Some find it hard to utter this fella’s name without an 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.
Buck Dent watches his 1978 Game No. 173 home run fly over the Green Monster at Boston’s Fenway Park. (Photo by Dick Raphael/Sports Illustrated)
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 Yastrzemskiand Fred Lynn singles. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, they put two runners on base with one out before Rich Gossagecompleted 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).
Bucky Dent’s improbable 3-run homer during 1978’s Game No. 163 with the Boston Red Sox.
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.
The view from my seat at Fenway Park for the first meeting between the Boston Red Sox and their rivals the New York Yankees. Yep, that’s Aaron Judge in right field.
(Reminder: This content is usually only for subscribers to The Sports Fan Project. It’s being made available to all readers this month in conjunction with our monthlong Around the World in 80 Sporting Events $80 for 80 Circle of Champions supporter drive. If you’d like to receive subscriber-only content such as this as well as first dibs on giveaways, a complimentary T-shirt, and post cards from the road, and a future signed copy of the companion book, follow the link above to discover how.)
Welcome to the May installment of “Inside Baseball” where I try to take you behind the scenes with all that’s happening at The Sports Fan Project. Apologies in advance because in this edition I begin with a bit of a rant.
While we’re just over a month removed from the UCLA women and Michigan men winning their respective NCAA National Championships, it’s already time to plan for the 2027 Final Fours.
It should come as no surprise then that someone who’s attempting to travel Around the World in 80 Sporting Events would have attending the men’s and women’s Final Fours on his list.
Shortly after the respective tournaments ended last month, the portals opened for fans wishing to attend the 2027 NCAA Final Fours (Women on April 2 & 4 in Columbus, OH; Men on April 3 & 5 in Detroit, MI). The deadline for applying for the ticket lottery is May 31st and I am simultaneously aghast and resigned to the fact that this is something I’m going to have to do.
Why am I aghast?
Well, here’s what the NCAA requests of fans who want to purchase tickets from its box office:
Select how many seats you wish to apply for (up to a maximum of four);
Pay $400 per seat requested;
Also pay a $25 processing fee per request;
Wait patiently until no later than October 31st when the NCAA will notify you if your entry was successful;
If so, you’ll receive tickets to the all three Final Four games sometime before April 2027;
If not, you’ll have your seat dollars refunded to your credit card but not the $25 processing fee.
So, to review, presuming someone requests the maximum number of seats (4 x $400) that amounts to a 5-month interest free loan of $1,600 to the NCAA, an entity that reported $1.3 Billion in revenues during the 2023 Fiscal Year (the most-recent available). Oh yeah, if you’re not lucky enough to win the ticket drawing, you’ll receive your money back but not the $25 fee because that’s what it’ll cost to input your information into NCAA’s database and process your refund, apparently.
Sigh:-(
As I bowed out of attending the 2026 Men’s Final Four in Indianapolis due to a conflict with The Masters, I’ll be entering for both the Women’s (two seats) and Men’s (four seats) for 2027 and doing a fair amount of driving back and forth if selected.
In the meantime, I hope the NCAA makes good choices with how it utilizes my $2,400. You know, like not expanding the tournaments from 68 to 76 teams … oh, wait;-)
To enter the Men’s ticket lottery follow this link. Toe enter the Women’s ticket lottery follow this link.
What Else is Happening with the AtWi80SE Project
PGA Championship’s logo.
As you read this, I should be wandering around Pennsylvania’s Aronimink Golf Club with my father during today’s practice session of the PGA Championship. We’ll return Thursday to watch the opening round as well.
Attending the PGA Championship is notable as it will complete my AtWi80SE Grand Slam, having already attended the U.S. Open, The Open, and The Masters. I’m beyond delighted that dad was able to attend 75% of those.
And speaking of grand slams, later this month I’ll be purchasing tickets to the 2026 U.S. Open Tennis Championships and plan to hang in the famous Wimbledon Queue next month in London to kick off my tennis Grand Slam pursuit.
Beyond that, there’s a modicum of downtime before the South Africa vs. Czechia FIFA World Cup2026 match in Atlanta. That said, I’m hopeful of getting caught up on writing about past travels.
Upcoming Conversations
The author, Michael Clair, is a future Conversations’ guest.
I’m delighted to have four recordings completed and nearly edited for your listening enjoyment. A quick rundown of who to expect to hear from in the near future:
Michael Clair – Clair’s official title with MLB.com is “senior manager of storytelling and special projects” which sounds like one of the coolest job titles in the world. And the world – the baseball world – is in fact his oyster. He specializes in the international game and the World Baseball Classic. His debut book-length work, We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball: How the Czech Republic’s Amateur Underdogs Became World Baseball Classic Heroes, was released April 1 (no fooling) and has been well-received in baseball circles. I have an author-signed copy of Michael’s book to giveaway so please keep your eyes peeled for how to enter.
Eddie Hillery – Hillery works in the public service sector in suburban Detroit and also as a coach at his high school. He’s a former 3-sport star at Rochester High School (football, basketball, and track and field), a 4-year regular on defense for the Central Michigan University Chippewas, and a 3-year professional football player for European club teams in Germany, Finland, and Italy. He shares plenty of stories from all the stops on his life’s journey and even adds some nuggets on what it’s like being a father of two girls one who’s playing volleyball and the other who is not interested in sports … yet;-)
Mark Armour – A baseball fan for nearly as long as he can remember, Armour discovered the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) back in 1982 and was simply a consumer of its works for many years before eventually presenting and publishing one of his research papers. Since then, he’s served in myriad SABR leadership positions including President of its Board of Directors. He also was the founder of the SABR Biography Project which has a goal of writing a biographical article of every integral part of Major League Baseball (player, manager, GM, owner, stadium, etc.). To the moment there are over 6,000 such biographies authored (including over a dozen by Armour).
Scott Crawford – Crawford has been working at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum since January 3, 2000. Today, he is the Director of Operations for the Museum whose home is in St. Marys, Ontario, about a 2-hour drive west of Toronto. Unlike most Canadians who favor ice hockey, he always gravitated toward baseball, especially since the nearby Toronto Blue Jays won the American League East in 1985. Bitten by the baseball bug, Crawford has been a baseball guy ever since. Trying to figure out how to stay in the game, he spent a summer during college volunteering at the Museum which led to an unpaid internship and, ultimately, a paid position. Now he sort of runs the place:-)
Guests Request for a Special Anniversary Conversation
Almost four years complete, what can I do for Year 5?
Believe it or not, we’re within a month of celebrating the fourth anniversary of Conversations with Sports Fans filling your earbuds.
I’d love to host a panel discussion to publish in early June in commemoration of the anniversary.
My proposed topic: How do I fan today? That is, how do you consume your favorite sports (TV, radio, in print, computer, etc.) It’s an intentionally broad topic because I’m curious how you take in your favorite teams/sports.
Want to join the fun? I’d love it if you would! My hope is to record in the June 2-4 window, likely in the early-to-mid evening EDT. If you’d like to be part of the Conversation please email me at hilldouglast@gmail.com.
Add Your Name to the $80 for 80 Circle of Champions
The $80 for 80 Circle of Champions is infinitely expandable and I’d love to include your name.
Many thanks for the fabulous 14 – Geoff, Carol, Tim, Joe, Wayne, Tom, Maury, Stephen, Laura, Martin, Keith, Michael, Luisa, and an anonymous donor – whose generous support of $1 for each of the 80 Events has earned them a spot on the $80 for 80 Circle of Champions wall, a free T-shirt, a copy of the yet-to-be-authored compendium book about this crazy journey I’m embarking upon, plenty of gratitude, and check-ins from the road.
Want to join the Circle, you’re able to do so at the secure <Support> link found along the right column of this page or via Venmo @DouglasTHill. If you’d rather write a check let me know (hilldouglast@gmail.com) and I’ll get that address to you.
Masters Merch Winners
Masters Merchandise out the door!
It turns out no drawings were needed to for the Masters Merchandise giveaway. There were six entrants folks eligible based on support of The Sports Fan Project, but only five responded by the deadline to enter. As I had five remaining Masters Ball Marker and two Golf Balls, they all went to good and welcoming homes:
Golf Balls – Paula from Lansing,MI, and Mark from Toronto
Ball Markers – Mike from Sterling, VA, Joe from Bradenton, FL, and Tim from Fairbanks, AK
A few more shots from Events No. 53 (Patriots Day) and No. 54 (Yankees-Red Sox) in Boston. Clockwise from upper left, a picturesque night at Fenway Park for the first game against the rival Yankees this season; runners helping runners realize their Boston Marathon goal; the final of just five turns on the Boston Marathon’s course as runners head down Boylston toward the finish line; a sweet shot of me at Fenway with the stadium name in the background; part of the Boston Marathon Memorial for victims of the 2013 bombing; we were gifted tickets on “The Green Monstah” for Sunday’s soggy affair between Boston and Detroit; the famous Citgo sign from atop The Monster.
In the early morning hours of Wednesday, October 22, 1975, Boston Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk pulled a fly ball deep into the leftfield corner of Boston’s historic Fenway Park and its famed Green Monster.
At the time, Game 6 of that year’s World Series was tied at six, it was the bottom of 12th inning, and as Fisk’s deep drive continued to hook into the dark and foggy Back Bay night, the catcher famously hopped along the first base line waving his arms to the right, imploring his drive to stay fair.
It did!
And Fisk’s walk-off home run meant the Red Sox, by virtue of the 7-6 win, and their opponents, the Cincinnati Reds, would return the next night for a winner-take-all Game 7. A game the Reds won, 4-3, when they scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning.
Boston Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk is about to touch homeplate after his walk-off Game 6 homer during the 1975 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. (Photo by J. Walter Green/Associated Press)
This week’s Fan Teaser image, captured by the Associated Press’ J. Walter Green, is not the most-memorable image from that night (see below for that one), but it does a fabulous job of capturing the unmitigated joy Fisk and his teammates felt following four hours of tense game action.
A few fast facts about what happened in the aftermath of one of the most famous homers in baseball history:
Seventy miles to the north, in Raymond, NH, an Episcopal minister ran to St. Bartholomew’s Church, grabbed the rope, and began ringing the church bell.
The first person Fisk shook hands with was Red Sox first base coach, Johnny Pesky, who Fenway’s right field foul pole was unofficially known for years as “The Pesky Pole” due to the non-power hitting Pesky’s knack for wrapping home runs around the shortest pole in the Majors. It was officially dedicated in Pesky’s honor September 27, 2006. A year earlier, ironically, the left field pole was officially recognized as the “Fisk Foul Pole.”
The home run ball actually caromed off the poul and back into the field of play. Reds left fielder, George Foster, tucked the ball in his pocket and sold it at auction in 1999. It fetched $113,273 from Red Sox fan, Keith Elfman. It is believed that media personality Keith Olbermann purchased the ball for $142,000 in a 2014 auction and then, controversially, sold ownership shares on Collectable in 2022.
NBC camerman Louis Gerard famously – and accidentally! – wound up tracking Fisk’s arm waving from his spot in left field rather than tracking the flight of the ball (as he was supposed to) because of a pesky (no relation to Johnny) rat in his camera well. It sort of changed the way television production moved forward, seeking reaction shots in addition to game action.
NBC play-by-play voice for the Series was Dick Stockton, the regular lead TV announcer for the Red Sox during the season. He met a young reporter for the Boston Globe at Game 6 named Lesley Visser. The two married in 1983 and were married for 26 years before divorcing in 2010.
The video of Fisk’s iconic homer. This is the more famous photo of Fisk, in mid-wave, as Reds’ pitcher, Pat Darcy, and catcher, Johnny Bench (only partially visible), look on. (Photo by Harry Cabluck/Associated Press)
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 Sunday.
Are we not flipping out over this year’s MLB post-season action?
It’s been a decade now and it’s still too fresh for many Detroit Tigers’ fans. Detroit led Boston 1-0 in the American League Championship Series after stealing Game 1 in Fenway Park and led the Red Sox, 5-1, with two outs in the eighth inning of Game 2 when David Ortiz came to the plate with the bases loaded and faced closer Joaquin Benoit. The rest is history or ignominy for Tigers’ rightfielder Torii Hunter who was posterized along with one of Boston’s finest in the Red Sox bullpen.
Boston wound up walking off Game 2 and went on to win Game 3 in Detroit. The Tigers’ knotted the series at 2-2 in Game 4 before losing Games 5 and 6. This moment, however, was viewed as pivotal in the series.
Detroit Tigers’ rightfielder Torii Hunter went all out to try and nab David Ortiz’s game-tying grand slam during Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS in Boston.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below 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 Sunday.
Boston’s Fenway Park is one of the most recognizable baseball ballparks in the world.
We’ll start this year’s Great Ballpark Chase series with a pair of questions:
What constitutes a ballpark visit?
When do you count it as official in your count?
Understandably, there are many answers, but the primary one is: your chase, your rules.
Some say just setting foot in the ballpark is enough. Still others say you must see an actual game, not just a tour of the park. Some will count it if you see a concert or football game instead of a baseball game.
And then there is the question of how long you must stay? Some say you need to be there for the entire game, first pitch to last pitch. Still others say if you hear the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” it’s a visit.
Again, your chase, your rules.
For me, personally, I try to stay for the entire game. I have long had this rule about attendance at any sporting event. I always stay to the last pitch or the final buzzer. Part of that is just wanting to soak in the entire atmosphere and part of it is, even during a blowout, you might see a key moment or something unusual happen.
But there are exceptions. During my Chase, there have been a couple of occasions where I was forced to leave early. I’ll usually count it with an asterisk, meaning I’ll get back there at some point to remove it and see an entire game. When I am forced to leave, it’s usually due to something out of my control, thus allowing me to officially count it.
For example, back in 2016, my brother and I were in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., for a week since the Detroit Tigers were playing Baltimore and Washington.
Our hotel was in Baltimore and the commute between the two cities is usually fairly easy. But the MARC commuter train shuts down before the end of the game and the last Amtrak back to Baltimore leaves around 10 p.m.
We spent the day in D.C. doing some sightseeing before the game, but had to leave about the sixth inning to catch the subway over to Union Station to get that last Amtrak. It ended up being the game Max Scherzer racked up 20 strikeouts against the Tigers so we always joked we saw about 15 of them.
This year, rain got in the way of seeing a game.
I was on the “Hall of Fame Tour” with Coast 2 Coast Sports Tours. We were set to open the tour at Boston’s Fenway Park, but Mother Nature had other ideas.
Not everyone gets to see the Fenway Park tarp, right?
We were scheduled for a private tour, rain or shine, which is why I still count it in my tally. The weather was out of my control and due to the itinerary, we couldn’t attend the makeup game the following day. I was able to make a few bucks selling the tickets though:-)
That takes us inside Fenway, which is probably considered the Holy Grail of baseball parks. A national shrine, as former pitcher Bill “The Spaceman” Lee once said. Even without seeing a game there, it was still an awesome feeling just to walk through. There is so much history.
Sure, the seats may put you at a weird angle, looking into center field instead of home plate. And the seats may not be as comfortable as the more modern parks, but there is still something special about being there.
There are also the obstructed views, which – as a metro Detroit native – I became familiar with at the old Tiger Stadium. Chicago’s Wrigley Field is also famous for posts blocking your view.
And, of course, there is the Green Monster in left field. That is obviously the first thing that strikes you as you walk in. But then you look around and get a feeling of awe, just soaking it all in, quirks and all.
One of the quirks is the ladder on the Green Monster. Before there were seats on top, there used to be nets to catch home runs. Park staff needed the ladder to retrieve the balls. When the Monster seats were added in 2003, they left the ladder in place, which is in play and can yield some crazy caroms.
The Green Monster from a distance and looking straight down the foul pole.
The only ground rule, concerning the ladder, is if it gets stuck then it’s a ground rule double. Otherwise, the ball is in play and can end up with some crazy caroms. The last time a ball struck the ladder was in 2014, when Kansas City’s Omar Infante ended up with a double.
The Green Monster has one of the few hand-operated scoreboards still used today. Some Fenway tours will get you on to the field and inside the Monster. Unfortunately, I was only on the pregame tour, which did not include that. But I was able to go on top the Monster and look straight down the 37 ½ feet to the playing field. Inside the Monster are signatures of many ballplayers who have signed the structure throughout the years.
Other Fenway quirks include Pesky’s Pole, which is the right field foul pole that is just 302 feet from home plate. Pesky is famous for curving home runs around the pole. The left field foul pole is 310 feet down the line. The outfield dimensions are also kind of quirky, it juts out to 379 and 389 feet in left-center, 420 in center field (also known as the Triangle, due to the unique shape of the stands, and 380 in right-center.
Most of the park is painted in Fenway Green, except for one seat. Section 42, row 37, seat 21 in the right field bleachers. That seat is red and is 502 feet from home plate. It marks the longest home run in Fenway history, hit by Williams on June 9, 1946.
Can you spot the red seat which commemorates Ted Williams’ 502-foot homer?
The capacity of Fenway is 37,755, making it one of only seven parks that is less than 40,000. But that part of what keeps the charm and nostalgia of the park. There was a movement to build a new Fenway Park in 1999, but opposition to that rose and the idea faded.
On March 7, 2012, which was Fenway’s centennial year, the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a pending Boston Landmark, which will regulate any further changes to the park.
It is considered to be one of the most well-known sports venues in the world.
While I did not see an actual game in Fenway Park, I’ll still check it off my list (my rules, right?), since I did go inside. At some point, I’ll definitely go back and see a game. For now, it resides as No. 17 out of 30.
One reason to go back is to participate in the singing of “Sweet Caroline,” the song by Neil Diamond. Every eighth inning, fans sing the song during the inning break. I also want to hear the clang of the ball hitting the Green Monster.
While the atmosphere of a tour was great, I’m sure it’s even more electric during a game, especially a rivalry game with the New York Yankees, which is what we were supposed to see.
