From the Babe to the Beards by Bill Nowlin & Jim Prime

Author:Bill Nowlin & Jim Prime
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2014-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

WP: Tiant (1-0) LP: Gullett (0-1)

It was the Luis Tiant show at Fenway Park on October 11 as the World Series against the NL champion Cincinnati Reds got under way. His “official” age was thirty-four but in the interest of journalistic integrity, most announcers referred to him as “ageless.” They also called him El Tiante Elegante and the 18-game winner certainly earned the title on this day. Even before the game started, the fervent cry of “Loo-ie, Loo-ie” emanated from the Fenway Park crowd like a chorus of hallelujahs for Brother Luis’s traveling salvation show. Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies. Their spiritual leader responded with a display of hypnosis and prestidigitation that would have made Mandrake the Magician jealous. The cigar-chomping Cuban mesmerized Reds hitters with an array of gyrations, pirouettes, and machinations from which the ball ultimately emerged, only to materialize a split second later in Fisk’s catcher’s mitt. It was the old shell game and Luis was the con man. Peter Gammons described it thusly: “Eleven head bobs, five bows, two cha-chas, and an ole.”

Fireballer Don Gullett was 24 and no magician, but he was a 15-game winner with a 2.42 ERA.

Tiant retired the first three Reds—Rose, Morgan, and Bench—in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the first, leadoff man Dwight Evans singled and Denny Doyle sacrificed him to second. Gullett walked Yaz but Fisk popped out. With two down, Lynn hit a ground ball to Morgan that deflected off his glove into center field. Morgan loudly protested that Yaz had blocked his view en route to second. Conception alertly backed up the play and nailed Evans at the plate.

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