July 26, 1977 – Yankees 5, Orioles 4
- Sal Maiorana
- Jul 26, 2017
- 3 min read
NEW YORK – This memorable night at Yankee Stadium began with most in the crowd of 32,097 giving embattled Billy Martin yet another standing ovation when he brought the lineup card out to home plate because, quite simply, the fans loved them some Billy Martin.
The night ended with that same throng cheering wildly for Martin’s No. 1 foil, one Reggie Jackson, after the slugger mashed a walk-off solo home run in the 10th inning to give the Yankees a much-needed victory over the first-place Orioles, drawing them back within two games in the standings.
“I think this game will be remembered for a long time,” said Martin, who had watched Cliff Johnson hit a game-tying two-run pinch home run in the bottom of the ninth to save the Yankees and set the stage for Jackson’s heroics. As for what it meant for his continuing on as the Yankee manager, a matter that was still in doubt even though George Steinbrenner a day earlier said it wasn’t, Martin replied, “I can’t answer that because I don’t know what my future is.”
The soap opera that just wouldn’t end, that was the Yankees in 1977, and this was quite an episode.
Martin was correct in that this was a game that was certainly going to be one to look back on if the Yankees were to ever get into high gear and repeat as AL East champs. They beat the frontrunners in the division in ultra-dramatic fashion, and Martin remarked how together his team finally looked.
“The way the players were pushing each other, when I see harmony like that on a club, players pulling for each other, that means more to me than anything else in the world,” he said. “That means the team is clicking.”
For a long time, it looked like yet another mundane loss, one that would have dropped them four games behind the Orioles. Baltimore jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Ed Figueroa as he issued a first-inning bases-loaded walk to Lee May for the first run, and then served up a three-run homer to Ken Singleton in the third, the ball reaching the black bleacher seats in center field, the first of its kind since the Stadium had re-opened in 1976.
Baltimore starter Ross Grimsley, who Martin had accused of throwing a “grease ball” the last time he faced the Yankees, may have been throwing it again, so silent were the Yankee bats most of the night. The only noise had come when Chris Chambliss doubled and scored on Jackson’s single in the fourth, and when Bucky Dent hit a solo homer in the seventh.
Grimsley took a 4-2 cushion to the ninth, but when he dispensed a leadoff walk to Roy White, Earl Weaver turned to Tippy Martinez, who quickly retired Graig Nettles on a popup. Into the box stepped Johnson, pinch-hitting for Dent, and he launched the second offering into the right-center field seats to tie the game, the first homer off Martinez in 22 games covering 29 innings.
“Cliff’s homer, to me, was bigger than mine because we were close to losing,” said Jackson.
The Yankees almost ended it in the ninth as an unnerved Martinez walked Willie Randolph and gave up a single to Mickey Rivers before Weaver brought in Dick Drago. He retired Thurman Munson, then intentionally walked Chris Chambliss to load the bases so he could pitch righty to righty to Lou Piniella, and Drago won the battle by getting Sweet Lou to ground into a force.
No worries. Sparky Lyle worked a 1-2-3 top of the 10th, and Jackson hammered a Scott McGregor pitch to almost the same location as Johnson’s home run.
“It felt good,” said Jackson. “I know we have the talent and the ingredients to go all the way. I think it’s an important win for the ballclub, especially now for obvious reasons. Everybody’s human, you can’t ignore it.”
He was speaking of Martin’s fate, which was certainly saved for at least one more night.
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