May 17, 1977 – Yankees 5, A’s 2 (15)
- Sal Maiorana
- May 17, 2017
- 2 min read
OAKLAND – When Sparky Lyle induced young Oakland slugger Mitchell Page to ground out to second to end this marathon 15-inning game, he literally got on his hands and knees and began to crawl back to the dugout, so exhausted was he.
He meant it to be funny, but in actuality, what he had endured wasn’t all that funny at all, though no one at the time realized it. When you look back at how managers in the 1970s handled their pitching staffs, you have to wonder how any of these guys still had viable arms by the end of the season. Case in point: Billy Martin’s absurd usage of Lyle.
The night before, Lyle had pitched the final two innings of the 8-4 loss to the A’s. Today, that would mean an automatic day of rest; in 1977, in Billy Martin’s world, that meant Lyle was good to go in the final game of the West Coast trip. And did he ever go – 6.2 innings, 25 batters faced, which resulted in his second win of the season when the Yankees rallied for three runs in the 15th.
Ron Guidry started in place of Catfish Hunter who was scratched due to shoulder stiffness – gee, imagine that? – and the rising star took a three-hit shutout into the ninth. With the Yankees ahead 2-0, the wise move would have been for Martin to bring in a reliever, most likely Lyle, to save the game. Instead, he left Guidry in and Manny Sanguillen and Dick Allen each hit solo homers to tie the score at 2-2.
That’s when Martin turned to Lyle, and though he gave up six hits and three walks, he blanked the A’s the rest of the way.
Not to be outdone, Oakland manager Jack McKeon allowed his starter, Vida Blue, to pitch the first 13 innings. He faced 47 batters in allow, yielding just six hits, four walks, and two runs. Pitch count weren’t available in these days, but I’d venture to guess Blue must have thrown at least 180, maybe more.
The Yankees, who’d scored two runs in the first, did not score for 13 straight innings before finally breaking through in the 15th against reliever Dave Giusti. And interestingly, the guy who started the rally was none other than Dell Alston, the player Martin didn’t want on the team.
Alston pinch hit for Bucky Dent and doubled. Willie Randolph walked, Mickey Rivers sacrificed the runners to second and third, and Thurman Munson was walked intentionally to load the bases. Chris Chambliss then delivered a clutch two-run single for the winning runs.
“It felt good,” said Alston of his first major league hit. “I’m up in the big leagues now and they stuck with me.”
Before they left for the long flight back home, Martin was asked why he benched slumping Reggie Jackson and he said simply, “I do that with any player when I think they need a rest.”
Jackson, of course, wasn’t pleased and when he was pestered about his recent woes, he said tersely, “Yeah, I’m a mediocre ballplayer and overpaid. That’s what the press says, isn’t it?”
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