You Could Tell the Teams without a Scorecard: Baseball in the 1970s

8/12/2019 You Could Tell the Teams without a Scorecard: Baseball in the 1970s

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Dean T. Hartwell

Published

3/16/2014

You Could Tell the Teams without a

Scorecard: Baseball in the 1970s


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You Could Tell the Teams without a Scorecard: Baseball in the 1970sby Dean T. Hartwell

Introduction

My sports enthusiasm took off on Sunday mornings in the autumn of the early 1970s.

That was football day. There would be a game on at 10:00 AM (Pacific Time) and another

one on at 1:00 PM. Then, to soften the blow of having to go to school the next day, there

would be a game on Monday night. After the Super Bowl in January, I would go into asports withdrawal until baseball season in April.

This era of professional football and baseball represented the peak of what the sports

have to offer. What made these games great is exactly what is missing from todays

National Football League and Major League Baseball:

A classic rivalry that fans could follow. Players rarely changed teams because there

was no free agency then in either sport and trades did not happen too often. As a result,

one could identify the best teams easily because they kept the same players and because

they consistently made the playoffs. Anyone wanting to challenge the best teams had to

earn their way to the playoffs.

A focus on the game instead of hype. There was no ESPN or sports radio then. Now

many fans get tired of all of the pre- game shows and just want to see the game.

It was all about the teams rather than the players. Back then, I participated in a pool

in which we chose the team winners of the games. Now fans follow fantasy sports players

and care more about individual performance than what should matter most, team

performances.

Fans who watched the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Oakland Raiders or the New York

Yankees play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s knew they were watching two

heavyweights go at it and that they would get their money (or time)s worth. We are stillwaiting for another epic rivalry and may never get it thanks to team expansion, free

agency and the focus on individual performances which have detracted from the

competitive team sports that football and baseball really are.

I knew the history of these teams throughout the 1970s. My Dodgers kept on losing the

World Series to the Oakland As and the New York Yankees. They went through a

mediocre season in 1979, barely missed the playoffs in 1980 and finally won the World

Series over the hated Yankees in 1981. I learned ultimately that winning was sweet, but

that I learned more from losses.

But what was best was that I knew the teams I was watching. The main players did notchange much over the years, as you will see from the starting lineups listed.


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Second Best

The 1974 World Series

Starting LineupsGame 1

Oakland Athletics Los Angeles Dodgers1 Bert Campaneris SS 1 Davey Lopes 2B

2 Bill North CF 2 Bill Buckner LF

3 Sal Bando 3B 3 Jim Wynn CF

4 Reggie Jackson RF 4 Steve Garvey 1B

5 Joe Rudi LF 5 Joe Ferguson RF

6 Gene Tenace 1B 6 Ron Cey 3B

7 Ray Fosse C 7 Bill Russell SS

8 Dick Green 2B 8 Steve Yeager C

9 Ken Holtzman P 9 Andy Messersmith P

My brother and I piled into the back of a station wagon with our next door neighbors and

headed to school the day after the final game of the series.

I was trying to make sense of it. I said, The Dodgers are the best team.

One of my neighbors corrected me. Second best.

Oh yeah. I knew what had happened. The home town Dodgers had lost the series four

games to one to the Oakland As.

My dad had had the fortune of going to one of the games in Los Angeles, the second

game of the series. It was the only game the Dodgers had won. But I could recite the

Dodger infield of Steve Garvey at first base, Davey Lopes at second base, Ron Cey at

third base and Bill Russell at shortstop. Seven years later, when they finally won the

World Series, it was with the same infield!

To see the entire Game 1 of the 1974 World Series, presshere
http://youtu.be/xkdv1lBIXCEhttp://youtu.be/xkdv1lBIXCEhttp://youtu.be/xkdv1lBIXCEhttp://youtu.be/xkdv1lBIXCE


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Game Six

1975 World Series Game 6Cincinnati Reds at Boston Red Sox

Starting Lineups

Cincinnati Reds Boston Red Sox

1 Pete Rose 3B 1 Cecil Cooper 1B

2 Ken Griffey RF 2 Denny Doyle 2B

3 Joe Morgan 2B 3 Carl Yastrzemski LF

4 Johnny Bench C 4 Carlton Fisk C

5 Tony Perez 1B 5 Fred Lynn CF

6 George Foster LF 6 Rico Petrocelli 3B

7 Dave Concepcion SS 7 Dwight Evans RF

8 Cesar Geronimo CF 8 Rick Burleson SS

9 Gary Nolan P 9 Luis Tiant P

The game of baseball reached its peak on October 21, 1975 when the Cincinnati Reds

played the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston. Both teams challenged each other

until exhaustion. No one caved in, quit or wilted under the pressure and when it was overthe spectators probably cared less about who won than how well they played.

The game starts with Luis Tiant, a man who came from Cuba to the United States before

Castro but who could not return. He waited fourteen years, until the first game of the

series in which he pitched a shutout, to see his parents (they came to Boston on a special

visa).He pitches from a corkscrew wind up and challenges the Big Red Machine.

He gets them out without allowing a run for four innings even though the Reds do not

have an easy out. Pete Rose, to be known later as the all-time leader in base hits, pecks

away at Tiants pitches. Tiant faces Ken Griffey (Senior), Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench,

Tony Perez, all of them stars and all of them headed for the Hall of Fame except forGriffey, who came pretty close to making it.

While the Reds were having trouble with Tiant, the Red Sox gain the upper hand in the

bottom of the first when Fred Lynn, the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player,

drives a Gary Nolan pitch down over the wall in right field with two on. Red Sox 3, Reds

0.


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The Reds get untracked in the fifth inning. With two Reds on base, Griffey drives the ball

to dead center. Lynn goes back and makes a leapbut just barely misses it. The ball

bounces back toward the field and the runners round the bases. But forget about the

score for a minute. Lynn does not get up. He would say later that he could not feel his

legs and could not move.1

Lynn would get injured a number of times attempting (and frequently making) spectacular

catches. It probably curtailed his career. But no one who refuses to take risks can stake

claim to be the best. Griffey winds up on third with a triple. He comes home when Bench

gets a hit. Reds 3, Red Sox 3.

Then the lower part of the Machine put the Reds ahead. In the seventh, George Foster

drives home two runs with a double and Geronimo tags Tiant for a home run in the eighth.

Bye bye, Tiant.

The home town crowd roars, to pay tribute for Tiants World Series performance.

The Red Sox go to bat in the bottom of the eighth six outs away from elimination. Lynn

smashes a hit off the Reds pitcher, Pedro Borbon. Rico Petrocelli gets a walk.

But then new Red pitcher Rawly Eastwick comes in to get two outs. Up comes Bernie

Carbo. The great thing about the World Series is that not-so-well-known players have the

chance to become part of folklore. This was Carbos chance.

Eastwick looked like he had him down for the count. Carbo barely made contact with the

ball.

Then he swung the bat well. Deep center fieldway backway backwere tied up,

yells announcer Joe Gariagiola. This is Carbos claim to fame. His fifteen minutes.

But the game is not over yet. In the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox load the bases with

no one out. Lynn hits the ball down the foul line in left. Left fielder Foster makes the catch.

Nine times out of ten, the outfielder fails to make a good throw, or the catcher drops it.

Nine times out of ten, the base runner hears the third base coach telling him Dont go!

He goes. The throw arrives to Bench on a hop. Doyle tries to maneuver around the tag.

But Bench catches the ball and tags Doyle out, anyway.

The Red Sox cant score in the ninth. The game goes to extra innings.

In the top of the eleventh inning, with Griffey on first, Joe Morgan slams a ball that lookssure to go over the short wall in right field. But Dwight Evans gets his fifteen minutes by

leaping high to catch the ball. And then throwing to first to double up Griffey. Evans claims

to this day that he has no idea how he caught the ball.2

1 http://mlbnetwork-origin.mlb.com/network/games_airdates/2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8XeTNH9P3A


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Baseball games rarely end in ties and World Series Games really cant. The series had

been delayed three days due to rain and November was getting close. The only question

left was who would be the hero.

In the bottom of the twelfth, leadoff hitter Carlton Fisk took one pitch. Then he hit a ball

directly down the left field line. All the questions of life can be stated so succinctly: yes orno, in or out, fair or foul. Fisk pleads with the ball to stay fair. The Reds are saying

otherwise.

The ball smashes into the pole. Thirty-eight years later and it never has gotten any better

than this.

To see the entire Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, presshere
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQzL34qH7uo&feature=share&list=PLcLVnwXd4akEkt0d8ZahapIALtJvRIvi0&index=8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQzL34qH7uo&feature=share&list=PLcLVnwXd4akEkt0d8ZahapIALtJvRIvi0&index=8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQzL34qH7uo&feature=share&list=PLcLVnwXd4akEkt0d8ZahapIALtJvRIvi0&index=8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQzL34qH7uo&feature=share&list=PLcLVnwXd4akEkt0d8ZahapIALtJvRIvi0&index=8


7/21


Where is Home Plate?

1976 American League Championship Series Game 5Kansas City Royals at New

York Yankees

Starting Lineups

Kansas City Royals New York Yankees

1 Al Cowens CF 1 Mickey Rivers CF

2 Tom Poquette LF 2 Roy White LF

3 George Brett 3B 3 Thurman Munson C

4 John Mayberry 1B 4 Chris Chambliss 1B

5 Hal McRae RF 5 Carlos May DH

6 Jamie Quirk DH 6 Graig Nettles 3B

7 Cookie Rojas 2B 7 Oscar Gamble RF

8 Freddie Patek SS 8 Willie Randolph 2B

9 Buck Martinez C 9 Fred Stanley SS

Dennis Leonard P Ed Figueroa P

I know I saw Chris Chambliss hit a home run just over the right field wall at Yankee

Stadium to win the pennant for the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals. The

fans poured onto the field and some of them stole home plate!

I was playing around with a tape recorder and I caught the moment. I have no idea where

that tape is now, but I used to play it over and over. After hearing the home run call a

number of times, I listened longer and heard the announcer go on and on about the

Royals, who put up a tough fight and how manager Whitey Herzog had gone to the

bullpen and brought out his ace.

Baseball broke the hearts of those Royal fans. But I began to surmise that without risk,

there really is no reward.

To see Chris Chambliss home run, presshere
http://youtu.be/AS6HGwoRrkYhttp://youtu.be/AS6HGwoRrkYhttp://youtu.be/AS6HGwoRrkYhttp://youtu.be/AS6HGwoRrkY


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Dodgers Refuse to Be Counted Out

1977 National League Championship Series Game 3 Los Angeles Dodgers at

Philadelphia Phillies

Starting Lineups

Los Angeles Dodgers Philadelphia Phillies

1 Davey Lopes 2B 1 Bake McBride RF

2 Bill Russell SS 2 Larry Bowa SS

3 Reggie Smith RF 3 Mike Schmidt 3B

4 Ron Cey 3B 4 Greg Luzinski LF

5 Steve Garvey 1B 5 Richie Hebner 1B

6 Dusty Baker LF 6 Garry Maddox CF

7 Rick Monday CF 7 Bob Boone C

8 Steve Yeager C 8 Ted Sizemore 2B

9 Burt Hooton P 9 Larry Christenson P

The Los Angeles Dodgers were down to their last out

On the road In Philadelphia

The best of five series was tied one game each

The Phillies led 5-3

Relief ace Gene Garber was pitching

The Dodgers sent Vic Davalillo to pinch hit

As Garber threw the ball, Davalillo prepared to catch it with his bat

The ball bounced between first and second baseBy the time a surprised Ted Sizemore got to it, Davalillo was already at first

Manny Mota went to bat as a pinch hitter Garber had two strikes on him

Then Mota golfed a low pitch deep to left

Greg Luzinski went back and got a glove on the ball


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But could not catch it

Then his throw to Sizemore went astray

By the time the play ended, Davalillo had scored and Mota was on third

Davey Lopes slammed a chopper to third baseThe ball bounced off Schmidts glove to shortstop Larry Bowa

Who in one motion caught the ball and whirled it to first

The umpire calls Lopes safe

Tie game!

Some Phillies fans are still upset about this call and call this game Black Friday

But after watching the game on DVD, I am not convinced it was a bad call. Earlier in the

game there were worse calls than this one against both teams. Anyway, the game wenton. Garber tried to pick Lopes off, but he threw it away and Lopes got to second. Bill

Russell then lined a single up the middle to bring home Lopes. The Dodgers got the

Phillies out without any runs in the bottom of the ninth. Final score: Dodgers 6, Phillies

5.The Dodgers beat the Phillies again the next day and went on to the World Series.

See this game from Vic Davalillos at bat on to the end of the gamehere
http://youtu.be/EoHlsdNDWOY?t=1h51m54shttp://youtu.be/EoHlsdNDWOY?t=1h51m54shttp://youtu.be/EoHlsdNDWOY?t=1h51m54s


10/21


A Fair Fight

Game 5 of 1977 American League Championship Series New York Yankees at

Kansas City Royals

Starting Lineups

New York Yankees Kansas City Royals

1 Mickey Rivers CF 1 Freddie Patek SS

2 Willie Randolph 2B 2 Hal McRae LF

3 Thurman Munson C 3 George Brett 3B

4 Lou Piniella LF 4 Al Cowens RF

5 Cliff Johnson DH 5 Amos Otis CF

6 Graig Nettles 3B 6 John Wathan 1B

7 Chris Chambliss 1B 7 Cookie Rojas DH

8 Paul Blair RF 8 Darrell Porter C

9 Bucky Dent SS 9 Frank White 2B

Ron Guidry P Paul Splittorff P

Some players become heroes by hitting home runs at memorable times, like Chris

Chambliss did in the 1976 American League Championship Series. Others pitch great

games or achieve success over a long career.

One player stands out as a true hero by doing the right thing at the right time.

The New York Yankees played the fifth and final game of the 1977 ALCS at Kansas City.

The Yankees and the home team Royals had gained respect for one another and were

beginning what would be a bitter and lasting rivalry on the field.

In the bottom of the first inning, Royal superstar George Brett drove a Ron Guidry pitch

over the head of center fielder Mickey Rivers. Brett rounded second and slid into third

with a triple.

As Brett got up, Yankee third baseman Graig Nettles kicked Brett, who responded with a

punch to Nettles head. The Yankee fielders got to the fray first and some of them tackled

Brett to the ground.


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The Royal fans must have had a collective heart attack: if their best player were to be

injured, the team would hardly stand a chance to win the game and go to the World Series.

Then, completely unnoticed by even the Yankee announcers, one of the Yankees,

catcher Thurman Munson, lay down on top of Brett as a shield against the other Yankees!

Brett would later say that Munson told him something at the bottom of the pile, No onesgoing to take any cheap shots.

From Munsons point of view, it just didnt look like a fair fight. His noble act carries with

it inspiration that even the most intense competitors can ultimately stand for justice.

See the George Brett triple and the fight that followedhere
http://youtu.be/vbdvlX1j77whttp://youtu.be/vbdvlX1j77whttp://youtu.be/vbdvlX1j77whttp://youtu.be/vbdvlX1j77w


12/21


Why the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series 1977


Los Angeles Dodgers New York Yankees

1 Davey Lopes 2B 1 Mickey Rivers CF

2 Bill Russell SS 2 Willie Randolph 2B

3 Reggie Smith RF 3 Thurman Munson C

4 Ron Cey 3B 4 Reggie Jackson RF

5 Steve Garvey 1B 5 Chris Chambliss 1B

6 Dusty Baker LF 6 Graig Nettles 3B

7 Glenn Burke CF 7 Lou Piniella LF

8 Steve Yeager C 8 Bucky Dent SS

9 Don Sutton P 9 Don Gullett P

Yankees won 4 games to 2

The New York Yankees won Game 1 at home, Games 3 and 4 on the road and Game 6

at home.

Game 1 was the closest game. The Yankees won 4-3 in 12 innings. It was also the

decisive game.

I enjoyed watching a DVD of the first game of the 1977 World Series, which took place

on October 11, 1977. The game resembled a boxing match between two evenly matched

fighters. The Dodgers punched, then the Yankees punched back. They traded blows until

they wore each other out.

The Yankees finally prevail in the bottom of the twelfth. But it was not just the end of the

game that makes this contest memorable. In the top of the first, Bill Russell hits a triple to

deep left-center to drive in a run and comes home on a fly ball hit by Ron Cey. In the

Yankee half, Chris Chambliss singles home a run.

Then the game turns into a pitchers duel between Don Gullett of the Yankees and Don

Sutton of the Dodgers. Gullett was starting the first game of the World Series for the third

year in a row! Neither he nor Sutton seems perturbed by the early runs.

With two outs in the top of the sixth, Steve Garvey takes off from first as Glenn Burke hits

a ground ball between first and second base. The ball trickles so slowly to the outfield


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that when center fielder Mickey Rivers picks up the ball, he realizes the play will be not at

third base, but home plate! He throws to Thurman Munson, who catches it and reaches

to tag Garvey.

OUT!

Garvey jumps up and protests the call. Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda joins theargument.

Garvey was really safe. And the home plate umpire was in a bad position (screened by

Munson) to see the play. But no matter. Had Garvey hustled around third, he would have

scored so easily that the umpire would not have blown the call. The Dodgers would have

led 3-1 and, had the rest of the scoring held up, would have won the game in nine innings,

4-3.

But the call prevails. Yankee second baseman Willie Randolph opens the bottom of the

sixth with a home run down the left field line to tie the score at two. In the eighth, Randolph

walks and scored on a double by Munson.

This gives the Dodgers one last inning to produce at least a run to keep the game going.

Dusty Baker leads off with a single. Then came the kind of play that makes the game

unpredictable and worth watching.

Pinch hitter Manny Mota fakes a bunt and then swings and misses at the pitch from

Gullett. Baker, apparently on a hit and run, is on his way to second when he finds himself

staring at a Yankee with the ball in front of him. Baker doubles back as the ball is thrown

to first baseman Chambliss.

Ordinarily, the first baseman then tags the runner out. But Baker dives away from

Chambliss AND the base! A confused Chambliss hesitates for a split second while Baker

lunges again, this time for the base.

SAFE!

Bakers play helped the Dodgers to tie the game. After Mota flew out, Steve Yeager walks.

Then pinch hitter Lee Lacy singles to left to bring Baker home. But the Yankees prevail in

the bottom of the twelfth when Paul Blair, a defensive replacement for Reggie Jackson,

singles home Willie Randolph. Watching this game again reminds me how much this

rivalry and the three World Series that these two teams played in during my youth helped

me to appreciate baseball.Game 2 went to the Dodgers 6-1 with Burt Hooton pitching a great game and four Dodgers

hitting home runs off Catfish Hunter and Sparky Lyle.

Games 3 and 4 went to the Yankees. The Dodgers got down early in both, put up a fight,

but in both games, the solid Yankee offense put the game away with clutch hits.


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The Dodgers claimed Game 5 by a score of 10-4. This game sent the Series back to

New York with the Yankees ahead 3 games to 2.

What if? What if the Dodgers won Game 1, which they should have done?

Games 2 through 5 would not have likely been much different.

But Game 6, won by the Yankees 8-4 thanks to three home runs and five RBIs by Reggie

Jackson, would have forced a Game 7. The likely starters would have been Tommy John

for the Dodgers and Ron Guidry for the Yankees. It may well have set up another

showdown between Dodger reliever Mike Garman and Yankee Lyle, who dueled in Game

1.

Game Six is worth remembering for reasons besides the Jackson home runs. I ran across

a video of the game. That the Dodgers were and are my favorite team probably accounts

for why I had not seen this game in almost forty years! But watching the last half-inning

reminded me of how I felt watching the game live.

Yankee Stadium was near pandemonium. The team and their fans had waited fifteen

years to win the World Series and all they needed were three more outs. The Yankees

led the game handily, by a score of 8-3. Five of those runs had come in by way of

Jacksons long drives into the stands.

Some of the fans now sat on the outfield wall so as to be prepared to jump onto the field

and celebrate upon the last out. Some of them threw things at Jackson, who went into the

dugout to get a batting helmet! (Why the Yankees did not simply put another player in

right field for this last inning is beyond me. They should have known Jackson would be

mobbed by fans later.)

The YouTube video reminded me of some of the details I had forgotten. Ron Cey starts

off the inning and takes a called third strike. Steve Garvey then bounces it to Bucky Dent

at shortstop and beats the throw to first base. Dent had fielded the ball, but slipped trying

to plant his foot to make a throw. The official scorer says single.

Dusty Baker follows by driving a ball into left field for a hit that sends Garvey to second

base. Rick Monday, my favorite player, attempts but fails to bunt the ball. Then he sends

a long drive to right field. For a second it looks like a home run, but the ball comes down

in Jacksons glove near the wall. Garvey tags second and goes to third base while Baker

remains at first.

Two outs.

Then the part I will never forget. The Dodgers send Vic Davalillo to pinch hit. Davalillo, at

about five foot seven one of the shortest players in the game and at forty-one one of the

oldest, stands at the plate. On the first pitch, he releases his bat at just the right moment

and lays down a bunt that catches the Yankees by surprise. Graig Nettles, the brilliant

third baseman for the Yankees, finally gets to the ball and throws it to a surprised Thurman

Munson, the catcher, at home plate. Garvey scores.


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For a moment, the Yankees lookticked. After Jackson used a sledgehammer to knock

out the Dodgers, Davalillo picks the Dodgers up and pokes the Yankees in the eyes! I

couldnt help but laugh again as I saw the bunt single!

Those poor Yankee fans had their celebration delayed by about two minutes. The next

batter, Lee Lacy, pops the ball up on a bunt of his own. The pitcher, Mike Torrez, catchesthe ball and the big celebration commences. The Yankees all hug each other, then they

get out of the way of hundreds of fans who pour onto the field.

Inning over. Game over. Series over. But the memories never end!

Watch Paul Blair get the Game 1 winning hithere

See the Dodgers half of the ninth inning ofGame 6here
http://youtu.be/s7nUruLTrBshttp://youtu.be/s7nUruLTrBshttp://youtu.be/s7nUruLTrBshttp://youtu.be/p_QiPpMzclk?t=1h44m24shttp://youtu.be/p_QiPpMzclk?t=1h44m24shttp://youtu.be/p_QiPpMzclk?t=1h44m24shttp://youtu.be/p_QiPpMzclk?t=1h44m24shttp://youtu.be/s7nUruLTrBs


16/21


Why the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series 1978


New York Yankees Los Angeles Dodgers

1 Mickey Rivers CF 1 Davey Lopes 2B

2 Roy White LF 2 Bill Russell SS

3 Thurman Munson C 3 Reggie Smith RF

4 Reggie Jackson DH 4 Steve Garvey 1B

5 Lou Piniella RF 5 Ron Cey 3B

6 Graig Nettles 3B 6 Dusty Baker LF

7 Chris Chambliss 1B 7 Rick Monday CF

8 Fred Stanley 2B 8 Lee Lacy DH

9 Bucky Dent SS 9 Steve Yeager C

Ed Figueroa P Tommy John P

Yankees won 4 games to 2

The Dodgers won Game 1 and 2 at home, the Yankees won Games 3, 4 and 5 at home

and then Game 6 on the road.

Game 1 was not close, but it was again the decisive game.

The Dodgers, thanks to two home runs by Dave Lopes and one by Dusty Baker, lead the

Yankees 7-1 in the seventh inning. Tommy John was pitching very well, his only mistake

a long solo home run by Jackson.

With one out and Pinella on first, Nettles grounds the ball to Lopes at second. Lopes

charges the ball and attempts a back hand throw to shortstop Bill Russell. The throwgoes awry and Pinella and Nettles are both safe. Lopes missed an easy out at first base

and kept the inning going longer than necessary. After a ground out to third baseman

Ron Cey, which should have been the third out, Bucky Dent bats in two runs with a hit.

Result: Tommy John pitches more than he should have and begins to tire.


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Two more unearned runs come in during the Yankee eighth when Russell throws away

what would have been the third out. The Dodgers had scored runs in the bottom of the

seventh and the game is now 10-5 Dodgers with two runners on base.

These errors exacerbated Johns weariness and made the score close enough to scare

manager Tommy Lasorda into bringing in ace reliever Terry Forster. Forster nailed thegame down without much trouble, but his entrance into the game would not have been

necessary but for the errors by Lopes and Russell.

Take away the errors and the Dodgers lead 10-1 in the eighth inning. Lasorda likely

would have left John in the game or brought in another reliever, giving Forster, who had

arm troubles, a rest heading into Game 2, where his help was really needed.

The Dodgers won Game 2 by a score of 4-3. Hooton won the game, with relief help from

Forster and Bob Welch, who strikes out Reggie Jackson to end the game.

After two games, The Dodgers led the Yankees two games to none. Game Three found

the Yankees ahead in the top of the fifth inning 2-1. The next play may well have swungthe Series.

Dodgers batting. Two outs. Steve Yeager on second. Davey Lopes on first.

Reggie Smith smashes a ground ball down the third base line. It looks like it is headed

for the left field corner. Yeager should score and the speedy Lopes should as well

But wait. Third baseman Graig Nettles gets his glove on the ball to stop it. It is too late to

get a force out or to get Smith at first so the bases are loaded for Steve Garvey.

Garvey slams the ball down the third base line on a hop. Nettles manages to back hand

the ball and then whirls to fire it to Brian Doyle to force Smith at second. By this point, thegame could easily be 4-2 for the Dodgers.

In fact, in reviewing the statistics of this game, it is hard to believe the Yankees would go

on to win by a score of 5-1.Yankee pitcher Ron Guidry, who averaged a little more than

two walks per nine innings that season, gave up seven in this one. He also gave up eight

hits.

In the next inning, the Dodgers got two more hits and a walk to load the bases with two

outs. Lopes smashes the ball down the third base line. It could have been good for as

many as three runs

But Nettles again makes a sensational play to stop the ball. Then he throws to Doyle foranother force play to end the inning.

With these three plays, Nettles saved as many as six runs. The game doesnt always end

up the way it should or the way it could. That is why we watch.


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I watched on television part of the fourth game, played before a crowd of 56,445 at

Yankee Stadium. I left to go play a soccer game before Reggie Jackson would turn the

series around with his hip.

Dodger outfielder Reggie Smith smashed a three run home run in the top half of the fifth

inning to open the scoring. But the Yankees responded in the bottom of the sixth whenYankee outfielder Reggie Jackson singled home Roy White with a one-out single, which

moved Yankee catcher Thurman Munson to second base.

Lou Pinella then scorched a line drive at Dodger shortstop Bill Russell, who dropped the

ball. Russell then picked up the ball, stepped on second base to force Jackson out and

threw the ball toward teammate Steve Garvey at first base.

The ball never arrived there. Jackson, WHO WAS ALREADY OUT, stayed put between

first and second base. As the ball neared him, he stuck out his hip, which the ball bounced

off and caromed into right field. Munson scored to make the score Dodgers 3, Yankees

2. Russell was charged with an error for this throw.

Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda went on to the field to argue with the umpires that

Pinella should be called out for Jacksons interference. The umpires disagreed. After

Lasorda returned to the dugout, Dodger pitcher Tommy John retired the next batter, Graig

Nettles, to end the inning.

The unearned run came back to haunt the Dodgers. In the bottom of the eighth, the

Yankees scored another run to tie the game. When the score remained tied after nine

innings, the game went into extra innings, where the Yankees won it in the bottom half of

the tenth, 4-3. Having tied the Series, the Yankees went on to win games five and six to

win it all.

Dodger fans still complain about this call and believe it cost the Dodgers the World Series.

Without question, the play cost the Dodgers game four (the World Series is a best-of-

seven competition). So, I will ask the necessary questions to arrive at the answer that

best fits the facts.

Were any rules broken on this play?

To answer this question, we need to first know which of two rules applies to this situation.

One rule 6.05(l) governs the outcome of a play where the fielder deliberately drops a line

drive, while another rule 7.09(d) decides whether a base runner has interfered with a play.

So, the first question is whether Bill Russell deliberately dropped the line drive. The rule7.09(d) states that a batter is out whenan infielder intentionally drops a fair fly ball or

line drive with first, first and second, first and third, or first, second and third base occupied

before two are out. The ball is dead and runner or runners should return to their original

base or bases.

The question of intent is left up to the umpires. Much as in law, baseball rules generally

understand intent to be a matter of purpose or knowledge.


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What would be the purpose of Russell deliberately dropping the ball? If anything, it made

it harder to complete a double play. Had he caught the ball, he would only need step on

second base to get Munson out, or, alternatively, throw the ball to first to double up

Jackson.

However, the umpires did not rule Pinella out and the play continued. It appears, then,that rule 6.05(l) does not apply. Had the umpires invoked the rule, Pinella would have

been out and Jackson and Munson would have been sent back to first and second base,

respectively with two outs.

The wording of rule 7.09(d) reads: It is interference by a batter or runner who has just

been put out [Jackson] hinders or impedes any following play being made on a runner

[Pinella]. Such runner [Pinella] shall be declared out for the interference of his teammate

[Jackson]. (Brackets added for clarification).

There is no mention of the base runner (Jackson) having to act intentionally for this rule

to be invoked. But the umpire in question, Frank Pulli, told reporters the following day

that after watching the replay, Id have to say that Reggie Jackson did not intentionally

interfere with the ball.3

According to Dictionary.com, hinder means to cause delay, interruption or difficulty in

and impede means to retard in movement or progress by means of obstacles or

hindrances.

From these facts and rules, it appears to me that the umpire misinterpreted rule 7.09(d).

It does not matter whether Reggie Jackson acted intentionally to interfere with the ball.

Of course, if Jackson had no opportunity to get out of the way of the ball, the umpires

would have been wise to use discretion in deciding not to invoke the rule. But Jacksonnot only had a chance to get out of the way, he appears also to have stuck his hip out in

the direction in which he knew or should have known the ball would be.

I purchased a copy of a DVD of the fourth game of the 1978 World Series. As soon as I

got it in my hands, I made some popcorn and put it into the DVD player and watched the

Jackson base running play. And again and again from different angles available.

I looked closely at the actions of Bill Russell. Lou Pinella hit a hard, sinking line drive that

Russell gets a glove on. Russell does not appear to deliberately drop the ball. Also, it

was in his interest to catch the ball because all he had to do to get a double play was to

step on second base. He would have put out Munson, who had wandered off secondbase.

As for Jackson, he had plenty of time to make his decision about what to do. He was a

veteran of numerous professional baseball games. I played Little League and high school

baseball for ten years and know from experience that base runners get used to the fact

3 http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19781016&id=S

usyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LhMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4013,3243663


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that plays happen quickly and learn to adjust the decision on where to run as the action

develops.

I didnt quite catchthe turn of Reggies hip on normal speed, although I sensed something

was wrong. The slow motion replays leave no doubt that he moved into the ball, which

was on a true line from Russell to Garvey. On any speed, there is no question thatJackson just stood there long after he knew that he was out.

So I was puzzled when I watched a segment of this game in which Dodger manager

Tommy Lasorda argues with the umpires as to the non-interference call. The audio allows

us to hear not only Lasordas words (in which he pleads for interference on Jackson) but

also the response of the umpires.

The umpires, including Pulli, tell Lasorda that Jackson was confused as to what to do

because Russell had dropped the ball. What did the confusion of a base runner have to

do with anything? The point advanced by Lasorda is that Jackson had the opportunity to

move out of the way and failed to do so.

The DVD also makes it clear that the announcers, Joe Garagiola, Tony Kubek and Tom

Seaver, agree that Jackson intentionally got in the way of the ball.

They interestingly bring up the possibility of baseball using instant replay as professional

football had been discussing doing. This game took place nine months after the

championship between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos, which as noted in

story #6, was likewise decided by a call in error. The announcers made an allusion to

this game.

There was no excuse for Jacksons hip deflection. He had plenty of time to calculate an

illegal way to bring in a run for the Yankees.

The Dodgers wuz robbed!

Or were they?

The Yankees won this game with the help of Jacksons controversial play. Although the

play could be said to be pivotal (the Yankees won in extra innings), Forster and Welch

failed to close the game down in regulation. It is also true that the Dodger bats went cold,

excepting Reggie Smiths three run home run which gave the Dodgers all of their runs.

It seems likely Forster could have used the rest in Game 1. He pitched poorly in Game

4, even though he was not charged with a run. He replaced John with one out in theeighth, the Dodgers up 3-2 and Paul Blair on first base. Forster allowed a sacrifice bunt

by Roy White, followed by a double by Munson, which scored Blair to tie the game at

three. After he hit Jackson with a pitch, Forster left the game in favor of Welch, who would

give up the game winning run in the bottom of the tenth.

The Yankees routed the Dodgers 12-2 in Game 5 and 7-2 in Game 6 to take the Series.


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What if? What if the Dodger fielders curbed their errors in Game 1 and saved Forster

from having to pitch?

The Dodgers would have again won the first two games and would likely have lost the

third game. But Game 4, with a rested Forster, would have gone differently. Forster most

likely would have stopped the Yankee threat in the eighth inning and shut the Yankeesdown in the ninth to help the Dodgers win 3-2.

Games 5 and 6, Yankee routs, would have gone similar to how they really went. Perhaps

Welch would have been used again by Lasorda to replace Sutton, but with the frozen

Dodger bats, the team would have lost, anyway.

So that leaves Gave 7. The pitchers most likely would have been Guidry for the Yankees

and John for the Dodgers. Forster would have been ready to go. The availability of

Yankee ace reliever Rich Gossage would have depended upon how much he would have

been used in Game 6. And that might have made the difference for the Dodgers.

See Bob Welch strike out Reggie Jackson to end Game 2here

See the Reggie Jackson play in Game 4here
http://youtu.be/26fRnCj4SYQhttp://youtu.be/26fRnCj4SYQhttp://youtu.be/26fRnCj4SYQhttp://youtu.be/tvWKWvrVfrIhttp://youtu.be/tvWKWvrVfrIhttp://youtu.be/tvWKWvrVfrIhttp://youtu.be/tvWKWvrVfrIhttp://youtu.be/26fRnCj4SYQ

Documents

You Could Tell the Teams without a Scorecard: Baseball in the 1970s