Page 310 - 1975 BoSox

’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL 303
swinging Carbo, but this time Captain Hook stood pat.20
Anderson knew Carbo, had managed him in the minors, and both out elder and manager reached Cincinnati in 1970. Carbo lasted a dozen seasons in the major leagues, much of it as a reserve, and much of it while battling the demons of alcohol and sub- stance abuse—his erratic behavior being the main reason the Reds had traded the out elder Anderson had a ectionately called Bernardo.21 With the count 2-and-1, Carbo swung the bat at four successive Eastwick o erings. e rst swing was awkward, missing the ball by a large margin; the next he fouled o to the left; the third was so late the umpire was about to call ball and so ugly that as the foul ball bounced toward the backstop, everyone from the coach’s box to the press box winced.22 But Carbo had gotten just enough of the ball to keep him — and Boston — alive. Eastwick’s nal 2-and-2 pitch was a down-the-middle fastball that exploded o Carbo’s bat, hurried over Geronimo’s head, and landed amid the raised sts and husky roars of the center- eld bleachers. Sox fans were euphoric. People claimed they could hear the roar from Fenway more than a mile away.23
e game was tied. Not only had Carbo’s swing grabbed the Red Sox from ignominious defeat, it also elevated this evening from any of the other Game Sixes that had come before it in postseason annals. From here on out this was GAME SIX; all other like-numbered games would need to specify. And remarkably, Game Six stayed tied because of two of the best-remembered, rally-squelching double plays in World Series history.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox lled the bases with nobody out. Denny Doyle started the inning with a walk and raced to third on a single by Carl Yastrzemski, who’d begun the at-bat by bunting unsuc- cessfully.24 Now, with the winning run at third, Sparky Anderson brought in the lefty, even as the odds dic- tated the move was too late. New pitcher Will McEnaney’s rst assignment was to intentionally walk Fisk; his second was to retire Fred Lynn, who that fall
would be the rst player to win both Rookie of the Year and league MVP. McEnaney, a rookie himself — and like Lynn, left-handed — threw a high fastball that was popped up and headed earthward in the small area of left eld between the foul line and the packed stands. George Foster, not known for his defense, much less his arm, caught it and heaved a strike barely 200 feet from home plate. In the din of the crowd, Doyle misinterpreted third-base coach Don Zimmer’s “No!” for “Go!” and o he went. Johnny Bench stretched to his right to take the throw, shifted to his left, and tagged the lunging Doyle on the left shoulder. Two outs. McEnaney then retired Petrocelli on a groundball to send the Game Six to extra innings.
e Reds got a runner to second in the 10th, but the most signi cant part of that inning was Dan Driessen batting for McEnaney and ying out. e Reds were getting low on pitchers. Bringing in Pat Darcy not only tied a World Series record with the eighth Reds pitcher of the night, it left the sta with only veteran Clay Kirby and ace Don Gullett, the Game Seven starter — if there was a Game Seven.
Darcy set the Red Sox down in order in the 10th. Dick Drago, out for his third inning of relief for Boston, got into immediate trouble in the 11th when his inside fastball nicked Pete Rose’s jersey. At least that what umpire Satch Davidson said. When Drago and Fisk stopped barking at the umpire, they prepared for the expected sacri ce attempt by Ken Gri ey. Fisk pounced on the bunt, and unlike the disastrous turn of events on Ed Armbrister’s bunt in extra innings in Game ree, the catcher red the ball to shortstop Rick Burleson in time for the out at second base.
at brought up Joe Morgan, facing Drago for the second time this night. He pounded the 1-and-1 of- fering like a pea, the ball rocketing over right elder Dwight Evans’s head — or so it seemed. Having lost sight of the ball momentarily, Evans reached out his glove and the ball hit and stuck in the webbing, Evans touching down at the gate in Fenway’s right- eld wall that stood less than a yard high. His throw to rst was 20 feet o , but Gri ey, who was between second and third base when the ball was caught, was a dead duck,