Today marks the 25th anniversary of the beginning of The Boston Massacre, a four-game stretch in Fenway Park where the 1978 Yankees swept four from the Red Sox to eliminate a four-game deficit by outscoring the Red Sox by a combined 42-9. It was the crowning moment of the Yankees overcoming a 14-game Red Sox lead.
“I remember sitting next to Lou Piniella in the clubhouse after the fourth game and I asked him, ‘What do we do now?’ Reggie Jackson remembered. “He was smoking a cigarette, turned to me and said, ‘We keep winning.’ ”
Of course, the Yankees needed Bucky Dent’s homer in a one-game playoff to kill the Red Sox and after that they kept on winning all the way to beating the Dodgers in the World Series.
“I can’t believe it’s been that long,” said Yankees third base coach and former second baseman Willie Randolph. “I have been around the block but I never stop thinking about that year in history and the memories. Every time I go to Fenway Park I think about it because it was a great series and we won [the AL East]. I see some guys like Jerry Remy and we all are a little older.”
Sitting at the helm of the Red Sox was Don Zimmer and the first thing that came to his mind when reminded that today was the anniversary of the start of The Massacre was all the singles the Yankees hit.
“Let me ask you a question, it was a four-game massacre, right? How many doubles and home runs were hit?” recalled Zimmer, now a Yankee bench coach. “It was base hit after base hit. As a manager all you could do was bring in another [pitcher] and try and bring in another and try it. Nothing worked. When they say massacre, somebody used the right word.”
Zimmer’s mind is still sharp. Of the 67 Yankee hits in the four games, only 10 were for extra bases seven doubles, a triple and two homers.
Zimmer remembered his club was down.
“We were in a bad stretch, period,” Zimmer said. “That put more gasoline on the fire. That’s why watching [the Red Sox] come back and play the next two and one-half weeks is something I will never forget. We could have tossed in the towel; they went 2½ games ahead of us. [But with] eight games to play we were one game behind.
To Randolph, The Massacre was a bonus.
“We started [moving] before that,” Randolph said. “That’s what made The Massacre so sweet. When we got there, we felt, ‘OK, now it’s our time.’ We didn’t talk about it or think about or put any pressure on ourselves. We always thought that was the say it was supposed to set up.”
1978 Bronx Massacre At Fenway Park
Sept. 7: Yankees 15, Red Sox 3
Sept. 8: Yankees 13, Red Sox 2
Sept. 9: Yankees 7, Red Sox 0
Sept. 10: Yankees 7, Red Sox 4
Standings on Sept. 7, 1978
Red Sox 86-52,
Yankees 82-56, 4 GB
Standings on Sept. 11, 1978
Red Sox 86-56
Yankees 86-56
2003 Bronx Massacre? At Yankee Stadium
Sept. 5: Red Sox 9, Yankees 3
Sept. 6: Red Sox 11, Yankees 0
Standings on Sept. 5, 2003
Yankees 84-54,
Red Sox 81-58, 3½
Standings on Sept. 7, 2003
Yankees 84-56,
Red Sox 83-58, 1½
1978 A.L. EAST TIMELINE
May 23
Boston 26-15
Yankees 24-14 ½ GB
July 19
Boston 62-28
Yankees 48-42 14 GB
Aug. 1
Boston 65-39
Yankees 59-46 6½ GB
Aug. 13
Boston 74-42
Yankees 65-51 9 GB
Sept. 10
Yankees 86-56
Boston 86-56
Sept. 16
Yankees 90-57
Boston 87-61 3½ GB
Sept. 23
Yankees 93-62
Boston 92-63 1 GB
Oct. 1
Yankees 99-63
Boston 99-63