August 16, 1977 – Yankees 11, White Sox 10
- Sal Maiorana
- Aug 16, 2017
- 3 min read
NEW YORK – There are games in a baseball season where a team can look back and say, “That was a pivotal moment,” be it positive or negative. This was one of those for both the Yankees and the White Sox.
In the span of about an hour at Yankee Stadium, this game went from being a routine victory for the Yankees to a potentially horrific and damaging loss, and then in a blink switched from being an incredible victory for the White Sox to a gut-wrenching, soul-crushing loss for Chicago’s South Siders.
“I need a drink to settle my nerves after that,” said a haggard Billy Martin, who looked like he’d just rode the world’s largest rollercoaster by hanging off the back edge.
When the Yankees scored four times in the bottom of the eighth by pounding out five hits against four Chicago pitchers to blow open a tight game and take a 9-4 lead, it seemed like another ho-hum night in the Bronx. It was going to be a solid win for the Bombers, their eighth in the last nine games which would keep them 4.5 games behind the Red Sox who won again. Conversely, it was looking like a tough loss for the White Sox, one that would prevent them from edging a half-game past Minnesota atop the AL West division race.
But then came a ninth inning for the ages. Once again, Martin left his starting pitcher, Ron Guidry, in the game too long and the White Sox took advantage. Guidry, who had already faced 33 batters through eight innings, gave up a single, a two-run homer to Jim Spencer, and another single before Martin finally rescued him.
Sparky Lyle, only three days removed from a nearly six-inning relief outing, faced five batters and while he got two outs, he also allowed two runs. Ken Clay was next, and after he walked Eric Soderholm, he gave up a two-run single to ex-Yankee Oscar Gamble that gave the White Sox a 10-9 lead. Clay finally retired Brian Downing on a bases-loaded fly ball to end the six-run explosion.
“Serious, serious trouble,” said Bucky Dent of the Yankees predicament, and the very real possibility that they’d be trailing the Red Sox by 5.5 games.
“How did I feel after they got six in the top of the ninth?” Martin said. “I couldn’t tell you, it wouldn’t sound too good. Brutal. Just brutal.”
Thankfully for Martin, before he ever reached for the Pepto-Bismol, or the vodka, the Yankees pulled it out. Thurman Munson walked against Randy Wiles, and after Lou Piniella bunted him to second, Chris Chambliss made like it was Game 5 of the 1976 AL Championship Series and launched a towering walk-off home run to right field to win the game.
“I was just trying to hit the ball, not hit a home run,” the modest Chambliss said. “I can’t rate thrills or home runs that win games, but this one would be pretty high, I guess. Sure, you get butterflies, you get nervous, but you try to block things out of your mind and concentrate on one thing - the ball.”
It was an enormous win for the Yankees, and even the mild-mannered Chambliss, riding a seven-game hitting streak that hiked his average to .302, knew it. “What can it do for us, winning a game like this?” he said. “It can do a lot of things, and it can get the team going. I don’t know how long we’ve been hot, but it’s part of that. Between us and Boston, it’s a matter of who wants it most, and who stays hot, and lucky.”
The victory finished off a 7-1 homestand and now the Yankees were on the road for two in Detroit, three in Texas, and two in Chicago. “We can’t go 4-3 on this trip,” said Piniella. “We’ve got to play some baseball.”
They didn’t go 4-3. And man, did they play some baseball.
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