Sept. 20, 1977 – A rainy day to delay the drama
- Sal Maiorana
- Sep 20, 2017
- 2 min read
BOSTON – Because both the Yankees and Red Sox were scheduled to have the next day off – in fact, the Yankees were supposed to have the next two days off – Red Sox officials made a quick decision to not bother waiting for an all-day rain to stop and postponed the game.
It made perfect sense. It had poured all day in Boston, and it seemed silly to have the clubs prepare like they were going to play, and have fans come to the ballpark, when it was clear there wasn’t going to be a game.
Of course, that only meant that the New York press could pester Billy Martin about his decision to not start Dave Kingman at DH in the first game at Fenway.
Kingman had homered in his first two games against Detroit, and coming to Boston, with the Green Monster so vulnerable to a power hitter like him, it seemed logical to put him in the lineup. At least that’s what Kingman assumed.
“I thought they obtained me to play in Boston,” Kingman said. “I was a little disappointed that I didn’t play. Billy Martin had his reasons for everything he did. I’m not criticizing him. His 25 guys got him this far.”
And that was exactly what Martin said.
“The other guys got us in first place, didn’t they?” he said. “When Kingman comes along, am I supposed to drop them?”
General manager Gabe Paul, who made the deal to get Kingman, was asked what he thought about the decision. “Once a player gets into uniform, he belongs to Billy and Billy utilizes him as he sees fit. These are managerial decisions, and we’re not looking for controversy.”
For the record, Lou Piniella was the DH and he was on base in all three of his plate appearances, two singles and a walk. Piniella said he was fine with Kingman playing, “As long as he doesn’t play in my spot. I feel I’m capable of hitting the ball out of this park.”
And Martin didn’t ignore Kingman; he sent him up to hit for Bucky Dent in the eighth inning and Kingman did what he was supposed to, crushing one over the Green Monster.
“I never saw anything like it,” Kingman - who until this year had played his entire career in the National League and had never been to Fenway - said of the 37-foot high wall. “I don’t go out there trying to prove I can hit a home run. They already know that. I hit everything in that direction anyway. But I stopped to watch that one disappear. It was a sight.”
What was interesting, though, is that Dent came to the plate with two men on base in the fifth with New York trailing 4-1, and Martin opted not to go to Kingman in that spot. Had he homered there, the game would have been tied. Martin stayed with Dent and he grounded into an inning-ending double play.
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