The Sensational 70s - Carbo's Magic Resonates Again

As Albert Einstein once said, "In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity" and one person who is familiar with seizing good fortune in times of trial is Bernie Carbo. Who could forget that famous three run blast he launched in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series?

With Boston trailing 6-3 and two out, his drive to deep center field off Reds' reliever Rawley Eastwick tied the game in the bottom of the eighth, and the Red Sox would go on to win 7-6 in 12 innings. This was Carbo's second pinch hit homer of the series. He had hit one off Clay Carroll in Game 3 in Cincinnati hitting for pitcher Reggie Cleveland. Ironically, Carbo had been a number one draft pick of the Cinncinati Reds in the inaugural 1965 draft, selected ahead of Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench. His 1970 rookie season was his best with the Reds with career highs across the board in homers (21), RBI (63), average (.310), hits (125), and OBP (.454). He was traded to Boston in 1973 for Reggie Smith and Ken Tatum.

In my Sensational 70s creation, art imitates life. This time Bernie was called on in the ninth inning at PNC Park with the Red Sox down 6-5. The 1979 Pirates' second baseman Phil Garner had just given the home team the lead in the bottom of the eighth after Boston nursed a 5-4 advantage since the fifth inning. After a 16 inning 9-7 win the night before, it would be understandable that this could be the death knell for a tired ball club facing the tough submarine sinkerballer Kent Tekulve. Tekulve sits second all-time in Pirates' history with 158 saves in 12 seasons in Pittsburgh amassing a total of 1017.1 innings.

However, it wasn't to be Tekulve's night. Carl Yastrzemski was called on to pinch hit for Juan Beniquez, and he doubled to right center. Tekulve then settled down to get Doug Griffin on strikes to bring up the pitcher's spot in the order. Sawx manager Darrell Johnson called on Carbo and the results were eerily recognizable. This time it was a two run bomb to put Boston in front 7-6. Same winning score with slightly differing circumstances.

After Jim Willougby got Omar Moreno to pop out to second, Red Sox reliever Jim Burton came on to make Carbo's blast stand retiring Pittburgh power hitters Dave Parker and Willie Stargell on a couple of ground outs to give Boston the series win after they lost the opener.

Jim Rice simply went off this game drilling a pair of homers to bring his total to 27 on the season. He also cracked the 100 RBI barrier adding 4 more in this contest to give him 102. He got Boston rolling in the first with a two run shot, but Sawx starter Luis Tiant suffered through a 25 pitch bottom half, and the score was tied 2-2 after one. Rice bailed Louie out though in the third with another two run job off Pirates' starter John Candelaria which was then followed by a solo shot by Dwight Evans, giving the Red Sox a 5-2 lead. Candelaria only lasted one more inning, allowing 9 hits and 5 earned runs.

In the fifth, Willie Stargell made Tiant pay for his wildness. After granting a lead off walk to Tim Foli and plunking Omar Moreno, "Pops" cleared the bases with a long double to left center, closing the gap to 5-4. Garner gave Pittsburgh their only lead of the game in the eighth before Carbo pulled the rug out from under the Bucs in the ninth.

Boston sits two games out of first with nine games left in the season. They now travel to Baltimore before returning home to close out the season against Tampa Bay and New York. Also, for those not familiar with MLB 16 The Show, retired numbers cannot be worn in the game, so if you see incorrect numbers on players in pics and highlights that is the reason. Carbo is wearing #3 on my '75 Red Sox squad, and Petrocelli wears #11.