Gary Peters was masterful scattering 9 hits in 6.2 innings as the Boston offense picked away to register a 4-1 American League Wildcard win over the Oakland Athletics. The Red Sox will now move on to face the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. Peters added 5 strikeouts while demonstrating impeccable control. No free passes or extra-base hits were permitted by the Sawx starter, and Oakland managed their only run on an infield RBI single by Reggie Jackson.
Peters spent the majority of his career with the White Sox where he compiled a 124-103 record and a 3.25 ERA. He was a 20 game-winner in 1964 with Chicago earning his first of two all-star berths. Peters led the American League in ERA in 1966 with a miserly 1.98 but, incredibly, was snubbed for an all-star selection. He would earn an invite to his second Midsummer Classic the following season. Peters was also a terrific hitting pitcher belting 19 homers in his career and was called on for pinch-hitting duties numerous times.
Gary was dealt to Boston in 1970 after experiencing the worst season of his career in 1969 when he went 10-15 with a 4.53 ERA. Peters was never the same pitcher as he was in Chicago as it was discovered he had a rotator cuff injury long after his playing days were over. Nevertheless, Gary enjoyed success with the Red Sox and was the starter for Boston against the New York Yankees on Opening Day as a result of firing 32 scoreless innings during spring training. He beat the Yankees 4-3. With the exception of a brutal May which saw his ERA skyrocket to 8.04 with an 0-5 record, Peters had a respectable campaign logging a record of 16-11 with a 4.05 ERA buoyed by a more prolific offense than he witnessed in Chicago. In 2000, Peters was elected to the White Sox All-Century Team.
I mentioned the focal point of this playoff replay was to extol the talents of Tony Conigliaro and he did not disappoint. In the fourth inning, Tony C slammed a mammoth homer to left-center which was the game-winning run. Check it out.
Congliario's blast was bookended by two RBI from Reggie Smith. Smith drilled an RBI single to center to open the scoring, and then absolutely crushed a hanging curveball from A's starter Vida Blue sending it deep into the seats in left. Smith joined the Red Sox for their "Impossible Dream" season in 1967 as a rookie. The team was mired in a tie for fifth place with a 13-15 mark in mid-May, and Smith was also off to a slow start that saw him bat .180. Boston caught fire, and the switch-hitting Smith was one of the catalysts for this turnaround as he walloped 13 homers and batted .258 finishing second in the Rookie of the Year race behind Rod Carew. Reggie slugged .547 in the World Series against the Cardinals, pounding 2 homers.
In 1970, Smith scored a career-high 109 runs and pegged 15 baserunners. Smith was an elite centerfielder and arguably had the finest throwing arm of his era. A true five-tool player, Reggie averaged 18 homers, 67 RBI and swiped 84 bags while batting .281 in 8 seasons as a Red Sox. Despite his success with Boston, Reggie's path was not an easy one as he was the first African - American player the Red Sox promoted that had star potential. With Boston being one of the last teams to integrate under racist owner Tom Yawkey, Smith would sometimes receive hate mail when his play didn't measure up to the standards of bigots. Sometimes he wore a helmet while playing center field as fans would throw batteries and other projectiles at him. In order to topple the mighty Orioles, Boston will need the often under-appreciated Smith to have a huge series.
No comments:
Post a Comment