Collision Course: Red Sox versus Yankees

It has been said that those who forget the past will somehow always be re-living it, or words to that effect. Here we are in 2009 - and it's 1978 all over again on the playing field of baseball's greatest rivalry - -without some of the old time sizzle.

In 1976, the New York Yankees finished the season with a 97-62 record and won the American League East title. The Red Sox of Boston finished in third place, 15 ½ games behind. In 1977, the Yankees won 100 of the 162 games they played and repeated as division title winners. Boston won 97 games and tied for second place with Baltimore. Both teams trailed the Yankees by 2 ½ games.

It was during these two seasons that more and more Yankee fans began to sport "Red Sox Suck" tee shirts. And it was during this time that Yankee principal owner George Steinbrenner kept wheeling and dealing, embellishing the Yankee image, his team's skills and the Red Sox failings.
The start of the 1978 season gave Boston fans hope. Over the winter the team engineered several key moves to strengthen itself. Mike Torrez, winner of two World Series games for the Yankees in 1977, was signed as a free agent. Dennis Eckersley, just 23, was acquired from the Cleveland Indians. It was felt that the combination of the veteran Torrez and the youthful Eckersley would shore up Sox pitching. Another key Boston acquisition was Jerry Remy, a sure-handed speedy second baseman obtained from the California Angels. Remy's promise was added speed on the base path and an effective contact hitter near the top of the Boston batting order.

With Remy at second base and Rick Burleson at shortstop, Boston fans felt their team had a double-play combination to rival if not surpass the Yankee tandem of Bucky Dent and Willie Randolph. George Scott, the Sox first baseman, had recorded 33 homers in 1977 -- almost twice the total of Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss. Slugging Butch Hobson was a fixture at third base. Nettles of New York was peerless with a glove, but Sox fans argued that Hobson outmatched the Yankee third baseman when it came to hitting. Hobson had rapped 30 homers and driven in 112 run in 1977.

Both teams boasted top-flight catchers. Most baseball experts rated Boston's Carlton Fisk and New York's Thurman Munson among the two best backstops in all of baseball.

Both teams had powerful clutch-hitting outfielders, capable of making crucial defensive plays. Carl Yastrzemski, Dwight Evans, and Fred Lynn would be Boston's picket line, augmented by perhaps the best potential designated hitter in all of baseball -Jim Rice. The Yankees had steady Roy White, flamboyant Mickey Rivers, and dramatic Reggie Jackson, buttressed by Paul Blair, Lou Piniella, and, if needed, Cliff Johnson.

If there was a difference, it was in pitching. Over the winter George Steinbrenner had signed Rich Gossage, Rawly Eastwick, and Andy Messersmith. This trio joined Catfish Hunter, Don Gullett, Sparky Lyle, and Ed Figueroa, Ken Holtzman, Dick Tidrow, and Ron Guidry (16-7 in 1977 and getting better, much better).

Against this array of all types of pitching talent, Boston had its Latin duo of Luis Tiant and Mike Torrez, Eckersley, Bill Lee, and Bob Stanley. Bill Campbell had saved 31 games in 1977, and it was felt that he could repeat that performance in 1978.

Seven straight wins at Fenway Park launched Boston on a fine start as the season got underway. By May 18th, the Yankees (19-13) trailed the second-place Sox (23-12) who were a half-game behind the surprising first-place Detroit Tigers. On May 24th, the Sox moved into sole possession of first place. They would remain there for 113 days, to the delight of their adoring and rabid fans.
At the All-Star break, powered by a combination of good pitching and power hitting, Boston had a record of 57 wins against just 26 losses $F6 a .687 winning percentage, the best in baseball. More enjoyable to some Red Sox fans was the record of the New York Yankees. The hated rivals were mired in third place, way back off the pace.

"George came into the clubhouse one day," Reggie Jackson recalled, "and said 'I'm going to back up the truck and get rid of all you guys, everybody, if we don't get it turned around.' It was an unbelievable tirade. Whether that motivated us or not, I don't know. I think it made us mad. George yelled at us. Told us we were terrible, that he was going to break up the club and nobody was above being traded."

Emanating daily from New York was news of controversy, sore-armed pitchers, bruised infielders, battered egos, unhappy coaches. In Boston, for a change, there was relative harmony.
On July 18th, the Sox stretched their lead over the Yanks to 14 games. "Even Affirmed couldn't catch the Red Sox now," snapped Reggie Jackson, referring to the horse that had won the 1978 Triple Crown.

Affirmed is long gone and so are the motor mouthings of Reggie Jackson. And this last weekend of September 2009 on a collision course the Yankees of New York and the Red Sox of Boston meet at Yankee Stadium - - a lot is on the line.

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Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).

Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.

Lou Gehrig (From the Vault)

“I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

With Derek Jeter a lock to pass the all-time Yankee hit mark set by Lou Gehrig and reams and reams of copy having been devoted to the chase, what the great first baseman was like and what he did in his career is worth recalling.

They called him “Larrupin Lou,” “Iron Horse,” “Biscuit Pants,” “Columbia Lou,” “Buster.” Whatever they called him – he was “The Pride of the Yankees.”

Born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig II on June 19, 1903 in New York City to poor German immigrants, he was the only one of four children to survive infancy.

Labeled "the Babe Ruth of the schoolyards" after hitting a tremendous grand slam ninth inning home run over the right field fence for his Commerce High School team in a special "national championship" game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Gehrig went on to star at Columbia University.

"I did not go there to look at Gehrig,” Yankee scout Paul Krichell said.” I did not even know what position he played, but he played in the outfield against Rutgers and socked a couple of balls a mile. I sat up and took notice. I saw a tremendous youth, with powerful arms and terrific legs. I said, here is a kid who can't miss."

Despite his mother's protestations, Gehrig signed with the Yankees for a $1,500 bonus. After brief minor league stints in 1923 and 1924; Gehrig came to stay with the Yankees in 1925 batting .295 in 126 games, his first full season. When Lou Gehrig stepped into the batter's box as a pinch hitter on June 1, 1925 for shortstop Pee Wee Wanninger, it began a string of 15 seasons of Yankee box scores with the name Gehrig always in the line-up.

In 1927, his second full season with the Yankees, he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the American League. His .363 average in 1934 gave him the batting championship. There were 13 straight seasons of 100 RBIs, seven seasons of more than 150 RBIs. His power came from his big shoulders, broad back and powerful thighs.

A two time MVP, a three time home run king, a five time RBI champ, Gehrig led the American League in batting average just once - with a .363 average in 1934 when he became the first Yankee to win the Triple Crown. Three times, however, he batted higher than .363 contributing to his .340 career batting average.

Among his records are: 184 RBI in 1931, an American League record, 23 career grand slams, a Major League record. On June 3, 1932, he became the first modern day player to hit four home runs in a game. In his 13 full seasons, Gehrig averaged 147 runs batted in. He hammered 493 career home runs - 73 were three-run homers, 166 were two-run homers. Gehrig homered once every 16.2 at bats. His home run to hit ratio was one to 5.51.

There are estimates that he earned $361,500 in salary from the Yankees. Playing in seven World Series pushed the total income above $400,000. Gehrig received $3,750 in his first season, $6,500 in his second year. This advanced $1,000 in 1927. For the next five years he received $25,000 and then he dropped to $23,000 for 1933 and 1934, after which he received $31,000 in 1935 and 1936, $36,750 in 1937, $39,000 in 1938 and $35,000 for 1939, a season when he played only eight games. Late in his career, Gehrig's hands were x-rayed and doctors spotted 17 fractures that had "healed" while he continued to play. He was worth every penny as he was a major part of seven pennant winners and six world champions.

On May 2, 1939, Wally Pipp whose place Gehrig had taken those long years ago, traveled from his home in Michigan to watch a Tigers-Yankees game. What he saw was that Gehrig, the highest paid player in all of baseball, had taken himself out of the lineup and was at home plate, a presenter of the lineup card to the umpires.

The great Gehrig would languish a while like a bowed oak, still the captain, still the Pride of the Yankees, still the bringer of the lineup card out to umpires before each game.

On June 19, 1939, in another bitter irony, the day of his 36th birthday, Lou Gehrig left the Mayo Clinic with a sealed envelope. “Mr. Gehrig is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This type of illness involves the motor pathways and cells of the central nervous system and in lay terms is known as a form of infantile paralysis. The nature of this trouble makes it such that Mr. Gehrig will be unable to continue his active participation as a baseball player.”

In December 1939, the Baseball Hall of Fame waived the mandatory five year waiting period for Lou Gehrig. On June 2, 1941, exactly 16 years to the day that he replaced Wally Pipp at first base, Gehrig passed away. On the Fourth of July 1941, a monument was erected in centerfield at Yankee Stadium:

HENRY LOUIS GEHRIG
June 19, 1903 –June 2, 1941. A MAN, A GENTLEMAN, AND A GREAT BALLPLAYER WHISE AMAZING RECORD OF 2,130 CONSECUTIVE GAMES SHOULD STAND FOR ALL TIME. THIS MEMORIAL IS A TRIBUTE FROM THE YANKEE PLAYERS TO THEIR BELOVED CAPTAIN AND TEAMMATE.

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Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.

From New York Yankee September Pasts

Whenever the month of September comes around,
thoughts turn to BUCKY DENT'S HOME RUN – October 2, 1978 and

THE BOSTON MASSACRE, September 7, 1978. But there have been

other marker moments that linger in memory. Herewith, a few . . .

SAM JONES, NO HITTER, SEPTEMBER 4, 1923
His major league career began with the Cleveland Indians in 1914, continued with the Red Sox from 1916-21, with the Yankees (1922-26), the Browns (1927), the Senators (1928-31), and the White Sox (1932-35). Twice a 20-game winner, Samuel Pond Jones won 229 games and lost 217 in 22 seasons pitching in the American League.
A stylish right-hander, one of the first major leaguers to wear eyeglasses on the field, Jones had his ups and downs. Like most pitchers of his time, he relieved and started. His eight saves in 1922 were tops in the league.. In 1923, he won 21 games, but lost a league-high 21 in 1925 as the Yanks dropped to seventh place
Jones won 67 games as a Yankee in five seasons. No game was more dramatic for him than his September 4, 1923 no-hitter, a 2-0 gem against the Athletics. It capped his career year, a time he was the Yankee ace, hurling New York to its first World Championship.

JIM ABBOTT NO HITTER, September 4, 1993
The Yankees traded for him on December 6, 1992. He was born without a right hand, but he persevered, more than persevered. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Jim Abbott carried the United States flag during the opening ceremonies at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis and pitched for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team. In 1989, he went directly from the University of Michigan to the Angels' starting rotation. A solidly built southpaw, the intense Abbott won a dozen games and posted a 3.92 ERA in his rookie season. On the mound, he wore a right-hander's fielder's glove over the stump at the end of his right arm. After delivering a pitch and when completing his follow-through, he adroitly switched the glove to his left hand to be in a position to handle any balls batted back to him.
In 1991 he looked like one of the best young left-handers in the game after winning 18 games for the Angels while posting a 2.89 ERA. The Yankees traded their best prospect first baseman J.T. Snow and pitchers Russ Spring and Jerry Nielsen to California for Abbott. The media spotlight in New York City seemed to be on him daily. Abbott said he wanted to be like Nolan Ryan and not like Pete Gray, the one handed pitcher.
With the Yankees, Abbott had his ups and downs in two seasons in the Bronx. His record was 20-22. But he did have one especially shining moment. It came just six days after he had been touched for ten hits and seven runs in only three and a third innings against Cleveland. Facing Cleveland again, in the in the heat of the pennant race, Abbott tossed a 4-0 no-hitter against the Indians. “I remember it was a cloudy day. A day game, the kind of game I like to throw."

CAL RIPKEN: LAST YANKEE STADIUM GAME, SEPTEMBER 30, 2001
The day was drizzly and cold. The Yankees played against the Orioles for 15 innings, and the game was called finally because of rain. There were 55,351 fans around at the start and much less at the finish.
Many in the crowd had come out to see Cal Ripken, Jr. in his 126th game at Yankee Stadium, the most by an opposing player. His first game there was June 18, 1982.
There was an orange No. 8 painted on third base, as well as the Orioles' on-deck circle. Ripken was given the honor of throwing out the first pitch to Derek Jeter. Gifts presented to Ripken included a sterling silver press pin from Don Mattingly, a watch, an enlarged and framed copy of the commemorative ticket each fan was given reading “Farewell Cal Ripken.'' Black-and-white pictures of Ripken and Gehrig were on the tickets.
Ripken's pregame speech near home plate was staged near where Lou Gehrig, dying, said goodbye. “I know there will be many things that I'll miss about baseball, but coming to New York and playing in Yankee Stadium will always be at the top….
"I remember Graig Nettles making diving catches. I remember Louisiana Lightning I didn't like facing him that much. . . Willie Randolph and Dave Winfield. One of my all-time favorites at first base, Don Mattingly. It's really been a great run," Ripken said. "Let's get to the game."
The game was in Ripken’s words: “Eerie. The weather, the gray sky, the wind, the rain. I was punched out four times and went 0-for-7, but I still had a lot of fun competing."

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Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.