April 9, 1977 - Brewers 3, Yankees 2
- Sal Maiorana
- Apr 9, 2017
- 2 min read
NEW YORK - Well, the Yankees didn't sign Reggie Jackson to his multi-million-dollar free agent contract for his fielding. In the sixth inning, Jackson dropped a fly ball hit by Jim Wohlford for a two-base error and that opened the door for three unearned runs as Milwaukee earned its first victory of the season.
On the heels of Jackson's inning-starting error, Von Joshua plated Wohlford with a fielders' choice grounder, Robin Yount delivered an RBI single, and Sal Bando - another Athletics free agent departee from their glory days - drove in the final run with an RBI groundout. Yankees starter Ed Figueroa pitched an otherwise superb complete-game seven-hitter with four strikeouts and a lone walk.
“I looked up at the scoreboard at the end of the inning and thought, ‘Well, I booted a ball and we’re losing,” Jackson said. “But then I saw we only got two hits and I realized we weren’t losing the game, the Brewers were winning it. You’ve got to give the kid (Brewers starter and winner Jerry Augustine) credit, he pitched a good game.”
The Yankees managed only four hits and a run against Augustine, though they did make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth against closer Bill Castro. Mickey Rivers tripled home Jimmy Wynn with two outs, but Roy White flied to right to strand Rivers at third to end the game.
Naturally, the fans didn't appreciate Jackson's gaffe, and he heard it. But the man was a lightning rod for reaction, and another guy who knew a little about that, the great Mickey Mantle, said Jackson would be just fine in New York.
"I think he’s going to have a great year in Yankee Stadium," said the Mick. "It’s a hell of a lot more fun playing in front of 50,000 people than it is playing in front of 20,000 or 10,000 or 3,000. Your adrenaline gets built up. Reggie loves crowds. He’s got to expect people to get on him when he strikes out, but he’s 30 years old, he’s been around 10 years and he’s used to New York.”
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