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1970 BOSTON RED SOX ...
Eddie Kasko, a former Red Sox infielder who retired in 1966, resembled a college professor more than a ballplayer and became the 13th manager under Tom Yawkey's ownership. Unlike Dick Williams, Kasko was an easy-going guy who didn't enjoy confrontations and maintained an even keel.
On December 13th, the White Sox traded Don Pavletich and Gary Peters to the Red Sox for Billy Farmer and Syd O'Brien. When Farmer chose to retire instead, the Red Sox substituted Gerry Janeski. The trade reunited Pavletich with Kasko. The two had been teammates in 1962 and 1963. The Red Sox were loaded with catchers, though none of them standouts. Kasko was well aware that Pavletich could also play first base. Dalton Jones was also traded to the Detroit Tigers for their utility infielder, Tom Matchick. Pitcher Ed Phillips had played under Kasko in Louisville and joined the Red Sox for spring training. He had a good spring training and won a bullpen spot. Eddie Kasko was brought in to settle down the player ranks and took the opposite approach of Dick Williams. He eliminated the volleyball games and instead instituted what he termed "Fun Days". It included baseball drills but left plenty of time for fishing and golf. Everything was blissful and contented with the Red Sox once more. Kasko vowed he had no plans to trade front-line players and he would keep established players in their rightful positions.
Tony Conigliaro had spent the winter as an inspirational celebrity, being a guest on TV shows. He also wrote his autobiography. He was driven to be even better in 1970 than he was in 1969. After all, there was no Comeback Player Award this year. His goal was still to be better than Ted Williams. He took karate lessons and pushed himself hard, learning to refine his eye-hand coordination. There was excitement in the Conigliaro household for another reason. There were now two brothers playing for the home town team. Yaz turned 30 and was moved to first base, to make room for Billy Conigliaro to play in left. Billy C. performed admirably and saw action in center and right as well. Luis Alvarado made the big club out of spring training. There was a lengthy debate regarding Alvarado and Rico Petrocelli, and who should play third base or shortstop. The Sox were counting on Alvarado to handle third base and leave George Scott on first. Alvarado ultimately did not work out, so Scott was switched back to third, with Yaz playing first. Eddie Kasko has seen Mike Derrick play in the minors while he was managing Louisville, and said that Derrick was a form of insurance. He made the team out of spring training as the utility player and a left-handed pinch-hitter. George Thomas attempted to earn a spot on the roster, but broke his wrist. He was named a coach from March 30th thru June 10th and was also available for active duty as a player in an emergency situation. Mike Nagy served a six-month hitch with the Army, and it was toward the tail end of spring training when he finally reported to camp. The Sox sent him first to Winter Haven (Class A) and then to Triple-A Louisville to get in game shape. He threw two one-hit shutouts for the Colonels in his only two outings with them, and went up to Boston. Before spring training opened, Jose Santiago said that he could no longer effectively throw his money pitch – the slider. He worked at it during the exhibition season, but he wasn’t ready for big league action and so started the season with Louisville. On March 14th, Tony C. tumbled and cracked a rib while chasing a pop-up against the Mets. He was out of the lineup for a week and then returned only to struggle. On April 4th, three days before the start of the season, the Sox sold catcher Russ Gibson to the Giants.
The Sox opened at Yankee Stadium on April 7th. After a wonderful spring in which he gave up no runs in 32 innings, newcomer Gary Peters had shut out the Yanks 4-0 thru the sixth inning. The Sox went on to win their opener, 4 to 3, after Bill Lee came in and had almost given all of the lead away. Rookie Ed Phillips had his major-league debut on April 9th at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees held a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Phillips was brought in and threw just two pitches. The first was a called strike and on the second, Phillips induced New York first baseman John Ellis to pop up. The Sox lost, but Phillips had done his job. On April 10th, in Washington, Jim Lonborg led the Sox, beating the Senators, 4 to 1. Yaz's bloop double put the Sox in the lead and Rico Petrocelli's ninth inning double added some insurance. Ed Phillips got in a full inning of work on April 12th, allowing one single but striking out the three other batters he faced against the Senators in a 6 to 5 Sox loss. The Sox home opener was an offensive explosion on April 14th. Reggie Smith slammed a double, a triple, and a homer, while making a perfect peg that cut down a Yankee baserunner. It made a winner of Ray Culp, 8 to 3. Jim Lonborg won his second game the next day on April 15th. On April 16th the Yanks jumped on Sonny Siebert for a 4-0 lead. But the Sox came back to win, 8 to 5. Mike Andrews and Rico Petrocelli led the attack with home runs, in the three game sweep of New York. But the big story was the Sox bullpen, which had only given up one run, thus far, in 22 2/3 innings. On April 22nd, after losing four straight, the Sox righted the ship and neat the Orioles, 5 to 2 at Fenway. Jim Lonborg was mightier with his bat than he was with his arm. He doubled and singled and pitched well after the first inning.
On April 25th, Gary Peters threw the first shutout of the season for the Sox, on four hits, 3-0, over the Milwaukee Brewers. Mike Andrews and George Scott homered for the Sox to gain a doubleheader split. The Sox then completed a four game sweep of the Oakland Athletics. On April 27th, Reggie Smith's 8th inning homer brought the Sox back from behind and won the game 4 to 3. Reggie (.339 BA) had three hits including a triple. Home runs by Tony C. and Mike Andrews, gave Bill Lee his first Sox win of the year, on April 28th. Then Lee had to switch uniforms. He served in the US Army Reserve, and was stationed at the Boston Army Base in South Boston. In the third game on April 29th, Sonny Siebert struck out nine batters in five innings, before getting ejected for throwing at a batter, which resulted in a brawl. In the final game on April 30th, Sparky Lyle racked up his sixth save while Gary Peters earned his third win. The Sox had homers by Rico Petrocelli, Billy C. and George Scott, who also had two doubles. The Sox (11-8) were in third place, two games behind the Orioles when April ended.
May started with an 8 to 3 blasting of the Angels at Fenway. George Scott had three hits, including a home run, while Yaz knocked out two homers and Reggie added another. Ray Culp did some stylish pitching, retiring 17 straight batters. On May 5th, the Sox started a road trip in Milwaukee. Sonny Siebert shutout the Brewers, 6 to 0, on three hits, facing only 29 men. But the Sox lost the next three games to the Brewers. Then on May 9th in Oakland, Tony C. broke an 0-for-12 slump, hit a winning two run homer in the ninth inning, giving Siebert another win, 5 to 3. But again the Sox slid, losing five straight. On May 11th in Anaheim, Ray Culp tied a major-league record by striking out the first six Angels to face him. The Red Sox ended up losing the game, 2-1 in 19 innings. On May 12th, Tony C. homered again in Anaheim, but the Angels scored four in the ninth for a 6-5 walk-off win. The Red Sox struggled, losing seven of the nine games, with the A’s being the only good team in that group. On May 16th, Tony C. (.288 BA) homered again in the sixth inning, to tie a game against the Indians at 2-2. Then in the eighth inning, Yaz (.307 BA) hit a home run that was one of the longest ever hit at Fenway Park. The ball traveled out of the park to straightaway center, passing to the right of the flagpole. The three run blast carried the Sox to a 6 to 2 victory. Up until that time, only five other players had ever cleared the wall in center, to the right of the flagpole (Babe Ruth at the old Fenway Park, Jimmy Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Mickey Mantle, and Bill Skowron). On May 19th, against Fred Lasher, Tony C. lined a drive off the wall, with the bases loaded in the 9th inning, and the Sox defeated the Lasher and the Tigers, 5 to 4. He had hit safely in the last eight games, while Yaz slammed his 10th homer into the centerfield bleachers. Then, with a record of 16-19, the Sox lost three of four to the front-running Baltimore Orioles. But on May 24th, Sonny Siebert turned in an 11 strikeout performance in beating the Orioles, 4 to 3, to end a five game losing streak. On May 25th, Tony C. knocked out two homers. Yaz, who had gone 0-for-20, hit one of his rare cheap home runs, just inside the Pesky Pole, to break a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning. The Sox beat the Senators 5 to 3, making Bill Lee the winning pitcher. Tony C. hit another homer the next night, May 26th. It was his ninth home run in 16 games. But his left eye was getting worse. He never owned up to it to management or the press, but his teammates knew. It was his tremendous competitiveness that carried him. Pitcher Ray Jarvis started the season with the Red Sox, but by late May, Jose Santiago was ready to come back from the surgery that had kept him out of action for just over a year. On May 27th, Santiago was called up from Louisville and Jarvis was optioned out. Utility man, Mike Fiore was traded to the Sox from the Royals for Tom Matchick (who had only one hit on the season in 16 plate appearances.) on May 28th. Fiore had hoped to have his shot at first base, but Yaz was playing first. The Red Sox came up with three runs in the 9th inning to beat the White Sox, 4 to 3 on May 29th. Jose Santiago's first appearance was as a pinch-hitter. Chicago was winning 3-1, and the Red Sox had Luis Alvarado on first with one out. Santiago was put in to pinch-hit for Jim Lonborg and singled sharply to left field. Mike Andrews then drew a walk to load the bases and Billy C. scored Alvarado and Sntiago with a bases loaded single to tie the game. Then it was Jerry Moses' single that scored Andrews with the game winner. The next day, on May 30th,
Vicente Romo lived every pitcher's dream.
He cranked out his first major league homer in the sixth
inning, that snapped a 5-5 tie, and earned his third win
against no losses, as the Sox beat the White Sox again, 7
to 5.
In the lat two games, Mike Derrick collected two hits and two RBIs per game, playing left field in both games. Those were the last two hits he would ever have in the majors. The Sox reached the end of May with a record of 20-25 and were 11 1/2 back of the Orioles very quickly, after being only two games out on May 1st.
June started with Ray Culp beating the Twins, 5 to 1 on June 2nd. He fanned nine, getting four strikeouts in the last two innings. Mike Andrews collected four hits and Billy C. slammed his third homer. Sonny Siebert duplicated that win on June 4th, again beating the Twins 5 to 1. Andrews singled and homered, while Billy C. smashed another home run on a wicked smash to left center. Yaz's two run homer was instrumental in beating the Royals, 4 to 2, on June 5th. The Sox made it five straight by sweeping the Royals in a doubleheader on June 7th. Rico Petrocelli's eighth inning grandslam produced a 5 to 2 victory in the second game. Tony C. had three singles and three RBIs to help the Sox win the first game, 7 to 4. In an exhibition game against the Expos on June 8th, Jim Lonborg walked off the mound with his arm in pain. He was sent back to Boston to be examined and put on the DL. Bill Lee came in to relieve him. After the game, Lee received his orders to report for basic training. Gary Wagner, who had been placed with Triple-A Louisville, to start the season was brought up. The Sox also bought pitcher Cal Koonce from the Mets. Bill Lee spent his time playing baseball and working in the adjutant general's office answering phones and typing letters. Many of the letters were to the parents of dead soldiers who had received medals. Those letters hit him hard, making him realize that because he could throw a baseball accurately, that somehow he was immune from going to war and possibly dying. On June 10th, the Red Sox beat the White Sox in 14 innings at Comiskey Park. The 7 to 6 win came as a result of Rico Petrocelli's second grandslam in three games. Tony C.'s homer tied in the ninth inning, scoring Yaz, to send the game into extra innings. The win went to Vicente Romo (5-0). Luis Alvarado was batting .235 and had driven in only two runs since April 30th. Alvarado was optioned to Louisville on June 11th. In Minnesota on June 13th, George Thomas had three hits, while the Sox were winning 6 to 4. Billy C. knocked in two runs, to put the Sox ahead, in the sixth inning.
On June 16th, in Kansas City, Mike Andrews took his turn to be the hero. He hit a grandslam that won the game for the Sox, in the ninth inning. The score was 7 to 5, but Reggie Smith really won the game when he hit the wall chasing down a fly ball, and kept the baseball in his glove, for the final out of the game. Ken Brett threw a complete game, three hitter against the Royals the next night on June 17th, winning 3 to 1. Back at Fenway, the Sox faced the Yankees on June 19th. Sonny Siebert was pitching a no-hitter going into the 9th inning, with the Sox leading 7-0, thanks to a leadoff homer by Mike Andrews, and back-to-back dingers by Reggie and Yaz. But very quickly the score was 7 to 4, and Sparky Lyle had been called on to put out the fire. The Sox lost three of the four games played against the Yankees and then squared off against the first place Orioles at Fenway. The four game set, pretty much summarized the season. On June 22nd, they lost the first game, 9 to 8, after blowing a 6-0 lead. The Orioles tied up the game, slamming Ken Brett in the sixth inning. Tony C.'s homer put the Sox ahead the next inning and they got an insurance run in the eighth inning, making it 8 to 6. But in the ninth inning, Sparky Lyle and Cal Koonce couldn't hold on, and let Baltimore score three runs to win the game.
In the second game against the Orioles on June 23rd, Ray Culp gave another outstanding performance, holding Baltimore to three hits, winning 5 to 1. The Sox took the lead in the fourth inning on George Scott's double and Tom Satriano's single, and then blew the game open in the fifth inning, when Tony C. and Rico slammed back-to-back homers. The third game was a thriller on June 24th. Dick Schofield cleared the bases with a triple, while the Sox were scoring five runs in the seventh inning, beating the Orioles, 6 to 5. Gary Wagner won his first outing of the year with two innings of relief work. Red Sox pitchers blew a big lead in the final game on June 25th. The Sox were beating the Orioles, 7 to 0, and struggled to keep the lead, finally losing, 13 to 8, in fourteen innings. Sparky Lyle had a 7 to 5 lead going into the ninth inning. He gave up a homer to Merv Rettenmund, a base hit to Brooks Robinson, threw a wild pitch, and let a hitter with a .198 BA, Andy Etchebarren, singled in the tying run. Then in the 14th inning, Etchebarren reached Jose Santiago for a bunt single. Jose walked Paul Blair next and gave up a hit to Don Buford, that scored Etchebarren. From there it was all downhill. Cal Koonce walked Terry Crowley and gave up three consecutive hits that scored five more runs. Billy C. homered in the bottom of the inning, but the Sox pitchers had blown another game. On June 26th, the Sox acquired utility infielder, John Kennedy from the Brewers and sent Mike Derrick down to Louisville. Well, on to New York, Gary Peters, with perfect control, shut out the Yankees, 4 to 0 on June 27th. He didn't walk a batter and allowed five singles. The next day, June 28th, the Sox split a doubleheader. A big three run homer by Yaz gave Ken Brett all he needed, winning 5 to 3 in the first game, before the second game was lost, 8 to 2. With Lee Stange struggling with an ERA well over 5.00, the Chicago White Sox picked him off waivers from the Red Sox on June 29th. The Sox finished May going 14-11, but went from three games out to 11 1/2 games behind.
At Fenway, the Sox went on a six game winning streak to start the month. Two-run homers by Yaz and George Scott carried the Sox to a 6 to 5 win over the Senators, on July 1st. In the next game, on July 2nd, Gary Peters threw another shutout, beating Washington, 5 to 0. Billy C. slugged his eighth homer, but three runs were driven in by Yaz, with a two-run homer and an RBI ground ball out. On July 3rd, the Sox swept the Indians in a doubleheader, putting them over the .500 mark for the first time in almost a month. Ray Culp turned in a pretty five-hit performance in the opener, which was turned into a 2-1 victory by Yaz's clutch homer in the eighth inning. In the second game, the Sox fell behind and came back to win, 5-4. The Indians were victimized in the next game, 5 to 1. Sonny Siebert only allowed two hits, while the July 4th fireworks were provided by four home runs. Indians pitcher, Fred Lasher, remembering that Tony C had a walk-off hit against off on May 19th, threw a pitch high and tight right at him, that sent him to the ground. The next pitch Tony C sent into the left fied nets. Billy C., Mike Andrews and Reggie Smith also blasted home runs. The Sox swept the Indians and made it six straight, winning 8 to 4 on July 5th. John Kennedy highlighted the game when he ripped an inside-the-park homer in his first at bat for the Red Sox, since being purchased from the Brewers. The Sox picked up a couple of games in the stranding and were eight games out when they embarked on their next road trip. After losing the first game in Detroit, they split a doubleheader on July 7th. In the opening game Ray Culp was erratic, but ending up beating the Tigers 8-4. Reggie homered in the first game and then he and Mike Andrews went back-to-back in the second game, but the Sox lost that one, 4-3 in ten innings. In Cleveland, Yaz's bat did the talking, hitting his 21st home run to lead the Sox to a 7 to 1 victory on July 10th. Two days later, the Sox swept a doubleheader on July 12th, from the Indians. Tony C hit his 17th homer driving in his 49th and 50th RBIs in the opener. Rico Petrocelli also slammed his 15th HR for his 57th RBI. The Sox won the game, 6-2. In the second game, Indians pitcher, Fred Lasher again threw at Tony C. and hit him on the forearm in the first inning. Tony charged the mound and karate kicked Lasher in the leg and hit him in the face with a karate chop. He had to be dragged away by Reggie Smith. The first batter up in the top of the second was Billy C. He hit Lasher’s first pitch into the second deck in left field. It was Billy's favorite big league moment. The Sox also won that game, 8-2. The Cardinals released pitcher Chuck Hartenstein on July 8th. As a free agent, he attracted a number of offers but selected the Red Sox and on July 14th he was signed as part of a deal with conditions. The Sox (44-41) concluded the first half in fourth place, nine games behind Baltimore.
The All Star Game was played in Cincinnati on July 14th, and the National League beat the American League, 5 to 4 in 12 innings. This was the game where Pete Rose flattened Ray Fosse on a play at the plate. Yaz was named the game's MVP, playing seven innings in center field, and the rest of the game at first base. He had three singles and a double in six trips to the plate. It was only the fourth time a player had four hits in the All Star Game. A dinky sacrifice fly by George Scott concluded a game in which the Brewers and Red Sox each tried to give it back. It scored Yaz in the 10th inning, for a 6 to 5 Sox victory, on July 16th. Billy C. slammed two homers in the game. Billy C. drove in three runs as did Dick Schofield, the next day, on July 17th, when the Sox again beat Milwaukee, 8 to 2. Rico Petrocelli knocked in five runs against Oakland, helping Ray Culp win his 10th game, 9 to 4, on July 19th. Billy Conigliaro then had to report for two weeks of reserve duty with the U.S. Army at Camp Drum, New York. On July 21st, the Sox called up infielder, Carmen Fanzone. He had been leading the Louisville Colonels in homers, RBIs, and total bases at the time. On July 22nd, the Red Sox were leading the Angels, 6-0, after seven innings in the first game of a doubleheader at Fenway. Eddie Kasko put Fanzone in at third base. The first batter up was Jim Fregosi, and he hit the ball to Fanzone, who committed a double error, one on fielding the ball (it bounced off his knee) and the other on an errant throw when he picked up the ball and threw it into right field. Fregosi ended up on second base. He was, however, cut down at the plate two batters later when Fanzone got him in a rundown between home and third, and tagged him out. The Sox won the game, 7 to 4 and swept the doubleheader from the Angels winning the second game, 8 to 3. Yaz continued his torrid hitting, going 6-for-8, with three hits in each game, hiking his average up to .323. The season was frustrating for Jim Lonborg. He had three strong starts to begin the year, but then his shoulder landed him on the disabled list again. When it failed to come around, he was put on waivers and then sent him to Triple A Louisville on July 23rd. After losing two games in Milwaukee, the Sox helped Gary Peters win his 100th major league game, 12-5 on July 26th. Yaz (27 HRs) hit a three-run homer and Tony C. clouted two into the center field bleachers. George Thomas provided the punch for all the Sox runs, as Ray Culp defeated the A's, 4 to 1, in Oakland, on July 29th. Thomas knocked in three runs with two hits, and broke up a double play that allowed the fourth run to score. July ended with Sonny Siebert pitching his best game as a member of the Red Sox, beating the California Angels, 2 to 0 in Anaheim. He gave up just one hit, walking only two, and retiring 16 straight men from the 5th inning to the 9th inning. During July he posted a 1.64 ERA. The Sox finished the month pretty much as they had started, 11 games behind in fourth place.
Mike Andrews' clutch single and Yaz' two run homer, plus the five-hit pitching by Gary Peters, propelled the Sox to an 8-0 triumph in Anaheim on August 1st. Then two lost games were lost to the Orioles, in Baltimore, on August 4th and 5th, pushing the Sox 14 games behind. Cal Koonce beat the Senators, 3 to 1, in Washington on August 7th, with a complete game. It was his first win in two years and his first complete game in three years. At Fenway on August 9th, the Sox exploded against the Tigers. Back-to-back homers by Rico Petrocelli and Billy C. off Mickey Lolich, helped Gary Wagner win the game, 7 to 4. The next day, on August 10th, the Sox survived a seven run, 9th inning rally by the Tigers, to hold on and win, 11-10. Billy C. drove in four runs with a homer and two singles, while Tony C. pushed across three runs with a single and two sacrifice flies. In a doubleheader against the Royals, on August 12th, Yaz's 31st homer and a double, accounted for five runs, in the Sox 7-4 win, in the first game. Kansas City came back to take the nitecap, 4 to 3. On August 13th, rookie pitcher John Curtis embarked on a wonderful 15 year career. It would become a day to un-remember for him however. In the seventh inning, with the bases loaded, Curtis served up a pitch to Royals catcher Ed Kirkpatrick that was sent into the bullpen, a grand slam that surprised the batter as well, when he realized that Curtis was making his major league debut. Asked if he would like to have the grand slam ball as a permanent memento, Kirkpatrick flashed a smile and held up a ball. Curtis would have wished to not have the ball, but that pitch, back. Curtis was returned to Double AA, Pawtucket. Yaz slugged another homer, a two-run smash, and a single to help Ray Culp win his 13th game on August 14th. Culp had won seven of his last nine. The Sox beat the Minnesota Twins twice on August 15th, 5-3 and 11-7. Sonny Siebert picked up the win in the opener, won on a Twins' error in the sixth inning. The Sox scored four times in the seventh inning of the second game to complete the sweep. Sox bats helped Cal Koonce beat the White Sox on August 17th, 7 to 2. Reggie Smith knocked in three runs with a homer and a single. Mike Andrews and Tony C. knocked in two runs apiece. Conig had a homer and a double while Andrews collected two doubles and a single. Andrews and Reggie Smith stayed hot and rapped out three hits apiece in the next game against the White Sox, with Boston winning 8 to 4 on August 18th.
Gary Peters (13-7) was staked to a 6-0 lead thanks to Reggie on August 22nd against the Royals. Reggie vaulted into second place in the AL batting race, going three for four, including his 20th homer. Reggie was batting .321, second only to Yaz at .324, as the Sox beat the Royals, 8 to 1. On August 23rd, Carmen Fanzone was optioned back to Louisville to make room for a couple of other Sox players returning from military reserve duty, but was recalled when rosters expanded in September. In Minnesota on August 25th, Tony C. powered his 25th homer in the eighth inning, to give the Sox a 1-0 win over the Twins. Reggie's bat was the difference again in Chicago on August 28th. He slammed his 21st homer, and it gave Boston a 5 to 2 lead that eventually became a 5 to 4 win. Two days later on August 30th, the Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the hapless White Sox. The first game was a 21-11 massacre. The Red Sox set team seasonal records in runs scored (22) and in an inning (18). Mike Andrews collected six hits for the afternoon and his 15th homer broke a 1-1 tie in the second game. In the first game, Reggie and George Scott each had four hits and four RBIs. Yaz knocked out his 35th homer, a three-run shot. August concluded at Fenway, with a 4-2 win over the Tigers on August 31st. Ray Culp, who singled in the tiebreaking run, won his 14th game. The Sox were 16-14 for the month but were well out of the race, 17 games behind.
On "Family Night" at Fenway on September 2nd, the Sox won the second game of a day/night doubleheader over the Tigers, 10 to 1. In the afternoon game, the Sox blew the lead and lost, 6 to 4. Cal Koonce was the winner in the second game, singling home two runs and scoring another himself. Yaz also slugged out his 36th homer. Catcher, Bob Montgomery put in another year at Triple-A (hitting .324 in 131 games, and showing some power with 14 homers), and earned himself a call-up to the big-league club once Louisville’s season was over. In the final game of a series against Detroit, Ken Brett gained his sixth win in thirteen decisions, winning 5 to 2 on September 3rd. Two run homers by Rico Petrocelli (24th) and Reggie Smith (22nd) kept Brett comfortable. The Orioles threw more dirt on the Sox grave in a three-game series at Fenway. On September 4th, the Orioles won 8 to 6 and the next day won 3 to 2. But the Red Sox scored a walk-off, 9 to 8, win in the final game on September 6th in the eleventh inning. Bob Montgomery made his major-league debut, subbing for catcher Tom Satriano. The Sox were losing 6-1 and he came up in the sixth, with runners on first and second and a run in. His single to right field loaded the bases. Two runs then scored on a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly, and the score was 6-4. The Sox went on to win the game in the bottom of the 11th when reliever Pete Richert loaded the bases and then threw a wild pitch as Billy C. stood in the batter’s box and watched his brother dash in with the winning run. Monty took over as the regular catcher for the rest of the season. Yaz knocked out his 37th homer and Tony C. hit his 29th when the Sox split a doubleheader with the Indians in Cleveland, on September 7th. The Red Sox won the first game, 4-3. Cal Koonce started the nightcap, giving up six runs in four frames. Rookie pitcher Dick Mills' major-league debut was in the second game. He pitched the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, giving up one run on four hits, walking two and striking out two, and threw a wild pitch. The Indians won, 8-2. On September 8th, in the final game of the series, Ken Brett handcuffed the Indians for 8 1/3 innings and slammed a 405 ft homer, to lead the Sox to a 4 to 3 victory. He struck out eight, walked three and gave up seven hits. In Detroit, on September 9th, Mike Nagy put on another fine display that had made him such a promising rookie in 1969. He hurled the Sox to a 4 to 1 victory, scattering just four hits. The Sox pummeled the Tigers, 14-0, in the next game on September 10th. Mike Andrews and Yaz led the 15-hit strafing of five Tiger pitchers, banging out three hits apiece, and knocking in nine runs. They each slugged a three run homer. Yaz lifted his league leading batting average to .324 The Red Sox the acquired pitcher Bob Bolin for a player to be named later, who turned about to be Al Yates, an outfielder who played all of 24 games in his major-league career. Chuck Hartenstein was assigned to Louisville to make room. The first of Bob Montgomery's 23 career home runs came on September 11th. His solo homer in the fifth inning came off future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. The Sox, however, lost three straight to the AL East leaders, falling 20 games behind. On September 16th, rookie pitcher Rogelio Moret picked up his first major league win, with four shutout innings in relief, beating the Yankees in New York, 3 to 1. In the final game of the Yankees series, on September 17th, Tony C. knocked in a couple of runs to move him over 100 RBIs for the first time in his career. Tom Satriano drove in the winning run as a pinch hitter, in the 10th inning, with the Sox being 5-4 victors. The Sox took two from the Senators in a doubleheader sweep on September 19th. Billy C. hit a game winning homer in the second game to give the Sox an 11-3 victory. The first game was won, 7-3, with Ken Brett striking out a career high 11 batters. George Scott and Tony C. also homered, giving the Sox a record-breaking 108 homers at Fenway Park for a season. Tom Satriano got the start behind the plate in the second game of a doubleheader. It would be his last major league appearance. He got an infield single and scored a run in three at-bats. The next day, on September 20th, Ray Culp earned his 100th career win in beating Washington, 3 to 1, on five hits, with seven strikeouts, for a series sweep. On September 21st, the Sox beat the Indians, 2 to 1. Yaz hit his 40th homer, for the third time in 10 years, giving him 100 RBIs for the season. The second run was provided by Rico Petrocelli, with his 99th RBI. The next day on September 22nd, the Sox knocked around Sam McDowell for 10 hits and 8 runs in the first four innings. When it was over, the Sox walked away with an 8-2 victory, for their seventh straight. Tony C. hit his 33rd homer and Rico hit his 29th. In Washington, Tony C. knocked out two two-run homers to lead the Sox to a 4 to 3 win on September 24th. The next night, on September 25th, Ray Culp won his 50th game as a member of the Sox, beating the Senators, 5 to 1. The Sox swept the Senators for their 11th victory in 12 games, 10 to 1, on September 27th. George Scott had two homers and Tony C. slammed his 36th, for his 116th RBI. Yaz's two singles upped his average to .326. He had eight hits in 12 times at bat during the Washington series.
Yaz's three hits, including a ninth inning, bases loaded single, beat the Yankees, 5-4, at Fenway on September 29th. He had battled the Angels' Alex Johnson for the batting title and it now came down to the final game of the season. In the season finale, on September 30th, Yaz had a hit in his first at bat. Eddie Kasko wanted to take him out, because it would have given him a batting average of exactly .330 and the A.L. batting title. Alex Johnson would have to go 3-for-3 or 4-for-5 to catch him. But in the newspapers, Johnson was quoted as saying that he intended to play a full game. So Yaz decided if that was the case, he'd play a full game also, but he didn't get another hit in his next three times up. Later that night, the Angels played and Johnson, knowing what Yaz's final batting average was, went 2-for-3 and then took himself out of the game, so he could win the title with a batting average of .3289, to Yaz's .3286, which is exactly what happened. That batting average would turn out to be the highest in Carl Yastrzemski's career. Ted Williams later told Yaz that now he knew how he felt in 1949, when he lost the batting title to George Kell by .0002 That last game of the season was the best in the career of Luis Alvarado. It featured his first big-league home run, a two-run shot in the eighth inning. Alvarado went deep only four more times in the majors. The Red Sox had closed the year by winning 10 of their last 12 games and finished with a mark of 87-75, good for third place in the AL East. For the third straight year, the Red Sox were a winning team that could score runs. They led the league with 203 home runs with seven players in double figures. But they were also a team with pitching problems that ended up light-years behind the Orioles. Ultimately, the Sox couldn’t beat the Baltimore Orioles, head-to-head. They lost 13 of 18 games against the Orioles. The flip side was that at least they handled Cleveland and Washington, going 12-6 against both teams.
One year earlier, Tony Conigliaro had inspired everyone with his comeback from the terrible beaning. This season, he took it to the next level. His 116 RBIs were second in the American League, and he hit 36 home runs. He also scored a career-high 89 runs. Yet things were not quite as they seemed for Tony C. He was still struggling to see the baseball. Later he would say that he couldn’t pick up the spin of the ball until it was almost upon him. That fact made his accomplishments quite remarkable. With the constant strain of simply following the baseball, he was plagued by headaches throughout the year. A fact he kept from anyone and everyone. Billy Conigliaro played in 114 games with 444 plate appearances. He hit .271 with 18 homers. He drove in 58 runs and scored 59. With Tony’s 36 homers, the two set their record for the most homers by a pair of brothers in a season despite both of them having to take a couple of weeks off for Army Reserve duty during the course of the summer. Billy C. might have had a better shot at Rookie of the Year honors had he maintained the .298 average he’d had going into September, but he faded during the final month of the year while Thurman Munson came on exceptionally strong, batting .350 after the All-Star break. Rico Petrocelli didn’t hit forty home runs as he had in ’69, but the 27-year-old shortstop still hit 29 home runs and finished with 103 RBI, becoming the first Red Sox shortstop to top 100 RBIs since Vern Stephens in 1950. He played in a career-high 157 games, showing that his injury problems were a thing of the past. Reggie Smith was only 25 years old, but the centerfielder was already established as one of the game’s bright young stars, as Reggie finished with an on-base percentage of .361 and a slugging percentage of .497. George Scott had a breakout year at third base, falling just short of hitting .300, at .296. Mike Andrews continued to be a solid spark plug, with a .344 OBP. Back atop the batting order exclusively, he reached new offensive heights himself that summer. He had 28 doubles, 17 homers, and 65 RBIs, and led off four games with homers, giving him eight leadoff clouts in his career. But he also topped AL second basemen with 19 errors. Carl Yastrzemski narrowly missed the batting title, but may have won had he not been playing through a twisted ankle. He led the league on-base percentage and matched the 40 home runs he'd hit in 1969. He led the league in runs scored with 125, a .592 slugging percentage and drove in 102 runs. He even stole 23 bases, to lead the Sox in that category. That made him only the second player in Red Sox history to steal more than 20 bases and hit more than 20 home runs in a single season. Jackie Jensen was the first Sox player to achieve this combination in 1954, and Jensen duplicated that feat during the 1959 season. After a strong first half, catcher Jerry Moses suffered injuries, including a split in his finger, which limited him to 92 games. He batted .263, with six homers and 35 RBIs. In April, catcher Tom Satriano was paired with Sonny Siebert. Pleased with the results, Eddie Kasko had the battery remained intact throughout most of the season. Bob Montgomery saw a lot of action in September, catching in 22 games and performing reasonably well (just three errors, while being credited with 143 putouts and 13 assists), though hitting a little anemically at .179. He threw out 47 percent of baserunners in stolen-base attempts. Luis Alvarado played 29 games at third base (through May 12th) and then 27 at shortstop. He’d moved over when Kasko shuffled three infielders, benching Mike Andrews. When called upon to platoon at third base with Dick Schofield in June, George Thomas, with mock disappointment, kidded that it was too bad he had to play because he had just been compiling a list of the greatest games he had seen from the bench. Thomas was also able to find humor in bleak situations. After an argument with umpires in Detroit, Thomas responded with crude language, which earned him a $200 fine and a five-day suspension. When the Red Sox won five out of the next six games, Thomas remarked, “It appears Joe Cronin (then the American League president) has found the weakness in this club. Me!” He later added about his penalty, “Maybe I did the $200, but I don’t think I did five days worth." Thomas again played well in part-time work, hitting .343 in 99 at bats, with two home runs. Thomas’ value was shown when he was honored as the team’s unsung hero by the Boston baseball writers after the season. At the writers’ dinner, he joked that his goal for the following season was to play in two games in a row for a change. Carmen Fanzone was 3-for-15 (.200) with three RBIs. Beyond that, he was very shaky in the field, committing four errors in only 16 chances. Although Jim Lonborg quickly won four straight games, as the sportswriters began to say this was his comeback, his arm started aching again. The Red Sox eventually put him on waivers and sent him down to AAA Louisville. He made a few starts there, with middling results, and in August was told to go home for the year. Pitching just nine times for the varsity overall, he was 4-1 with a 3.18 ERA. Trainer Buddy Leroux said that Lonnie had already been injected with enough cortisone to last a year, and after that, he needed a huge assist from mother nature. No major part of the staff finished with an ERA under 3.00. Ray Culp came the closest, at 3.04 in over 250 innings pitched, a fine season in hitter-friendly Fenway Park. Culp was well respected in Boston because he never blamed anyone else for his difficulties. He could have been a 20-game winner this year with a little bit of luck. Gary Peters had a terrible May, losing all five of his decisions and posting an 8.04 ERA, but had four solid months the rest of the way. Peters took his turn reliably, logging over 220 innings. He finished 16-11, with a 4.05 ERA, thanks in part to an offense that led the league in home runs. Sonny Siebert clocked in at 3.44 in 222 innings of work. Culp, Siebert and Peters accounted for 48 of the team's 87 victories. Mike Nagy ended up just 6-5 with a 4.48 ERA. Late in the season, though, he pitched four complete games in five starts. Ken Brett spent the entire year on the major-league roster, but spent more time in the Army Reserve. He started 14 games and also worked out of the bullpen, pitching 139 1/3 innings in 41 games, compiling an 8-9 record with 2 saves, 155 strikeouts, 79 walks, and a 4.07 ERA. Vicente Romo was back in the bullpen. He pitched 38 times in relief with just 10 starts, eight of which came in a row during late July and August. He was not nearly as effective as the year before, averaging less than five innings per start with a 6.56 ERA. Cal Koonce wound up seeing more action with the Sox after being picked up from the Mets. He started eight games and threw what turned out to be his final career complete game. He went 3-4 with a 3.54 ERA for the Sox after going 0-2 as a Met with a 3.27 ERA. The only reliever with any consistency at all, was Sparky Lyle, who saved 20 games, but even here the ERA was pretty high at 3.88. Rookie Dick Mills' major-league record was 0-0, with a 2.45 ERA in the 3 2/3 innings he pitched. It was a better earned run average than he posted in any of his years in the minors. Apart from a pinch-hit cameo, Jose Santiago appeared in eight games. He pitched 11 1/3 innings, was 0-2, with a 10.32 ERA. They were his last games in the major leagues. Eddie Kasko was a pleasant man, who the players could walk all over. The Sox had become an apathetic team without the stern hand of Dick Williams to drive them. In the absence of stern leadership, they were divided into tribes. There was Yaz, who had been the unchallenged leader, with special privileges, and Reggie Smith in one camp. Then there was Tony Conigliaro, who had his best year, kept pace and challenged Yaz for team honors on the field, but wasn't treated like a superstar, in the other. With no big issues, like a pennant race, the team became more divided and resentful, as the season wore on. It all made Tony C very nervous and insecure, because he knew that Yaz was Tom Yawkey's favorite and he would be the odd man out, if push came to shove.
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