The Red Sox returned home to Fenway Park down three games to two and with the understanding that they needed to sweep the final two-game series in Boston in order to realize a championship for the first time in 57 years. Fortunately or not, what greeted them was rain, rain, and more rain as the first ever night game in post-season history for the Red Sox was pushed back from Saturday, the 18th, to Tuesday, the 21st of October. With the extra days of rest, manager Darrell Johnson decided that there wouldn’t be a Game Seven unless Boston could win Game Six, and he felt the best way to guarantee that chance was to send Luis Tiant to the mound to try and win his fourth game of the post-season, having already won twice in this series. As Johnson had told reporters following the fourth game of the series: “If a man put a gun to my head and said, ‘I’m going to pull the trigger if you lose this game,’ I’d want Luis Tiant to pitch that game.”

35,205 raucous Boston fans filled Fenway Park to capacity as Cincinnati sent Gary Nolan to the mound in the bottom of the first inning after Tiant worked through a relatively easy first inning, allowing just a one-out walk. After making the first two outs, Nolan allowed back-to-back singles to Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk. Up stepped Fred Lynn, who had sizzled all season for Boston in center field and at the plate. Looking to get his team up earlier, Lynn launched a pitch deep into the night and the Red Sox had an early 3-0 lead, what would seem like more than enough so long as Tiant worked his magic.

Unfortunately, the elder statesman of the rotation was far from perfect this night. After escaping a first-and-third jam in the top of the fourth, Cincinnati clawed its way back into the game in the fifth. With runners on first and third with one out, Ken Griffey hit a ball deep to left center. Lynn, as he had many times that season, took off to try and make a spectacular catch against the Monster; running full force, he jumped, missed the ball, and slammed hard into the concrete base. As Lynn crumpled to the warning track, both runners easily scored and Griffey ended up on third; two batters later on, Johnny Bench drove a ball off the Monster and, just like that, it was a brand-new ball game.

The Reds then led off the seventh with back-to-back singles, but Tiant appeared like he would wiggle out of the jam after inducing Bench and Perez to fly out. However, that final out came only after George Foster stepped to the plate and ripped a double to center over the head of Lynn, well deep enough to score both runners, and Boston was now down 5-3.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox offense, after a quick start in the first, had squandered a couple of opportunities to put more runs on the board. Loading the bases with two outs in the third, Rico Petrocelli had struck out swinging to end that threat. One inning later, the first two runners reached base and Tiant moved them to second and third on a sacrifice bunt, giving Boston a golden opportunity to score. Unfortunately, a hot shot to first by leadoff hitter Cecil Cooper did not allow the runners to advance, and Denny Doyle followed with a ground out to second to end the inning.

After Cesar Geronimo led off the top of the eighth to put Cincinnati on top, 6-3, chasing Tiant from the game, it looked like the season was nearly over for Boston. After Lynn singled and Petrocelli walked to lead off the bottom of the frame, Sparky Anderson again called on his closer, Rawly Eastwick, to record the final six outs. Dwight Evans had greeted Eastwick the last time in Game Three with a two-run home run, but Eastwick returned the favor by striking out Evans for the first out. The next batter, Rick Burleson, lined out to George Foster in left.

With the ninth batter in the order due up, Darrell Johnson called on Bernie Carbo to pinch-hit for Roget Moret. On the first pitch, Carbo swung wildly and nearly tumbled to the ground; recovering quickly, he took the next pitch and swung perfectly, driving it deep and planting it in the center-field bleachers. It was his second pinch-hit home run of the series and, more importantly, his three-run shot had knotted the score, breathing new life into the Red Sox.

After Dick Drago retired the side in order in the top of the ninth, Boston had a golden opportunity to end the game in regulation. After Denny Doyle led off with a walk, Yastrzemski singled to right to send Doyle to third. After a pitching change, Fisk was walked intentionally to load the bases; the next batter, Lynn, lofted a pitch to left field. As Foster moved to catch the ball halfway down the line between third and the foul pole, Doyle retreated to the bag to tag up, thinking that base coach Don Zimmer was saying: “Go, go, go!” However, the truth was that Zimmer was yelling: “No, no, no!” With a head full of steam, Doyle tried to race home ahead of the throw but, although the through was a little errant, Bench easily tagged out the lumbering runner, and Petrocelli followed with a ground ball out to third to send the game to extra innings.

After an uneventful tenth, Drago started off the top of the 11th by hitting Pete Rose with a pitch. Ken Griffey tried to follow with a bunt, but Fisk scooped up the ball and forced Rose at second. Joe Morgan stepped to the plate and looked to make up for the failed bunt attempt. Eyeing a fat pitch, he launched a ball deep into the night towards the corner in right field, seemingly destined for the grandstands. However, Evans tracked the ball perfectly and, with a leaping catch in front of the low outfield wall, robbed Morgan of a sure two-run shot, then threw the ball into the infield to double up Griffey, who had ran past second thinking that he was coming home for certain.

The game was still tied at six and about four hours old when Fisk stepped to the plate for the sixth time that evening in the bottom of the twelfth. Pat Darcy, who had already pitched two innings, was laboring but knew that he had to careful not to leave the ball too close to the catcher’s wheelhouse. His first pitch came high and inside for a ball but, unfortunately for Darcy, he didn’t heed his own advice on the next pitch. Fisk swung and all heads turned to watch as the ball sailed high into the night down the left field foul line. There was no question that it was far enough; the only question in that brief moment was whether it would be fair or foul. With Fisk hopping down the first base line waving his arms to motion the ball to remain in play, the ball struck the foul pole, touching off a wild celebration as the Sox players and several fans stormed the field while Fisk chugged around the basepaths.

The game had taken four hours and one minute to play and ended shortly after 12:30, perhaps one of the most memorable games ever to be played in World Series history. With the series now down to one final showdown, the Sox appeared to have the momentum of a thrilling victory on their side.

With the series shifted to Riverfront Stadium for Game Three, the Red Sox gave the ball to starter Rick Wise, who had led the staff with 19 wins during the regular season. The Reds countered with eight-year veteran Gary Nolan, who would be honored after the season with the Hutch Award, given to the Major League ballplayer that best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire. Boston drew first blood when Carlton Fisk led off the second inning with a home run, his first of the post-season, but the Reds countered in the fourth and fifth innings with home runs from Johnny Bench, Dave Concepcion, and Cesar Geronimo, as well as a sacrifice fly from Joe Morgan, take a commanding 5-1 lead, chasing Wise from the ball game.

Boston struck back in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly by Fred Lynn, and then got another run one inning later on a pinch-hit home run by Bernie Carbo to shrink the lead to just two runs. Red Sox reliever Jim Willoughby, the fourth pitcher of the evening for Boston, was then called to the mound in the bottom of the seventh to keep the Reds off the scoreboard and allowed just one hit while facing the minimum number of batters through three innings of work. That effort paid off when, in the top of the ninth with one out, Rico Petrocelli singled to center field, bringing Dwight Evans to the plate. Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson called in Rawly Eastwick from the bullpen to squash the threat, but the young right fielder greeted the Reds closer with a game-tying, two-run home run to knot the contest at five.

With neither team able to score in the next two frames, the two sides went into the bottom of the tenth with the score still tied. After Geronimo led off with a single, Ed Armbrister came off the bench to pinch-hit for Eastwick. Boston looked for Cincinnati to bunt the runner to second and put him in scoring position, so there was little surprise when Geronimo took off for second with the pitch and Armbrister squared his bat. With Petrocelli coming in from his position at third, the reserve outfielder hit the ball almost straight down; Fisk immediately grabbed it and, as he delivered the throw, the reserve outfielder appeared to step into the catcher, causing Fisk to sling the ball wildly into center field. Not only did this allow Geronimo to hustle all the way to third, but Armbrister was able to scramble to second on the throw from the outfield.

Despite a lengthy argument by the Red Sox the batter had interfered with Fisk’s throw, meaning that both the runner and the batter should have been called out, home plate umpire Larry Barnett ruled that there had been no intention on Armbrister’s part to interfere and that the placement of the bunt made it a daunting task for Fisk to nail Geronimo at second. With runners now on second and third with no outs, Roger Moret came in to replace Willoughby and immediately walked Rose to load the bases. After another Reds pinch-hitter, Merv Rettenmund, struck out looking, Joe Morgan laced a single to center as Geronimo scored easily and the Reds took Game Three, 6-5.

Now down two games to one, Boston handed the ball again to Luis Tiant, who had easily won the first game of the series for the Sox, while Cincinnati sent southpaw Fred Norman, who had not pitched since the second game of the NLCS, to the hill. Though Tiant struggled early, yielding four runs in the first four innings, it was enough as Boston scored five times in the fourth inning, chasing Norman from the mound, and held on for a 5-4 win, with Tiant going the distance.

With one more game to play in Cincinnati, Boston manager Darrell Johnson handed the ball to Reggie Cleveland, asking the 13-game winner to get the Red Sox back to Fenway Park with a lead in the series. Again, the visitors jumped on the board early as Carl Yastrzemski hit a sacrifice fly in the first to plate Denny Doyle and give Boston the early 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, Cleveland managed to make it through the first few innings unscathed, with Juan Beniquez nailing Pete Rose at the plate for the third out of the first inning. However, in the fourth and the fifth innings, Cleveland would yield single runs in each of those innings, each time with two outs. Cincinnati then opened up in the sixth, scoring three more time on a home run by Tony Perez, who had also hit a solo shot in the fourth. That blast with no outs not only chased the Sox starter, but appeared to put the game out of reach for Boston as Cincinnati cruised to a 6-2 victory. With a 3-2 series lead, the Big Red Machine was just a win away from its first national championship since 1940.

With the race now down to just two teams, the 1975 World Series began simply enough on the afternoon of 11 October with Cincinnati paying a visit to Fenway Park to begin the series. On the hill for Boston was Luis Tiant, who had easily won the first game of the American League Championship Series the week before against the defending champion Oakland Athletics. Opposing him was southpaw Don Gullett, who had made 22 starts in the regular season, winning 15, and easily won his Game 1 start in the National League Championship Series over Pittsburgh. The Red Sox were also faced with the fact that the designated hitter would not be used in the series in either team’s park, downgrading Juan Beniquez and Bernie Carbo to pinch-hitting roles. Tiant joked before the first game, when asked about having to face live pitching for the first time in nearly three years: “I’m going for the long ball. When I hit the ball, I hit it deep.”

Boston tried to jump on the board right away. After Evans started the bottom of the first by hitting a single to left, Denny Doyle moved him over to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Carl Yastrzemski walked and Carlton Fisk popped up in the infield, Fred Lynn hit a single to deep short. Rather than holding at third, Evans made a break from home but was easily thrown out, ending the threat. Boston threatened again in the next frame by putting men of first and third with no outs, but Gullett struck out Cecil Cooper and Tiant in succession and ended the threat by getting Evans to fly out to foul territory in right.

Meanwhile, Tiant was in cruise control; he didn’t yield his first hit until Reds second baseman Joe Morgan singled to center with one out in the fourth. Three times, Cincinnati put a runner at second but could not drive in a run, stranding five runners through the first seven frames as Boston also struggled to bring home runners from scoring position.

Boston finally broke the deadlock in the seventh and put away the game at the same time. After the Sox loaded the bases on a single by Tiant, a fielder’s choice by Evans, and a single by Doyle, Yastrzemski pushed the first run of the afternoon across on a single to right. Gullett was lifted and replaced by Clay Carroll, who promptly walked Fisk and was replaced by Will McEnaney. After finally getting the first out of the inning by striking out Lynn, Rico Petrocelli hit a two-run single, Rick Burleson followed with an RBI single, and Cooper hit a fly ball out to right field, deep enough to plate Petrocelli with the final run of the inning. Now on top 6-0, Boston was in more than enough control of the game and, after Tiant set down the final six batters in order, the Red Sox had a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven.

Game Two featured Bill Lee facing Jack Billingham with the chance for the Red Sox to head to Cincinnati up two games to none. Boston broke onto the scoreboard in the first inning as Fisk hit a two-out single to give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, Lee set down the first ten batters he faced to mirror Tiant’s effort but the Reds finally scored for the first time in the series in the forth on a fielder’s choice by first baseman Tony Perez that plated Morgan to knot the score at one. Boston responded two innings later as Petrocelli drove home Yastrzemski from second with two outs and the Sox were back on top, 2-1.

Rain interrupted play for 27 minutes in the bottom of the seventh, but Boston still held the lead entering the ninth Johnny Bench led off with a double. At that point, Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson decided that Lee had done his part and called on reliever Dick Drago to close the game. After Perez moved Bench to third on a groundout, George Foster flew out to Yastrzemski in left and Boston was one out away from a 2-0 series lead.

However, Dave Concepcion chopped a ground ball over Drago’s head and beat out the throw from second baseman Denny Doyle, allowing Bench to score with the tying run. With Ken Griffey at the plate, the speedy Cincinnati shortstop stole second, just beating the throw from Fisk, and Griffey rewarded his effort with a double off the wall in left field; just like that, the Reds led 3-2. Rawley Eastwick then came on in the bottom of the frame and put down the side in order to end the game and send the series to Cincinnati with the teams tied at one game apiece.

When 36-year-old George Lee “Sparky” Anderson made his managerial debut in 1970, he skippered the Cincinnati Reds to 70 wins in their first 100 games that season as the team easily cruised to 102 wins and a National League pennant, the club’s first in nine seasons. Unfortunately, his young squad ran into a talented and tested Baltimore Orioles team and lost the World Series, four games to one. Two years later, Anderson guided his team to yet another pennant and lost out on a world championship for a second time, this time to the mighty Oakland Athletics in seven games after trailing 3-1 in the series. Laden with talent, the mighty Reds would continue to sparkle over the 1973 and 1974 seasons with 99 and 98 wins, respectively, but that elusive championship remained just out of reach.

At the debut of the 1975 season, Anderson and the “Big Red Machine,” as the team was commonly referred to by the media in reference to the strength of its offense, were ready once again to make a run to the playoffs with the same nucleus as they had the previous seasons. The undisputed clubhouse leader was third baseman Pete Rose; already a legendary figure after 12 seasons in the majors, “Charlie Hustle” played the game just as his nicknamed alleged. Also leading the charge on offense was catcher Johnny Bench, the 1967 Rookie of the Year, league MVP in 1970 and 1972, and a perennial Gold Glove winner behind the plate as well as first baseman Tony Perez and shortstop Dave Concepcion. The pitching staff, not quite as impressive as the team’s offense, was led by Jack Billingham, who had won 19 games in each of the last two seasons.

Cincinnati struggled through the first month of the season, finishing April with a 12-11 record and sitting third behind Los Angeles and San Diego in the National League West Division; just over two weeks later, a six-game losing streak dropped the team a game under .500 and 5-1/2 games behind the Dodgers. Then the Reds won 17 of their next 20 to leap over the front-runners of 08 June and, from there, they would keep their grip on the lead. Cincinnati would go on another tear starting the second half of June, winning 22 of 25, including the final ten games before the All-Star break to build a 12-1/2 game lead over their rivals in the NL West and all but crowning them division champions for the fourth time in six years.

At season’s end, the Reds had taken the division by 20 games, cruising to a franchise-record 108 wins and averaging better than five runs per game. In comparison, the NL East division winners, Pittsburgh, had won a respectable 92 games and had split the season series with Cincinnati with six wins each. Second baseman Joe Morgan, who would win the league MVP award after the season, led the way on offense with a .327 average, 17 home runs, 93 RBI, 107 runs scored, and 67 stolen bases, while Bench would lead the team with 28 home runs, 110 RBI, and a .596 slugging percentage. Rose would lead the team with 210 hits and 112 runs scored while batting .317 with seven home runs and 74 runs knocked in. Surprisingly, even with a record number of wins, not one pitcher finished with more than 15 wins, with Billingham and Gary Nolan tying for the team lead. However, six pitchers with 19 starts or more finished with at least 10 wins. Rawley Eastwick, in just his second major league season, would lead the bullpen with 22 saves.

The only remaining obstacle in front of Cincinnati on the team’s march to the World Series was Pittsburgh, whom they met for a five-game AL Championship Series. The Pirates proved to be no match for the Reds, as the Big Red Machine easily controlled of the first two games of the series at Riverfront Stadium to pace wins of 8-3 and 6-1. With their backs against the wall, the Pirates fought hard in Game Three back at Three Rivers Stadium, where they had won 52 games during the regular season. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Bucs scored on a two-out walk with the bases loaded to knot the game at three, but could not push another run across the plate. That proved costly when, in the top of the tenth, the Reds scored two on a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Ed Armbrister and a double by Morgan, and a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame sealed Cincinnati’s third pennant in six years.

As the American League Championship Series began, most baseball experts had the Oakland Athletics - even without the formidable Catfish Hunter - heavily favored to secure their fourth straight pennant and represent the AL in the 1975 Fall Classic. In nearly all respects, the defending World Series champions had a more potent offense, led by Reggie Jackson, and a better pitching staff, anchored by 22-game winner Vida Blue and closer Rollie Fingers, than the upstart Red Sox; in addition, Oakland had playoff experience while Boston had not enjoyed a taste of the post-season in eight years. The Sox did have the advantage, though, of playing the first two games of the five-game series at Fenway Park before the action would shift to Oakland for the final three; if they could enjoy the spoils of home cooking, there was a good chance to dethrone the defending title holders.

Game One featured two 18-game winners, Luis Tiant and Ken Holtzman, squaring off against each other. Right off the bat, the Red Sox sunk their teeth into the opposition; after two quick outs in the bottom of the first, the defense of the Athletics came unglued, allowing two runs on three straight errors. The score remained the same until the seventh, when the Sox batted through the order and pushed five runners across the plate on five hits and an error. On the other side, Tiant was nearly flawless; he didn’t yield a hit to the Athletics until the fifth, then allowed just a single unearned run as he pitched nine complete to give Boston a 7-1 victory and an early 1-0 lead in the series.

Determined not to go back to Oakland down two games to none, the Athletics jumped on Red Sox starter Reggie Cleveland as Reggie Jackson’s two-run home run with two outs in the first gave them an early 2-0 lead. With Blue on the mound, Boston could not crack the scoreboard over the first few innings; the only early threat came in the third but, with runners on first and third and just one out, Juan Beniquez grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat. The Athletics would post another run in the top of the fourth on consecutive doubles by Joe Rudi and Claudell Washington to give Blue what seemed like a comfortable cushion, but Carl Yastrzemski, playing left field for Boston with Rice out of action, stroked a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame to close the gap to a run. Having not yet recorded an out, Blue then gave up a double to Carlton Fisk and a single to Fred Lynn; just like that, the Oakland starter was gone from the game and inning would not end until Boston had tied the score at three runs apiece.

Given a reprieve, the Red Sox pitching staff kept the Athletics off the board for the rest of the contest, as Cleveland, Roger Moret, and Dick Drago allowed just four hits and a walk over the final five innings. Meanwhile, Boston would take the lead for the first time in the game in the sixth with a RBI single by Fisk to plate Yastrzemski and give the Sox a 4-3 lead. A Rico Petrocelli solo home run in the seventh and an run-scoring single by Lynn in the eighth added all the insurance Boston would need as they won the game 6-3, now needing just one win to take the pennant.

Back at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium, the Athletics knew that they were in a must-win situation and sent Holtzman back to the mound on just two days rest; Boston countered with Rick Wise, who had led the staff in wins that season with 19. Through the first three innings, the score remain knotted at zero as the Sox squandered an opportunity in the first and the A’s could only produce a harmless single in the bottom half of that frame. The Red Sox finally broke the deadlock with an unearned run in the top of the fourth, then exploded in the fifth with three more runs, all coming with two outs as Boston built a 4-0 lead and drove Holtzman from the game.

The Athletics finally broke a drought of ten straight innings in the series without a run when Sal Bando drove home pinch-hitter Cesar Tovar on a fielder’s choice in the sixth, but Boston responded with its fifth run of the day in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Cecil Cooper to just about put the game out of reach. Though Oakland would force Wise from the game in the eighth after scoring two runs, one unearned, and had the tying run coming to the plate in Rudi, Boston closer Dick Drago squashed the rally by inducing a double play to secure the 5-3 lead. After that, he allowed just a harmless walk with two outs in the ninth and then induced a groundout to second by pinch-hitter Jim Holt that not only ended the game but clinched the AL pennant for the Red Sox and owner Tom Yawkey for just the third time since he had purchased the fabled club in 1933.

Charlie Finley’s Oakland Athletics had been a menace to American League teams for the better part of the early 1970s. After purchasing the club in 1961 and moving them from Kansas City to Oakland after the 1967 season, he finally had himself a winning club as the 1960s came to a close. After finishing second two years in a row, Finley hired former Red Sox manager Dick Williams to coach the club in 1971, and he responded by leading the A’s to 101 wins and a division title in his first season as manager. However, the next three seasons were much more fruitful; with players like starting pitchers Catfish Hunter, who won 20-plus games in each season, Vida Blue, and Ken Holtzman along with offensive threat Reggie Jackson, Oakland won seven-game World Series match-ups against the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets in 1972 and 1973, respectively, and easily cruised to a third straight title in 1974 under the guidance of manager Alvin Dark with a 4-1 series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the dawn of the 1975 season upon them, Finley and his club received some rather bad news when Hunter was declared a free agent by an arbitrator after the cantankerous owner, who had built his wealth through the sales of life insurance, failed to make contractually stipulated payments on behalf of the player into an insurance annuity fund. That left Hunter with the chance to bolt to New York, where owner George Steinbrenner paid a hefty sum to bring the reigning Cy Young award winner into his fold. Undaunted, the nucleus of the club, which also included Bert Campaneris, Gene Tenace, Rollie Fingers, and Sal Bando along with a host of other players that had made the team what it had been for the past number of seasons, remained intact. In addition, Finley traded for 37-year-old former Chicago Cubs star and future Hall of Fame inductee Dick Williams to add some pop in the designated hitter’s spot.

By the end of May, it appeared that Oakland’s only competition would come from manager Jack McKeon and Kansas City as the weak sisters of the division slowly treaded water at or below .500. In that respect, the latter half of June proved to be the turning point in the division and for the season. The Athletics won seven-of-eight against the Twins, taking four-of-five in Minnesota and then sweeping a three-game series at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and took three-of-four at home against the Royals. After concluding the month with a three-game sweep against California, the Athletics had gone from just two games ahead two weeks earlier to 7-1/2 games in front of Kansas City on 29 June. By the All-Star break, Oakland was sitting pretty at 55-32, 8-1/2 games in front, and the club sent seven All-Stars to represent them in the mid-summer classic.

As had been the norm over the past few seasons, the club showed its strength in numbers. Blue would finish with 22 wins, Holtzman complemented his total with 18 of his own, and closer Rollie Fingers would save 24 games while also claiming 10 wins of his own. On offense, the 29-year-old Jackson hit just .253 but stroked 36 home runs to lead the AL in that category and drove in 104 RBI. Tenace chipped in with 29 home runs and 87 RBI, while Williams made the most of his new-found opportunity and hit 23 long balls while driving in 81 runs. Rudi not only finished with a .278 average, 21 home runs, and 75 RBI, but also won his second straight Gold Glove as an outfielder despite making 91 appearances at first and just 44 in the outfield as a left fielder.

From that point, the Athletics were in cruise control over the rest of the season, finishing seven games against of the Royals at 98-64 and winners of five straight division titles. Despite the loss of Hunter, it appeared to baseball analysts everywhere as though a shot at a fourth straight title, while not guaranteed, was not out of the question.

Even with a six-game lead at the start of September, Boston knew that they had to pay close attention to second-place Baltimore, the defending East Division champions, who had gone on a tear in August and made up ground in the standings. Just one year earlier, the Red Sox had watched a big early September lead disappear in just a matter of days, so they knew that a strong finish would be necessary to make the playoffs for the first time since the “Impossible Dream” team surprised everyone outside of Boston in 1967. This year, however, was destined to be different; with a healthy Carlton Fisk behind the plate, a strong rotation that included Rick Wise, Luis Tiant, and Bill Lee, and two young phenoms in Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, Darrell Johnson’s team was ready to put the division title to bed.

After earning a split in a brief two-game series with New York, which had struggled since mid-season and cost manager Bill Virdon his job at the start of August, Boston flew to Baltimore to square off in another two-game series. Still six games in front of the Orioles, who had split a doubleheader against Cleveland the day before, the Red Sox looked to try and end the race early. Opening with Wise on the hill facing Baltimore 20-game winner Jim Palmer, Boston trailed 2-1 in the seventh before Rico Petrocelli brought Dwight Evans home from third with a one-out single to try the score. Then, in the top of the 10th, Cecil Cooper led off the inning with a home run off Palmer, and Wise finished off the Orioles for an inspiring 3-2 win. The next night, the rattled Orioles allowed two unearned runs in the first and Boston held on to win 3-1 and sweep the brief series.

With an eight-game lead, Boston felt secure that it could concentrate on getting to the post-season unscathed, so a split of a four-game series with Milwaukee did not unnerve the club. However, after dropping the final two games of the road trip in Cleveland, the Red Sox suddenly found themselves just five games ahead of the Orioles, who had lost just once in the past six games. Boston returned home to face Detroit and opening the series with a split of a doubleheader, with the Sox winning the opener; the team would then win the next day to take two-of-three and stay on pace with the Orioles. The Brewers came next and Boston opened that series with its third doubleheader in seven days, losing the first game but winning the nightcap. The Sox would take the next two while, in Detroit, Baltimore swept the Tigers to gain another half-game on Boston.

On 16 September, the two teams met for the final time that season and the stakes were high; Boston knew that it needed to take at least one game to remain comfortably perched in the East. Facing Palmer again, the Sox countered this time with Tiant, who was pitching not only in front of a packed house at Fenway Park but his parents, who had been granted permission by Cuban president Fidel Castro to see their son pitch in person. Tiant was near-perfect, yielding just five hits and one walk while striking out eight, and the Sox won 2-0 behind solo home runs by Petrocelli and Fisk. Though Boston would lose the second and final game of the series, with fewer than two weeks to go in the season, the Sox felt confident that, with a 4-1/2 game lead, they had the upper hand at that point.

Although there would be no swoon this season, it would not end without a bit of misfortune; playing in Detroit on 21 September, in his first at-bat of the game, Rice took a pitch thrown by pitcher Vern Ruhle off his hand. Though he stayed in the game, by the seventh inning it became necessary to make a substitution for him and Rice would not play again for his team that season. Still, Boston’s beloved nine won five-of-eight to end the season at 95-65, 4-1/2 games in front of Baltimore, for the club’s first-ever division title and, even better, a post-season berth.

Born and raised in Winthrop, MA, bordering East Boston, Dick O’Connell never intended to make baseball his occupation; he attended Boston College and then took a job as a teacher and coach in New Hampshire. However, after joining the Navy and serving in World War II as an intelligence officer, he came home and got a job with the Boston organization after making a call to a former fellow officer, Jim Britt, who at the time had been the play-by-play announcer for the Red Sox. Britt introduced him to the minor league director at the time, George Toporcer, who found a job for O’Connell as his assistant. Thus began a tenure that would last nearly 30 years as he rose through the ranks to become one of the most successful general managers in Red Sox history.

Boston was three years removed from losing the World Series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals when O’Connell began his tenure with the organization in 1949. While his stock rose, eventually leading to a position as an assistant general manager by 1961, the Red Sox suffered season after season, never finishing better than third place through the 1950s and then wallowing in the basement for the better part of the 1960s. By late in the season in 1965, the organization had seen enough; owner Tom Yawkey fired Michael “Pinky” Higgins and named O’Connell executive vice president and general manager on 16 September, the same day that Red Sox pitcher Dave Morehead threw a no-hitter at Fenway Park, the last one that would be thrown by a Boston pitcher at home before Derek Lowe repeated the feat in 2002.

Even before the decision was made to place a man who had never played an inning of organization baseball in charge of a major league club, O’Connell had been hard at work for years developing talented ballplayers at the minor league level. One of his first orders of business was to bring the best prospects into the fold and, for the first time ever, there were a number of minorities wearing a Boston uniform, including George Scott and Reggie Smith; it was a sign that someone in the Red Sox organization was finally ready to embrace diversity and recognize that talent stretched across all borders. After fielding what was, for the most part, a minor league team wearing a major league uniform in 1966, O’Connell hired minor league Dick Williams, who had just led Triple-A Toronto to the International League title, and 92 wins later, Boston’s “Impossible Dream Team” had won the American League pennant.

In turning the ball club around so quickly, Sporting News named O’Connell Executive of the Year for 1967, and he would continue to manage the club as one with the purpose of winning it all. Just like that, baseball became something that mattered in Boston again and expectations from the fans grew. Unfortunately, pennants still came at a premium and, even after the leagues were split into divisions after the 1968 season, Boston would often finish well out of contention despite winning records year after year. Twice, the Red Sox appeared on the verge of returning to the playoffs, both in 1972 and 1974, but Boston fell short each time. Finally, in 1975, O’Connell put the right elements together again and, with manager Darrell Johnson controlling the action on the field, finished the season as American League champions for the second time under his tenure. For his efforts, he would again be recognized as Executive of the Year.

O’Connell for remain GM for another two seasons and, despite winning 97 games and finishing just 2-1/2 games behind New York in 1977, he was fired following the season and replaced by Haywood Sullivan, a former major league catcher and Boston reserve who had come under favor of Jean Yawkey after the passing of her husband in 1976. Still, the Massachusetts native had helped turn the franchise from a weak sister to pennant contenders, enjoying 11 winning seasons under his watch that included three finishes with 90 or more wins. In five of those winning seasons, the Red Sox also lead the American League in attendance and, to this day, Boston continues to be a baseball town. Later inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997, O’Connell passed away in 2002 at the age of 87.

Legendary broadcaster Curt Gowdy once said of Luis Tiant: “He comes everywhere except between his legs.” That was perhaps the most colorful way to describe the Cuban-born right-hander’s delivery style, in which he twisted away from the plate during his motion, his left knee nearly hitting him in the chin, before uncorking his pitch to the batter. The son of Luis Sr., perhaps one of his homeland’s greatest pitchers who once struck out Babe Ruth in an exhibition match, he was signed by the Cleveland Indians midway through the 1964 season after he impressed scouts who has seen him pitch in the Pacific Coast League. There was immediate success as he went 10-4 in a shortened rookie season; four years later in 1968, he won 21 games, posted a 1.60 ERA with Cleveland, and seemed destined for greatness as he made his first All-Star appearance.

At the request of the Indians, Tiant avoided playing winter ball as he had for years and the results were disastrous; he went 9-20 and was traded after the season to Minnesota. A hairline fracture in his shoulder caused him to miss two months of the 1970 season and the impatient Twins released the 30-year-old at the end of training camp before the start of the 1971 season. After a brief stop in Atlanta’s minor league system, Tiant joined the Red Sox and was immediately assigned to Triple-A Louisville. With a call-up by the club from the minors in June of 1971, he went just 1-7; however, well aware of his success with Cleveland, the organization was willing to give him the opportunity to prove himself.

Tiant did just that the following season, going 15-6 with a 1.91 ERA and nearly pitching Boston into playoff contention, enough to earn him Comeback Player of the Year honors from the Sporting News. It only got better from there for Boston and “El Tiante” as he won 20 games in 1973 and 22 games in 1974, though neither effort was enough to bring home a championship. Regardless, Red Sox fans grew to love him; on the mound, he showed only focus and determination on the mound - one player said that he pitched with “bulldog competitiveness” - but in the clubhouse, he was often photographed smoking a fat cigar while sporting a generous grin, most likely after pulling a prank on an unsuspecting teammate.

Tiant began the 1975 season by winning an emotional opening game against Milwaukee at Fenway, a complete game effort in which he allowed just two runs despite nine hits. At the end of April, however, he was just 1-3 in five starts with a 4.14 ERA. Five more starts the following month improved his record to 5-5, and from 19 May through 26 June, he was nearly unstoppable, going 8-1 in nine starts with five complete game efforts. By the All-Star break, he was 12-8 with a 3.96 ERA.

Although he was not especially dominant through July and August, alternating wins and losses, Tiant continued to help pace Boston towards a division title. As the season rolled into September, he caught fire again, going 3-1 with a 1.47 ERA to finish at 18-14 and a 4.02 ERA. By far, the highlight of his season came in an afternoon contest at Fenway Park on 16 September as his parents watched from the stands after being granted permission to leave Cuba only for this occasion. With Baltimore’s Jim Palmer matching him nearly pitch-for-pitch and Boston trying to keep the second-place Orioles at bay, El Tiante yielded just five hits and issued one walk while striking out eight. His effort, along with solo home runs from Rico Petrocelli and Carlton Fisk, helped the Sox cruise to a 2-0 win and just about guarantee the division title.

Tiant would pitch three more seasons in Boston and finish his 122 wins in a Red Sox uniform before the fan favorite was released as a free against following the 1978 season. Tiant would play four more seasons, including the first two with rival New York, before hanging up his cap with 229 wins and a 3.30 career ERA.

When Major League Baseball held its inaugural free-agent draft of college, high school, and sandlot players in 1965, Bernardo Carbo was selected in the first round by Cincinnati, who then selected future Hall-of-Fame catcher Johnny Bench in the next round. Bench would make the big leagues sooner, playing his first full season in 1968 and getting named the National League Rookie of the Year that season, but the young outfielder also made his mark in 1970 by batting .310 with 21 home runs and 63 RBI while drawing 94 walks. He also played well in the field, making eight outfield assists and just four errors, statistics that were good enough to gather eight first place votes for Rookie of the Year; unfortunately, he lost out to right-hander pitcher Carl Morton of the last-place Expos, who went 18-11 with a 3.60 ERA and received 11 votes. The Reds would also fall short that season of a World Series title, losing in five games to the Baltimore Orioles.

With the “Big Red Machine” in its infancy, expectations in Cincinnati were high the next season, with Carbo playing alongside players like Bench, the reigning league MVP, and veterans Pete Rose and Tony Perez, but the Reds stumbled, finishing tied for fourth in the NL West. The second-year left-handed hitter also suffered a sophomore slump of epic proportions, batting just .219 while hitting just five home runs and driving in 20, at one point getting benched for three weeks. A horrible spring and a slow start to the 1972 season made it all too easy for the Reds to finally trade him to St. Louis in May.

Following the 1973 season, he was packaged with Rick Wise and shipped to the Red Sox. Playing in the American League, where he had the opportunity to take some cuts as the designated hitter and at a hitter’s park like Fenway, the new settings seemed to improve his offensive production. Though he batted just .248 after averaging .286 the previous season, he stroked 12 home runs and drove in 61 runs. He also continued to play the outfield, nearly splitting his time between left and right field, and made just one error for a .996 fielding percentage.

At the start of his second season with Boston in 1975, Carbo started hot at the plate, batting .303 from the leadoff spot and nudging his average up to .311 by the end of May. He also produced at the plate, hitting eight home runs and driving in 18 by that point in the season. It also meant plenty of starts in left as he split time with teammate Juan Beniquez. However, a June slump dropped his average as low as .255 before he finished the first half at .271, but he continued to produce, on pace to match or surpass his rookie totals with 14 home runs and 42 RBI.

Unfortunately, the second half was a disaster for the seven-year veteran. He would hit just one home run and drive in just eight more runs over the rest of the season as he lost his position in left field to rookie sensation Jim Rice and toiled in right behind Dwight Evans, making just 27 starts after the All-Star Break and only seven appearances in September. Although he finished with numbers equal or better than his career average (.257, 15 HR, 50 RBI), it was a disappointing finish, though he would be remembered more after that season for other reasons.

With another shaky start the following season, Carbo would be traded to Milwaukee but make one last appearance in Boston in 1977 after getting traded back to the Red Sox. He would play another year and a half with the club before bouncing between three different teams over the last couple of years of his career, finally retiring after the 1980 season.