June 24, 1977 – Yankees 6, Red Sox 5
- Sal Maiorana
- Jun 24, 2017
- 3 min read
NEW YORK – Even on a night of pure ecstasy for the Yankees, a night when they beat their fierce rival in wonderfully dramatic fashion, there was a whirlwind of controversy and intrigue blowing through the clubhouse afterward.
Down 5-3 with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth inning, Willie Randolph tripled and Roy White launched a two-run homer off Red Sox closer Bill Campbell that did three things: It prompted Campbell to slam his glove to the ground, not once but twice; it sent the game into extra innings; and it drove the crowd of 54,940 - largest in a regular season game since the re-opening in 1976 - into a state of delirium almost on par with the reaction following Chris Chambliss’ epic ALCS home run the previous October, minus the field rush.
And then in the 11th, after Graig Nettles and Mickey Rivers had walked, Reggie Jackson delivered a game-winning RBI single.
Now, the story of how it came to be that Jackson was batting in the ninth spot in the order, thus putting him in position to win the game, was yet another quintessential moment in this bizarre 1977 season.
After the game, Billy Martin shed light on the situation. He said that two hours before the first pitch, Yankee trainer Gene Monahan reported that Jackson was having trouble seeing due to the eye drops that had been prescribed for him the day before when he’d undergone an eye examination. Thus, Martin scratched him from the lineup and put Lou Piniella in right field.
Jackson couldn’t believe it, and he was predictably pissed, which was nothing new, though this time it did not appear that Martin was at fault. The game started, and in the second inning, general manager Gabe Paul took the unusual action of visiting the dugout because he was told by Yankee doctor Maurice Cohen that Jackson’s eyes were fine, and he was fine to play.
“So, when I got an opportunity, I put him in,” Martin said, explaining his reaction when he heard this news.
That time came in the bottom of the ninth as a pinch-hitter for Bucky Dent. Jackson grounded out to first for the second out, but then Randolph and White came through in the clutch, and that ultimately gave Jackson a second chance to be the hero.
Jackson wouldn’t comment on the eye exam caper, and all he really said about the winning hit is that “I saw the ball out over the plate and I swung at it. I was just lucky.”
The way the game started, it sure didn’t look like it would come down to that. Catfish Hunter, bombed for four home runs in his last start in Boston, yielded three more in this one – a solo shot by Carl Yastrzemski and a two-run blast by Butch Hobson in the second inning, and a two-run dinger by George Scott in the fourth that broke a 3-3 tie.
Hunter settled down and pitched all the way into the ninth before he was relieved by Sparky Lyle with runners on second and third following a double by Rick Burleson. Lyle retired Fred Lynn on a popout, setting the stage for the Yankees’ comeback.
“I’ve been struggling with the bat,” White said. “I felt kind of low going out every day and not doing anything. I was wondering when I was going to do something to make my presence felt.”
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