April 25, 1977 - Yankees 9, Orioles 6
- Sal Maiorana
- Apr 25, 2017
- 3 min read
BALTIMORE – Reggie Jackson was only in Baltimore for one season, and even for Reggie, that probably wasn’t enough time to turn people off, especially given the fact he hit 27 homers and drove in 91 runs in his lone season. But any goodwill Reggie earned with Orioles fans was wiped away by a few comments he made in spring training when he was asked to compare the Orioles with the Yankees.
“They are in a tough position,” Reggie said. “They can’t compete with these other teams financially. There’s no way they can win; the best they can do is third, maybe fourth.”
Never mind that between the Yankees’ pennant-winning seasons of 1964 and 1976, the Orioles won four pennants, two World Series, and had endured only one record below .500, that way back in 1967 while the Yankees had zero playoff appearances. The Orioles had been one of baseball’s model franchises, which prompted Lee May to reply to Jackson this way: “What does Reggie know?”
Jackson’s point was that now that unfettered free agency had come to Major League Baseball, the small-market Orioles were going to struggle to out-bid big-market teams, like the Yankees, for the players. And he was right about that, but as we have come to find out in the four decades since, if you don’t spend wisely, you won’t win.
“We may not win it,” Baltimore manager Earl Weaver said, “but if Reggie thinks the best we can do is third or fourth, he’s wrong.”
It was amid that backdrop that the two rivals met for the first time this season, and the boo-birds were out in full force to greet Jackson upon his return. It was also fairly symbolic, and pretty funny, that some fans threw hot dogs onto the field when Jackson came up to bat for the first time. In the end, the rowdies left disappointed as Reggie swatted two doubles, a home run, scored three runs and drove in two in New York’s sixth straight victory.
Emotions boiled after the game when fans began throwing objects at the Yankees as they left the field, and one 20-something tried to run onto the field, only to be tackled by Graig Nettles. “We’re going to have to build a moat around the field to keep the animals away from the players,” said Billy Martin. “They were throwing things and cussing at us all night.”
The Yankees were up 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth when things unraveled for a time. Baltimore scored four times, and in the process, Yankee starter Don Gullett slipped on the wet mound, turned his ankle and strained his neck. He had to leave the game, and Dick Tidrow relieved.
“It’s serious with Gullett,” said a perturbed Martin, who was angered that the umpires didn’t stop play despite persistent rain which had delayed the start by 70 minutes.
Tidrow allowed six hits over the next five innings, but only one run, and that gave the Yankees the chance to come back and win. Jackson hit a two-run homer in the fifth to put New York ahead 6-5, and Mickey Rivers – still hitting in the 5-hole - delivered a pair of RBI singles later giving him a three-hit night that raised his average to .329. Thurman Munson hit his first home run, and he scored four runs.
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