Major League Baseball on NBC: Difference between revisions

 

On June 18, 1977, in the [[1977 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]]' 10–4 loss to the [[1977 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]] in a nationally televised game at [[Fenway Park]] in Boston, [[Jim Rice]], a powerful hitter but a slow runner, hit a ball into right field that [[Reggie Jackson]] seemed to get to without much speed, and Rice reached second base. Furious, Yankees manager [[Billy Martin]] removed Jackson from the game without even waiting for the end of the inning, sending [[Paul Blair (baseball)|Paul Blair]] out to replace him. When Jackson arrived at the dugout, Martin yelled that Jackson had shown him up. The two men argued, and Jackson said that Martin's heavy drinking had impaired his judgment. Despite Jackson being eighteen years younger, about two inches taller and maybe 40 pounds heavier, Martin lunged at him, and had to be restrained by coaches [[Yogi Berra]] and [[Elston Howard]]. Red Sox fans could see this in the dugout and began cheering wildly; NBC television cameras showed the confrontation to the entire country.

 

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