FOR THE RECORD

 

Fri., July 25    Joba outduels Beckett  1-0

 

Sat. July 26    Wake’s first bad outing since May 18, Yanks win 10-3

 

Sun. July 27   Lester cruises over Ponson, 9-2.

Beyond the Sixth Game. What’s Happened to Baseball Since The Greatest Game in World Series History. By Peter Gammons. Houghton Mifflin, 1985.

Gammons book a must-read

Do you remember when you first realized that the Size-XXL Dominican Gentleman with the large bat, big smile and the mystical hitting power was a Red Sox ?   

The team that already had Manny, Nomar, ‘Tek, Pedro, Millar, Mueller, Lowe & Faulke ?

 

Felt pretty good, didn’t it ?

 

Those are memories to savor.  For Red Sox fans, every so often things become aligned in rare and special ways.

 

Sox fans (of a certain vintage) got a similar high 33 years ago after looking in the sports section and seeing TWO Red Sox players, both of whom were unkown, right smack in the Baseball’s Top 10 Al Hitters !  Jeesus !  What’s going on here, we all thought.  It soon came to pass that Jim Rice and Fred Lynn were young blue chippers sent by the Baseball Gods, actually by Dick O’Connell, to join Yaz, Rico, Spaceman, and the best Red Sox pitcher ever – Luis Tiant.  

Euphoria set in.   The Sox were LOADED and could win several pennants !

 

If you can relate, or if you just want to dig a little into an intriguing baseball book, Peter Gammons’ Beyond the Sixth Game is for you.  Gammons has well captured the Red Sox of 1975 to 1983, a team history backed up to the late Sixties for perspective.

 

Man, do you get golden nuggets from Gammons.   Remember BoSox pitcher Rick “Tall Boy” Jones ?  His claim to fame came in high school, when he was suspended with 3 members of the soon-to-be Lynard Skynard band by gym teacher Leonard Skinner. (pg. 71)

 

Boy, do you get player portraits,too  –

 

·        Carlton Fisk, small town New England boy who grew up loving the Sox.  He was honest, admitting that Bill Singer threw Pete Rose a spitter in the ’73 All Star Game.  He was critical of management, speaking up about Darell Johnson, perhaps the most dysfunctional of Sox Managers ever.  He was ready to fight; on 8-1-73 Fisk had Gene Michael pinned to the ground with his left hand while pounding Munson repeatedly with his right.

 

·        Dennis Eckersley, a cocky but talented  23 year old, who spoke often in his own language, offering batters “cheese for their kitchen, and a yakker for their kudo.”

 

 

·        Boomer Scott, who, when asked about Biafra, said, “I never faced the muddafuka, but by the 3^rd time, I’ll hit a tater off him.”

 

·        On the collapse of 1978 —  Rick Burleson said, “the abuse we have taken and the abuse we must be prepared to take for the entire winter, we richly deserve.”

 

·        Luis Tiant – while all were crumbling around him in late 1978 – “If we lose today, it will be over my dead body.  They’ll have to leave me face down on the mound. ….Bleep those guys who want to throw in the towel.  Win today, win tomorrow, win the next day….the easiest thing is to give up.”  (Pg. 149)

 

·        Dwight Evans, long after the release of Tiant, just after the Sox allowed California to claim him in 1982, “How could the owners not have understood (what Tiant meant to the team) ?

 

 

 

There are funny & touching details on Yaz through the various stages of his career, and much on how he handled his farewell weekend.  For anyone who was at Fenway on Oct. 1 or 2, 1983, this book is meant for you to read.

 

Why base a book upon this 9-season stretch ?  In that time, the Sox rose.   They promised a dynasty, but failed to adjust to changing times.  They won a pennant, nearly won one more, then slid into mediocrity & their first losing record in 17 years.   

They enjoyed an historic influx of young talent and then released, traded away and otherwise squandered the talent, as the front office lost their way in an ownership battle.

 

There were many factors in the decline.  Not the least of which was Jean Yawkey.  Why would the aging doyen prefer two jokers with $400,000 on hand to businessmen with $14 Million cash-money ?

 

The Yawkey’s  must take the brunt of the criticism for mismanaging the Sox.

 

In 1965, Tom Yawkey replace old drinking pal Pinky Higgins with Dick O’Connell as G.M.

 

Dick O’Connell designed the regeneration of the Sox from ’67 to ’75.

 

And when Jean Yawkey and the Sullivan/LeRoux team fired O’Connell in 1977, a costly series of decisions – stupid, stupid decisions — ensued, resulting in the departure of Fisk, Lynn, Lee, Carbo, and Tiant.  

Dick O

 

The Sox pushed away pitching, said goodbye to their bench strength, and hoped that the salary spiral caused by free agency would correct itself.  Meanwhile, they hung back, stayed out of the bidding, and waited for the market to cool down.

 

They led us into the Valley of Mediocrity.  

 

But where there is pain, there is also JOY.  You can’t go wrong reading BEYOND THE SIXTH GAME.  Get a copy and pop a bottle of Merlot or a ‘Gansett.  Whichever.  And let me know what you think.

 

 

 

Dear Captain, we miss you.

Gammons book a must read