May 20, 1977 – Orioles 6, Yankees 5
- Sal Maiorana
- May 20, 2017
- 3 min read
NEW YORK – Future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer pitched terribly for the Orioles and didn’t even make it out of the fifth inning, but the Yankees were unable to capitalize because their own starter, Don Gullett, was even worse.
The Yankees rapped out eight hits and accepted six walks from Palmer on the way to scoring five runs, but then Dennis Martinez came on in relief and blanked New York the rest of the way, allowing just two hits and a walk over the final 4.1 innings and Baltimore stole the victory.
Gullett, whose performance early in the season was really starting to rankle Yankee fans given the big free agent contract he signed, was tagged for nine hits and four walks. Just after he’d been given a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth, he gave it right back in the sixth, eliciting boos from the crowd. Light-hitting Mark Belanger hit a solo homer to tie the game, and after Billy Martin yanked Gullett, Dick Tidrow came in and immediately gave up a single to Lee May and an RBI double to Eddie Murray that proved to be the final and decisive run of the game.
As if Martin didn’t have enough on his mind, he was reminded after the game that with the exception of Ed Figueroa, his rotation had been mostly brutal during the first month and a half of the season.
In order, the ERAs of Catfish Hunter, Mike Torrez, Don Gullett and Ken Holtzman were 4.18, 4.47, 4.94 and 5.35. “Everything will be all right when the pitching comes around,” Martin said defiantly. And then with even more defiance, slapping back at the pestering media, Martin said, “If we were 50 games ahead (you) wouldn’t get off my back.”
Outside of the lousy starting pitching on both sides, one thing of note occurred in this game. During the Yankees’ three-run fifth, Palmer buzzed Reggie Jackson and knocked him on the seat of his pants, then threw three more balls and walked him. As Jackson went down to first, he was looking out at Palmer and smiling as if to ask his former teammate, “What was that about?”
“I don’t know anything about it,” Jackson said, lying through his teeth. “I don’t have anything to say.”
Palmer denied he was throwing at Jackson, but there was no doubt he was in an ornery mood. In his previous start, he failed to get out of the second inning as he walked five Seattle Mariners and gave up four runs before manager Earl Weaver hooked him. It was the first time he’d had back-to-back starts where he lasted less than five innings since May 1974, so this was highly uncharacteristic for a pitcher who would eventually win 268 games and be awarded a bronze bust in Cooperstown. Here's a quick video recap of Palmer's career.
He explained the exchange with Jackson this way: “He just grinned and stopped. He was probably happy to get to first base. I asked him what he was looking at, but he didn’t say anything. If he logically assessed the situation, he would know I wasn’t throwing at him. The ball wasn’t even close to him. He’s just mad because I said he was an average outfielder.”
It was an all-around frustrating night for Palmer. He felt first baseman Lee May should have had the grounder that was hit by May’s younger brother, Carlos, which delivered the Yankees go-ahead run in that action-packed fifth, and he threw his right arm in the air in desperation. “The ball was just a grounder; I couldn’t believe it,” said Palmer. “I was irritated because I knew I was leaving.”
That he was, and he didn’t want to. When Weaver came out to replace him, Palmer gestured at the manager with whom he’d always had a frosty relationship with, to stay in the dugout. Weaver did not pay attention and called for Martinez, a move that worked out pretty well for the Orioles.
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