Friday, June 03, 2011

Box score of the week

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have such a long-standing rivalry that there are literally scores of intriguing games from which to choose. With that in mind, I'm going with a game from May 1976.

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Given the genuine loathing these franchises have for each other, there have been several brouhahas over the years. In this game, one of all the all-time great brawls occurred.

Yankees outfielder Lou Piniella would crash into Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk feet first in an attempt to score in the sixth inning. The two benches clear while Piniella and Fisk brawl at home plate. After the fight apparently dies down and order appears to be restored, Sox pitcher Bill Lee and Yankee third baseman Graig Nettles began to exchange words, resulting in another fight. Lee suffered a separated left shoulder from the tilt and misses a significant portion of the 1976 season.


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1 comment:

Douglas said...

Bill Lee had the nickname of "The Spaceman" for various forms of flakery. This story doesn't surprise me.