June 19, 1977 – Red Sox 11, Yankees 1

BOSTON – An utter humiliation. That was about the only way you could describe what the Red Sox did to the Yankees during this disastrous lost weekend at Fenway Park.

By the time the fiasco finale had ended, the Red Sox had clubbed five more home runs, running their three-game total to an obscene, unheard of total of 16 spread across the 24 innings they batted. The victory capped a 9-1 homestand during which the Red Sox outscored their opponents 60-30, and it enabled them to move 2.5 games ahead of the Yankees in the battle for first place in the AL East, though the gap sure felt wider than that given what transpired.

Boston hit four of the home runs in its first turn at bat in the opening inning Friday night against Catfish Hunter, then closed the proceedings with three incredible bombs in its last at-bat in this Sunday afternoon game in the bottom of the eighth, all off beleaguered Dick Tidrow who gave up six homers over the weekend.

Jim Rice drove a rocket over the wall in dead center, almost hitting the flag at the top of the tall pole. Incredibly, it was the first of the series for Boston’s most prolific power hitter. Carl Yastrzemski followed with what was believed to be the longest home run of his 17-year career, closing out a 10-RBI weekend for him. “I flat crushed it,” Yaz said with some glee of his bomb to right that nearly went out of the stadium. “It was a high fastball and the wind was blowing out.” And then after a Carlton Fisk groundout, George Scott sent a missile over the fence above the triangle in right-center.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Red Sox manager Don Zimmer, who by now had been in the big leagues 25 years. “It got so you almost expected everybody to walk up and hit one out. Guys were gettin’ blisters shakin’ hands. I guess you’d have to say we sent some sort of message to the Yankees, wouldn’t you? It wasn’t just the scores of the three games, but the way we did it.”

The Red Sox set the major-league record for most home runs in a three-game set (16), and extending back to their series with the White Sox, their 21 homers were a new record for a five-game stretch.

In defeat, Reggie Jackson admitted to being impressed. “I just sat back and watched ‘em hammer,” Jackson said. “They hit some Fenway cheapies the last couple of days, but those last three … have mercy, man. Rice hits a changeup 500 feet. That’s into the seats in dead center in Yankee Stadium. Scott’s is out of the stadium, too. And Yaz, a couple of more inches and it would have been history.”

Before any of the fireworks began, Jackson, Billy Martin and general manager Gabe Paul had breakfast at the team hotel in an effort to get things patched up. “This doesn’t help the team,” Paul told reporters when asked about the meeting. “But (Jackson) knows he holds all the cards - three million of them with George Washington’s face on every one - and he’s putting a gradual sleeper hold on Martin.”

With a huge throng of reporters around his locker, Jackson said, “Can all this blow over? No, way.”

Martin’s viewpoint? “We went over everything and everything turned out fine. There is no problem. Yesterday is history.”

Oh, there sure was history. All the wrong kind for the Yankees.

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