Page 295 - 1975 BoSox

288 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
Stockton and Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, a rookie in the broadcast booth, were the TV announcers.
Don Denkinger, Lou DiMuro, Bill Kunkel, Ron Luciano, Jim Evans, and Hank Morgenweck served as umpires for the 1975 ALCS.
ALCS Game 1 — Boston 7, Oakland 1
Saturday, October 4, 1975 Fenway Park (attendance 35,578)
e turning point of the 1975 American League Championship Series may have come when Luis Tiant strolled to the pitcher’s mound at Fenway Park. El Tiante, the 34-year-old (at least o cially) right-hander from Marianao, La Habana, Cuba, was unhittable in the early innings.
He retired Bill North on a y to right to open the game; then struck out Claudell Washington and Sal Bando to end the rst.
In the bottom of the inning, the Red Sox — with a great deal of help from the Oakland defense—pro- vided Tiant with all the support he would need, strik- ing twice against Oakland starter Ken Holtzman. After the stoic lefty retired Juan Beniquez and Denny Doyle to open the inning, Carl Yastrzemski singled to center. Carlton Fisk followed with a grounder that took a bad bounce and shot past third baseman Sal Bando, who was charged with an error. Yastrzemski, o at the crack of the bat and waved on by third-base coach Don Zimmer, slid safely into third, and when left elder Claudell Washington threw wildly over everyone, Yastrzemski trotted home with the rst run of the game, and Fisk scooted into second. e comedy of errors continued when the next hitter, Fred Lynn, grounded to second, the ball took another bad bounce, and de ected o Phil Garner’s bare hand. Garner kicked the ball into right eld and stumbled as he chased it. Lynn reached and Fisk scored from second on Oakland’s third error of the inning.
Armed with a 2-0 lead, Tiant retired Reggie Jackson on a y to center, then struck out Gene Tenace and Joe Rudi in the top of the second.
e Red Sox looked to put together a bit of two-out magic again in the second inning. After Holtzman fanned Dwight Evans and Cecil Cooper, Rick Burleson walked and Juan Beniquez slashed a double, but Holtzman stranded both when he notched his third strikeout of the inning, setting down Denny Doyle.
Designated hitter Billy Williams, winding down his career with the A’s after 16 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, became the rst Oakland hitter to reach base when he worked Tiant for a walk to open the third. After Bert Campaneris ied to right and Garner struck out, North drew the second walk of the inning, but Tiant retired Washington on a y to left.
With his defense steadied, Holtzman retired Yastrzemski and Fisk on grounders and Lynn on a y to right to keep the score 2-0 after three innings.
In the fourth inning Tiant set down Bando, Jackson, and Tenace, all on ies to center. In the bottom of the frame, Petrocelli and Evans ied out, and Cooper collected a two-out single before Burleson grounded out to end the inning.
e Athletics nally managed their rst hit in the fth when Rudi led o with a single up the middle. e unru ed Tiant retired Williams on a foul out, Campaneris on a y to center, and Garner on a foul out that Fisk went into the stands to snag. In the bottom half, Holtzman retired Beniquez on a pop out and Doyle on a groundout, and struck out Yastrzemski.
Only six men came to bat in the sixth.Tiant continued to dominate the Athletics, getting North and Washington to y out before setting Bando down on strikes; Holtzman retired Fisk on a grounder, Lynn on a popup, and Petrocelli on a grounder.
Jackson, who would later be known as “Mr. October,” made the Fenway faithful nervous when he singled to center and advanced to second when Fred Lynn uncharacteristically misplayed the ball. But Tiant never inched, forcing y outs by Tenace, Rudi, and Williams — the last backing Yastrzemski against the left- eld wall to make a leaping catch.