Page 286 - 1975 BoSox

’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL 279
Carbo had saved two runs in the rst; in the sixth it was Yastrzemski’s turn to dazzle Red Sox fans. With two outs and nobody on, urman Munson ripped a line drive o the left- eld wall; Yastrzemski threw Munson out as he tried to leg out a double.
In the bottom of the seventh, Boston struck again. With one out Fisk came to bat. He had not overly distinguished himself since returning to the lineup, managing two singles against Cleveland—and this evening had just a bunt single in the fth. Working a full count against Dobson, Fisk hit the pitcher’s next o ering into the left-center- eld screen for his rst home run of the season– and his rst since June 17 the year before. He was so elated that he hopscotched between rst and second and clapped his hands the rest of the way around the bases. Denny Doyle followed with a single o Dobson, who was then replaced by Sparky Lyle. It was not to be Lyle’s night, either, as he allowed successive singles to Rick Miller and Burleson, allowing another run to score. Lynn then singled, driving in his third run of the evening.
Tiant gave up two singles in the eighth and two more in the ninth but no scoring took place. By the ninth inning, Red Sox fans decided to get into the game — lit- erally. One ran on the eld with a handful of All-Star ballots and presented them to Lynn, who signed one and brought the rest into the dugout. All, as it turned out, had Lynn’s name on them. Another fan threw a Frisbee on the eld. New York shortstop Jim Mason expertly sailed it into the Yankee dugout, one of the few things that had gone right for the Yankees. ese sideshows — and the game ended with Tiant striking out Rick Dempsey. Tiant won his 11th game of the year, putting the Red Sox just half a game behind New York.
While Tiant was rightfully the big story of the night, Fisk’s home run was a solid signal that he was back. Hewasecstatic,“AllIwasthinkingaboutwhileIwas jumping up and down was to make sure I touched all the bases. at would have been a hell of a time to
miss one. I was a happy guy when I saw it hit the nets, you can believe that.”3
Perhaps in the rush to talk to Fisk,Tiant’s e ort was ignored. Dressing quickly, he told reporters who ap- proached him that “I have nothing to talk about.”4 Perhaps so, but Yankee out elder Bobby Bonds did: “I haven’t faced Tiant since 1969. He’s the same pitcher. His motion doesn’t bother me but there’s something about his fastball that’s tough. He throws it high and that’s usually a good one to hit but it seems to rise at the last minute. He has all the pitches, though, and was just in full command out there.”5
Boston’s win was the rst of three the Red Sox took from New York in the four-game series. After beating the Yankees in the nal game, Boston took a half-game lead in the division. ey were never out of rst place the rest of the season. Beginning on July 7, Boston embarked on a 10-game winning streak, to all intents ending the Eastern Division pennant race. Fisk’s comeback proved successful; he went on to hit .331 for the year and, showcasing his talents on the national stage, hit a home run to win the sixth game of the World Series against Cincinnati. Lynn continued to hit well, batting .331 with 105 RBIs, and won both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards — the rst time this feat was ever accomplished. After beating New York, “El Tiante” went on to post an 18-14 record despite experiencing back injuries during the course of the season. Recovering, he went on to beat Oakland on a three-hitter in the opening game of the League Championship Series, and de- feated the Reds in Games One and Four of the World Series.
Notes
1 Statistical data for the game obtained from Retrosheet.
2 Retrosheet.org/boxesetc/T/Ptianl101.htm.
3 “Fisk Glad, Tiant Sad, Carbo OK, Boston Herald American, June 27, 1975, 9.
4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.