MESSAGE
| DATE | 2013-05-17 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Drugs are good
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For those who don't remember the 1970's and 1980's
Please meet Bernie Carbo - Born Again Christian. A number 1 draft choice
is a terrible thing to waste.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Carbo
In the 1975 World Series
, the huge favorite
Cincinnati Reds were
looking for their first title since 1940
. Boston also suffered a
drought by not winning a Series since 1918
. Both clubs battled
back and forth, with the Reds winning three of the first five games.
Carbo was excited to see some of his old teammates. Carbo would be on
the bench, and his former teammates were sympathetic. Clay Carroll
inscribed a picture for him
and it read "Good luck in the World Series.". After Game 3, when Carbo
hit a home run off him, Carbo said "They told me Carroll was in here and
just went crazy, ripping up the picture into little pieces."
Game 6 was postponed three days because of rain. Carbo did not take
batting practice at Tufts University
because he said he
couldn?t find it. He spent the early part of Game 6 working on his
Louisville Slugger. "I?m sitting there and I?m whittling this bat, I
took a lathe and took all the polish
off. It's nice and smooth. Rick Wise
is sitting next to me and says,
?You know, you can?t use that bat. It doesn?t have an emblem on it.? So
as the game was going I took a magic marker and wrote ?Louisville
Slugger? on it. That's how I kept myself amused." ^[3]
In Game 6 (October 21), with two outs and two batters on base in the 8th
inning, Roger Moret was up at
bat. Darrell Johnson told
Carbo to get ready.
And I said, "Hey, I?m not going to hit. Juan Ben?quez
, grab a bat,
you?re going to hit. Sparky's going to go to the lefthander because
Sparky goes by the book." Darrell said, "Well, go up and stand on
the on-deck circle." And they introduced me. So I?m still thinking
Sparky will come out and take Rawly Eastwick
out and go with Will
McEnaney . But the
umpire says, "C?mon, you?ve been announced, you?re hitting." So I go
into the batter's box. I ain?t ready to hit. Next thing, strike one,
strike two, ball one, ball two. Then he threw me a cut fastball, a
little slider and I took it right out of Bench's glove ? the ball
just dribbled out. I step out and I?m thinking, "Aw man, I almost
struck out. I was lucky." I hit the next pitch to center field. I
rounded first base and I saw C?sar Ger?nimo
going back.
Rounding second, I knew it was gone and I?m yelling to Pete Rose
, "Don?t you wish you were
this strong?" And Pete is yelling back, "Ain?t this fun, Bernie?
This is what the World Series is about. This is fun." Johnny Bench
said after the game it
looked like a Little Leaguer learning how to hit. Pete Rose said it
was the worst swing he ever saw. Don Zimmer
said he thought it was
over. Rico Petrocelli
said it looked like a pitcher who hurt his arm, trying to make a
comeback as a hitter.[9]
Carbo's pinch 3-run home run
tied the score at 6-all, paving the way for Carlton Fisk
's legendary game-winning
homer in the bottom of the twelfth for a 7-6 Red Sox victory. Carbo's
pinch homer was his second of the Series, tying Chuck Essegian
's 16-year record for most
in a World Series. Game 7, watched by an estimated 71 million TV
viewers, saw the Reds triumph in the ninth inning on a bloop single
by Joe Morgan
for a 4-3 win.
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