Page 241 - 1975 BoSox

234 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
but the team had a potent o ense that featured thump- erslikeLynn,JimRice,CarlYastrzemski,Fisk,George Scott, and Butch Hobson, all but Lynn hitting 20 home runs.
e Boston front o ce was also in turmoil. Owner Tom Yawkey had died in 1976. His widow, Jean, was not thrilled with Dick O’Connell, the general manager, and replaced him with Haywood Sullivan. Still, Zimmer decided to come back for 1978. e tale of the 1978 collapse of the Red Sox is well-documented. e Yankees, once 141⁄2 games behind the Red Sox, swept a four-game series in early September and went into rst place. e Red Sox surged back into a tie on the last day of the regular season, only to lose to the Yankees in a one-game playo highlighted by Bucky Dent’s home run. e team’s breakdown can be at- tributed, at least in part, to a loosely formed group known as the “ e Loyal Order of Bu alo Heads.” e founding members were Ferguson Jenkins, who was traded to Texas before the 1978 season, Bill Lee, Rick Wise, Jim Willoughby, and Bernie Carbo. e bu alo was chosen because the group felt it was the dumbest animal on the face of the Earth. e clique felt that this animal was indicative of those who played for Zimmer. Almost daily there were quotes from out of the clubhouse second-guessing their manager and how the Red Sox were going down the drain.
In a 2004 interview, Bill Lee pinpointed the origin of the group. After the next to last game of the 1977 season, a group of Red Sox players went out drinking. e next morning found Bernie Carbo sleeping un- derneath the trainer’s table, and Ferguson Jenkins asleep in the bullpen. Lee combated his hangover by going on a six-mile run that morning to “get the poison out.” Mike Paxton was the starting pitcher for Boston on the last day, and was roughed up by Baltimore. So Zimmer called the bullpen to get Jenkins ready to come in. Fergie’s teammates in the bullpen could not believe the request and told the bullpen coach to say that Jenkins was not there.
is signi ed the start of the bad blood, which intensi- ed in the 1978 season. e Bu alo Heads had no respect for Zimmer, whom Lee referred to “ e
Gerbil.” Zimmer had little control over the group. e RedSoxsoldCarbotoClevelandonJune15,andLee staged a brief walkout in honor of his friend. When Lee returned, he was banished to the bullpen and rarely used.9
It’s worth remembering, however, that the Red Sox had rebounded strongly to make it into the one-game playo . ey won 12 of 14 games in the homestretch, the last eight in a row.
Even so, the Boston fans were not a forgiving bunch. On Opening Day 1979, Zimmer was booed when he presented the lineup card. Although the Red Sox won 91 games in 1979, that was good enough only for third place. In 1980, they slid to fourth (83-77). Zimmer admitted that one of his biggest regrets was not winning a championship in Boston.
Zimmer was out of a job before the end of the 1980 season. Johnny Pesky managed the nal ve games. Once again he did not remain unemployed for long. e Texas Rangers and owner Eddie Chiles came knocking. Chiles had built his fortune from scratch, and though he did not know baseball, he felt he could run it like a business. Chiles had a concept of “formal- ized goal setting” that were recorded on index cards. He wanted each player evaluated. Zimmer’s respon- sibility was to write the player evaluations, then have the players evaluate themselves. at did not work because Zimmer threw the cards in the garbage.
e 1981 season was disrupted by a players’ strike. e Rangers were 33-22 when the players walked out. ey were in second at the time, half a game behind the Oakland A’s. e second half, after the strike ended, had its share of problems: Mickey Rivers and Bump Wills were hurt a lot, and Al Oliver’s and Buddy Bell’s production had dropped o . ey nished in second again for the second half, at 57-48 and ve games behind the A’s.
e Rangers did not play at the same level in 1982, losing 12 in a row at one point. Eddie Chiles’ patience wore thin during the losing streak. e Texas owner had a reputation for being erratic. At one point he