Sept. 7, 1977 – Yankees 4, Indians 3 (10)
- Sal Maiorana
- Sep 7, 2017
- 3 min read
CLEVELAND – Reggie Jackson was at it again, both on the field and off. It was Jackson’s single in the 10th inning that led to the winning run scoring, capping an impressive late-game rally by the Yankees against the Indians. But still moping about the way he had been treated by Billy Martin for the first four months of the year, Jackson again couldn’t enjoy the moment.
“If he had anything to do with it,” said Jackson, referring to Billy Martin, “I’d still be batting sixth and seventh . . . against right-handed pitchers only.”
Jackson simply couldn’t get past the fact that Martin had banned him from the cleanup spot for so long, even now that he had proven over the past month that cleanup is exactly where he should have been all season. In 27 games at cleanup since Martin finally relented and put him there, Jackson had driven in 27 runs.
Graig Nettles, at this point the team leader in home runs and RBI, could easily be the cleanup man, but to him, it wasn’t that big of a deal. “If his ego needs to be satisfied, and hitting fourth does it, then so be it; it helps the team. We’ve got two ideal leadoff men in Rivers and Randolph, two ideal No. 2 hitters in White and Munson, and four guys, at least, that can hit third or fourth. Everybody can’t be happy at the same time, and we’ve accepted it.”
Of the nine batters who started this game, seven were hitting at least .280, which was Jackson’s average. The only guys below that were Nettles (.236) and Bucky Dent (.250). Which is why it was so implausible that, given how hot they were, the Yankee offense could be completely neutered as it was in this game.
For eight frustratingly fruitless innings, the Yankees had managed only five hits against Cleveland starter Wayne Garland - who in 1977, at $215,000 per year over 10 years, was the second highest-paid free agent in the 1977 class. Down to their final three outs, the Yankees finally found their way.
Trailing 3-0, Chris Chambliss led off with a bunt single to third and took second when Garland threw away a pickoff attempt. Lou Piniella popped out, but Roy White reached on a weak infield single, and Chambliss trotted home when Willie Randolph grounded a single to left. When pinch-hitter Dell Alston grounded out to first, both runners moved up a base, but now the Yankees were down to their last out, in the person of Mickey Rivers.
Rivers, leading the team in hitting at .326, bounced a single just past the outstretched glove of diving second baseman Duane Kuiper and White and Randolph scampered home to tie the game. This hit raised Rivers’ average with runners in scoring position to an amazing .452, good for 54 RBI, the true definition of clutch.
Ron Guidry, off the hook for the loss, breezed through the ninth, and New York took the lead in the 10th. Thurman Munson singled, ending Garland’s night, and Jackson greeted Jim Kern with a line-drive single to left-center. Munson chugged toward third and left-fielder Bruce Bochte’s throw hit him in the back as he slid. The ball caromed into the dugout, and Munson was awarded home with what proved to be the winning run as Guidry went back out for the 10th and completed his 13th victory by recording three flyouts.
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