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MIKE ANDREWS
TAGS OUT
MICKEY MANTLE |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 6 ...
"THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM"
The Sox top the Yankees on "Yaz Night"
August
28, 1967 ... It was Carl Yastrzemski night at
Yankee Stadium. And to commemorate the evening, former Yankee Elston
Howard, knocked in two runs, while the Sox were beating the Yanks, 3
to 0 The win went to Dave Morehead, who pitched 5 1/3 innings, but
left quite a mess for relief pitcher Sparky Lyle to unravel in the bottom of the
sixth. The bases were loaded on singles by Horace Clarke, Tom Tresh and a walk
to Mike Hegan. Lyle came in and struck out Steve Whitaker on a called third
strike, with a beautiful curveball that dipped onto the outside corner of the
plate. Charlie Smith, up next, went to a two and two count, before grounding out
to Rico Petrocelli. Lyle chalked up his fourth save, by allowing only one hit
and a base on balls for the remainder of the game.
Governor Volpe came down from Massachusetts to join in the party being thrown
by Yaz's Long Island friends. Yaz didn't disappoint in the first inning. José
Tartabull had started the game off with a drag bunt base hit. Jerry Adair lined
a perfect hit-and-run single to center that moved José over to third. Up came
Yaz, who took a couple of wild swings off Yankee starter Fred Talbot. But on the
third pitch, he hit a fly ball to centerfield that allowed Tartabull to come in
with the first run of the game.
Yaz opened up the sixth inning with a walk, but was forced at second by
George Scott. Reggie Smith hit one back to the mound that forced Scott at second
and then Elston Howard came up. He caught a fastball up around his eyes and
lined it to dead centerfield that scored the second run of the game. The third
run was scored by Reggie, when he hit his 13th homer into the right-field
bleachers, about 20 rows back.
The only time the Yankees fans got excited, was each time Mickey Mantle came
to the plate. It seemed that the people in the Stadium hardly noticed any of the
other Yankees.
Yaz received roses, a silver platter, a Chrysler, a color TV and a check for
the Jimmy Fund from more than 100 relatives, who drove to the game from the
eastern tip of Long Island. His high school coach, the town manager, the corner
grocer and his great schoolteacher sat in the bleachers. His wife, mother and
father along with Governor Volpe listened to greetings being read, from Mayor
John Lindsay and Governor Norman Rockefeller. Cheers and hisses came from the
crowd in a good-natured way.
With Ken Harrelson in town to join the Sox, outfielder Jim Landis was
released after being signed only a week ago. |
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