Page 235 - 1975 BoSox

228 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
had been traded from the Indians to the Twins in 1970. e Twins released Tiant after the 1970 season. Mark Frost, in Game Six, his book about the legendary 1975 World Series game, quoted Williams as saying:
“I thought what was happening to Luis was a tragedy, I knew Luis when he was sound and I was so sure in my heart that he wasn’t nished. He’s the best friend I ever had in baseball; I respected him as an athlete and I loved him as a person. I also knew how much this game means to him, which has nothing to do with cheers and headlines.”13 Frost added, “Williams worked the phones and called every team. He con- vinced a Braves scout to give Tiant a 30 day contract.”
e Braves wanted to go with youth and released Tiant after the 30 days. e Red Sox grabbed Tiant, and he went 15-6 with a 1.91 ERA in 1972, Williams’s last year pitching in the majors. From 1972 to 1976 Tiant won 15, 20, 22, 18, and 21 games for the Red Sox. As Williams told a reporter before Tiant started in the sixth game of the World Series, “Luis doesn’t want to impress them. He only wants to beat them.”14
e Red Sox nished third in 1976. Longtime owner Tom Yawkey died, and his widow, Jean, red manager Darrell Johnson and replaced him with coach Don Zimmer. Zimmer wanted to pick his own coaches, and after the season Williams was replaced by Al Jackson. Bob Lemon, the new manager of the Chicago White Sox, tapped Williams for his pitching coach. e White Sox nished 90-72 and contended for the division title. In 1977 the team reversed its record. After Lemon led them to a 34-40 record, owner Bill Veeck replaced him with Larry Doby. e team didn’t play better; Doby led them to a 37-50 record for a season total of 71-90. Not surprisingly, Doby didn’t bring Williams back in 1979, which meant Williams missed the opportunity to enjoy the White Sox’ in- famous “Disco Demolition Night” promotion.
In 1978 Lemon managed the Yankees to a come-from- behind win of the Eastern Division thanks to Bucky Dent’s famous home run against the Red Sox. It’s probably not a coincidence that after he left the White Sox, the Yankees hired Williams as an advance scout.
In 1980 Dick Howser became the Yankees’ manager and made Williams his pitching coach, reuniting him with Tiant. Tiant was at the end of his career and won only eight games for the Yankees as a spot starter. However,Tommy John won 22 games and Ron Guidry 17, and the Yankees won 103 games and the Eastern Division championship.
After the Yankees lost to the Dodgers in the 1981 World Series, owner George Steinbrenner accelerated his revolving carousel of coaches and managers. In 1982 the team had three managers and ve pitching coaches.WilliamsreplacedJe Torborgafter14games of the season. (Williams had been demoted from the Yankees sta after 1981.) Clyde King replaced Williams in June. In July Steinbrenner brought up Columbus Clippers pitching coach Sammy Ellis and sent Williams to Columbus.
In 1984 Cincinnati Reds manager Vern Rapp brought Williams back to the majors to coach the Reds’ pitch- ers. e Reds performed poorly and in August Rapp was red and replaced by Pete Rose, who replaced Williams in August with Jim Kaat.
Williams’s next chance in the majors came in 1990, when Lou Piniella, who knew him from the Yankees teams of the early ’80s, became manager of the Reds and made him the pitching coach. e Reds won the Western Division, beat the Pirates in the NLCS, and swept the heavily favored Oakland A’s in the World Series. Williams helped develop the three relievers who came to be known as the “Nasty Boys”: Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton, and Randy Myers. e trio pitched well during the season, and didn’t allow any runs during the World Series. Williams called the Nasty Boys the best three-man bullpen “in the history of relief.” Williams said, “when you have a left, righty, lefty combination like that, you gotta like your chances, every time you send them out.”15
e Reds slumped during the summer of 1991and fell out of contention. Owner Marge Schott, notorious among baseball owners and fans for her many ec- centricities, decided the team’s losses were the fault of bad pitching and red Williams over the pleas of