Bill Lee, one of my favourite characters is baseball history, pitched well in both starts in 1975. He left with the lead. He ended with a no-decision. And his Boston Red Sox eventually lost both games. The lefty gave it his all at home, but the Cincinnati Reds would not be denied!
After Luis Tiant pitched Boston to a 6-0, game one win over Cincy, it was Lee to the mound. A lefty pitching at good old Fenway Park? Well, why not. Lee won 17 games that year, you see. The Green Monster would have to be factored out somehow!
The Red Sox scored him a run in the bottom of the first, and Lee held that until the top of the fourth. The Reds tied the Red Sox that inning with a single tally. That came with some small ball. Pete Rose led off with a grounder for the first out. A walk by Joe Morgan and a single by Johnny Bench put runners on the corners. Tony Perez hit into a force at second. But it was enough to tie it.
Boston went ahead again in the bottom of the sixth as Rico Petrocelli knocked in a run. That's how it stayed until the top of the ninth. Lee was pitching a gem!
Here's where the Cincinnati Reds tied things up. Johnny Bench knocked Bill Lee out with a double. But, you know, all things considered it looked good for Boston after that. Dick Drago came in and got the next two batters out. On a 1-1 pitch to Dave Conception, the Reds tied it as he singled. A steal of second and a double by Ken Griffey won the game for Cincinnati. Lee had pitched so well! And it was all for not.
The Boston Red Sox needed another gem from Lee at home in the winner-take-all game seven. The Fenway Faithful were pleading! And they got it.
The home team scored three times off Don Gullett in the bottom of the third inning. And Lee pitched well through five innings. In the top of the sixth, Pete Rose singled to centre. But then Lee got Joe Morgan on a fly ball to Dwight Evans in right. Johnny Bench hit a roller to short. Rick Burleson got the ball and got the force at second. The throw to first to try and make it two and end the inning ended up being a throwing error by Denny Doyle. There were two outs. A blooper pitch to Tony Perez (Who was 4-25 so far, but had hit two home runs in game five) on a 1-0 pitch ended up hanging out over the plate. Perez swatted it over the Green Monster. It was 3-2, Boston.
Lee developed a blister and had to leave the game in the seventh with one on and one out. That batter who reached first was Griffey. And it was the last batter Lee faced. Griffey scored on a single by Rose.
The Reds didn't win it until the top of the ninth. Joe Morgan hit a bloop single that landed just a little in front of centre fielder Fred Lynn. Griffey crossed home to make it 4-3. Boston went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame. The Reds were on top of the world in 1975.
The 1975 World Series had it all. Close games, dramatic home runs, last-minute heroics. Controversial calls. In the middle of all this was a character named Bill Lee. He was not the best pitcher on either team. But he was a character. And he gave the Red Sox two splendid efforts in the Fall Classic that year. While he might have come away from both without a decision, and his team lost 'em, Bill Lee helped make the World Series that year one for the ages!
References
Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns. Prod. Ken Burns. PBS. 1994. Television. DVD.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Red Sox Nation: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005. Print.
Reisman, David, director. Super Series. Major League Baseball, 1975. VHS.
Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
After Luis Tiant pitched Boston to a 6-0, game one win over Cincy, it was Lee to the mound. A lefty pitching at good old Fenway Park? Well, why not. Lee won 17 games that year, you see. The Green Monster would have to be factored out somehow!
The Red Sox scored him a run in the bottom of the first, and Lee held that until the top of the fourth. The Reds tied the Red Sox that inning with a single tally. That came with some small ball. Pete Rose led off with a grounder for the first out. A walk by Joe Morgan and a single by Johnny Bench put runners on the corners. Tony Perez hit into a force at second. But it was enough to tie it.
Boston went ahead again in the bottom of the sixth as Rico Petrocelli knocked in a run. That's how it stayed until the top of the ninth. Lee was pitching a gem!
Here's where the Cincinnati Reds tied things up. Johnny Bench knocked Bill Lee out with a double. But, you know, all things considered it looked good for Boston after that. Dick Drago came in and got the next two batters out. On a 1-1 pitch to Dave Conception, the Reds tied it as he singled. A steal of second and a double by Ken Griffey won the game for Cincinnati. Lee had pitched so well! And it was all for not.
The Boston Red Sox needed another gem from Lee at home in the winner-take-all game seven. The Fenway Faithful were pleading! And they got it.
The home team scored three times off Don Gullett in the bottom of the third inning. And Lee pitched well through five innings. In the top of the sixth, Pete Rose singled to centre. But then Lee got Joe Morgan on a fly ball to Dwight Evans in right. Johnny Bench hit a roller to short. Rick Burleson got the ball and got the force at second. The throw to first to try and make it two and end the inning ended up being a throwing error by Denny Doyle. There were two outs. A blooper pitch to Tony Perez (Who was 4-25 so far, but had hit two home runs in game five) on a 1-0 pitch ended up hanging out over the plate. Perez swatted it over the Green Monster. It was 3-2, Boston.
Lee developed a blister and had to leave the game in the seventh with one on and one out. That batter who reached first was Griffey. And it was the last batter Lee faced. Griffey scored on a single by Rose.
The Reds didn't win it until the top of the ninth. Joe Morgan hit a bloop single that landed just a little in front of centre fielder Fred Lynn. Griffey crossed home to make it 4-3. Boston went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame. The Reds were on top of the world in 1975.
The 1975 World Series had it all. Close games, dramatic home runs, last-minute heroics. Controversial calls. In the middle of all this was a character named Bill Lee. He was not the best pitcher on either team. But he was a character. And he gave the Red Sox two splendid efforts in the Fall Classic that year. While he might have come away from both without a decision, and his team lost 'em, Bill Lee helped make the World Series that year one for the ages!
References
Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns. Prod. Ken Burns. PBS. 1994. Television. DVD.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Red Sox Nation: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005. Print.
Reisman, David, director. Super Series. Major League Baseball, 1975. VHS.
Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment