Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012

Yankees vs. Red Sox, 1978

Mention the late-1970s Yankees and chances are most people will think of Reggie Jackson. In 1977, Jackson earned the nickname Mr. October for hitting three home runs in Game 6 of the World Series to propel the Bronx Bombers to a 9-8 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and the world title. The following year saw more Yankee heroics but from an unlikely source. That year, Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk led the Boston Red Sox to what started as a banner season. By mid-July, the Red Sox led the Yankees by 14½ games. But the Yanks climbed back in the hunt, and in September, in a four-game series at Fenway Park that became known as the Boston Massacre, the Yankees swept the Red Sox by a combined score of 42-9. The season ended with a tie in the American League East division, necessitating a one-game playoff. With the Red Sox up 2-0, Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent — who had hit only 40 home runs in 12 years — crushed a homer over Fenway's Green Monster wall in left field to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. The Yankees won 5-4, securing the division title, and went on to beat the Dodgers again in the World Series.