Page 143 - 1975 BoSox

136 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
the draft. Andrew still wonders what he might have attracted had he waited for the draft.
e Orioles assigned him to rookie A ball in Lewiston, Idaho. Andrew played well, hitting .325 and making the all-star team. He had made the transition to second baseman, since the Orioles had the same sense that the Dodgers had expressed that second base would be his best position. Perhaps his legs weren’t long enough, he understood (Andrew was 5’10” and 160 pounds), or that he just didn’t have the “look” to be a shortstop. He had the winter o , though he did get in a couple of workouts during the winter months under Poitevint’s supervision, getting together with a number of other Southern Californians who were in the Orioles system. Kim stayed at home with his parents and worked a number of odd jobs, and took a few more courses in wildlife management. at eld of work began to see some cutbacks, though, and he began to feel a bit more discouraged about prospects in the industry.
e following year, 1973, Andrew was assigned to the Single-A Miami Orioles in the Florida State League. He hit .336 with Miami, leading the league in hitting, and made both of the two all-star teams that were selected. He also led all second basemen in elding percentage, beginning to establish more of a reputation as a elder as well.
In 1974, Andrew moved up the ladder to Double-A, with an assignment to the Asheville (N.C) Orioles in the Southern League. Once again, he was named an all-star, this time placing fth in the league in hitting, with an average of .317. He wasn’t protected, though. As he understands it, “after three years, if they don’t invite you to the major league camp or whatever, then you’re considered a free agent. at’s when the Red Sox drafted my contract for $25,000, and brought me to the Red Sox spring training down in Winter Haven, Florida.”
He went to spring training with the Red Sox and hit .350 with just one error in the eld. He shared “rookie of spring training” status with none other than Fred
Lynn. “I like to say I forced Darrell Johnson to have to put me in the major leagues,” he laughs.
Kim Andrew made the team out of spring training and appeared in two games early in the pennant- winning season of 1975. He managed to hit .500, but he got only two at-bats in the majors. e Sox had nished third the year before, not much over .500 themselves, playing to an 84-78 record. His debut game was April 16, 1975. e Sox were just a week out of spring training. Playing in Yankee Stadium, Yaz greeted Pat Dobson with a two-run homer in the rst. In the third frame, Fred Lynn led o with a solo home run. Later that inning, Yaz walked, stole second and then took third on urman Munson’s errant throw, but he jammed his left ankle into Munson’s shin guard trying to score later in the inning. He had it taped and stayed in the game. Doug Gri n, though, had a right hip which was bothering him pretty badly and he sat out the game.
Lynn led o the fth inning as well, and hit another home run. e Red Sox won the game 4-2, with those three homers accounting for all the Sox scoring. Andrew came in to play second base in the ninth inning. Bob Heise, who’d been playing second moved over to third to take Petrocelli’s spot. Andrew neither batted nor had a elding chance during his rst game.
ere was no game scheduled the next day. On the 18th, Doug Gri n played second and went 0-for-4. Rice hit two home runs in that game. e game on the 19th was rained out, so Gri n got another chance to rest his hip. On the 20th, Gri n played again and went 1-for-4.
Kim Andrew’s next appearance was in Boston on Patriots Day, Monday April 21. Bill Rodgers won the Boston Marathon with a record 2:09:55 race time. e Sox were hosting the Yankees, Dobson again getting the start for New York. Bill Lee started for Boston, but got hammered for four runs in the top of the rst and was charged with four more in the fourth. Boston was losing, 11-0, after six. Gri n had started the game and went 0-for-2, but then left after the sixth inning and Andrew took his place at second. Lou Piniella