Rivalries: Fisk vs Munson

The American League East was a tight race at the top in 1973.  On August 1st there were four teams less than three games apart.  The Yankees were at the top.  The Orioles sat one game out, Detroit sat two games out and the Red Sox trailed by 3 1/2.  That night Boston faced off against the Yankees.  The rivalry had been in a relatively dormant state but as the teams were tied at 2 in the ninth inning, it was about to erupt.

Thurman Munson led off the Yankee 9th with a double and moved to third on a ground out by Graig Nettles.  Felipe Alou was walked intentionally and that brought up Gene Michael.  As the Red Sox Pitcher, John Curtis, went into the pitching motion, Munson broke for the plate.  Gene Michael squared around to lay down a bunt.  He missed it.  As the ball smacked into the glove of Carlton Fisk, crouched behind the plate, Michael knew he had failed.  Fisk knew they had Munson and Munson was angry.  Tearing down the line, knowing he would be out, Munson had one option and it was one he loved.  Knock Fisk on his ass and hope to God Fisk dropped the ball.  Basically Munson had been given a gift.  The opportunity to charge at the man he hated full speed with the goal of hitting him as hard as possible.  Fisk absorbed the collision and held the ball.  Munson was a smart baseball player.  He knew that if Fisk couldn't get up he couldn't stop Felipe Alou from advancing on the bases.  Fisk knew the same thing.  The result was Fisk pushing Munson off of him, punching Michael and igniting a ten minute brawl.  Fisk and Munson were both ejected and the Red Sox went on to win the game, tightening the AL East race even more.

Photo of Carlton Fisk Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

This was an era of the storied rivalry that was still budding but it was fierce every step of the way.  Both players had come to the majors for short stints in 1969.  Munson played all of 1970 while Fisk spent the year in Pawtucket.  Fisk was a New Hampshire native who grew up wanting nothing more than to play for the hometown Red Sox and was living his dream.  Munson was an Ohio native who wanted nothing more than to play for the Indians, close to his wife and kids so he wouldn't have to be away so much.  Fisk was the good looking ladies' man with the face that magazines loved to display.  Munson was the snarling, mustachioed catcher alternately called Walrus, Tugboat, Squatty Body or Grumpy.

For a competitor as fierce as Munson, he was surprisingly sensitive.  He hated being looked at as second best.  It was partially determination and a competitive nature and partially an insecurity.  Munson's father wanted to play professionally but World War II had seen to it that he didn't make it.  Angry and jealous of the opportunity that his son had which he didn't, the father ridiculed his son to his face and often to others.  When the Yankees scout showed up to his house Munson's dad told the scout "Ya know he ain't too good on pop ups."

Photo of Thurman Munson Courtesy of SABR.org

In a league filled with great Catchers Munson was clearly elite.  The question was how elite was he?Clearly above Catchers like Bill Freehan, Jim Sundberg and Darrel Porter, was he as good as Bench and Fisk?

He faced off against Fisk every year so it was easy to compare the two.  It was Bench that was considered the elite.  They faced off in the 1976 World Series.  The Yankees were swept by the Reds but Munson hit .529.  Following the final game reporters asked Sparky Anderson to compare the two.  "Thurman is an outstanding hitter, one of the best we have seen all year.  There is no question he would be a .300 hitter in our league but don't ask me to compare Johnny Bench with any other Catcher.  Don't embarrass anyone."  Munson was in the room when it was said, waiting for his own post game interview.  "For me to be belittled after my season and series, it hurts.  I don't appreciate it being rubbed in my face.

Munson worked hard to lead the Yankees.  He was named team Captain.  He was clearly the one who led by his example on the field.  All of a sudden he was called into question publicly.  In 1977 the Yankees signed Reggie Jackson and before spring training began Jackson had already offended Munson.  Jackson gave an interview to Sport Magazine in which he basically said the Yankees were good and Munson was good but they wouldn't be great until Jackson got in the mix.  What resulted was the team known as the Bronx Zoo, two World Series wins and one of the most iconic Yankee-Red Sox moments of all time.

At the end of the 1978 season the Yankees and Red Sox were tied for first.  There was a one game playoff for the American League pennant.  With two out in the seventh and runners on first and third, Bucky Dent hit a home run that defined a generation of heartbreak for Red Sox fans and a generation of winning for the Yankees.  Behind the plate, praying for the ball to bounce off the green monster was Carlton Fisk.  At the top of the dugout steps, praying for the ball to get up in the wind and sneak over the wall was Thurman Munson.

Roy White and Chris Chambliss Congratulate Bucky Dent After Home Run to win 1978 Playoff Game. Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report

Although some of the rivalries we have seen in this series have been friendly, this one was not.  Munson and Fisk were extremely competitive with each other.  Constantly fighting for first place in the standings and for headlines.  Munson won the World Series twice.  Fisk never would.  Munson would show anger at the mention of Fisk's name and his teammates used that to their advantage.  Gene Michael would hang articles in Munson's locker that compared the two and he knew Munson would come out swinging that night. 

The press loved it because it sold papers.  The teams loved it because it fed into the Yankees-Red Sox feud.  Munson and Fisk just wanted to win.  They were competitive and may have hated losing to the other but it was business, not personal.  Once, as the two were warming up before a game, Thurman yelled over to Fisk. "Hey Fisk, I just wanted to let you know that I never said anything bad about you."

Fisk, possibly with the benefit of twenty years of reflection, said that he and Munson were rivals (and certainly not friends) but not enemies.  "We never hated each other. It was the uniform more than anything.  We were so much alike in our attitudes about baseball.  I think one of the things I regret most about my career is that Thurman and I were never teammates.  I know that if it wasn't for the Yankees uniform he wore, we would have gotten along great.  I never hated Thurman."

The question is, if they were teammates, which one would have moved from Catcher?

TRIVIA QUESTION:

Bucky Dent famously hit his Home Run after fouling the previous ball off his ankle.  Dent hobbled around, the trainers came out and checked on him and the game was delayed.  While Dent was getting treatment, the on deck batter noticed that Dent had cracked his bat on the last swing.  The on deck batter told the bat boy to go get a bat, one of his own, for Dent.  The bat that was handed to him was the one that launched the Home Run.  Who provided the bat for Dent?

Answer to Last Week's Question:

Casey Stengel first took part in a World Series in 1916 as a member of the Brooklyn Robins.  The Robins lost to the Boston Red Sox.  Stengel also played in two World Series as a member of the New York Giants in 1922 and 1923.  Although he managed nine seasons prior to taking over the Yankees he had no World Series appearances in that time.  Stengel took over the Yankees in 1949 and won the World Series in his first year.  Stengel would reach the World Series as the Yankees manager in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1960.  He won the World Series in seven of those seasons.  This would give him a total of 13 World Series appearances.  

Greatest World Series Moments: Greatest Game Part 1

The Reds were ahead in the 1975 World Series three games to two.  Fenway Park was oddly quiet.  Even with a three run lead in the top of the fifth and one out the fans in Boston seemed to be waiting for something bad to happen.  At the half way mark there was little about this game that would lead anyone to think this was a classic.   

Ed Armbrister pinch hit for pitcher Jack Billingham, already the Reds third pitcher of the game, and walked.  Pete Rose followed with a single and suddenly, with Ken Griffey, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez due up next, the Fens buzzed with anxiety.

Fred Lynn was on the move with the crack of the bat.  He had already put the Red Sox ahead 3-0 with a first inning 3 run home run and now he had a chance to break the Reds' back with another sensational catch.  This was a rookie but you couldn't tell from his performance in the biggest week of the baseball season.  He tracked the ball towards left-center field, that big green wall.  It wasn't headed to the monster, it was that little angle where the odd dimensions of Fenway converge.  Fred Lynn had only played in this park for a year but he had learned to trust his abilities and trust the other outfielders.

Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report

(Fred Lynn had an amazing rookie year in 1975.  He became the first player to earn Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same year.  Not until Mike Trout, for the 2012 Angels, would another rookie have the impact that Lynn had for the 1975 Red Sox)

Griffey had driven the ball hard but Lynn knew that he had it.  Even if he didn't reach this ball Dwight Evans and Yaz would be there to play the ball off the wall.  He had the ball timed perfectly.  He took two strides onto the warning track and jumped toward the wall.  It was an amazing effort to reach the ball in the first place but this was what Freddie had done since he came up from the minors.  He stuck out his right foot to brace himself against the wall.  It was his first mistake all year.  The metal cleats hit the concrete wall.  No traction.  Moving at full speed the foot slipped straight down and his momentum twisted his body.  Suddenly, the back that had carried the Red Sox to one of the most improbable championship runs smashed against the concrete wall and Fred Lynn crumpled to the warning track motionless.  Fenway went silent, like a funeral. 

Photo Courtesy of Baseball Birthdays

(Ed Armbrister was involved in a controversial play in game 3 that led to a Reds win.  He pinch hit in Game 6 and earned a walk, scoring on Ken Griffey's triple)

The ball shot off the wall and Dwight Evans was there to field it and fire it back into the infield but not before Armbrister and Rose had scored and Griffey stood on third with a triple.  New England held their collective breath as Yastrzemski, Evans, manager Darrell Johnson and the team trainer stood over a body.  It was a bad sign when Yaz had to help Lynn straighten out his legs which had staid in that position since he had hit the wall.

Eventually Lynn was helped up.  He rolled his head around a few times, did a few bends and nodded to the trainer that he was OK.  He got a quiet, reserved standing ovation from the Boston fans, but the moment had come.  This was the beginning of the end, Sox fans were sure.  Just like every other disappointing year since 1918. 

The Reds were able to tie the score in that inning but that was it.  The Sox weren't losing, but still, there was a sense of doom hanging over Boston as the city waited for the other shoe to drop.  It came in the top of the 7th.  Luis Tiant was the heartwarming story of the series.  His career had been resurrected in Boston after some tough years in Cleveland and Minnesota.  He now had a chance to become the first pitcher to win three games in one World Series since Denny McLain for the Tigers in 1968 and had a chance to do it in front of his parents.  After leaving Cuba to become a Major League pitcher over ten years ago, he had not seen his parents, who still lived in Cuba.  That was until a deal was made with Castro to allow the senior Tiants to visit the US to see their son perform in the World Series.  He had not disappointed but the tired arm could hold out only so long. 

He had breezed through the first 4 innings.  Gave up three in the fifth after Lynn's crashing attempt but had settled down in the 6th.  The Reds batters didn't like his pace.  It was too quick.  So they started to slow the game down themselves.  Calling time late.  Stepping out of the box late.  Taking time in between pitches.  Making Tiant work.  He gave up two runs in the 7th but got out of further trouble then gave up a lead off home run to Cesar Geronimo to start the 8th.

Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report

(Luis Tiant used a deceptive pitching motion to keep batters off balance.  Leading up to the series the Reds argued through the press that Tiant's motion was a balk.  In Game 1 he was called for a balk.  Tiant nearly became the first pitcher since 1968 to win three World Series games.)

Suddenly the Sox were three runs down, their pitching star demoralized and only six outs left to save their season.  The conversation went from Tiant being able to win three games in one world series and turned instead to Rawly Eastwick of the Reds having a chance to win three games in one series.  As the game moved to the bottom of the 8th it seemed like little more than a wake for the World Series hopes of the 1975 home town heroes.

Lynn started the 8th with a single to leftfield and Rico Petrocelli worked a walk.  Runners on 1st and 2nd.  0 out.  Any momentum that was being built was quickly quieted as Evans struck out swinging and Rick Burleson flew out to leftfield.  That brought up the pitchers spot.  Darrell  Johnson went to his bench for a pinch hitter.  Bernie Carbo walked to the plate.  He had hit a pinch hit home run in Game 2 and Johnson hoped he might be able to do it again.

Eastwick's 2-2 pitch was low and inside.  Carbo couldn't decide what to do: take it or swing.  Too close to take and now too late to get a good swing.  The ball was nearly in Bench's glove when Carbo finally decided he better do something, so he awkwardly dropped the bat head in the direction of the pitch and fouled the ball off.  Tom Adelman, in his great book The Long Ball:  The Summer of '75- Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle and Greatest World Series Ever Played (honestly one of the greatest books I have ever read), would call this the ugliest swing in the history of baseball, and it is hard to argue.    Red Sox fans had essentially thrown in the towel.  The next 2-2 pitch came in and Carbo swung again.

Dick Stockton had called every Red Sox game that year and watched the ball off the bat.  "Deep centerfield!  Way back, way back!  We're tied up!"

Fenway erupted as the wake ended and the crowd awoke.  Carbo clapped his hands as he rounded second, knowing he would be a Red Sox legend for life.

Photo Courtesy of ESPN

(Bernie Carbo was originally drafted by the Reds.  When Reds manager Sparky Anderson cut him several years later Carbo was bitter.  Carbo hit two pinch hit home runs in the 1975 World Series tying Chuck Essegian (1959 Dodgers) for most pinch hit home runs in one series)

A game six in any playoff series is a bizarre animal.  One team has to be ahead three games to two.  One team has a chance to gain a series win.  One team has to fight with everything they have to avoid having their season end.  This game six had now gone from a good game to a desperate struggle and each team had three outs left to decide if this was the end or if they would play tomorrow for all the glory.

It would be hard to say that the Big Red Machine could ever be desperate with a future hall of fame manager, three future hall of fame players (two or three others that should be in the hall of fame and one more who would be in the hall of fame if not for his own poor life choices).  This team would not give up and the big bats would be coming up.  Morgan, Bench, Perez.  If anyone would scare the Red Sox relievers, these guys would.  If anyone was scared on the Red Sox they didn't show it.  Morgan, Bench and Perez went down quickly raising the pressure on the Red Sox.

Photo Courtesy of The Baseball Page

(The 1975 Big Red Machine lineup: Catcher Johnny Bench (5), First Baseman Tony Perez (14), Second Baseman Joe Morgan (5), Shortstop Dave Concepcion (13), Third Baseman Pete Rose (14), Outfielder Ken Griffey (30), Outfielder Cesar Geronimo (20) and Outfielder George Foster (15).  The team won the World Series in 1975 and 1976.)

Score one run and the game is over, the series moves to tomorrow.  Fail to score and the momentum switches right back to the Reds.  The bottom of the ninth had a promising start.  Denny Doyle drew a walk.  Yaz, the legend in the flesh, shot a single to right field, sending Doyle to third.  1st and 3rd.  0 out.

Baseball fans immediately recognize the situation.  Bottom 9th.  Tie Game.  Runner on third. Less than 2 outs.  A fly ball wins the game.  The Reds had few choices with Fisk, Lynn and Petrocelli due up next.  Sparky Anderson paced the dugout trying to decide what to do.  He finally held out his hand with four fingers extended and Fisk was walked to load the bases.  Facing Lynn was certainly no less dangerous than facing Fisk but at least it set up a force play at any base that might save the day.

Lynn just needed a fly ball to get the run in from third.  He got it, but as soon as it was hit he could tell it wasn't deep enough.  Foster ran to the foul line and lined up the catch.  Fenway's odd dimensions came into play again.  The foul line along leftfield runs very close to the wall and gives a right handed outfielder throwing home a hard time to get good arm extension on a throw. 

Before the pitch Don Zimmer, coaching third base, had yelled in Doyle's ear:  "Anything in the air you tag up immediately.  Wait for me to tell you if you're going."  Doyle stood on third watching Foster come in to make the catch.  Zimmer knew right away it wasn't deep enough so he was surprised when he turned and saw Doyle heading toward home.

"NO, NO, NO!" Zimmer yelled to Doyle.  Doyle later said he heard Zimmer yelling "Go, Go, Go!"

Foster made the catch at the wall, took one step back and fired a perfect strike to Bench at home.  Doyle's out, double play and the momentum back to the Reds.  Petrocelli grounded out to end the inning and the stadium fell silent again.  This game was getting better as it went along.  Pinch hit home runs, plays at the plate, extra innings.  If the fans there only knew what they were about to see they would have laughed at how excited they were getting over these small things.

Photo Courtesy of Fenway Park 100

(Denny Doyle took off from third on George Foster's catch in the bottom of the ninth.  Bench waited with the tag.)

The game moved to the 10th.  The Reds got a one out single and a steal of second by Dave Concepcion but they stranded him there. Momentum to Red Sox.  Boston sent Evans, Burleson and Carbo to the plate.  They went down in order.  Momentum back to Reds. 

Rose was hit by a pitch to start the 11th.  Or was he?  The pitch was inside and Rose spun  around but there was no clear contact with any part of his body or his uniform.  Never one to argue with a free base, Rose tossed his bat and sprinted down to first.  Who knows what it hit but the umpires gave Rose first. Griffey tried to sacrifice Rose to second.  The bunt was in front of the plate and slightly down the third base line.  Fisk moved quickly, made eye contact with Burleson, grabbed the ball and fired down to second.  Burleson stepped on second and forced Rose.  It wasn't a double play but it was an amazing reaction nonetheless.  With Griffey on first, Joe Morgan stepped up.  Joe Morgan, little Joe as his teammates knew him, was the engine that powered the Big Red Machine. Anytime something happened, he was driving the momentum for the Reds.  Morgan drove a 1-1 pitch to right field.  This was it.  The moment that would turn the game and put the Reds up. 

                                                    Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report

 (Joe Morgan was the leader of the Big Red Machine. He was a 10 time All Star, 2 time MVP (1975 and 1976) and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990.  After his playing career, Morgan became a highly successful analyst for ESPN)

Griffey moved on contact.  It wasn't what the fundamentals said but it was clear that this was over the head of Dwight Evans.  At worst extra bases and a run scores.  At best a two run home run.  Evans had been playing in and broke back on contact.  He ran back.  Straight back.  Turned his back to the plate and just ran.  Kept running.  He knew it was hopeless.  He just ran.  The ball was over his head, headed to the freakishly short wall, a sure home run.  Evans made a desperate jump as he hit the warning track.  Not only was it over his head when he jumped, the ball was moving behind him.  He just threw his hands up and back.  The ball stuck in the glove. Evans landed, stumbled to the wall and braced himself awkwardly. It was one of the greatest catches ever made in a World Series game but Evans didn't have time to celebrate.  It was only out number 2. 

Griffey was past second by the time he realized the ball was caught.  He slammed on the brakes and came back around second.  Evans steadied himself, turned to the infield and heaved a throw towards first.  After having made one of the best catches in history, he now made one of the worst throws.  It was not only off line, Yaz had to come past the firstbase coach's box to field it.   Over 35,000 people in the stadium held their breath as Griffey came tearing back towards first.  There was no way they would catch him and Johnny Bench would walk to the plate.

Yaz heard someone yelling.  "First base, first base!"  It was Burleson.  The shortstop had sprinted across the diamond, racing Griffey back to the bag.  The Reds firstbase coach was screaming to Griffey to get back.  Griffey didn't know what was happening or where the ball was.  It was hard enough to believe Evans had reached the ball but to believe that the throw back to the bag was so far off line and then to look at first and see the shortstop standing there  It was chaos.  Yaz tossed to Burleson in plenty of time.  Double Play. Inning Over.

Photo Courtesy of Fenway 100

(Dwight Evans was one of three rookie outfielders to make a significant impact for the 1975 Red Sox.  Along with Lynn and Jim Rice, the Red Sox appeared to have a trio of Outfielders for decades to come.  Rice did not play in the 1975 Series because of a broken wrist.  Evans, seen here making one of the greatest catches in World Series history, followed the catch with one of the worst throws ever.)

It was one of those moments that make fans think their team is destined to win.  For this unbelievable play to happen Evans had to make an unbelievable catch.  To save the Red Sox from allowing Griffey to get back to the bag, Yastrzemski had to be aware that Fisk had not moved up to back up first base, that the pitcher had backed up third on the play and that he had to get off the bag to save the throw from going wild.  To allow for the double play Burleson, whose job was to cover second (Doyle would be the cut off man) had to realize as soon as the ball left Evans's hand, that the poor throw would leave firstbase uncovered.  Momentum back to the Red Sox. 

If ever momentum would give a team a kick in the rear this had to be it.  Rick Miller pinch hit for Dick Drago to start the bottom of the 11th.  Miller, Doyle and Yaz went down in order.  Momentum back to the Reds.  It was well into Sunday morning by this time.  Late night programming was being delayed but no one in the stadium could have cared less.  Back and forth.  This game seemed like it would never end.  This game had gone from constant runners on base and big hits to a pitchers duel with no warning.  The Reds fighting to not have to play later today and to celebrate tonight, or what was left of tonight.  The Red Sox punching back to get one more chance at the title.

The Reds put two runners on in the top of the 12th but couldn't move anyone along.  Momentum back to the Red Sox but momentum was getting tired.  Everyone was getting tired.  The Red Sox had Fisk, Lynn and Petrocelli due up this inning but at this time of night it didn't seem to matter.  It was late.  It was cold.  It was damp October weather and everyone was exhausted.

Pat Darcy warmed up on the mound and Bench could see his pitches were not sharp.  Fisk and Lynn tried to stay warm in the on deck circle, watching Darcy warm up.  Fisk used the weighted bat, swinging it one armed like a windmill.  Fisk turned again and watched Darcy.  He watched another flat fastball barely pop Bench's mit.  Fisk turned to Lynn, pounded the knob of the bat on the ground to dislodge the weight and said:  "I got a good feeling.  I'm going to drive one off the wall.  You drive me in, OK?"  Pudge wasn't joking.  Pudge never joked about baseball.  This was serious.  Lynn smiled.  Nodded his head.  Didn't say anything.  What can you say to a guy calling his shot?

Fisk stepped into the batters box.  He had a routine.  Used the right hand to lift the jersey off the left shoulder, it got rid of the constriction on the swing.  Arms up to shoulder height.  Jerk them back quickly with a severe motion to loosen the shoulder muscles.  One.  Two.  Hold the bat above the head, bend back, bend to the left bend to the right.  Adjust the jersey on the shoulders again so it doesn't constrict the swing.  Now you're ready.  First pitch was a ball.  Bench was concerned.  If Fisk had told Lynn he had a good feeling Bench would have told someone he did not.  Fisk stepped out and repeated the routine.  He stepped back in to the plate.

The 1-0 pitch came in belt high over the plate and he turned on it.  He drove it towards the wall, that big green monster of a wall in left.  Depending on the angle of where you sat it was fair, it was foul, it was off the wall, it was an out, it was a home run.  Fisk had the perfect view straight down the line.  So did Bench and the umpires.  It was high.  It was far.  Fair or Foul?

Fisk hopped down the line once.  Fair or foul? He waved his arms across his body towards first base, hoping, begging, pleading for the ball to stay fair.  Fair or foul? He hopped again, waved his arms toward first base again.  Desperate for anything that would help that ball get fair.  He hopped again, waved his arms.  Hopped again waved his arms.  Fair or Foul?  The ball bounced off the bright yellow pole above the green monster.  Fair ball!

Photo Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

(Carlton Fisk begs the ball to stay fair as he hops down the first base line.)

Photo Courtesy of ESPN

(Fisk celebrates as the ball hits the foul pole.  Fisk waving the ball fair is one of the greatest images of all time, sports or otherwise.  It is almost impossible to watch this play and not be excited.)

The stadium exploded.  It was bedlam.  Fisk went crazy.  Hopping each step of the way down to first base.   Fans poured onto the field.  Fisk had to fight his way through the  madness. Pushing people out of the way.  Fans patting him on the back, wanting to shake his hand.  He still had to reach home plate for the run to count.  He almost had to elbow two teens as he ran down the third base line.  The hallelujah chorus played on the stadium organ as Fisk landed on home plate.

Outside the stadium New England was full of crazed fans.  Church bells rang.  Bars emptied. People poured into the streets.  Children were woken up to experience the thrill that would never be experienced again.

This was only Game 6.  What would game 7 have in store?