Oct. 11, 1977 – World Series Game 1: Yankees 4, Dodgers 3
- Sal Maiorana
- Oct 11, 2017
- 4 min read
NEW YORK – The plan was for Paul Blair to bunt, which seemed a bit odd when you consider he had failed miserably to do so in the 10th inning which helped kill a potential winning rally, and then had failed miserably in his first attempt in the 12th inning with Game 1 of the World Series on the line.
Willie Randolph had opened the 12th inning of this fascinating, twist-and-turn game with a double down the right-field line off Rick Rhoden, so naturally, the Dodgers strategy was to intentionally walk Thurman Munson to set up a double play. Thus, Blair found himself in yet another critical situation because he’d been batting in the cleanup spot since replacing Reggie Jackson in right field in the top of the ninth.
It’s funny how baseball finds you in these situations. Back in the 10th inning, Blair, who was once one of the best bunters in all of baseball, was asked to lay one down after Munson had drawn a leadoff walk. Blair didn’t get it far enough away from catcher Jerry Grote, and Grote was able to gun down Munson at second, and then two groundouts ended the inning.
So here was Blair again in the 12th, and when he fouled the first bunt attempt, George Steinbrenner was seen reacting in anger and complaining that the pitch was too high to offer at, which was true. Blair looked down at third-base coach Dick Howser and, to his surprise, Howser was still flashing bunt. However, just after Blair stepped into the box, the plan changed.
Here is the complete video of Game 1. And here are the time stamps for all the key plays:
Top 1st: 5:20- Russell's RBI triple
Top 1st: 11:00 - Smith caught stealing
Bot 1st: 19:20 - Chambliss RBI single
Top 6th: 1:18:45 - Garvey thrown out at plate
Bot 6th: 1:20:00 - Randolph home run
Bot 8th: 1:49:30 - Munson RBI double
Top 9th: 2:18:30 - Lacy RBI single
Bot 10th: 2:31:10 - Blair failed bunt
Bot 12th: 2:49:45 - Blair's winning RBI single
“The bunt sign was still on when I stepped into the box on that pitch,” said Blair, “but Dick Howser yelled at me to get out, then gave me the sign to hit.”
Eureka. Blair pulled a fastball into left field for a single, and Randolph scampered home with the winning run as the stadium exploded in glee the way only New York crowds can explode.
“I was really disappointed that I hadn’t gotten the bunt down,” said Blair. “Then he threw me a fastball away. I got out in front of it and hit it through the hole. The man in Baltimore (Earl Weaver) destroyed my confidence the last two years. Billy has restored me by letting me hit in key spots. I’ve got seven game-winning hits this year. I think Earl saw the one tonight.”
Blair’s heroics, which ended the game at the stroke of midnight, capped a wild night of baseball drama befitting the World Series.
Paul Blair gets mobbed after delivering the game-winning single in the 12th.
To the surprise of many, oft-ailing Don Gullett – after a slow start when he allowed two runs in the first inning – very nearly pitched the Yankees to victory in regulation, though it didn’t start well.
Gullett walked Davey Lopes to open the game, then gave up a triple to Bill Russell for a 1-0 Los Angeles lead. Reggie Smith walked, and when Gullett finally retired a batter, a run still scored on Ron Cey’s sacrifice fly. Poised to blow it open, the Dodgers then made a mistake. With Steve Garvey up, Tommy Lasorda decided to let Smith steal on a 3-1 pitch. He got a poor jump, tried to retreat, but was caught in a rundown and tagged out. Garvey walked, but Dusty Baker grounded into a force and Gullett survived.
From then on, Gullett threw seven scoreless innings before running into trouble in the ninth, a gallant effort given his physical state.
“He’s a great competitor,” Martin said of the man who had beaten he and the Yankees in Game 1 of the 1976 World Series as a member of the Reds.
Don Gullett delivers to Dusty Baker in the fourth inning.
The Yankees got a run back in the bottom of the first off Don Sutton as Munson, Jackson and Chris Chambliss delivered consecutive two-out singles, then tied it in the sixth when Randolph homered into the first row of the left-field seats. That run came after Garvey had been thrown out at the plate in the top of the sixth when Munson made a great sweeping tag after catching Mickey Rivers’ off-line throw.
The Dodgers argued that Garvey was safe and that umpire Nestor Chylak missed the call, and perhaps modern-day instant replay would have confirmed that. Instead, all they could do was carp afterward. “I thought I was safe,” said Garvey. “I thought I had the back near corner of the plate. (Chylak) was up the first-base line. He should’ve been back more toward the home-plate area. He told me he was in the right position.”
Sutton and Gullett remained locked in a duel until the bottom of the eighth when the Yankees surged ahead. Randolph, in the middle of everything all night, opened with a walk and came all the way around to score on Munson’s double down the left-field line which finished Sutton.
Gullett went back out for the ninth instead of Sparky Lyle, and he allowed a Baker single and a one-out walk to Steve Yeager. Here, Lyle was summoned, and
he promptly gave up a RBI single to Lee Lacy that sent Baker home with the tying run before retiring Lopes and Russell.
Lyle worked a perfect 10th, and Dodger reliever Mike Garman sailed through the 10th after Blair’s failed bunt. Lyle was perfect in the 11th, and Garman worked around a Bucky Dent single, and then one more time, Lyle set the Dodgers down 1-2-3 in the 12th meaning he retired the final 11 men he faced, a worthy recipient of the win Blair delivered in the bottom of the inning.
“They’re a tough team, but I told our guys we’ll bounce back,” said Lasorda. “We did it against Philadelphia in the playoff, and we’ll do it here. In the World Series, you have to win four games.”
Comments