TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

May 20, 1976, Among MLB’s storied rivalries, none has been more heated than that of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. The stakes do not have to be high – though they often have been – for bad blood to boil over between the two teams. One of the most vicious brawls between the two franchises occurred on May 20, 1976, in the opening game of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium between the defending AL-champion Red Sox and the front-running Yankees, who would supplant Boston as the AL-pennant winners that year. Though the Bosox prevailed on this day, the outcome of the rhubarb between the two clubs was far more costly to them than their 8-2 victory was beneficial.

Renowned Yankees-hater and Yankees-killer Bill “Spaceman” Lee took the mound for Boston on May 20 and engaged in a pitchers’ duel with Ed Figueroa. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Thurman Munson and Chris Chambliss led off with singles, and Munson scored to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead when Red Sox shortstop Rick Burleson committed his second error of the game with an errant throw of a Lou Piniella grounder. No further runs would be scored until the seventh, but the most important action in the game took place before then.

The sixth inning proved to be the fateful one when, in the bottom of the frame, the Yankees once more had runners on first and second after two-out singles by Piniella and Graig Nettles. Otto Velez then singled to right field, and Piniella tried to score from second base. Boston right-fielder Dwight Evans threw a strike to catcher Carlton Fisk who was bowled over by Piniella but held on to the ball for the out. The feisty Fisk was unhappy about being steamrolled and was still tangled up with Piniella, so he took the swing that started the brawl.

Lee was one of the first players to rush toward home plate, but the burly Nettles picked him up and slammed him to the ground, where the left-hander landed awkwardly on his pitching shoulder. As he was on his side, Yankees center-fielder Mickey Rivers gave him a couple of punches to the back for good measure. After things had calmed down, Lee got up and was holding his left shoulder, a sign of the torn shoulder ligament that sidelined him for much of the rest of the season.

“Spaceman” was not only injured but was also angry, and he reignited the fight by walking around several players to confront Nettles, who then hit Lee with a punch that gave him a black eye. With the melee in full force again, Rivers hit every Red Sox player he could reach in the backs of their heads until order was finally restored. Once the dust had settled, only Nettles and the injured Lee were ejected by home plate umpire Terry Cooney.

When play resumed, Rick Burleson atoned for his earlier errors with a two-run homer off Figueroa in the seventh that gave the now riled-up Red Sox a 2-1 advantage. The lead was short-lived, however, as Rivers registered a shot of a different kind off reliever Reggie Cleveland – a single to right field in the bottom of the frame – that scored Sandy Alomar, who had singled and had stolen second.

The Red Sox kept the pressure on the Yankees in the eighth when, after Figueroa walked Fisk to start the inning, Carl Yastrzemski greeted reliever Tippy Martinez with a two-run homer that gave Boston a permanent lead. Yaz added a second two-run blast in the final inning as the Sox battered Ron Guidry for four additional runs to take the final margin of victory to 8-2.
After Tom House set the Yankees down in order in the bottom of the ninth for his second save of the season, attention returned to the sixth-inning fracas. Yastrzemski said, “Until the fight, we were too complacent. That seemed to shake us up. And just in time, too.”1 While the victory may have been sweet, it cost the Red Sox a pitcher who had won 17 games in each of the previous three seasons.

The bad blood between Lee and Nettles apparently harkened back to comments made after a brawl between the two teams in an August 1, 1973, game. In that game, it was Thurman Munson who bowled over Fisk at home plate and sparked a brawl between the two catchers and Yankees shortstop Gene Michael. Fisk came out of the melee with a scratch on his face that caused Lee to ask him, “Did Michael scratch you with his purse?”2 Lee continued to antagonize the New Yorkers as he persisted with this theme and stated that all of the Yankees were “like a bunch of hookers, swinging their purses.”3

On the day of the Lee-versus Nettles fracas, when Nettles was informed of the extent of Lee’s shoulder injury after the game, he said he was sorry that Lee would be sidelined for a time. When it came to the black eye he gave Lee, however, Nettles showed no such remorse as he later said, “He just tried to sneak around the pile and he came at me, getting in my face, so, again, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t hit with any purse.”4 His comment showed how long players’ memories are in intense rivalries like the one between Boston and New York. The May 20, 1976, fight between the two teams was obviously not the first, and it certainly would not be the last.

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May 20, 1941 — Lefty Grove of the Boston Red Sox wins his 20th consecutive game at Fenway Park, the longest home park streak in the major leagues, in a 4 – 2 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

May 20, 1945, At Sportsman Park one-armed outfielder Pete Gray of the St. Louis Browns enjoys an incredible day against the New York Yankees. Gray makes three outstanding catches, collects four hits, drives in two runs, and scores the game-winning run during a doubleheader sweep of the Yankees.

May 20, 1951, Richie Ashburn of the Philadelphia Phillies collects four hits in each game of a doubleheader. he goes 4-for-6 and 4-for-5, all singles. The offensive barrage by the future Hall of Famer helps the Phillies sweep the rival Pittsburgh Pirates, 17-0 and 12-4, at Forbes Field.

May 20, 1953, the Milwaukee Braves play their 13th home game and surpass the attendance total for the previous season, when the franchise played in Boston. The crowd at County Stadium raises Milwaukee’s attendance to 281,278 for the current season.

May 20, 1968, California Angels shortstop Jim Fregosi hits for the cycle during a 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. The cycle is the second of Fregosi’s career, tying him with several other players for the major league record. In total there are 34 players who have hit for the Cycle more than once in their career as of May 20, 2019.

May 29, 1976, Benches clear in the Bronx when New York Yankees Lou Piniella collides with Boston Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk at home plate At Yankee Stadium.

May 20, 1978 — Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a 535-foot home run into the 300 club deck level in right field off Montreal Expos pitcher Wayne Twitchell to highlight a 6 – 0 victory at Stade Olympic. The expos replaced the red seat with a yellow seat to commemorate the blast. It is now on display in the Canadian baseball hall of fame. Stargell’s 407th career home run, tying him with Duke Snider on the career all-time list.

May 20, 1983, In a 5-0 loss to San Diego, Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Steve Carlton passes Walter Johnson to move into second place on the all-time strikeout list. Johnson’s record had survived for 56 years. Carlton’s four strikeouts put him at 3,511, just 10 behind Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros. Ryan had bettered Johnson’s record earlier in the month. Carlton will finish the season in front of the Astros’ right-hander as the all-time career leader with 3,709 at the end of the 1983 season.

May 20, 1985, a game between the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers scheduled for Municipal Stadium is postponed due to rain, representing the first rainout of the 1985 season. The cancellation marks the latest point that the first rainout of a season has taken place. A record 458 games had been played prior to the initial rainout.

May 20, 2006 — After a 29 at-bats homerless drought, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hits a home run in an interleague game against the Oakland Athletics, tying his home run count with that of Babe Ruth at 714. The ball is hit at the McAfee Coliseum against pitcher Brad Halsey, a left-hander. Because of interleague play, Bonds is the designated hitter rather than his normal spot in the outfield.

May 20, 2008, Mike Piazza announces his retirement. A 12-time All-Star, Piazza hit .308/.377/.545 in 16 seasons after having been picked in the 62nd round of the amateur draft. He socked 427 home runs, with a record 396 home runs as a catches scored 1,048 runs and drove in 1,335 and set the all-time major league record for homers by a catcher. At the time of his retirement, Piazza is 30th in history in slugging, 39th in home runs and 64th in OPS+. Many opine that he is the greatest catcher ever, though others argue the claim, citing Josh Gibson or others.

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TRIVIA

TRIVIA: Who was the first manager to lead the expansion Blue Jays to the postseason?

Hint: #1 For that accomplishment he was voted American League Manager of the Year.

Hint: #2 He was three times National League Manager of the Year.

Hint: #3 As a player, he once completed a triple play throwing the ball to Mickey Mantle.

Hint: #4 He ranks fourth in career games won as a manager. All three ahead of him required more seasons.

Hint: #5 No manager was ejected from more games.

Hint: #6 He was inducted into the Hall of Fame with two of his players.

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