|
 |
|
EDDIE STANKY |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
The White Sox
rally to beat the Red Sox
June
6, 1967 ... The Red Sox, trailing 5 to 3, had
the bases loaded with one out in the ninth, and Eddie Stanky, the
manager the White Sox, had brought in Wilbur Wood to pitch to Carl
Yastrzemski. Yaz took the first pitch for a ball and slapped the
second pitch past Wood's glove up the middle. But shortstop Ron
Hansen was at second base to gobble up the ball and turned it into a
game ending double play. The loss was the second in a row at
Comiskey Park, this season, for the Red Sox and their 10th in the last 11 games
here. José Tartabull, hitting for Mike Ryan, started the inning by beating out a
chopper between the mound and first base. The Red Sox sent up Dalton Jones, a
left-handed hitter, to bat for José Santiago. Stanky countered by flip-flopping
leftfielder Ken Berry and rightfielder Ed Stroud. The idea was to get Berry's
stronger arm in right.
Jones slammed the first pitch to the wall in right and Berry went back to the
wall and leaped up high to rob Jones of an extra base hit. Reggie Smith followed
with a single to right and Mike Andrews beat out a bunt to load the bases. If
Jones hadn't been robbed by the catch, the Red Sox would have had the lead.
Stanky then figured he had seen enough of the veteran Hoyt Wilhelm and brought
in Wood from the bullpen to pitch to Yaz.
The Red Sox had jumped out to a 3 to 0 lead in the first three innings
against starter, Jim O'Toole. They scored a pair of unearned runs in the second
on two hits, an error by Ron Hansen, on a grounder by Rico Petrocelli, and an
infield out. A walk, a single by Yaz and Tony Conigliaro's ground ball,
accounted for the run in the third. Yaz made the run possible as he busted up
the double-play, sliding into secondbaseman Don Buford.
Three straight singles and two infield outs produced two runs for the White
Sox in the third inning against Red Sox starter, Darrell Brandon. They tied it
up in the fourth inning on a walk and two singles. There would have been more
for the White Sox if Yaz hadn't robbed Tim McCraw of a hit with a one-handed
grab of his blooper to lead off the inning.
The White Sox scored two more runs in the seventh inning to go out in front.
Brandon walked JC Martin and hit Wayne Causey with a pitch to start the inning.
That brought in Santiago to pitch to Ed Stroud. Stroud forced Causey and Al
Weis, running for Martin, went to third base. Buford struck out and Berry walked
to load up the bases. Tommy Agee drove in the runs with a broken bat single to
right.
Carl Yastrzemski was fuming over the quote that Eddie Stanky made, calling
him an All-Star only from the neck down. The Red Sox today brought up Gary
Waslewski, from Toronto, to fill in the open spot on the roster. They also added
right-hander, Pete Charton to their 40 man roster and assigned him the
Pittsfield. |
