Best Game I evah saw....
May 2, 2008
The date was June 17th 1977...it was a warm and humid summer night in Boston...there mosquitos buzzing around in typical New England fashion.......Fenway Park had about 35,000 loyal screaming Red Sox fans in attendance to witness what has always been the best rivalry in the history of sports...The Hated Yankees were in town.....This particular night we were throwing Bill "The Spaceman" Lee, a beantown favorite and former USC standout, and the Yankees had CATFISH Hunter on the hill.
The rest of the lineups looked like this:
New York Yankees Boston Red Sox
1. W Randolph 2B 1. R Burleson SS
2. M Rivers CF 2. F Lynn CF
3. T Munson C 3. J Rice DH
4. C Chambliss 1B 4. C Yastrzemski LF
5. C Johnson DH 5. C Fisk C
6. R Jackson RF 6. G Scott 1B
7. L Piniella LF 7. B Carbo RF
8. G Nettles 3B 8. B Hobson 3B
9. B Dent SS 9. D Doyle 2B
C Hunter P B Lee P
The top half of the first was uneventful enough...Mickey Rivers got a hit....I always hated Mickey Rivers...he was dirty....Hobson made a boot....2 left on base...no sweat.......Nice pitching, Spaceman.
THE BOTTOM OF THE FIRST IS THE MOST MEMORABLE HALF INNING I RECALL OUT OF DECADES OF WATCHING THIS TEAM!!!!!......Rooster led off with our half of the inning with a HOMERUN....Burleson hada just a handful of homeruns in his career so when ya see this gamer hit one out that it was going to be a good night....Love Burleson...original dirtdog....Lynn came up next and his swing was always so aesthetically pleasing to watch...smooth as silk.....Freddy Lynn was an artist......baseball was his canvas......with one of his signature swings of beauty in motion Lynn hit a homerun too. Rice K'd and Yaz popped out about a mile high to Bucky Dent.....next up , Pudge Fisk, the epitome of Boston Baseball...remember the Copenhagen Scoal commercials?...just a pinch between your cheek and gums and BLAM!! FISK HOMERS!!!! NEXT UP, GEORGE BOOMER SCOTT, an integral factor in the 1967 Impossible Dream season, and another beantown hero,,,,Boom!!!!! TATER!!! Scott blasted one into the Boston Twilight...I dont think this ball has landed yet...Ken Clay replaced Hunter and got Carbo to fly out.
FOUR HOMERUNS IN THE FIRST INNING!!!! I SAW IT WITH MY OWN TWO EYES!! Yaz hit one later in the game and Fisk added another HR too!!! Anytime Yastrzemski hit a homerun I felt like I was watching history in the making. My Pops and Grandfather had inundated me with so many tales of Yastrzemski grandeur over the years...I used to play the "Impossible Dream" vinyl and sing along so when Yaz would stroll meticulously up to the plate in the back of my mind I could always hear that jingle...."CaHl Yas-Trems-ski..".....
THE RED SOX WON 9-4!!!!! and I remember walking down YAWKEY WAY after the game. It was CHAOS. Anytime ya beat the Yankees at Fenway, the city gets a little animated to say the least.. We went for banana splits at Dairy Maid . This game propelled us into first place, and I just knew this was going to be the year we finally won a World Series. Eat your heart out New York.....The Red Sox were a force to be reckoned with ....I just KNEW this was gonna be the year....but noooo..............
-JESTER~RSM
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