May 25, 1977 – Yankees 3-0, Rangers 2-1
- Sal Maiorana
- May 25, 2017
- 2 min read
NEW YORK – It was another busy evening in the office of Billy Martin. This time, prior to the Yankees splitting a doubleheader with the Rangers, George Steinbrenner came down for a face-to-face with his manager to discuss the most recent Reggie Jackson drama.
And naturally, they disagreed.
Jackson had apparently asked permission from Martin to conduct a clubhouse players’ only meeting to apologize for the home run blow-off incident, and perhaps to explain the Sport magazine fiasco. Martin denied the request, and Steinbrenner – who felt Jackson was showing “a lot class and a lot of humility” didn’t understand why.
“I didn’t want to have a meeting,” Martin said. “I explained my reasons that everybody understands what he’s going through and his emotions and everyone respects him. He’s a competitor and he can do it all by himself. I told him if you want to say anything on a man-to-man basis, do it, but you don’t have to have a meeting to do it.”
There had also been some rumors circulating – this, of course, was never-ending when it came to Martin and Steinbrenner – that the manager’s job was on the line. This was also why Steinbrenner wanted to meet with Martin, to make it clear that wasn’t the case.
“Billy’s still the manager, do don’t get any ideas about creating problems,” George told reporters. The only way to escape the circus for the players was to get on the field and play, and fortunately for them, they had two games to keep them busy.
In the opener, Gil Patterson earned the first, and only, major league victory of his brief career, one that consisted of just 10 games in 1977. He went 6.2 innings and gave up only two runs despite allowing seven hits and two walks. Sparky Lyle pitched the rest of the game for his seventh save. Willie Randolph led off the first with a double and scored on a Thurman Munson single, and Roy White hit a solo homer in the second. After Texas scored twice in the third, the Yankees scored the winning run in the fifth when Graig Nettles doubled and scored on a double by Bucky Dent.
Bob Uecker with a story on Gaylord Perry and his famous spitball.
The nightcap was a fine pitchers’ duel between Gaylord Perry and Mike Torrez, and Torrez was the hard-luck loser as he gave up the only run of the game in the second inning when Dave May singled and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Jim Sundberg.
Perry was masterful as he gave up only six hits while striking out two, though Martin questioned his methods. Perry was renowned as a pitcher who doctored the baseball, and Martin had no doubt that the old master was up to his old tricks. “He doesn’t go to his eyebrows for good luck,” Martin snipped after the game.
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