56 years ago, the Red Sox captivated the nation
56 years ago, the Red Sox captivated the nation
Four-game series with Yankees showed the tables had turned
Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.
Fifty-six years ago today, Aug. 29, 1967 (The day even fell on a Tuesday.) the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees played a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium that was one for the ages.
First, a little background. The season before, the Red Sox finished in ninth place in the 10-team American League with a 72-90 record, 26 1/2 games behind the World Champion Baltimore Orioles. The once-mighty Yankees finished last at 70-89, 26 1/2 games out. But the Red Sox, under new manager Dick Williams, experienced a dramatic turnaround. Now they were in an epic four-team pennant race with Minnesota, Detroit and Chicago, the last race of its kind, before divisional play began two years later.
The Red Sox were the talk of New England. I still remember that season. Everybody, it seemed, was a Red Sox fan, tasting for the first time in two decades, the flavor of a pennant race involving their club. The nation was also captivated, not only by Boston’s resurgence, but the tight four-team race.
Entering a four-game series against the Yankees on Aug. 28 at Yankee Stadium, the Twins were in first place by .001 over the Red Sox, with the White Sox one game out and the Tigers 1 1/2 game behind. As for the Yankees, their dynasty had crumbled, after losing the 1964 World Series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Now under the ownership of CBS, which bought the franchise thinking it had purchased the Tiffany of sports franchises, the historic Yankees had aged, played in a decaying ballpark and had lost their status as New York’s baseball team to the Mets.
The Yankees, who never drew well even in their great years, except for certain dates, were barely attracting one-million fans per season. Crowds of under 15,000 were not uncommon, even with the Red Sox in town. In reality, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, as we know it today, was mostly a figment of the media’s imagination. The last time the Yankees and Red Sox played a significant game was back in 1949, when these club’s met in the season’s final two games for the AL pennant.
Something was different this time around. Suddenly, Yankee Stadium was the it place again, even though the Yankees were 14 1/2 games out of first. The Red Sox were in a pennant race and legions of Red Sox fans, who resided in New York City and southern New England, made the trip to the Bronx.
On Monday night, 27,296 turned out at the Stadium to watch the Red Sox blank the Yankees, 3-0. Elston Howard, the great Yankees catcher, who won the 1963 AL MVP, was now catching for the Red Sox, having been dealt by the Yankees for catcher Bob Tillman in mid-season. Dave Morehead pitched 5 1/3 innings to notch the win, while Sparky Lyle hurled 3 2/3 innings for the save. Lyle, of course, would enjoy his greatest success in pinstripes, even winning the Cy Young Award in 1977 for the World Champion Yankees.
The Monday game set the stage for Tuesday night’s doubleheader. Decaying Yankee Stadium was alive again as 40,314 - mostly Red Sox fans - attended the twin bill. The Red Sox won the opener, 2-1, as eventual Cy Young Award winner Jim Lonborg outpitched Mel Stottlemyre in the 2:10 game. Both pitchers hurled complete games, unheard of today.
If the first game was dynamic, the second game managed to top it, as the Yankees rekindled their glory days for a brief moment in a classic battle that went 20 innings. Horace Clarke, who became synonymous with an era of Yankee mediocrity, knocked in John Kennedy with a single to right to give New York a 4-3 win. The second game lasted 6:09 and did not end until 2:50 Wednesday morning. Even more amazingly, the Yankees used only four pitchers in that game. Another former Red Sox stalwart, Bill Monbouquette, pitched the first seven innings, and the legendary Jim Bouton recorded his first victory of the year, hurling five scoreless innings to close it out. Lyle, incidentally, was one of seven pitchers to appear for the Red Sox in the second game.
Believe it or not, the two clubs had to return less than 11 hours after the conclusion of the game, to play an afternoon contest, and even more remarkably, that game went extra innings too. Carl Yastrzemski, on his way to winning the Triple Crown that season, cracked a two-out, solo home run in the 11th inning, lifting Boston to a 2-1 victory. Serving up the home run was Al Downing, who pitched an 11-inning complete game; again, unheard of today.
It took 2:32 to play the 11-inning game, with 22,766 in attendance. The two clubs had played three games, totaling 40 innings, in 22 hours. After the four games, the Red Sox left town in first place by 1 1/2 games. The next day, the Yankees were back to their ordinary status, having long ago fallen from their perch of dominance. Just 5,449 turned out at Yankee Stadium to watch the Washington Senators blank the former Bronx Bombers, 6-0. The Red Sox went on to win their first pennant in 21 seasons, forming an enduring bond with millions of fans that exists to this day, along with several more pennants and four more World Championships.
What do strike outs really mean?
During the last Hartford Yard Goats home stand, the Colorado Rockies affiliate struck out 16 times in a game against the New Hampshire Fishercats and won, 8-3. It makes you wonder about the significant of strike outs in today’s game. However, even that game pales in comparison to a stat I read last week. The Chicago White Sox pitching staff has struck out 15 or more batters in nine games this season. The White Sox record in those games is 0-9. So much for strike outs.
That is going to do it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and have terrific week.
SPORTSCASTER DAN