s lineup, Dent entered the game batting a tick over .240 and had but four home runs to his credit.
After fouling the first pitch off his left instep, Dent muscled up and sent a deep flyball over the Fenway’s famed Green Monster for a 3-run homer.
Many have forgotten, however, that it wasn’t Dent’s heroics that proved the difference. New York catcher Thurman Munson added an RBI double later in the seventh inning and Reggie Jackson a solo homer in the eighth to nudge the Yankees’ lead to 5-2.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Red Sox scored twice themselves on Carl Yastrzemski and Fred Lynn singles. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, they put two runners on base with one out before Rich Gossage completed a two and two-thirds inning save for the Yankees by inducing shallow flyballs to both Jim Rice and Yastrzemski.
If you’re keeping track, there were five future Baseball Hall of Famers who appeared in the game (Gossage, Jackson, Rice, Yaz, and Boston catcher, Carlton Fisk); six if you include Yankees’ manager, Lemon, who was actually the Yankees’ third manager that season (Billy Martin and Dick Howser ere the others).
Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning, with the reveal coming to you on Sunday.
I was listening to that game on a transistor radio walking home from Catechism – if I remember right, Ernie Harwell was on the call for the national broadcast. Maybe my memory is off since I listened to him every game as a Tigers fan, but either way – I still know what house I was in front of on Ursuline when it happened!
Great recollection, Rob! Thank you for sharing:-)