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The gap-toothed smile of Dave Henderson is emblematic of the exuberance that he
brought to the game and which he displayed unabashedly after slugging a playoff
home run for the ages.
Earlier in the 1986 season, outfielder, Dave Henderson was traded to the Red
Sox from the Mariners with Spike Owen. With Tony Armas being the
regular center fielder, Henerson's role diminished to that of a fill-in.
For most of the first four games of the 1986 ALCS against the California Angels,
Henderson watched from the bench. Entering Game #5 in Anaheim, the Red Sox
were down three games to one and faced elimination in the best-of-seven
series.
But when Armas suffered an ankle sprain, Henderson took his place in the
bottom of the fifth, embarking on an outing that became legendary.
With two out in the Angels’ half of the sixth inning, and with a runner on
second, Bobby Grich drove a ball to deep center field. Timing his leap
perfectly just as he approached the fence, Henderson snared the drive as it
was coming down. But when his left forearm smacked against the top of the
fence, the ball popped loose and was deflected over for a stunning two-run
homer that gave the Angels a 3-2 lead.
Entering the ninth, the Angels were poised to secure their first trip to the
World Series, leading 5-2. Bill Buckner opened with a single and after an
out, Don Baylor followed with a two-run home run to cut the California lead
to 5-4. Dwight Evans popped out for the second out, and Rich Gedman got hit
by a pitch. Manager Gene Mauch brought in his ace closer, Donnie Moore, to
deal with the next scheduled batter, Dave Henderson.
Working the count to 2-and-2, Moore was just a single pitch away from
winning the AL pennant. But Henderson spoiled the celebration by lofting a
home run over the fence in left field and giving the Sox a 6-5 lead.
The Angels dramatically knotted the score in the bottom of the ninth and the
game went into overtime. In the 11th, Donnie Moore couldn't get anyone out
and loaded the bases. Henderson came up again and completed his vindication
by bringing in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly. Sox closer, Calvin
Schiraldi then dispatched the Angels quickly in the bottom of the 11th. The
Sox stayed alive, won the next two games and went on to meet the Mets in the
World Series, where they would endure the same fate as did the Angels.
For Henderson, his celebrity status in Boston would live on forever, but on
the field it was different. In 1987, manager John McNamara elected to go
with a youth movement by installing rookie Ellis Burks in center field and
spelling Jim Rice occasionally with Mike Greenwell in left. Henderson was
back in the same bench-warming role as he was when he first joined the Red
Sox. He eventually got traded to the Giants at the end of August.
In October 2015, Dave Henderson underwent kidney transplant surgery, but quite sadly he succumbed to a heart attack in Seattle, on December 27, 2014 at the age of 57. |
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