Page 75 - 1975 BoSox

68 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
On June 29 the Red Sox beat the Yankees 3-2 to take back sole possession of rst place in the American League East. Late that night Cleveland was driving, along with his best friend from high school through Boston’s Sumner Tunnel, hit a puddle, and rolled his car. Cleveland received 15 stitches around his right ear and eight in his mouth after being pulled unconscious from the wreckage.12 In those simpler days before 24-hour sports channels, this DUI incident went virtually unreported (there was a small story in Toronto’s Globe and Mail).13 Incredibly, Cleveland spent no time on the disabled list and pitched two days later ( July 1).
While it would not have felt like it at the time, the July 6 loss to the Indians was the turning point in Reggie Cleveland’s season. After that loss, he went 9-3 the rest of the year, lowering his ERA from 5.31 to 4.43. Even in defeat, he pitched well. For example, one of his three losses in the second half came on August 8. Cleveland took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, when with two outs Reggie Jackson hit a home run.ABillyWilliamssingleandaGeneTenacehomer made it 3-2 A’s. Oakland pitcher Ken Holtzman made it stand up as Cleveland was handed a tough loss in this 99-minute game.
His start against the Yankees in Shea Stadium (Yankee Stadium was being renovated) on July 26 was one of the Red Sox’ most important victories of the year. Cleveland pitched 82⁄3 innings and allowed only two runs on ve hits as Boston beat New York, 4-2. is win set the stage for Boston’s shutout sweep of the Yankees the next day, when Bill Lee beat Cat sh Hunter 1-0 in game one and Roger Moret beat Tippy Martinez 6-0 in the nightcap, dropping the Yankees rmly into third place, 10 games behind the rst-place Boston nine. e Red Sox had some momentum.
In the last month of the season, the Sox were in a tough struggle with Baltimore for the AL East Division crown. When Bill Lee was ine ective due to elbow soreness in September, Cleveland stepped in and made a huge di erence. He was 4-0 in the month with a 2.21 ERA in 362⁄3 innings (four starts and one ve-shutout-innings relief appearance). He
topped o his regular season with a shutout of the Indians on September 26, lowering the Sox magic number to two. In that game, Cleveland faced only four batters over the minimum. He nished the season at 13-9 with a 4.43 ERA. It was the tale of two seasons again but this time Cleveland nished strong after a mediocre start. e Red Sox nished rst in the American League East and Cleveland was an impor- tant part of their success. e Sox were ve games over .500 (16-11) in September and Cleveland was four games over by himself. He had earned at least one start in the postseason.
Cleveland became the rst Canadian-born pitcher to start a postseason game when he started the second game of the ALCS against Oakland on October 5, 1975. Cleveland did not get a decision (allowing seven hits and three runs in ve innings), but the Red Sox won the game, 6-3. Boston won the next game as well, completing a sweep and dethroning the three-time reigning world champions.
In the World Series, Cleveland made a little more history. He rst saw action in the third game, on October 14 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. He came in to relieve Jim Burton in the bottom of the fth with two outs, Ken Gri ey on second, and the Reds ahead, 5-1. Cleveland struck out Tony Perez to end the threat. e Red Sox scored a run in the top of the sixth and needed Cleveland to keep the Reds from doing further damage in the bottom of the frame. He did exactly what was required, pitching a scoreless sixth by striking out Bench and then getting outs from George Foster and Dave Concepcion. It was an ef- fective outing for Cleveland, who was removed for a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh. e Red Sox tied it in the ninth only to lose in the 10th.
In Game Five, Cleveland became the rst Canadian- born pitcher to start a World Series game. He pitched well, shutting out the Reds through 32⁄3 innings before surrendering a home run to Tony Perez. e sixth inning was Cleveland’s undoing. After walking Joe Morgan, he induced the perfect double-play ball from Johnny Bench (Morgan was still on rst because Cleveland had thrown over to rst 16 times during