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The Oakland A's faced the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium for Game 7 of the 1972 World Series on October 22nd.
After being behind three games to one, the Reds tied up the series at three games apiece.
And this is the NBC Radio broadcast of Game 7 featuring announcers Jim Simpson and Monty Moore.
Jim Simpson with Monty Moore back at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the first game is about to begin,
or I should say the seventh game is about to begin, looking down Reggie Jackson, the one man that the Oakland A's sure wish they had.
They have lost two important men to injury before this World Series.
They lost Darrell Knowles before the Playoff Championships, their left-handed reliever, their find one that forced Vita Blue into the bullpen.
And then they lost their clean-up hitter, home run Slugger, one of the most aggressive ball players in the American League,
and Reggie Jackson, who through his own aggressiveness in scoring the winning run on the final day of the American League Playoffs,
pulled a hamstring muscle and is out.
Jackson has taken the lineup cards up to the umpires, and Captain Pete Rose has turned in his lineup card on behalf of the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds are about to take the field, and in discussing the loss of Reggie Jackson,
you know, it cannot be said that one man makes a baseball team, but if you have a team and have one important man, that's a different story.
And that is what the A's have lost in losing Reggie Jackson and Darrell Knowles.
The umpires this afternoon, right back to the first game umpires.
Chris Tala-Coulis will be behind the plate, he's from the National League.
Jim Honachik of the American League will be at first base.
Mel Steiner of the National League at second base.
Frank Humon of the American League over third.
Down the left field line will be Bob Engel.
Down the right field line will be Bill Howlett.
Warren Giles, President Emeritus of the National League, who had the National League headquarters right here in Cincinnati,
during his years as president has just thrown out the first honorary pitch to Johnny Bench.
And quite frankly, it has slacked off raining and the umbrellas, keep your fingers crossed, have come down here at Riverfront Stadium.
But heavy showers are due about two hours from now.
And now they are introducing the Reds players.
They do this and the players run from the dugout to their position.
Bench goes to his stop behind the mound.
Donnie Perez goes to first base.
Joe Morgan down to second.
Dave Concepcion to short.
Dennis Minkie to third.
Pete Rose goes to left.
Bobby told him to center.
Cedar Geronimo on right.
And Jack Fillingham strives to the mound.
Winner of the third game of the World Series.
And for the last game of the World Series, let's call to the microphone the voice of the Oakland Athletics.
And I think he's got his fingers crossed, Monty Moore.
Thank you very much, Jim Simpson.
And before we start, we may not be around here at the end of the game.
If the A's are in the lead, we will be headed to the dressing room.
We do want to say what a pleasure it's been working with you and Lynn Dillon and the entire NBC Radio crew on the game.
We've been on radio.
It's been a pleasure.
When the A's take off today, they will be heading to the West Coast.
And some of the players were talking this morning, our coats will either be drenched with champagne or tears.
That's what a World Series means, of course.
To the winners, they pop the courts and pour the champagne and somebody opens up the billfold.
Because to the winners of this World Series, the first seven-game World Series in history ever to be sold out, all seven games in advance,
it's going to be a mighty, mighty big paycheck.
Some are estimating in the neighborhood of $20,000 to $22,000 per man to the winners and upwards of $14,000 to $15,000 per man for the losers.
So as they are playing out here today, one error, one mistake, one bad pitch by one man could certainly make a difference in a lot of men's paychecks at the end of this thing.
But I know that no players on a 25-man roster look at it like that.
This is a team effort that got these men here, and it'll be a team effort that wins or loses it.
Finally, there's a delay here, and I believe, yes, they're taking a banner right from behind the foul pulled on the left field line, and the foul-line umpires wanted it out of there,
so there would be no white if they had to judge whether the ball went fair or foul.
Kampi Campaneras leads it off with the open A's and a vastly changed lineup for this, the last game of 1972 for the A's and the Reds.
Campaneras, a 240-hitter for the course of the year, the American League stolen-base champion, has had only three hits in the series.
The first pitch swung on, popped out into short right field where Cesar Geronimo is under it.
He's got him, and one pitch means one out.
That brings up Angel Mangual, who has been up only six times in the series.
He's had three hits, one of them the biggest hit of his life.
It gave the A's a win in Oakland and a come-from-behind victory.
Fillingham, a low-ball pitcher, got that pitch up to Campaneras a little bit, and Kampi hit it right off the fist.
Mangual, a right-handed batter on the Major League's rookie all-star team last year, takes the first pitch inside, ball one.
Angel got up to a very slow start this year because he came to camp with an injury he suffered in winter baseball.
He's got the curveball line right center field coming on, and Tolan, he leaves it, goes off his glove to the wall.
Mangual goes to first, heads to second. He's rounding second on his way to third.
The throw comes in, and he makes it standing up.
Bobby Tolan, I believe, misjudged a blast off the bat of Angel Mangual.
He came in on that ball, and at the last instant, leap high, it just hit his glove, and bound it away all the way to the wall.
Mangual really stung that ball. It's an error on Bobby Tolan, and the A's get the first break of the seventh game.
Tolan did not figure that ball was hit that hard, but it was really stung by Mangual.
Now the Reds have the right side of their infield in and the left side about halfway.
As Joel Rudy, the A's top regular season hitter, with a 3-0-5 average and 19 home runs, 70 runs batted in for the year, moves into the plate.
Jack Billingham will work off the stretch here, even though he could go to the wind.
Curve ball, outside, taken, ball one.
The hardest play a center fielder has to make is that line drive right at him, and Tolan made it incorrectly,
according to the three-man official scoring jury for the World Series.
Billingham off the stretch, throws to Rudy, curve ball, swung on and foul, up the end of the bat, it's one and one.
And the batter figures that he is fairly lucky if he fouls one like that, and does not hit it fair because Rudy was way out front of it.
A very tightly drawn-in infielder, give you an idea of how Sparky Anderson is putting his trust in his pitching staff today.
They're not willing to give up a run even in the very first inning.
Ball on a strike, caught the pitch, curve ball, swung on and missed.
He has drawn Rudy three straight breaking balls, and he hung that one.
A fly ball to the outfield would score Manuel.
On this artificial turf, a bouncer on the infield at somebody would make it mighty difficult to score.
Joe Rudy at the plate with a count of one ball, two strikes, shortens up on the bat handle just a little, down into a crouch.
Here's the pitch, again the curve in the dirt bench blocks it, two balls, two strikes.
Billingham throwing Joe Rudy four straight breaking balls in this situation.
He's a sinker ball, low ball type pitcher, but he has gone to the breaking ball here on Rudy.
And it's interesting, Jim, the way you note the pitching changes in the patterns to a batter during the course of a seven-game series.
When they see these batters every day for seven days in pressure-packed situations,
it oftentimes changes the information they had garnered through weeks of scouting.
It's two balls, two strikes. Angel Manuel of the open days at third base.
Joe Rudy at the plate. Billingham pitches.
Curve again, swung on, hit up into the air and not deep left field at all.
Pete Rose may have his arm tested by Manuel. Pete makes the catch.
Here comes Manuel with the plate. Here comes the throw. Manuel goes back.
A huge out for Jack Billingham as Pete Rose cuts the fly ball in left field, very shallow.
Manuel left the start but held on. The throw was right on the money.
That is the kind of run the Oakland A's have had trouble scoring the last three or four weeks.
A runner at third and less than two out where all they need is the fly ball to deep outfield
or even medium outfield and they haven't been getting it. Rudy got under that one just a little bit.
Now here's Gene Tennes up. Two down and the infield can back up.
Tennes has hit four home runs in the World Series. Three here and one in Oakland.
Tough pitch to him. Low and away with a fast ball.
Billingham threw five straight breaking balls to Joe Rudy in that pressure situation.
Billingham to the windup. Around comes the arm. The pitch. Tennes swings, passes it to the third baseman.
High bounce off his glove into left field. Here comes Manuel in the score.
The artificial turf ran out and he looked as if that ball hit right where the dirt ends
and the artificial turf begins in the outfield.
It took a high hop over Minkie who was playing deep to protect against just that.
It's a base hit for Gene Tennes and the Oakland A's lead one to nothing with Sal Bando coming to the plate.
Well they talk about the true hops Jim. That was a bad one.
Now we talk about momentum Monty. Cincinnati had it yesterday but it is Oakland that scored first today.
So momentum really becomes a nebulous thing.
As some of the players say momentum from yesterday ends on the first pitch today.
It's a new ball game. Billingham pitching to Bando. Strike calls says Chris Pellicudas.
Bando in the World Series has had six hits and 22 at bats. He has not knocked in a run as yet.
During the course of the year Bando had 16 game winning hits for the A's.
Here's the fetch. Look out. It almost hit him.
The fastball inside backs him off the plate.
Bando has led the Oakland A's team and runs batted in the last three years in a row.
He has been an all-star in the American League as a third baseman.
Tennes leading away from first. Billingham to the plate.
Curve way outside. Great backhanded stop by Johnny Bench.
It's a real pleasure to watch.
A man like Johnny Bench who just owns the catching position.
Working a ball game and in a seven game series.
You hear about the great players of the other leagues but until you get to look at them for seven straight days you don't really get to appreciate them.
Two and one count to Bando. Tennes off first. The pitch on the way.
Swing and a foul down. It's two balls, two strikes.
The A's are on the board's first here in the seventh and final game of the 1972 World Series I that has had already five one-run decisions.
And then yesterday the Reds broke it open late. And one eight to one going away.
Billingham sets. Here's the pitch. Curve. He struck him out swinging. Bando chased a bad one.
So in the first inning Oakland got one run, one hit, one error and one left. After a half inning it's Oakland one, Cincinnati coming to bat.
Along with Bonnie Moore. This is Jim Simpson back in Cincinnati. The ball can take some funny hops can it?
Bobby Tolan the premier center fielder who has knocked in six runs in the last three games.
Tolan five bases made some great catches misjudged the Manuel line drive into a three base error. And Menke who's been gobbling up everything playing deep for Gene Tennes.
At the ball, Caram High and go off his glove and out into left field for a run scoring single for Tennes who is now driven in eight runs to lead everybody in that department.
And so that's an honored run charged against Jack Billingham and the Reds.
Now the Reds come back and they're half of the first inning and Blue Moon Autumn has just completed his lineup and he's got that top three to contend with.
And lately they have been running wild. Rose Morgan and Tolan. The Reds first. Oakland leads it one to nothing and here's Bonnie.
Pete Rose a hometown boy from Cincinnati and the toast to the town certainly through the last eight years he has hit three hundred every year.
He is the complete ball player. He's played second base and made the National League All-Star team there. He has played right field and made it there.
And this year he is a left fielder for Cincinnati and he's made it there.
But basically he has made it right at the plate where he's a switch hitter now batting left against Johnny Odom.
In the series Rose has had four hits and twenty three at bats. Here's Odom's first pitch to him. Curve high and outside ball one.
With the A's scoring in the first inning today it marked the first time in the seven game series they've been able to get on the scoreboard in the first inning.
The Reds have done it once in the first inning of the fifth game.
Odom into that slow windup. The 1-0 pitch at a fastball strike called one and one.
Rose has been having a little friendly needling session with John Odom the last couple of days.
Yesterday Rose told Odom you won't get me out on that little dinky curve ball you threw me out in Oakland the other day.
And Odom said I won't have to. I won't be pitching here tomorrow. Here's a pitch curve. Mrs. Low ball two.
Rose said if you're not here tomorrow you'll be AWOL and watching the game on TV because we'll be here.
Well Rose's prediction proved to be right on that count. He is here and the Reds are here battling the A's for a lot of money and prestige in the World Series.
Two one pitch. Bouncing ball out of the man. Dick Green goes to his right. The high second throws across his body.
The first tennis can't get it in time. Odom's going to go over and argue with Frank Humon or Jim Harnacheck the umpire at first base in American League umpire.
Gene Tennes arguing with Humon, Harnacheck.
A bang bang play at first base and we've had a lot of close wins. They're having to pull John Odom away from the argument.
That's the big point I believe to get Odom out of there. Odom has been so effective, Monty, with that one-on-run in last 26 innings pitch.
Over an argument like that you don't want to lose a pitcher like that. So Dick Williams is coming out talking now to Tennes first of all with Harnacheck listening in on his argument.
Matter of fact Williams comes out, Monty comes to think of it, not only to calm down Odom but to calm down Tennes, the guy that's driven in eight runs including the one in this ballgame.
Harnacheck is the umpire who has been involved in two very very close decisions. One at third base on the stolen base by Tolan a couple of days ago and now here at first base.
That was really close at first. Williams is talking with Harnacheck who kicked him out of a game earlier this year in an American League confrontation.
Odom starts pointing that uh or Williams starts pointing that finger and now Harnacheck pointing it back.
Rose is just listening in over the shoulder of Harnacheck.
Green made a fine play there Jim we can't discount that. It was a high bouncer over the mound and he threw across his body over to first base.
And there is the reason that Pete Rose is a better hitter from the left side than the right. He got those extra two steps which gave him a base hit.
So now the Reds have Pete Rose on.
Rose in the series has stolen one base. For the season he stole ten.
Here is Joe Morgan.
Morgan has had two hits in 21 at bats but the five walks and the stolen bases which followed the walks have been very very instrumental in the Reds success so far.
The Lieutenant batter with good power he's hit 16 home runs. Odom off the stretch. Rose faking a start holding a curve ball drops in there for a call strike. It is 0-1-1.
The tensions are high we might see a lot of arguments today because they're bound to be close plays and close plays will be debated on one side or the other.
Pick off attempt back over at first base and Dick Green started cheating a little bit to his left that time as he thought Odom was going to pitch.
He does that many times when he sees a slow curve ball called to a left handed batter.
Odom throws to the plate. Hard sinker strike called on the inside corner it is 0-2. Now Morgan is yelling at Palakoutis.
It's going to be that kind of a day.
Players say they are more relaxed for the seventh game of the World Series than they were for the fifth game of the playoffs in their respective leagues.
0-2 they count.
Morgan cocks the bat here's the pitch. Bouncing ball towards second Campanaris has got it steps on second one guns it to first double play.
Odom came back with a good sinker to get Morgan to hit into a double play and he doesn't do that too often during the course of the year with his speed.
Now to out nobody on and here's Bobby Tolan who's been a star for the Reds not only during the year but here in the World Series.
Tolan has had seven base hits he has knocked in six runs. He's a left handed batter and he has knocked in four of his runs against left handed pitching.
Bobby Tolan a very exciting player. This Reds club is an exciting club to watch.
They depend a lot on speed they have the power to go along with it.
Odom's pitch a slow curve over the head of Tolan and Odom threw his blooper for the first time today.
Nowhere nearly as high as Rip Sewell used to throw his but Odom does throw a very high blooping hard spinning pitch once in a while.
Here's the 1-0 pitch. Curve is low ball two.
The dolphin days are leading 1-0. We're in the last half of the first inning.
Jam-packed crowd and the weatherman must be a good baseball fan. It rained here for about a half hour before the first pitch and as the first pitch was due to come the rain stopped.
Odom who in one game this year made only 78 pitches in a 10 inning ball game. Fires to the plate. Ball three he's behind Tolan 3-0 with Johnny Bench kneeling menacingly on deck.
When you walk a Tolan or a Rose or a Morgan sometimes it's like a double. Odom goes to the slider for his strike on a 3-0 pitch it's 3-1 now.
Odom actually has more confidence of throwing a strike with a slider than he does with his fastball which moves all over the place.
Now the right-hander from Macon, Georgia comes to the plate. Swinging strike on another breaking ball. Tolan did not expect that one. He was way out front of it.
Odom struck out 11 Cincinnati batters. Many of the Cincinnati club declared after that that they had expected Odom to throw more hard stuff and another thing it was a game that started at Twilight at the Oakland Coliseum.
Second time you see a pitcher it's always easier for the batters. 3-2 pitch change up hit on the ground right side of the infield. Gene Tennes charges it underhands the ball to the pitcher Odom covering and the Reds go.
In the first without any runs they had a hit and left nobody on. After an inning a play it's Oakland 1 and Cincinnati nothing. The second inning and Marty Moore.
Here is Matty Allou who has been a disappointment to himself at the plate. He is 1 for 21 in this series. Matty was a big factor in the A's late season drive.
The pitch to him. Swing a bouncing butt out over the mound in the air and a throw to first from Concepcion the shortstop gets him.
Matty Allou bonned that ball with a little half swing out over the pitcher's mound. With Concepcion playing him over to his right.
Matty tried for the butt hit. He got that a few times and had this not have been artificial turf he had a hit right there. The ball bounced right straight up where Concepcion coming a long ways was able to handle it.
Now there's one out in here is Dave Duncan. That Concepcion is an outstanding shortstop. He made a play here yesterday from deep out of the hole where he's playing against Dave Duncan right now.
He and Campy Campaneras have shown the world some tremendous throwing arms from deep short in this series. The pitch to Duncan a curve outside from Billingham ball one.
Billingham had fallen straight over with his follow through and that butt by Allou was right over his head.
Here's the 1-0 pitch. Duncan takes in the dirt outside of all 2-0. Dave Duncan has a lot of power. He hit 19 home runs during the course of the season 15 before the All-Star break.
Very fine handler of pitchers. Duncan has grown the long hair. He has the longest hair of any of the players in the A's ball club. He's grown a full beard now.
As this has been an image series more or less the Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson will not allow any facial hair to be grown like beards or mustaches.
Duncan takes a fastball a little high. It's 3-0 now. Billingham has not shown the real good control as yet.
Duncan might get a hit sign here with the number 8 batter coming up behind him and he does have good power. 3-0 pitch to him.
That's a 9-ball 4 with one out there and one on. That play by Concepcion looms very big now. Here's Dick Green.
Green who had a disc operation in the back in April came back to try to play for the A's in about three months time.
Was not really in top shape. The A's put him on the disabled list again for two weeks. He came back and he has been the starting second baseman for the A's in the playoffs and now the World Series.
Green has been outstanding in the field. He has had five hits at the plate. He's been up 14 times at the 357 batting average.
Billingham throws. Green swings, bounces one left field base hit. Dave Duncan goes to second. He is going to hold on right there.
So Green gets his sixth hit of the World Series and now the pitcher John Odom who is one of the better hitting pitchers around comes to the plate.
And the bow pin of the Reds goes to work and early in a game when that happens it is ordinarily number 34 Pedro Borbon the rubber arm of the pin and he is up throwing.
This is a day whereby all pitchers are on the stand by. There is no tomorrow. The next pitch any of these guys throw after today unless some of them pitch in winter baseball will be in spring training next year.
So they don't have anything to save them for. Dave Duncan at second. Dick Green at first. One out in the second inning. Johnny Blue Moon Odom at the plate.
Minky playing shallow at third. Here's a pitch. Odom bunts the ball in the air foul behind the plate. No play for bench.
It's going to take a good bunt to move them up. He's going to have to bunt the ball hard to Minky at third unless the Reds put on a shortstop over to third play.
That is about the only way you might move him up. Duncan is not a fast runner at all and he is the man on second base.
Big hole at short. Concepcion is playing over near second to hold Duncan.
Now Billingham down to the stretch. Here's the pitch. Odom squares around again. Bunt the ball foul behind the plate.
Two strikes to count. Billingham throwing a curveball that time which ordinarily is a good one to bunt.
Dick Williams walking along the bench talking to the players sitting there. He is a strong fundamentalist.
He believes that when you go up to the plate and are asked to bunt the ball you should be able to bunt it if you're in the major leagues.
He plays execution fundamentals. Drilled and drilled and drilled by Williams.
Let's see if they put the bunt on again on an 0-2 count. Here's the pitch. He squares around. Doesn't bunt. Throw it down to second.
They've got Duncan picked off. He's going to third now trying to get into a hang up. Dick Green is going to second and the throw goes to Morgan.
Now over to third. They've still got Duncan and Billingham is running him back. All he's got to do is tag him. He does and they get him.
Johnny Bench picks off Dave Duncan at second base.
That is the easiest pickoff play in baseball for a catcher. With a man trying to bunt the ball the runner at second has to get a good lead off second base to make it to third.
So when he jumps off with a shortstop playing behind it's an easy throw for a catcher. And they had Dave Duncan. The Reds did not execute that play very well really because they allowed Dick Green to make it to second base and it took them a long time to run Duncan down.
With Green standing on second base all they had to do is run him back and tag one of the two players.
They finally got in a run down and the pitcher made the tag out. So not only does Odom not bunt the man over.
The man that was supposed to be bunted over is picked off second. Now with Green at second base Odom at the plate a one ball two strike down and now there are two away.
Here's the pitch. Kerr popped up behind the plate. Johnny Bench coming back near the screen. Does he have a play? He has and he picks it off one handed.
Billingham got out of a tremendous jam here in the second inning thanks to Johnny Bench. So the score after an inning and a half remains Oakland one Cincinnati nothing.
Honestly this is a fine World Series down to the seventh game but Odom's inability to bunt and quite frankly the Reds inability to execute the run down play.
The combination of the two got the Reds out of a lot of trouble at Jack Billingham that put them in when he walked Duncan on four pitches and gave up a single to Dick Green.
So it's still one to nothing and that one run came in as a result of a three base error by Bobby Tolan.
So the pressure is on the scores one to nothing Oakland. It's the second inning and Mr. John Bench is up.
And Bench busted one into the left field stands here yesterday on a three ball one strike pitch to Vita Blue.
And those of you who were listening yesterday might remember us saying that it didn't look to us as if it were that bad a pitch.
And Vita Blue and the catcher Gene Tennes both said no it was a low fastball Bench is just so strong he ripped it out.
Here's Odom's pitch to Bench. Curve blowing away ball one. Bench has had six hits in the series one a double and one a home run.
He led the major leagues and homers this year with 40. He led the major leagues and runs batted in with 125.
He is the complete player a superstar of the game.
Odom winds kicks and throws curveball line to the shortstop deep. Campanaris has got it.
And there is one place where the artificial turf dictates an out instead of a hit because the shortstop was playing so deep he could never have made that play.
Had we been on regular turf because he'd have never been playing that deep.
Here's Tony Perez with one out in the second inning.
Perez has had a very fine series with the bat he's hitting 429. He leads all hitters in base hits with nine.
Odom's pitch to him is a slow curve and he got it over at the letters a strike.
Odom tough to pick up at times he has a variety of wind ups and wind up motions. He kicks high sometimes.
Curls the leg others. Here's the pitch a change up hit up into the air and a deep left field.
Joe Rudy at the wall. He's run out of track but he's coming in a step and he's got it.
Tony Perez just missed one.
Odom threw in the change up and Perez was looking for it.
He got under the ball a bit and having to provide all of his own power he just didn't have that much power.
So there are two down and Odom hasn't fooled the first two batters here in the second inning.
Here's Dennis Menke.
Joe Rudy who peeled one off the wall here last Sunday for one of the most spectacular catches in World Series history.
Had an easy catch that time.
Here's Dennis Menke.
Lo and away with Odom's fastball. Menke's had only two hits in the series but as Jim was saying to sign on
he's been one of the unsung defensive heroes.
He's made a lot of tough plays look mighty easy over at third base.
A right-handed batter. He was a big bonus player. About a hundred and twenty-five thousand dollar bonus player in the Milwaukee Braves organization.
The pitch to him. Bouncing ball to Bandol. Comes off the carpet right straight at him.
He throws over to first tennis. Paws it in and after two innings of play at Riverfront Stadium
the score is Oakland 1 Cincinnati nothing.
We pause ten seconds for station identification.
Next weekend it's Halloween hullabaloo at Candlewick Lake.
There'll be fun for the whole family. Bump for apples and join in the big pumpkin carving contest with free pumpkins for all the kids.
And a big costume contest. Cider and donuts too. It's all free.
So come to Candlewick Lake next weekend for the big Halloween hullabaloo.
Just take I-90 to the Genoa Road exit toward Belvedere and follow the signs to Candlewick Lake.
That's Halloween hullabaloo.
WMAQ Chicago.
Here comes Minkie. Minkie picks it up throws the first. He got him on another full play at first and Jerry Yadair the first base coach of Oakland is screaming at Jim Honachek.
Here comes Dick Williams out for the second time to charge the American League on fire.
Minkie crossing behind the mound in front of the shortstop throws the first.
And watching the replay. It's still hard to tell.
Dick Williams talking with his first base coach Jerry Yadair and he's having to shove him away from Honachek.
Dick Williams going to play it cool. He'd hate to be kicked out of a World Series game.
Sparky Anderson was kicked out of one of the playoff games early against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
So Campaneras is out number one here in the third inning. Boy a couple of bang bang plays at first base.
Another sparkling play by Minkie. He was playing deep and had to charge that slow hopper past the mound.
He got in front of Concepcion and fired a strike over to Perez.
Here's Angel Manguel who hit one deep in the right center field.
Tolan misplayed the ball and Manguel turned it into a three base error.
There's a high fly ball hit into the air around the A's dugout. Minkie is over watching it go into the seats.
One strike count on the A's center fielder George Hendrick played the first five games in center field.
Manguel was put in the lineup yesterday and is starting today again.
One strike pitch to him, a curve in the dirt outside, one and one.
Dillingham's record was 12 wins and 12 losses this year.
But the Reds tell you that he won some mighty big ball games for them.
Here's the one one pitch, curve ball, taken low, it's two and one.
The Reds during the course of the season have never had more than 25 pitchers go all the way.
Out of 160 something games there's not been a pitcher go all the way in a World Series this year.
There's a little looper out behind the second baseman Morgan goes back, he's got it.
Morgan playing very deep, got back and took the pop-up off the bat and Manguel are two down.
The A's have one run, two hits, they have not made an error.
The Reds, no runs, one hit and they've made one error.
Two out third inning, here's Joe Rudy.
The A's left fielder in the World Series has had six hits.
He's been up 23 times, one of his hits a home run.
Dillingham comes to the plate, Rudy fouls it down, strike one.
A letter high fastball to Joe.
Every World Series there's always one on fire who seems to be in the middle of every controversy.
And in this series it has been Jim Hodichek.
To show you the integrity of the umpires all three of the close calls he's made have gone against the American League A's.
Hot smash to Minkie at third, up with it cleanly throwing to first, the A's go one, two, three here on the third.
Well after two and a half innings the score remains Oakland one, Cincinnati nothing.
As we prepare to begin the third inning, I think it might be safe to give a little weather forecast here.
As we came on the area it was raining, had been raining for a half an hour and it's clear although rain is expected later on.
But as this game charges on, Monty, it seems clear that we're going to have an official seventh World Series game and somebody will go home the winner.
These pitchers both work fast, they neither one walk a lot of people ordinarily.
And as we mentioned, Odom pitched one game this year, a 10 inning affair in which he made only 78 pitches.
It was the only time of course that he's ever done that and one of the fewest number of pitches in a ball game in the history of the big leagues.
Here is Cesar Geronimo, left handed batter up and Odom's first pitch to him is a fastball just missing inside one and all.
Geronimo in this World Series has been at the plate 16 times, he has had three base hits.
Odom's pitch coming in high, it's 2-0.
Oakland leading 1-0 on Gene Tennesse's bad hop base hit over third baseman Dennis Minkie.
Odom now has a 2-0 count, needs a strike, swings into the windup, here's the pitch, bouncing ball hit towards first.
Nice stop by Gene Tennesse, he's going to the bag and beats his man there.
Gene Tennesse playing a little bit out of position though he has played first base in the minor leagues quite a bit.
He has played first base a little bit for the Oakland A's this year.
He was playing near the foul line for the left-handed hitter and took that bouncer as it went off the carpet, across the dirt and then back onto the carpet again.
There's one out and here is Dave Concepcion, the shortstop, a unique confrontation right now numbers wise if you're one of those freaks.
Concepcion the only player in the National League that wears number 13 and Johnny Odom the pitcher facing him wearing number 13.
Slider calls strike right at the knees to Concepcion.
Right-handed batters had a good series, four hits and ten at bats he ordinarily is platooned with Darryl Cheney.
But today Sparky Anderson has him against the right-hander starting, curve is low above.
One of his four hits in this series was against the right-handed pitcher.
An outstanding shortstop Sparky wanted a little bit more speed in the lineup today.
Odom's one-one pitch, curve high, ball two.
The Reds have one hit so far off Odom and infield hit hotly contested at first base, five feet rose.
The next man, Joe Morgan hit into a double play.
A two-one pitch, low it's ball three.
Dave Duncan got the starting call today for the A's behind the plate.
He's an excellent handler of pitchers, he knows the A's pitching staff well.
He was Oakland's starting catcher through most of this season.
About a month from the end of the season Dave was in a hitting slump and they put Tennyson by the plate and he kept the job.
Three-one pitch, a change up, hit up into the air into the left field.
Joe Rudy backing up just a little and he's got it.
And these Reds players are taking some pretty good pups at Odom's off-speed pitches today.
They're seeing him for the second time now in a week.
Perez and Concepcion have both hit high fly balls to Joe Rudy.
Now here's the pitcher Jack Dillingham with two down, is one to nothing open leading.
Wherever you might be listening in around the world we hope you're enjoying this World Series broadcast presented on NBC.
And a great series it has been.
Dillingham at the plate, Odom to him, missing low ball one.
And John throwing a lot of pitches here this afternoon.
Dillingham is big enough to hit that ball.
Angel Manuel the A's right fielder, center fielder is playing closer to right than center.
Pitch is low to Dillingham ball two.
He has a big strike zone. Dillingham is about 6'3", 6'4".
And Odom has missed loads to him twice.
Two-oh pitch, missed low, no he got that one, I'm sorry.
Pellecutis gave us that slow shot.
Dillingham is at 21 hits, 222 at bat for the year.
Swinging strike two, he didn't come too close to that one.
Odom throwing a slider then, it's two balls, two strikes now.
The Moon Man is the A's players call John Odom.
Tranks it up and throws, again a breaking ball and Dillingham strikes out.
So we go to the top half of the fourth inning in another low scoring game.
It's Oakland 1, Cincinnati nothing.
Hello, I'm John.
From Cincinnati with Monty Moore, this is Jim Simpson.
There's only been one run scored in this ball game.
And again for those of you who may not have heard, with one out in the first,
Manuel aligned the shot to center field.
Bobby Jolen charged it only to have it go off his glove for a three base error.
Manuel was left at third base and Rudy Plyder short left field,
but then Tennes bounced a single off Menke's glove
and that's the one run unearned of the ball game.
We go to the fourth and Monty.
Gene Tennes standing at the plate.
He's batting clean up here this afternoon and Dick Williams shaking up lineup.
Dillingham pitches.
He hangs a curve right on that inside corner for a call strike.
This is the 28th time in World Series history that the series has gone at least seven games.
Several of them went eight games back in the early 1900s.
The 0-1 pitch, curve ball to Tennes, same play, same result, strike two call.
This is the eighth seven game series out of the last 12,
which means the two leagues best in those 12 years have played it close.
The 0-2 pitch showed him the fast ball after two curves and missed outside with it.
It's one ball and two strikes now to Tennes.
He'll be followed here and this is the fourth inning by Sal Bando and Matty Elvo.
Curve again. He struck him out swinging.
Dillingham must have an excellent breaking ball today because the A's players,
Bando and now Tennes, have chased bad ones way outside for strikeouts.
That is his second strikeout, both on the same kind of a pitch.
He had gone to the inside with two breaking balls on Tennes and really had him set up.
Then he went back outside.
Here now is Sal Bando and the pitch.
Bando tried to punt that ball for the base hit and it fouled off strike one.
Here's Minky playing very deep.
The way that Johnny Bench comes out from behind that plate,
like a sprinter off the starting blocks,
you've got a pretty good punt here even with Minky playing deep to get on.
Fetch to Bando, fast ball hit hard to Minky, short hops it, fine play, throws the first, he got him.
Dennis Minky sucks up another tough one over behind third base.
It was a short hop. He charged the ball and made the throw.
There are two down in the fourth and here is Mattie Allou,
the only player on either team, a regular who hasn't struck out in the series.
And the sun is broken out here in Cincinnati.
The pitch, Mattie takes slow, a ball.
When a player has only one hit in the series and something like 22 at bats,
you try to find something good and our statistician at NBC, Alan Roth, has.
Mattie is the only player who hasn't struck out.
There are two down and bright sunshine pops out of the clouds here.
Here's the 1-0 pitch. Fast ball misses outside 2-0
and Billingham is really moving that ball around here today.
The Oakland A's have two base hits. The Reds have one.
The 2-0 pitch. Fast ball hits sharply.
George Wright cut off with a deep playing. Morgan at second. He throws him out.
Throw it three up, three down in the fourth inning and the score remains.
Oakland 1, Cincinnati nothing.
Schmidt, the dry look.
Mike Bufolco, wet head.
I don't believe it.
Mike Bufolco, the dry look.
I believe it.
People do seem to notice an improvement when a guy switches to the dry look,
the aerosol hair control from Gilless.
You should try it if you haven't already. Comes regular or extra hold?
Joe Lamarca, wet head.
Dick.
Joe Lamarca, the dry look.
Fantastic.
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We go to the fourth inning.
The applause, this is almost like a football stadium.
Tenets are waving.
They are standing because Pete Rose, and that means he'll be modeled by Joe Morgan
and Bobby Trollin, are due up in the fourth against John Blue Moon Otters.
One of the three men that gets the Reds offense going.
Rose preparing to step in.
Odom nursing a swim.
One honor and one to none lead.
Steps back on the mound.
We begin the course under sunlight.
There's been a lot of interesting flybacks in this World Series,
such as the A's mustaches and short hair, long hair against the Reds short hair.
It has also developed into a pennant waving contest between the Oakland fans who started it in Oakland,
and the Reds fans who have broken out the pennant.
Here is Pete Rose.
Johnny Odom wide, kicks that white shoe in the air and throws a fastball a little low.
It's one and oh.
The top of the Reds batting order, Rose, Morgan, and Trollin.
Due to bat here in the last half of the fourth inning.
Sal Bendo playing a shallow third base.
Here's the pitch low to Rose, and he's licking him over.
He's making those strikes.
Signs all over the place here.
The fans in Oakland and the fans in Cincinnati have both been tremendous throughout this entire thing.
The 2-0 fetch.
There's a drive in the right center field deep.
Mangala's going back and reaches up and picks it off over his head.
Angel Mangual playing center field.
All that went in after it looked as if he might have misjudged that ball for a moment.
It sort of was twisting off the left-hander's bat a ways from right field back towards center.
Mangual had broken to his left and went back.
He caught that ball, and Jim, the sun is out.
I don't know where the sun might be as far as the sun field.
I suppose it is left field right now.
So there's one out in the fourth, and Rose really put some temper on that one.
Here's Joe Morgan.
Bando comes in even more shallow at third for him.
Dick Green is playing a very deep second base.
Otis highly kicked.
The curve high.
That ball.
Morgan ran up on the ball as if he wanted to bun it.
With that third baseman playing shallow in the shortstop deep.
And Odom, the pitcher, the kind of a pitcher who falls off in his follow-through,
towards the first base line.
It looks like a speedy left-handed batter might be able to punch that ball by the mound.
Curve misses low and away.
It's two balls and no strikes, and Odom has been behind both first two batters.
Pitching is a much tougher job when you're working from behind.
You've got to give in a little bit to keep from walking them.
Remember that Morgan led the major leagues in getting three passes this year.
115 were doled out to him during the National League season.
He's had five in the World Series.
Odom's 2-0 pitch.
Swinging, strike, he threw him a sweater.
Morgan swams his hand onto the end of his bat, disgusted.
Rose took a big cut at a 2-0 pitch and drove Manuel 400 feet to the wall to haul him to drive.
Morgan wanted to do the same.
For a walking man and a speedster, Morgan is very powerful.
He hit 16 home runs this year.
The 2-1 pitch.
Back ball misses inside.
It is now 3-1.
The foul line's here at Riverfront Stadium, 330 feet.
And the foul rally's 375-404 to the base of the wall in center.
Now Odom has one of his biggest pitches of the game so far.
It is 3-1.
The pitch on the way.
He led up and walked him.
And now the excitement begins in earnest here.
The A's game plan, of course, is to try to keep Morgan and Tolan off the bases.
Now that Morgan is on, you can almost bet that at some time he'll be running.
Dave Duncan has not been behind the plate for the A's in this series, and the Reds have run rampant.
11 stolen bases.
Now Duncan is going to be challenged possibly by Morgan.
One out, one on.
And the A's bullpen goes to work.
The first sign of trouble.
And Jim Hunter, right-hander, gets up and goes to the bullpen.
Morgan gets that big lead at first.
Jenis holding against him.
John Odom has a good move.
Morgan's got a big lead.
Odom looks at him, throws, and just lobs the ball.
Not his good move at all.
Now Green and Campaneras have shortened up a little bit at second and short.
Somebody's got to go cover.
Tolan doesn't always take a lot of pitches for Morgan.
He's scored from first on a single in this series already.
He's leaning. He draws another throw from Odom. It's a lob throw.
And a big game in Oakland.
Morgan at first base with a walk.
Two down.
Broke towards second base.
Tolan swung and hit a little looper out in the right center field.
And since Morgan was going and the outfielders of the A's didn't get to it,
he's scored from first base on a single.
He's got a big leaning off first base and Odom steps off the river.
He's going to give Morgan something to think about.
Morgan is giving Odom plenty to think about.
Isn't it amazing what a simple walk can do to turn on a ball club?
Here's a throw to first and he has good move but not in time.
Odom with a quick throw over to Gene Tennes and Morgan had to hit the dirt to get back in.
There's a cutout area on the carpet around all the bases.
It stretches to about eight feet off first base.
And Morgan plants one foot in the dirt, one up on the artificial turf.
Odom drops down to the waste.
Tolan cocks the bat.
Throw to first again.
Morgan dives back in, hits first.
Odom has made five throws to first and none to the plate yet.
Catfish Hunter in the Oakland Bowl fan.
This is for all the marbles.
And they made these marbles out of pure gold.
Morgan a big lead at first again.
Odom takes a shot at him.
He is safe but Tennes shoved him off the bag, the F-Fire says.
Morgan got back from the bag and Tennes shoved him off.
He didn't slide back in there that time.
He took it a little too casually and Tennes put a catcher's block on him.
Tolan still hasn't had a pitch.
A lot of throws to first will intimidate some race runners and encourage others to go.
Odom holding, bobbing his head up and down, throws again and Morgan goes back in at first.
The game is not at the plate.
The game is at first place right now.
A runner like that can destroy the concentration of a pitcher.
When he finally does make a pitch to the plate, a lot of times it is not the same kind of a pitch he would make were it not for the runner at first.
Now Blue Moon drops down to the waist again, throws again and it is close this time but he didn't get him.
Now Bobby Tolan is going to give his teammate a little time to put himself back together.
He is going over to the on deck area.
Going to doctor his bat up with the rousing bag and Chris Palakoutis, the plate umpire, is coming over to get him.
Tolan is standing with his back to the umpire, paying no attention at all.
Tolan knows what it means to have about seven or eight throws at you at first base because he is a base burglar himself.
So he is giving Morgan time to regroup so to speak.
A 1 to nothing game. The Oakland A's are leading Cincinnati with one out in the fourth inning.
A walk to Joe Morgan has just turned the full concentration of the baseball game 90 feet away from home plate over to first.
There is said, here is a pitch outside of all.
And the Cincinnati crowd is roaring.
One ball, no strikes to count on Tolan with Joe Morgan almost a cinch to go.
If there are three or four pitches made to the plate on one of them, it has got a big lead.
Draws a throw in the dirt, Jenis smothers it.
He blocked it nicely.
As he came up with a ball, he sort of rolled over on Morgan again.
We have had some hard tags and hard blocks in this series.
Al McCray knocked Dick Green almost into the left field stands on a double play check out in Oakland.
Yesterday, Sal Bando tagged Bobby Tolan at third base hard and shoved him off the bag.
Jenis shoved Morgan off here today.
Now, would him get ready to pitch or throw the first again.
Here is the pitch, there goes Morgan, he is taking, throw down a second base.
Now, it is second, Dave Duncan shoots Morgan down.
Duncan in his first test as a thrower in this series.
He got down Morgan who got a good jump.
That throw was high and outside to Duncan, an easy one to handle.
Morgan gets a cheer from the crowd behind the Cincinnati dugout just for going.
One or two throws like that can mean a lot here today.
Dick Williams, knowing that Duncan is a more experienced catcher than Gene Tennis
and a good team leader shook the lineup up today to put him behind the plate to handle Johnny Odom.
Here is the two and Oda Tolan, swing and a miss, a strike on a slider that was eating up the inside of the plate.
Two down and nobody on, Tolan the batter, Johnny bench on deck.
One to nothing, the Oakland A's are leading.
Here is Odom's pitch to Tolan, high pop foul out of play, into the stands it goes,
Duncan giving token chase with that back in souvenir country.
So it is two balls and two strikes.
The Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in their best five game series.
The A's beat the Detroit Tigers in a five game playoff series.
Baseball's best year ever for sheer excitement.
Here's the two-two pitch, pop foul out of play, Odom hitting right on the fist with a slider.
The entire nation was really turned on by baseball during the playoff, the games were all televised,
they were coast to coast, they were great games, a lot of excitement and a lot at stake.
That two-two pitch, outside ball three to Tolan and Odom could ask for a lot more trouble if he throws another bad one to this guy.
Tolan grounded out to Gene Tennis, his first time up in the game.
Now the A's right-hander, cuts loose, change up, ball four he walked in.
And now Bobby Tolan will be doing much the same as Morgan I would imagine.
They've got to have some trouble now ahead because Johnny Bench is at the plate.
And if you start thinking fastball to keep Tolan from stealing, you've got to think 40 home runs by Johnny Bench.
Probably many of them hit off fastball.
Tolan, a fast runner, stole 42 bases this year.
He's digging himself a little hole off first base.
In this series, Tolan has swiped five and six drives.
The only time the A's got him, they got him on a pitch out.
He doesn't have too big a lead compared to Morgan.
Here's the pitch, Bench takes this right over the outside corner for a called strike.
I don't know how much they would run with Bench at the plate.
As I understand the Cincinnati Ball Club, they run just any time and all the time.
But with a home run hitter at the plate, they might run just a little bit less.
Odom turns, throws to first with a quick move, and the ball is dropped by Tennes.
I'll tell you this, the first baseman really has to be on the alert at first with Odom on the mound because he fires over there.
Tolan darting off first, here's the pitch, high and inside, Bench almost got hit.
In any sport, I don't think anything excites fans like speed.
In basketball, the little guy who can run and dribble around everybody.
In football, the little halfback who takes the long kickoffs back.
In baseball, the little man who runs on the bases.
And these two men, Morgan and Tolan, have really turned on 50,000 here today.
Jumping around at first base, Tolan draws another throw from Tennes.
I'll tell you this, Jim Tennes is playing first base like a catcher catching a wild pitcher.
He's blocking everything down on his knees.
He's not going to let that ball get away from him if he can help it.
Now Tolan's complaining to Jim Honachuk over there, I believe, about the body contact on the plays and the bases.
One ball and one strike on the Major League's long tater champion, Johnny Bench.
Tolan leaning back towards first, he is not going to pitch, swung on and popped up.
Towards the stand, Bando may have a play on it, it's coming down near the dugout.
Campaneras and Bando are there, Bando picks it off right over the head of Campaneras.
Johnny Bench had a big home run cut and an inside slider and popped it up.
So a lot of excitement, a big scare but no score for the Reds.
It is Oakland 1 Cincinnati nothing.
We pause 30 seconds for station identification.
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There'll be fun for the whole family, bop for apples and join in the big pumpkin carving contest with free pumpkins for all the kids.
And a big costume contest, cider and donuts too.
It's all free, so come to Candlewick Lake next weekend for the big Halloween hullabaloo.
Just take I-90 to the Genoa Road exit toward Belvedere and follow the signs to Candlewick Lake.
That's Halloween hullabaloo, WMAQ Chicago.
Top of the fifth, Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati 1 to nothing, the unearned run of the first inning by the Oakland A's.
On a three base there by Bobby Tolan, an infield hit off the bat of Gene Dennis.
It'll be Dave Duncan, the face Jack Billingham and here's Marty Morris.
Duncan ready for the first pitch and here it is, a curve ball dropped in there for a strike and Billingham's big pitcher today has been the breaking ball.
He's known as a sinker ball pitcher but today he has had an outstanding curve.
One strike pitch, there it is again and Duncan reaches out over the plate and yanks it foul by third.
No balls, two strikes, it is 1 to nothing Oakland leading in the championship game of the 1972 World Series.
One that has been marked by outstanding defense, outstanding pitching and really a lack of hitting.
The O2 pitch, curve swinging, strike three he got him. Billingham strikes out Duncan with a big jug.
That is his third strike out, all right-handed batters and all chasing curves.
Here now is Dick Green, Oakland's second baseman who got a gap single in the second inning between short and third.
It was right after that that John Odom trying to bunt the ball failed to and they picked off Duncan in a big play.
Dick Green took a big swing at a curve and fouled it off the end of the bat strike one.
Johnny Bench after Odom missed the bunt fired the second and they got Duncan in a run down.
One strike pitch, curve ball bounced to the third baseman, Minkie knocks this one down,
chases it, takes it up, throws it over to first and he pulls for his off the bag, he tags him going by.
Minkie with his first failure to come up with a ball cleanly on that backhanded grab near the foul line.
Now Dick Green talking with Hanechek briefly, that throw by Minkie pulled Perez off the bag.
Had Green have known that he could have hit the dirt and been under it.
But he's running hard not knowing what's going on. Now two down, nobody on and here is Johnny Odom.
The A's have not had a runner since Green's single in the second.
Odom takes a look at an E-high fastball that's in there, strike one.
These two pitchers, Odom of the A's and Billingham of the Reds, have come the closest to pitching a complete game in the series.
Swinging strike two, that great curve ball of Billingham's is something to see today.
Billingham pitched eight innings and Odom seven when last they met.
In a one-nothing game there's a swinging strike three on another curve.
So we've got halfway here at Riverfront Stadium.
The score, Oakland one, Cincinnati nothing.
And now here to carry us through to the end of this championship game of the World Series, NBC's Jim Simpson.
Alright Monty, it is Tony Perez who hit an Odom change deep to left and Rudy had to go to the warning track to haul it in on the second inning.
Perez to lead off the fifth.
Catfish Hunter warmed for about five minutes for the A's and Pedro Bobon of Cincinnati went briefly down to the bullpen for the Cincinnati Reds.
Sun is out, rain is expected here according to this morning's forecast after three this afternoon.
Cincinnati time, it is currently almost 2.15 here.
Perez big strong right-handed batter with more hits than anybody else in the series with nine, takes a fast ball on the outside corner of Odom.
Odom was pitching from behind in much of the fourth inning.
Went to three and one and walked Joe Morgan and then threw about six or seven times over to first after him.
Went to three and two on Tolan before walking him.
Perez takes a big cut at an off-speed pitch from Odom.
John loves to change speeds. Monty has told you he also delivers from many different varieties of style and wind up.
Out in front of Perez, O and two.
Pikes to throw the breaking pitch and throws a curve off-speed that stays inside one ball two strikes.
One and two to Perez. Menke is on deck.
Odom ready. Throws the fast ball and misses outside and it's two balls two strikes to Perez.
Reds had a chance in the first with Rose on at first but Morgan hit into a double play and
when you get walks to Morgan and Tolan back to back and get out of that that was something that Odom and the A's did in the fourth.
Seldom happens.
Two-two to Perez. Comes back with a breaking pitch line down the left field line. That ball is fair ball into the corner.
Really goes in to dig it out. Perez heads for second base. That is in with a stand-up double.
That's only the second hit. Off-job Blue Moon Odom. And that will get the A's bullpen busy again. Menke is up.
Menke did a superb job.
Earlier here yesterday with a man at second base, a lead-off man, he moved him over to third base with an infield out and allowed Concepcion's long fly ball to score.
Kenny Holtzman has gotten up now, the left-hander to join Catfish Hunter who was up and throwing before.
Bando has walked over to talk to Odom and also give Holtzman and Hunter a chance to throw.
That's some bullpen in it. Hunter won 21, Holtzman 19.
Yes and that's a typical seventh game of a World Series bullpen right there.
Menke's big job is rather begin score for Perez but certainly get him over to third base.
One to nothing to score. There are no out in the last of the fifth. Odom throws a breaking pitch. It's a strike.
One strike to Menke who looks down to Alex Gramis coaching at third base for his side.
Bando at the moment is about even with the bag at third.
Time is called by Mel Starter at second base and Dick Green says hold it. I don't mean anything so Starter says go ahead and play.
Odom from the stretch, throws another breaking pitch. This one just misses outside.
Duncan holds the ball there for the moment hoping that Chris Pellikoudis,
who apparently is very slow to call the pitches, would change his mind.
Chris has come on now to talk to Odom as Holtzman and Hunter continue to throw.
Jim, those two pitches have both been outside and if Menke is looking for something to move the man over,
that's exactly where Odom was throwing the ball. Campanaris might want him to change a little bit there.
Odom ready back with his pitch that's down low and it's two balls, one strike to Menke.
Three games to three in the 1972 World Series. It will end here today.
At the moment the A's lead one to nothing with none out of the tying run.
Tony Perez down at second base and Dennis Menke with a count of two and one.
Tony Perez, no matter what happens today, will go home having hit safely in every game of the World Series.
The 20th time a player has hit safely in all seven games.
That was his 10th base hit of this series. Breaking pitch, that gets the corner and it's two balls, two strikes to Menke.
Menke grounded the bando on his only other time up in this game.
He is two for 21. One of those two was a home run and he has moved men around and has played exceptionally well at third base.
Odom throws and there's a ground ball foul off the hands of Alex Gramis, third base coach,
and picked up in the half of one of the Oakland A's who leans over the railing from his dugout.
Still two balls, two strikes.
They're playing Menke, if anything, slightly toward right field.
Although Concepcion has pulled around on the hold, love to have a play at third base if the ball is hit to him there.
Odom again is ready.
The 2-2 pitch is a breaking pitch, foul back toward us.
Perez has not moved very far from second base.
Harder the right-hander, holds from the left-hander, continue to throw.
Odom with the new baseball.
In the stretch.
Long way. Now delivers a fastball down low block by Duncan. Perez can't go anywhere.
All have done out in present second. We've gone to the full count on Dennis Menke with the left-hander, Cesar Geronimo, standing on deck.
I would imagine that both Dick Williams and Sparky Anderson, as they came to the ballpark today, were just hoping to get as many as five innings out of Odom or out of Billingham.
They have done their job. It has been a superbly pitchball game.
Odom ready with a 3-2, throws a breaking pitch, strike three. Menke started to check his swing.
Tela Cuda says it got the outside corner. Big out there. For the reason that Perez does not advance to third base with less than two out, he remains at second.
And here is Geronimo. Geronimo with a count of 2-0 on him, leading off the third, rash one at Gene Tennantz, the catcher who today is playing at first base.
He knocked it down, raced over, and tagged the bat. Dick Williams is coming out. It might be, among other things, Monty, that he wants to remind,
Odom and Duncan, of the kind of pitch that Geronimo really got around on and blasted it, Tennantz at first base back in that third inning.
Yes, and he had a big hit in one of the early games that Cincinnati won, too, drove in the winning run of a ball game.
The A's all know what it was. It was a high fastball. It's just a kind of a pitch that they hit.
And again, Dick Green is checked with Campi Campaneras. See whether or not they come to third base.
Rudy is playing Geronimo to hit the other way. He's very near that line and left. Bando has come in.
That ball blocked beautifully by Dave Duncan, and we've seen a couple of examples now why the A's say Duncan is their best feeling catcher.
He has thrown out the speedy Joe Morgan at second base attempting to steal, and he has blocked a couple of good pitches.
Jim, it was Geronimo who got the base hit off Odom driving in Perez in that one-to-nothing game they fixed before.
One and O. Odom's got a good look at Perez. Now comes back to the plate. The fastball is inside.
Two and O now to Geronimo, who looks down to Alex Gremmels.
That was the seventh inning of that ball game in which Perez fell as he came around third base,
but got up to come on and score the only run of the game. Billingham beat Odom, and that one won it up.
Odom leads Billingham, and this one one-to-nothing in the last of the fifth.
Odom ready his pitches outside, and he has gone three and O to Geronimo with Concepcion on deck.
Otter and Holtzman continue their activity, and now we have activity down in the Reds bullpen.
Looks like Pedro Borbon has gone down there again. The Reds get something going. It's a cinch. Billingham is gone, and Borbon comes on.
Green-O pitch, and he's taking it all away. It's low ball four.
That is the third walk given up by John Blue Moon Odom. Duncan walks out. Campaneras has come in.
Concepcion is coming up, and Dick Williams has not yet come out of the Oakland dugout.
Situation is this. We are in the fifth of a one-to-nothing ball game.
Perez let off with a stand-up double deep in the left field corner. Menke looked at a breaking pitch for call strike three.
Geronimo has just walked on four pitches, and now Concepcion, who had a change to medium center field back in the third inning, steps in.
Williams did not come out of the A's dugout.
Now the tying and go-ahead runs are on the bases in the last of the fifth. There's one out.
Concepcion has driven in a couple of runs and scored a couple in this World Series, and he is four for eleven.
Gets a curveball. It's on the inside corner. Strike one.
Odom has had the pitch with pressure for the siding game of the American League Championship playoffs against Detroit, the seventh game of the World Series.
The strike one pitch. Back with a fastball. Low and away again, and again Duncan blocks.
One ball, one strike.
It rained for half an hour before this game began, but again we'll remind you there is a breeze, stiff breeze, blowing toward left, and the sun is out.
Back with the pitch. It's low and away again. It's two and one.
Now Dick Williams comes out. Those last pitches after walking Geronimo on four pitches, and Duncan has had to really block those last two,
saving Perez from moving to third and Geronimo to second, and that may be enough with a controlled pitcher like Catfish Hunter in the bullpen, and he is conwarming sufficiently.
And this might dictate a change by Sparky Anderson, too, with Hunter coming on. He could pinch hit Cheney right here. I don't know how they think, but sometimes he could do that.
One thing I'm sure that's causing the change here is in watching Odom. In this situation, ordinarily, when you want to double play ball, he throws that good hard sinker,
but he's been throwing almost all breaking balls. He threw about six of them to Menke, and finally got him, but he's throwing that breaking ball.
He's not throwing it real sharp here right now, and Dick wants somebody in there who can make sure that he doesn't walk anybody over.
So both managers have made pitching changes in this series at critical stages of the game with a count like 3-0.
Sparky Anderson brought in Clay Carroll on a 3-0 count one time. He brought Carroll in again with a 2-0 count or 2-1.
John Odom goes into the eighth dugout and gets the handshake of all his teammates. He has done a job.
Jim mentioned that Odom has fixed the pressure games, the fifth game of the playoffs and near the seventh game, and he's had to do it with a lot of pressure, too,
because the A's were not scoring in either one of those ball games. Today here, it's just 1-0, and this has been a typical Oakland pitcher's plight the last month.
The ball club has not scored very many runs, and today the A's are playing without their two top home run hitters, Mike Epstein, who is benched for this game,
and Reggie Jackson, who is out with an injury. When you take those two bats out of the lineup, you're taking out 51 home runs and about 145 RBIs.
So the pitching staff has had extra pressure in these pressure games.
Jim Catfish-Hunter led the American League in percentage of wins this year, 75%. He was 21-7.
At 16 complete games, started the second game of the series, won 8-2 innings and won that ball game, giving up just a run.
Then he started a game later on at Oakland, lasted but 4-1 innings in that one. That was the fifth game of the series and gave up three runs and five hits, struck out two and walked two.
Now Hunter is in his third World Series appearance with a 2.75 earn run average, and at 13-1 innings, he's given up four runs and 11 hits.
A control pitcher, he comes in with a 2-1 count to Concepcion. Perez at second, Geronimo at first and one out, one to nothing to score.
Oakland, we're in the last of the fifth.
Hunter from the stretch, throws his first pitch and it's outside and it's three balls, one strike.
Concepcion now will take a look at Alex Ramos. Does he have the green light?
Rose is on deck. Billingham is the man due to bat.
Robon continues to throw and we can bet something happens here barring a double play.
We won't see Billingham, one of the worst hitting players on the club.
Hunter back and throws down low and he has walked the base and loaded.
And that will send Sparky Anderson to his bet to bring up a left-hander if he can.
Ulander or Haig, they have not poked their heads out of there yet. And now Ted Ulander has the bat.
We've seen him disappear. Ulander had a pinched double earlier.
Haig is another left-hander in there.
And Jim looking at the lineup cards, we could really see some changing here.
If a left-hander Ulander comes out of there, Dick Williams might go to his left-hander out on the bullpen.
And that is Kenny Holtzman. But then Sparky Anderson would have his top-pinch hitter right-handed batting Hal McCray to come out then.
We pause here 30 seconds for station identification.
That's come out and Monty, that means that Sparky Anderson had the wheels cutting,
figuring just what you said, that if they sent out a Ulander or a Haig, they might see Holtzman.
Right, and the thing is, McCray has hit that ball awfully hard in the series and twice he's hit it against right-handed pitchers.
So I would imagine a guy like him, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference.
A right-hander's still got to make a good pitch and you can bet on one thing, McCray will be up there swinging.
Now McCray, as we've described to you throughout the series, calls himself the offensive player.
He said, don't judge me on defense, judge me on offense.
And in the series he's 4 for 9 and that's a 4-44 average.
He comes up with the bases loaded and one out.
The Reds trailing 1-0 in the last of the fifth of the seventh World Series game.
Jim Catfish-Hunter, ready, pitching from the stretch now.
It is hit high and deep to centerfield and well is back near the wall and has it in front of the wall,
but tagging from third base with a tying run is Perez.
It's 1-1.
That run is charged to Odom.
And as Pete Rose steps in with two out now, Duranimal still at second.
Concepcion at first, they're throwing streamers here.
They haven't won it yet, but the Reds fans have been waiting for some kind of run.
Now streamers bounce on the field, out of left field.
Time will be called for that.
And lost in the shuffle is the fine pitching job that Jack Billingham has done.
He worked five innings, retiring the last 10 minutes in a row.
He allowed no earned runs at all, only two base hits.
Struck out four and lost one.
The Reds score another run.
He could be a winning pitcher.
He can't lose it now.
Rose fouls the first one back off the screen, strike one.
Rose beat out an infield hit to green at truck stop and a very close play called by Hunter Chick at first base.
That was in the first inning.
And then he sent Manuel deep to the warning track 400 feet away in the fourth.
He's one for two.
Hunter ready.
Ball is hit.
The infield.
Manuel goes back to the warning track again, near the fence, stands there, and has it at the wall.
The gray and the roars have driven them deep.
It's a one-to-one ball game.
They've gone five innings, but you can't tell the officials yet because it's all tied up.
And Reigns are due in about an hour.
One big run scores on just one base hit.
The leadoff doubled by Perez.
No errors.
Two men left at the end of five.
Oakland won, Cincinnati won.
Starting pitchers allow only two hits in their work, and they are gone.
That's what the seventh game of a World Series is all about.
The A's got their run in the first inning when Manuel drilled one over the head of center fielder Bobby Tolan, who made an error on the play.
Tennis then knocked him in.
The Reds got theirs in the fifth when Tony Perez, the leading hitter in the series with 10 hits now, led off with a double.
Odom got Minkie on a strikeout, but then Geronimo with a count of two and O was pitched to by Jim Hunter.
He walked him.
The walk charged to Odom.
And then McCray drove in the tying run, and Rose almost knocked in three more.
Jim?
Honey, this is the seventh game of the World Series.
This is the sixth game of Pedro Odom has pitched yet.
He's come on and will face the top of the batting order.
Kandy Cavanagh reads it off, and there's a curve ball he started with, and he catches the outside corner.
Odom has shown us a lot of the curve, although he's primarily a sinking fastball pitcher, getting everybody to drive the ball into the ground.
Cavanagh says 0 for 21, takes the pitch up high.
He has had three base hits in this World Series, but in his last 21 times at bat, he has not reached base.
For Bowen's earned run average is 1.47, and the sixth and the third innings he has worked.
Back again, and the base hit up the middle for Cavanagh.
And now for the first time, since way back in the first game, the leadoff man, Kandy Cavanagh, who makes the offense of the A's go, is on it for a safe.
He is the man that steals all those bases over there in the American race.
He is the man that had to come off the bench in the last game of the season to steal the stolen base title away from Davey Nelson of Texas for the Bowen performance.
His man, well, has scored the only A's run, or rather he is Angel Man's run, the only A's run, has stolen this judge's line drive in the first for a three base error and sent us knocking him in with a base hit.
And they have checked Cavanagh's at first base to keep him close.
One to one to score. We are in the sixth. A breaking pitch.
Fulted, up the line. Perez will have to go to first base Morgan covering the sacrifice front.
His complete, Cavanagh's, moves into second base.
Byron Bunt.
By man, well, and here's Joe Rudy.
The only RBI that Rudy has had was a game-winning RBI, a home run in the second game one week ago today.
The go-ahead run down at second base.
And now it is Vince that is talking with Bourbon.
And now we have activity.
Clay Carroll, the hawk, is up and throwing in the Cincinnati bullpen.
Manke has tossed things over now with Bourbon. He goes back to first base.
Bench is behind the plate.
Cavanagh is down to second base.
And Rudy, a 3-0-5 hitter during the regular season, six for 24 in this World Series.
Right-hander's out of it with a great deal of his hits going to the opposite field, steps in.
We have known a third base coach, hands on knees, bending over.
He gets a chance to wave the speedy Cavanaghs around third or hold him up.
Did Rudy do something? And there's a ball hit to the other side.
Morgan has come up with a go to first base as the third goes Cavanagh.
Two out with Gene Tennes, the leading RBI man in the World Series coming up.
He drove in his eighth today. He has hit four home runs.
Now the bench goes up again to talk to Bourbon.
And now Sparky Anderson comes out to talk to Bourbon.
One run, three hits, no errors for the A's.
One run, two hits, and a very damaging error for the Reds,
and that was the three-base error by Tolan in the first,
which allowed the A's to get on the scoreboard for their first and only time thus far.
One more head run, Campy Cavanaghs is at third base.
Two are out. Tennes, four home runs, seven or 22 in the series, eight RBIs.
What about it?
Tennes playing at first base today to keep his bat in the lineup.
Lanes in from the right side and swings and fouls off a fastball.
It's stepped up on one hand by Sal Bando in the next circle,
and he throws it back to Pellicu to see Empire.
Strike one to Tennes, who never moves from that bat in his box.
He keeps those feet planted and just stays in there until Bourbon gets the new ball.
Nobody throwing an A's bullpen now.
There's an off-speed pitch lined out in left field away from Rose.
It's two to one around first base on his way to second.
Tennes hears Rose's throw and he's in with a double on his ninth RBI of the ballgame.
It is two to one Oakland.
Gene Tennes has had some kind of World Series.
That is his eighth hit, his second in this ballgame, his second RBI in this ballgame,
his ninth run batted in, and he is in scoring position with Bando up.
And now we're going to get Allen Lewis to race out toward second base,
and he will run for Tennes, which means that after all we will see Epstein at first base later on.
Epstein or Mike Keegan.
Epstein not starting to do it.
Keegan has been the late-aiming defensive replacement,
and with a one-run ballgame, Monty, probably would go to Keegan.
Yes, I would imagine he usually goes in late defense.
It's hard to score in a hit here. It's a reason they make the change.
Fastball inside to Bando. It's ball one.
Now the A's tied the ballgame and the last of the fifth.
Now the A's have west-sided and the last of the fifth.
Now the A's have gone ahead, and that's the second pitch inside from Bourbon, and it's two and O.
Pedro has been most effective throughout this series, but has given up two hits in the go-ahead run.
Back again. This pitch is very high.
Now remember, he is a sinking fastball pitcher.
That fastball was up at the cap of Bando, who looks down the line with a three and O count.
Menke races over.
Clay Carroll continues to throw in the Reds bullpen.
And the crowd at Riverfront Stadium suddenly very quiet again.
They had rallied. Now they're behind, and there's the ball. It hits the straightaway center field.
Bobby Tolan goes back. They're the warning crack. Reaches up. It'll be off the wall.
And it is now three to one. The ball gets away from Tolan, and the second base goes Bando with a double.
Back-to-back doubles.
And Tolan, who pulled an Achilles tendon twice, is limping and now bending over in center field.
And the trainer for the Reds is dashing to center field, trying to walk it off.
Looks like he's holding the back of his left leg, Monty.
Jim, he fell about two steps from the warning crack.
I don't know if he could have caught that ball if he'd have kept going.
I don't think he could have. It was really carrying to the wall.
But he grabbed that back of his leg, and when a sprinter grabs the back of a leg, you think hamstring right away.
But he folded up in a heap. He looked...
Remember the time in New York when Mickey Mantle took off to first base and just collapsed and grabbed the back of his leg.
It looked that kind of a play. He did scramble on his knees and pick the ball up, but he really went down.
And if he is hurt badly enough that he couldn't run, he would really take a weapon away from the Reds.
Marky Anderson has gone all the way to center field to see Bobby Tolan.
Tolan is due up next, or I should say in the next inning, second, following Morgan.
And you know the kind of combination that Morgan and Tolan make on those bases.
Tolan is up and walking around, and suddenly against Bourbon, who has been one of the most effective pitchers of this World Series,
the A's who haven't scored too many runs have scored two here with two out and back-to-back doubles by Tennyson Bando.
Right-handers facing the right-hander Bourbon, who has not been able to keep that ball low, Bobby.
I think it was a 3-0 count then, wasn't it, Jim?
Bando with a right-handed pitcher going, he being a right-handed batter, was giving the green light,
and man, did he get into it.
Tolan is coming off the field.
He's limping off the field, and he might be through.
Bourbon continues to warm, and we will await with you, Monty, to see who goes out there to replace Tolan on center field.
Seventh game of the World Series, what a dramatic inning this sixth is.
They have broken the one-to-one tie, and the Reds have lost Bobby Tolan, who has driven in so many runs,
six in the first three games, and stolen five bases. What a loss this is.
That's the first run battered into the series for Sal Bando, and I don't suppose he could have picked a better time.
This series has been incredible for the closeness of the games.
The first five games were all decided by one run, and listen to the scores.
Oakland won here in Cincinnati, 3-2 in the first game.
They won in the second game, 2-1.
Then we went out to Oakland, and Cincinnati won 1-0 behind Billingham.
Then Oakland won 3-2.
Then in the fifth game of the series, Cincinnati won 5-4.
Only yesterday did either club really break loose and score a lot of runs,
and they've always said that good fishing can stop good hitting.
Well, these two clubs were the second-top scoring clubs in their league.
Cincinnati averaged five runs a game, almost six this year in the National League,
and the A's averaged just short of five in the American League.
So they can score, but here in this series, they haven't.
They may be giving Tolan some time to see whether or not he's going back in.
They played on top, Chris Pelikoutis and Cole Jereidea.
They first may scope to go tell Dick Williams what is going on in the tuckout,
and Tolan is standing there, and perhaps it is, and now he's beginning to jump up and down a little,
that perhaps it is they want to make absolutely sure that Bobby is really out of this ballgame
before putting a replacement in.
In the meantime, Marty Ross-Grinsley, the big left-hander who has won two in a row,
the last two in a row, has come on and has joined Kell in the bullpen.
And a factor here, Dick Williams is complaining a little bit.
I'm sure this might be about this situation.
They're using the delay of Tolan getting ready or not getting ready over there
to jump a left-hander and get him ready to fix the Matty Alou, who was due to bat next.
So this could be a factor here.
Tolan is not out of the ballgame yet.
He has ended a gut, and the trainer is working on him there.
They might try to tape that up and keep him in there.
But as you mentioned, Grimsley is getting ready in a hurry with the left-handed batting Matty Alou due to go next.
This crowd here today, 56,040, the largest baseball crowd ever in Cincinnati.
Last Sunday's record was 53,224, and that was a record on that day.
The riverfront seating capacity is 51,744.
So the Etchers came to the ballpark today with Hugh Horn,
and they put 5,000 more in here than you're supposed to.
We have seven straight sellouts, and it has just been fantastic to watch the excitement of the people in these two cities.
I think that's a side-light we must talk about.
Over in Oakland, when the A's came back after winning the playoffs,
they had not been back to Oakland since winning the playoffs.
Then they won the first two games of the series here.
Some 10,000 fans met the A's ball club at the Oakland airport when they got in there last Sunday night.
When the Reds came back here after winning the fifth game in Oakland,
they were greeted by estimates as high as 15,000 fans at the airport here in Cincinnati.
Everywhere you go in both cities, there are banners proclaiming the good parts of that both ball clubs,
and it has just been tremendous to see the enthusiasm of the baseball fans in America
and to see these seven straight sellouts, and they're going to bring in the right-hander,
Blake Carroll, out of the bullpen.
Apparently they're putting bandaging around the leg of Bobby Solon.
If they were going to put another outfielder in there, I'm sure he would have been there by now.
Blake Carroll, who set a major league record this year with 37 saves for Cincinnati, is going to the mound now.
Carroll so far in the World Series has been in four games. This is his fifth appearance.
He has had short relief work, however. His record is no wins. He lost the one game out at Oakland.
In four and two-thirds innings, he's given up six hits in one early run.
He's walked a couple and struck out two.
He's a challenging type pitcher, and I think his greatest job, there goes Solon back out into center field.
He's running rather gingerly. As a matter of fact, he's not running. He's just plotting there.
Well, they say there's a difference in the great athlete in being able to play with pain and injury.
Great athletes will play with pain. Of course, they can't play with an injury.
Lee Tullen now is standing out in short right center field and asking,
do you want me to go to right field where I would have to do less running or stay in center?
That might be a good question. Right now, they had Geronimo on, and center, they're going to tell Tullen to go on.
And right now, I would imagine one reason for that, with a left-handed batter up,
if a loose ball and a right field, they'll want a man with Geronimo's great arm strength to come on and try to throw out the runner at the plate.
Matty Lou has been put on twice today, once trying to bond his way on.
He is 0 for 17. On the second base is Banda. They're going to walk him, Jim.
And that's three if the left-hander didn't come in. They've got Dave Beck and Dude Abadnax.
That's the walk to Matty Lou. We'll put him on. And then at first and second. This inning started all tied at 1-1.
Campaneras let off with a single. He had gone 0 for 21 before he got that single.
Manguelle sacrificed him along to second base, but Rudy quickly grounded to the right side.
Campaneras took third, but there were two out. And Tennis laced a double.
The left fielder drive it his ninth one of the ball game and put him out in front by the score of 2-1.
Outemous went in to run for him and Banda laced a double off the center field wall.
And it was on that play that Tullam got hurt.
Warbone, who gave up all of the hits and runs, is out of there now.
Alou has been given first base on the intentional pass. Here is Duncan.
Carroll throws a breaking pitch to him. It's outside, ball on.
Duncan is 1 for 3 in the series, plus a walk. And he was picked off second base as Outemous trying to punt back in the second inning and missed.
Big strong man that hit 19 home runs during the regular season.
Another breaking pitch to the left side. In the hole goes Concepcion. He can't make the play. It's off him.
Drops in front of him to base of the loader.
It hopped up to Concepcion in the hole and then bounced away for an arrow.
Dick Williams is going to make another change now. Dick Green is scheduled a bat here, but it looks as if...
Well, he's calling Dick Green back to talk with him. He's probably going to say,
Dick, you've been hitting the ball. Do you think you can hit this guy or do you want us to pinch hit?
So it might be left right on the shoulders of Dick Green to make a decision here.
Well, he's going to swing the bat.
Two runs are in. It's a 3-1 ball game. Oakland. We're in the top of the sixth.
Carroll has the bases loaded. Landow's over third. Alou is down at second.
Duncan on what would have been the ending arrow is on at first base.
Green is now talking to Pellacudas and steps in.
Runners lead away. Carroll throws his in on the fifth, but he swings his house into the screen. Strike one.
Green has had a couple of doubles in this series and he is one for two today.
Manke almost made a misplay on him in the fifth inning. Singled in the second.
Grounded to Manke in the fifth.
Carroll with those 37 saves and a tough spot closes with a right five. Strike two.
Green may have nicked it with his bat. Swinging, but Carroll was showing his good fastball.
Carroll, like most good relievers, has the fastball slider and shows you the occasional curve.
Bases loaded with two out. Carroll back and throws and there's a swinging foul.
Carroll bounds over toward the photographers to the right of the Oakland dugout.
Still two strikes. Riverfront Stadium very quiet now. Their Reds are down by two to the A's.
Into the signing game of the World Series. Carroll is ready and throws a curve and there goes the bat as Green strikes out with the bases loaded.
Two runs score on three base hits. There was one arrow and the bases were left loaded.
The last of the six. Oakland three since about A1.
This is Danny Thomas and I'd like to invite you to take your morning coffee break with me.
I'll be here Monday through Friday to talk with you about things that are on my mind and perhaps on yours too.
What I plan to do is just to spend a few minutes with you in the morning and try to make you relax, maybe even laugh.
Oh sure, we'll get a little serious once in a while, but don't worry. It'll be an easy dosage.
I'll share some anecdotes, stories about friends of mine and yours and some straightforward conversations down in D.C.
I'll just drop in, won't you? I think you'll like it.
The Oakland A's scored their two go-ahead runs in the sixth inning.
Campanella has let it off with a single. Men will sacrifice him down after Rudy was out.
Gene Tennes got a double to left field and then Bando got a double to center and the A's leave the bases loaded.
This Carroll came in to strike out big green. We go to the last of the sixth. Here's Jim Simpson.
Morgan is in and a double play. Walf has been thrown out at second.
Hunter throws. It's a breaking pitch inside ball one.
Now Hunter came on in the fifth inning and Walf concepts you on and then McRae sacrifice fly.
Took Manguelle deep to center field and he had to go back deep again and this one has popped up.
Campanella is going out saying he's got to have a great shoulder catch and he makes the catch.
The point that I was making was that in the fifth inning, Hunter got the ball up and the Reds really got their bats around.
Here's Bobby Tolan who has walked his over one and has that full muscle that's advantaged.
And Mike Hegan as expected when Lewis ran for Tennes has taken over at first base.
Well, Tennes has seen the last of his World Series action but how about that nine RBIs and four home runs.
Tolan watches the fastball for a strike.
It's been superstitious and the last four or seven game series the visiting team won the deciding game.
Hunter back and throws and it's fouled off to the left by Tolan.
It was Pittsburgh at Baltimore last year in the deep last game.
It's caught at St. Louis in 68. St. Louis at Boston in 67.
And Los Angeles at Minnesota in 65.
Two strikes now to Tolan with one out of the six. A's three. Reds one.
Catfish Hunter, the second pitcher in relief of Odom.
His game to win or lose here. Pitchers inside backing Tolan out. One ball, two strikes.
Hunter ready to throw and comes back with a breaking pitch. It's fouled off to the left and it's still one and two to Tolan.
Bobby had a great three games driving in the fourth, fifth and sixth games two runs in each of those.
He stole five bases over the first six games.
In this game he committed a run scoring set up a run to score on his error, three base error in the first inning.
And has pulled a hamstring muscle. That is our judgment from here the way he was holding it.
Off speed pitch has Tolan out a blunt strike out. Hunter gets his first strike out.
That will bring up Johnny Bench. Hit a curve ball from Odom right at Campaneras back in the second inning and fouled out.
The Fandl near the A's dugout in the fourth. He is 0 for 2.
And Bench comes up with nobody on base.
Campaneras again goes deep in the hole as he was the first two times Bench came up and that saved the base hit back in the second.
On a throw, ground ball toward the shortstop. Campaneras charging it second half. Throws to first.
Pulls Higgin off the bag and he's safe. Higgin says I tacked him and there's Jim Honeckick again right back in the middle of the argument.
That is an error on Campaneras.
That's the easiest play he's had in the series Jim. They looked as if he just took so much time. He knew he had so much time he made a bad throw.
And here's Perez who last time up doubled and made a score the only run.
And Perez has had great success with Butter over the years.
He was 1 for 2 against him.
In the fifth game, Fingers and Holtzman continue to throw.
And he's the man that started the ninth inning rally in the second game but the A's held on to win that one.
And he is the man Perez is that hit the game winning home run in the all-star game in Anaheim in 1966.
Dick Williams in the A's dugout is a raving maniac right now. He ran down to look at the replay on the instant television replay set they have at the corner of the dugout and he came up furious.
Two are out but the gates are open with Benchard first down the arrow. Curveball stays very high from Hunter.
Ball one.
A's leaded by two. We are in the last of the six.
Widing the line is Bandoff third base very deep. Another curveball fouled to the screen.
All the end of five it was one-one but if it goes to the end of six it's three-one. It is an official ball game and no matter how much rain we have and rain is expected we'll wait around until they complete it or call it off and that team in front will be the winner.
One ball one strike. Perez long ball hitter and swings at a change and it's one ball two strikes.
Hunter took something off of that. Hatfish is known as one of the game's better competitors. He must however have his pinpoint control. If he is not on the corners he is in trouble.
One ball two strikes.
From the stretch with Benchard going far just misses outside. Drop down a little bit for that fastball.
Hunter believes in what Warren Spahn used to say. The plate is 17 inches wide. The hitter gets the middle 15 inches. I'll take the one on the outside and the inside.
Two balls two strikes.
Back with a two-two he breaks down. It's away from Duncan who lost it. Fix it up. It's a state right there and Benchard's going nowhere.
But now we'll see Benchard and Mooring with two out and a three-two count on Perez who sent Rudy to the wall in the second inning and doubled to left in the fifth.
Both those swings were against John Blue Moon Odo. Now he's facing Catfish Hunter.
On deck is Dennis Minky. Hunter checks Bench back to first base realizing he'll be going with two out.
Hayes lead it by two. The tying run is at bat.
Hayes infield very deep and there's a pitch curveball way outside. He walked him.
That'll bring up Minky. Now you can bet that that was not an intentional walk but neither was it so unintentional.
Hunter was not about to give Perez a home run hitter. Anything good to swing at.
This made it too bad. Dick Williams is coming out with the right hand of Minky coming up. Maybe this is the time we'll see lolly fingers.
But as Williams walks to the mound lets us pause 30 seconds for station identification.
Next weekend is Halloween hullabaloo at Candlewick Lake.
Now there's Jim Simpson back in his outing. Two are on. Two are out. Minky's a batter. Three to one.
Minky is the go-ahead run and he takes a pitch on the outside corner. Catfish got the corner on that pitch.
Hayes has scored three times. One of his was unearned.
Any runs that might score in this inning would be unearned because of the throwing error by Kapaneris on an easy play.
He bounces away from Duncan and gets back to the wall. In the cover of Homer's catfish as the runners move up. Wild fifth.
Fingers and Holtzman are flowing.
Otter with a new baseball walks back behind the mound. Foot down a bench over third base as a runner.
And Perez down at second with first base open and two out.
Ball one. Strike one to Minky.
Otter is ready. Missing from the line up and just misses on the outside corner. That's two and one.
The left-handed batter Geronimo is on deck.
The two-one pitch from Otter. Back. Fastball. He misses upside again. It's three and one.
Hayes leaded by two. The tying runs are in scoring position.
And Minky is going to get some kind of pitch here. He'll be looking this one over. Three and one with two out.
Otter's got to be around the play there. Walk of bases loaded. It is propped up to the right side. In comes Alou.
Waves everybody away. Have a little late break on the ball but is there plenty of time and they're out of the innings.
No runs. No hits. A shaky error by Campanaris. And two men left. We've gone six innings. It's now a complete ball game.
Hayes three. Reds one.
Coming on now the top half of the seventh inning. And Bobby Tolan is no longer in the game for Cincinnati.
He gave it a game try but his leg just gave out on him and they have now moved Geronimo into center field and George Foster is in in right field.
Catfish Hunter will be the banner as we go to play Carol pitching once again.
Catfish Hunter is a fine hitting pitcher. I think you know that by now and to have him lead off an inning is not like having most pitchers lead off an inning.
The opposition usually almost concedes that as an automatic out. Hunter may go out but he can hit through the baseball.
Play Carol throws to him. It's high. Ball one.
Hotter weights in this three to one ball game. We're now in the seventh inning and there's a pitch down low beneath the outstretched glove of bench and goes back to the screen.
It's ball two. Carol was high with the first pitch and in the dirt with the second.
Foster out in right field is in his second World Series game. He does not have an official at bat.
Carol is ready and this one is high and out of the strike zone to the pitcher. Hunter it is three and oh.
Carol right back and his breaking pitch misses and on four pitches Carol didn't like the call by Telekutas on the last one on four pitches.
Hunter walks.
Hunter back in the ball game that he won on Sunday.
Drove in the first run. Has his jacket on now.
And has gone to first base Ross Grimsley continues to warm the big left hander who has won the last two games in a row for the Reds and their comeback attempt.
Well they have come back. It's three games to three. Here's Campanella single last time up and scored the go ahead run.
Once toward Carol. Carol comes up with it goes to first base as Hunter goes down to second base and the sacrifice works as Hunter is down at second base.
Carol bring up Manglala who has scored a run in this ball game reaching when Toland misplayed his line driving the first into a three base error and scoring on tennis a single.
Since that time he has popped to Morgan at second and sacrifice Campanella down to second base.
Has a chance now to drive in his second run of the World Series.
You'll recall that he had the game winning hit out on the West Coast and the last of the ninth of the game out there.
He's lead at three to one one out here in the seventh inning and well the right handed batter facing the right handed play Carol.
They play man well they hit to the opposite field they play them around to the right big curve ball blocked in the dirt by Bench.
Well you just can't say it too much.
Regardless of the outcome of this World Series Johnny Bench has proven himself to be the kind of superstar and super catcher everybody has said he is.
He is really at his work cut out for fastball and this is foul tipped at the plate on ball one strike.
Catfish Hunter is down at second base nobody's working in the A's bullpen.
Hunter a real competitor had a little control problems there.
But has worked his way out of all the jams getting Minky with a five three one pitch to pop up to short right curve ball and again Bench has to go outside and backhand that lest it get away.
Two balls one strike.
Like Carol did a marvelous job at the last of the sixth walk one man intensely in trouble because of an Arab and then struck out green swinging in the inning.
Back with another curve ball on to one and it's foul at the plate to and to.
Fifty six thousand and forty a record crowd for baseball and the great city of Cincinnati looking in today and at the moment most of those fifty six thousand are not pleased with what they're seeing because most of them obviously are Reds fans.
And well as ready. Carol has the side to do a hundred second base looks back for another curve bounding very slowly to make a third base and he's got plenty of time to make the throw over to friends or to out.
Hunter has the whole second.
Carol I don't know whether or not that's the inability to get as fast stuff over as he walked the pitcher Hunter has gone mostly to the breaking ball here. Here's Rudy all for three today.
Rudy came up with a man in scoring position at the first pitch he saw the sixth inning and grounded quickly to second base.
Sparky Anderson is walking out and he may go to the bullpen despite the fact Rudy is a right handed hitter. He can see that Clay Carol is throwing nothing but those big curves.
They might decide to pitch around Rudy here and then bring in the left hander to go to Mike Keegan.
Sparky figuring that he can would would be the batter he is been in there all year and late inning defensive replacements and know the A's have Mike Epstein.
They're going to bring the left hander in right here and I would imagine that they will bring him in and walk Rudy and then pitch to Mike Keegan who is a 300 hitter by the way for the A's this year.
It's been interesting to watch the pitchers for Cincinnati here today Jim and you mentioned the curve balls that Carol has been throwing. You know just about every one of their pitchers today have gone mostly breaking balls.
Rudy the first time up saw five or six straight the last time for bone through to Rudy. He threw him two curve balls got him on the second one.
Carol has thrown the breaking ball so maybe the Reds after six games of the series decided that the A's are not a breaking ball hitting team.
Dick Williams in case you might be interested in what he has in the way of right handed pinch hitters in the dugout should he want to make a change for Keegan if they do walk Rudy here.
The A's have Tim Cullen George Hendrick and Dow Maxville as right handed pinch hitters plus they have two switch hitters Ted Kubiak and Alan Lewis.
So it'll be interesting to see what the strategy is here. Many times the manager will bring the pitcher in who's going to really be pitching to a guy two men away just to let him get accustomed to the mound here while he throws ball for.
Grimsley Jim mentioned has won two of the three games the Reds have won. He lost one also. So he has three decisions already in this World Series by pitching only six and two thirds innings.
An unusual statistic that he has allowed seven hits and only two runs he has struck out one. He threw one home run ball and he threw that to Joe Rudy.
Grimsley continues to warm up Rudy is standing by Pellikoudis the home plate umpire has had another conversation with Dick Williams the A's manager who now heads back to the dugout.
This has been a strategy conversational World Series.
Well when you get five of the first six decided by one run.
Only the sixth game yesterday and that was close until the seventh inning when 10 men went to bed.
One by Cincinnati to tie the series they wanted eight to one.
Situation is two out down at second base is the opposing pitcher catfish hunter. A's leave this in the seventh three to one deciding game and here they're going to do as Monty suggested put Rudy on with intentional walk.
That's ball two that's jumping outside to take it.
There's ball three.
In the seven.
Carol gave up the walk to the opposing pitcher there's ball for to Rudy.
And that'll bring up Mike Egan.
On our walk sacrificed along by camp and errors manglow was thrown out easily and then the strategy started and Grimsley came on the pitch to Joe Rudy.
Carol has worked.
One inning.
Has given up two walks one intentional struck out one and he is through for the day.
Egan coming on now 250 in the series one for four.
As you'll recall again that he was better than the 300 there's a fine defensive player for the A's all year long and late innings.
All the McLaughlin and now in the bullpen for Cincinnati left hand and right hand Egan takes the first pitch strike at the letters.
Like one.
Honor at second Rudy at first two out of the seven.
Egan big strong left handed hitter looks in this picture Wow does bench go outside to get that one.
Outside and low.
We now becomes the fourth reds pitcher in the seventh World Series game.
And there are two more warming.
We ready looks back at second and throws a slider to catch the outside corner one ball two strikes.
The way to Egan and got the corner and he can is behind the Grimsley.
Herb Norton yelled something out to catch the shutter at second base.
Here's the one to pitch this is way outside and squares the count of two off.
In the red seven it'll be the seven eight nine batters.
As in the playoffs the A's lost Reggie Jackson the center fielder in this seven game the Reds have lost Bobby.
Also told Lakemore Grimsley back and it's fouled to the screen to do.
Well no matter who wins this game.
This seventh game you've got to say that you really can't pick between them on the basis of their play every game except one has been very close.
There's been good pitching good defense little hitting until yesterday.
To to.
That's kind of Grimsley.
This is Molly Moore with Jim Simpson.
This game has been fought with danger for pitchers on both sides the last couple of innings.
The A's in the sixth inning left the bases loaded.
They left you on in the seventh.
Cincinnati left two on in the fifth and two on in the sixth so either club has had a chance to break it open in the last two innings.
And we are now in for a wild wild finish of this.
Well with the pitcher do up in the seven the number three batter the Reds have Tom Hall throwing.
And before Hunter even throws his first pitch off the seven Raleigh fingers the right hander Kenny Holtz from the left hander throwing in the A's both in.
Geronimo who is three for 17 of the series he's one for two always one for one in this game he walked in the fifth inning left handed batter now playing center field swings at the first pitch a breaking pitch from others strike one.
Geronimo switch to center when Tolan came up injured.
Other right hander back and throws a fastball it's fouled off to the left and Jim catfish others out in front of Geronimo.
Oh and to.
You're getting down to the last innings of the last game of the 1972 season at the moment the A's lead it to another.
Hunter throws a breaking pitch and strikes him out on three pitchers.
And that's the best example we have seen Hunter around the plate in this appearance.
All three pitches were well within the strike zone started them off with a breaking pitch as Geronimo's missed and came back with a fastball that he fouled at the screen and then struck him out.
Well in front of a slow curve.
Concepcion is up and Joe Hague has come out on deck.
The bat for the pitcher.
Ross Grimsley they need runs now not pitching fastball right down the middle Concepcion watched it for strike one.
Three runs five hits one error for the A's one run two hits two errors for the Reds one of them costly.
Back with a breaking pitch that drops over for another strike and again that's five pitches that Hunter has thrown and they've all been on the strike zone.
He was missing badly back in the sixth inning and even committed a wild pitch.
Concepcion waits on the two strike pitch another curve but this stays inside and high at one ball two strikes.
Those fans realize that they got to get something started. This is the seventh inning of the seventh game.
Back with another curve strikes him out swinging.
The gym on a curveball has struck out the last too many of space swinging.
Joe Hague has gone back to the dugout with nobody on base and Ted Ulander has a bat on his hand for the second time today.
One for three on the series he had a base is empty double.
So does Ulander who will hit.
Dave Duncan goes out of course catfish Hunter Duncan Bando have seen Ulander for many many years.
He was with Minnesota later with Cleveland.
Fingers Pulseman continue to throw.
That double that Ulander had with nobody on was against Hunter.
At this moment Sparky Anderson the Reds and their fans will like lightning to strike twice in the same place.
Ulander big strong left handed hitter used to be a pretty good power hitter.
Takes a good rip at a high fastball there and piles it to the screen.
That pitch was up and Ulander took a good swing one strike.
Hunter has been throwing strikes comes back and gives him the fastball it gets the outside corner looking it's 0 and 2 to Ulander.
And Hunter has been ahead of every batter he has faced in this inning.
Ready with the 0-2 pitch and this hits in the dirt in front of Ulander and bounds to Duncan to catch it.
On ball two strikes.
Out of right back and this one bounces by Ulander's feet a breaking pitch and gets away from Duncan.
It's 2-2.
Tom Hall will be the next pitcher for Cincinnati and he is completing his warm-ups right now.
And Hall will become the fifth Cincinnati pitcher in this game.
2-2 to Ulander closing the breaking pitch lined out to left field but Rudy has plenty of room and five and is there and that's a 1-2-3 inning for Hunter.
The arms hits the rails and on left we've gone seven-fold now and Cincinnati trails Oakland 3-1.
We go to the top half of the eighth inning it's another new pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds.
Left hander the plate Tommy Hall 150 pounds strikeout on this to has had a very fine World Series for Cincinnati. He had a great year. He won 10 games lost only one this year for the Reds.
And so far in the series in three games he's not been scored on in six and a third innings he's given up five hits.
The line score right now Oakland three runs five hits they've made one error the Cincinnati Reds one run they've had only two hits in the game and they have made a couple of miscues.
Chris Pellikoudis is going to the mound and he is saying something to Tommy Hall about going to his mouth with his fingers and whether or not they're telling him it is okay here to do it on the dirt park or that today is so warm that you can't do it we don't know.
But he talked with him about that. Here we go to the eighth and once again Jim. Sal Bando won for three today the last time up he drove in the third run of the ball game with a double to center field.
It was on that double that told him was injured. Right handed batter and Hall throws a strike on the inside corner.
And all for Sal that was his first RBI of the World Series.
All tall and thin as money said they call him the blade back took something off of that and Bando swings and misses.
Strike two Bando didn't think he went around and he and Pellikoudis are having a little discussion now either Pellikoudis is saying it was over anyway or you did go around.
Two strikes to Bando the leadoff batter and the open eighth of a three to one ball game.
Right back and there's a foul tipped to the screen. Should the A's win today? Should they win today? They have not won since they belong to Philadelphia in 1930. That's 42 years ago.
Cincinnati has won two World Series in 1919 and in 1940. They'd like to make it three today. Now they trail by two runs in the eighth.
Already two strike pitch to Bando who pops it up foul and off to the right and in the seats. That's 20 rows back.
One million nine hundred and sixty thousand one hundred and thirty two have watched baseball in this stadium this year.
Including the playoffs in the World Series.
Two strikes to Bando. All is in the wind up and here's the pitch it's in the dirt and it's ball on. On ball two strikes.
Nobody in either bullpen at the moment.
The two runs in the sixth came on a Campanella single. He was sacrificed to second by man well Rudy grounded out he went to third and then tennis and Bando put together back to back doubles to make it three to one.
One and two and all is ready and throws an overhand pitch that stays high and it's two and two.
All came straight over the top on that one but it stayed up high two balls two strikes.
Ready again and this pitch is low and inside and it's three and two to the lead off batter Bando.
And Sal steps up.
Thank you for conception. That's your Morgan of the second.
Whereas the first back and swinging like three something off the breaking pitch and fucking out.
Second strike out.
Check that personal like out of course for all.
And here's a Lou walk intentionally last time and that he has not had the good serious.
He has had one base hit he is all for his last 17 times at bat.
And this is a man that it over 300 with the cardinals round ball right back to all globs it over the first baseman or two.
Now is all for 18 and may have been up for the last time.
12 years that's one of those things as great a series of gene tennis is having here's a fellow like Matty Lou in 12 years of the major leagues is average three 10 for lifetime career and he's only have one hit in the World Series.
Here's Duncan with two out.
Doesn't the fastball and it's like one Duncan walk in the second was picked off and then struck out a big Jack billing hamker ball in the fifth billing and did a superb job he allowed one run but that was on earn struck out for and walk to but he had to go and the rest needed some runs.
The ball is lifted high and bow down the left field lot and will make the seats very deep added state there it would have been caught two strikes now.
The Duncan.
When we go to the age or rather to the reds eighth inning. It'll be the top three men Rose Morgan and an important absence told him is gone injured.
That's the right thing.
The one that's around and he struck out two of the men.
We go to the last of the eight and Oakland leads Cincinnati in the seventh game of the World Series three to one.
Last half of the eighth inning and the tension is mounting you could cut it with a knife is just hanging in the air as Pedro's comes to the plate he greeted her with a home run in the first pitch he threw to him in the last game that her started in the series.
He almost hit one out in the fifth inning off on her after he came in and release.
Rose is one for three today and friends enough to one hit with the ball that he didn't get all of the other two he said, I'm well deep guys that bought his way on its bow in the fourth and fifth innings each time and well had to go to the wall to take long drives off the bat of Rose is one hit came in the first on a very close play a bounce to the green at second base.
A's lead at three to one we're getting ever closer to a locker room celebration for one of these two teams.
And the end of the 1972 season and those in on the head of the bag.
Once you get on the pitches outside from Hunter with one ball one strike and of course fingers and Holtzman are still in that bullpen for the A's.
As far as one to the mound they went to the ball.
Rose the switch hitter bouncing very low from the left side back and as a breaking pitch grounded up the middle and they get through.
And then stop there as Vandral is up with the ball.
Morgan who is now the tying run to bat.
The first hit and only the third for the red.
Duncan Vandral walked to the mound to talk to catfish under and Dick Williams comes out of the dugout.
They've got a left hander Morgan and he might go with the left hander Holtzman.
Williams crosses the third base line walking very resolutely now for Duncan first of all to talk to him and then up on the mound to catfish under.
Joe Morgan who broke things apart got his first two hits yesterday.
He has walked five times and has scored four runs.
Today he is all for two.
Williams is going to call for the left hander.
He wants Kenny Holtzman to come in with none out of the eighth of a three to one ball game and Holtzman former national Ligger who a year ago pitched a no hitter against these Reds is walking in.
Well Dick Williams is playing percentages in one side and playing against him on another side.
The word is that Morgan hit over 350 against left hand pitching this year in the National League.
He had two hits yesterday here off left handers one a double off by the blues start the ballgame for Cincinnati and another off Hamilton that knocked in a run or two.
Kenny Holtzman has been in the National League for a great number of years before the A's traded for him this year rather Chicago Cubs.
Holtzman pitched one of the games here in the World Series as a matter of fact he's pitched so far in this World Series in two games and has won one of them in 12 and two thirds innings of work.
We pause here 30 seconds for station identification.
Next weekend it's Halloween hullabaloo at Candlewick Lake.
There'll be fun for the whole family.
Bump for apples and join in the big pumpkin carving contest with free pumpkins for all the kids.
And a big costume contest cider and donuts too.
It's all free.
So come to Candlewick Lake next weekend for the big Halloween hullabaloo.
Just take I-90 to the General Road exit toward Belvedere and follow the signs to Candlewick Lake.
That's Halloween hullabaloo.
WMAQ Chicago.
As Kenny Holtzman comes into the ballgame where in the last half of inning number eight the Oakland A's have a 3-1 lead.
But the power pack part of the Cincinnati batting order is due.
Morgan, a left-handed batter, is coming on with rows at first base.
Nobody dies.
Then George Foster is due to bat in the spot that would have been occupied by Bobby Tolan.
Foster, however, a right-handed batter, has pretty good power.
Now the A's have right-hander, rally fingers, and left-hander, Vita Blue, who started yesterday's game both out in the bullpen.
And the Reds fans have come alive.
With rows at first, Morgan, who can hit the ball out of here, represents the tying rod in this 3-1 ballgame in the Cincinnati eighth.
Time is running out on the Reds, and if they are to win this game it would be again a late-inning heroic, since they've done so many times throughout the season.
Rose leads off at first base. The pitch, ball one.
Duncan looks down to first base. Rose hasn't moved too far.
The one thing that Holtzman does not want to do is put Morgan on. Then the winning run could come to the plate.
And back with the pitch. Last bag, Keegan. Rose on his way to second. In the corner, Rose. Rose goes to third.
Morgan goes to second. Rose gets away from the loo. Rose is going to come on and now stops.
The ball goes to third, and he does back to third. A double. The tying rod's at second and third with them out.
And as Monty pointed out, the Reds even pointed it out yesterday when the left-hander came into pitch against Morgan and he crossed them up with a base hit.
So he does today. That was just under the glove of the diving Mike Keegan, but it was a scorcher.
And Javier is coming out posture will not be allowed to bat.
Javier, one of the grand old men of this game of baseball, and we beg your pardon Julio, but you've been around a long while.
And of course did such a great job with the Cardinals back in their 64, 67, and 68 World Series.
His 0 for 2 in the World Series, and he will now bat for Foster. And Dick Williams is coming out, and he's going to go to the right-handed.
And that's going to be Raleigh Fingers is one of the toughest men in either league on right-handed batters.
Well, the work is really cut out for the bullpen now if they come in. And Dick is looking down that way.
That ball was very close to the type of ball that could have been turned into a double play.
And a difference right here is the fact that Mike Keegan was holding against Pete Rose at first base with the left-handed batter up.
And a two-run lead. Now many times they'll back that first baseman up in that kind of a situation and not hold him on.
But with the Reds being a running ball club, they wanted to hold Rose on there.
And Morgan's ball was just out of the reach of Keegan. And had Keegan been playing behind the bag, that could very well have been turned into a double play.
Now the Reds have three shots at least at knocking in the tying runs. And they're going to bring Hague out to bat instead of Javier.
So Dick Williams makes a change, and Sparky Anderson really, I imagine Jockey to try to get Hague to hit here.
Because looking at Hilly and Javier's regular season record, I'm sure he won't show to be offensively as good as Joe Hague.
Javier hit 2-0-9 for the year and Hague 2-43. Hague had seven-0 runs for the year and Javier had two.
So Sparky Anderson, enforcing the change with Javier, has brought on Raleigh Fingers and now is able to use Joe Hague.
Joe Fingers, who pulled off a couple of miracle saves in the playoffs for the Oakland A's against the Detroit Tigers, has got the biggest save to make that he has ever made in his baseball career.
He's a big guy, 6'4". He is from Cucamonga, California. Now makes his home up in the San Francisco Bay area.
And during the year, Raleigh Fingers led the Oakland pitching staff in saves with 21. He won 11 games, he lost 9.
But he comes into a situation here with nobody down, the tying runs in scoring position, and a tough left-handed hitter up.
When Pedro Bourbon came on in the sixth inning, he tied Hugh Casey for the most appearances in a World Series six.
Now Raleigh Fingers ties the ball. This is his sixth appearance. Hague left-handed batter.
As Rose, who let off with a single over third base following Morgan's double, they represent the tying runs.
Hague, who didn't knock it out of here, represents a potential winning run. And Fingers has the big job.
And Field is back on the right side. Hague hits the first one to left Field. Campanella goes back. He's got it. Now Rose, left's coming home.
And Campanella throws to the cutoff man, Bandold. There's one out on one pitch. And that brings up Johnny Bentz.
Also brings up Dick Williams. Now what do you do here? The Major League's top RBI man, that's a plate.
First base is open, but if you're walking, you put the potential winning run on base, Jim.
And this is why they pay managers a lot of money to make decisions.
Well, some of my friends and relatives, Monty, say hindsight is 20-20 vision.
If he puts him on, the pitch to Perez, setting up the possible double player, play at any base, and gets away with it, that's one thing.
If he pitches to Bench, and Bench puts one out of here, that's another. Hindsight is 20-20.
Yes, it certainly is. And of course, the fact is that you don't want to walk the winning run on base with Perez and any RBI man coming up behind him.
So the pressure is really on right here. Johnny Bentz.
They say in the National League, the MVP vote, they're going to put him on. They're going to put the winning run on.
Now remember, hindsight is 20-20 vision. Let us see if the A's in this very important managerial decision, the biggest of the series, get away with it.
Here it is in the eighth inning of the deciding game. There are no more games to play.
Cincinnati is the home team. They have decided to put the winning run on first base.
Don Gullitt is the left-hander, now throwing down in the bullpen, along with Jim McLaughlin.
There is ball for the Bench. The bases are loaded. We've got one out. And the right-hander, Fingers, coming up.
The face, the right-hander, the batter, Perez. Fingers has been especially tough on right-handed hitters.
And he'll have to be tough here if the A's hope to survive this big effort by the Reds.
So if they fail to tie it up here, it will be in the last of the batting order, in the last of the night.
Infield, very deep back on that turf. Fingers throws the big curveball. It's fouled to the screen by Perez.
Curveball in on the fists. Menke deals on deck. White or blue, still is out on the open bullpen.
Perez has more hits than anybody else in this series. He's got ten.
Fingers back. Another curveball. Raced up to right field. Alou says he has it. Tagging at third base is Rose. Alou has it.
Rose comes home to score the second run. Morgan goes to third. The tying run is at third base, the two out in a three-to-two ball game.
The offense stays on at first, and Menke is up, and here comes Dick Williams again.
Well, there's no need saving any speeches or strategy. And Raleigh Fingers is the kind of man that needs a lot of encouragement.
Jim, the A's players do a lot of talking to him during the course of the game.
A short-ending reliever has so much to think about in just throwing the ball to the plate and getting the batter.
Sometimes he'll forget a scouting report, or he'll forget that a runner is at a certain position on the bases.
So this is just a reminder and a confidence thing. With the runner at first base, Johnny Bench, you've got to think about what you're going to do if Bench breaks towards second trying to steal,
because Morgan on the front end of it could tie the ball game on a double steal.
The A's got into the World Series when Reggie Jackson did just that against Detroit.
So now Bench has stolen one base in the series, might try to draw a throw.
El Monte will also say that if Fingers can get Menke, he's got the 7-8-9 batters in the last of the night.
If he can't get him, he's got a dry ball game and possibly a go-ahead run for Cincinnati.
Menke steps in. He is 2-4-23 in the series, but he has hit a home run and has advanced the men.
Dry ball down the right field line, curving foul on the curve ball, then drops in the seats about six rows back. Strike one to Menke.
Three runs, five hits, one error for the A's, two runs, four hits, two errors for the Reds.
And with the exception of yesterday, when they broke it open, the Reds, in the seventh inning, every one of these seven World Series games has been close and near a classic.
Fingers stares in with runners at the corners and two outs. That man over third base Morgan is the tying run.
The one-strike pitch throws him a curve. It's outside, ball one. One ball, one strike. Geronimo is on deck.
And for the first time since before the game, we began to see some dark clouds off to our left. Rain was expected some time ago.
One and one to Menke, the right-handed hitter. Curve ball outside again. Two balls, one strike.
He has thrown Menke three straight breaking pitches. Menke fouls the first one down the right field line, the other two have been wide to the outside.
Bench short lead off first base. Back, throws a fastball, fouled away, and it's 2-2. Two balls, two strikes to Menke.
One of the big outs of the World Series for the Reds, for the A's. If he isn't out, we've got a tie ballgame.
They're going to move Higgin in behind Bench now at first base, giving Bench that lead.
2-2. Fingers running on 2-2. Bench is running. Bench is outside, goes back to third.
Back to the pitcher, rather, to keep the man at third. They did not throw down to second base.
Higgin moved him back. That gave Bench the opportunity to take the big lead, not being held on, and he easily stole second.
And so now, the man that Williams elected to walk to put on base, the potential winning run, is in scoring position on the stolen base.
And it's 3-2 with two out. Everybody will be watching this pitch. First base is open. They don't have to go barring the walk to load them up.
Here's a 3-2. Throws him a curveball. It's popped up. Short left field, Kappenhouse goes out. Rudy comes in. Rudy is there and has it for the third out.
Fingers does the job. One run scores on just one base hit. There were no errors, and men left at second and third through eight innings.
Oakland leads by one, 3-2 over Cincinnati.
Back at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Jim Simpson, Monty Moore, has been dispatched to the Oakland dressing room, and we may hear from him after this game is over.
That is, if the Oakland A's win this game. But they're only a run apart.
How dramatic this series has been. The first five games settled by Iran. And apparently, the seventh and deciding game could also be settled by just one run.
Now in the Oakland night, it'll be green. Probably fingers their pitcher, depending upon circumstances.
And when Cincinnati comes to bat in their half of the night, it'll be Geronimo, Concepcion, and the pitcher will be due up.
And Sparky Anderson has used a lot of his pinch hitters.
Ulander has batted. Haig has batted. Foster has been in the ball game.
Green steps in against Tom Hall, who struck out two of the three men that he faced in the eighth.
The other, Alou, simply knocked the ball, and one bounced back to him at the mouth.
Green today has won for three, facing the left-hander Hall.
Green swings on a change-up breaking pitch. It's strike one.
56,040 is hoping that Hall can get out of this, most of them, so that their Reds can come back in the last of the night.
Hall throws a fastball, and it's pulled foul down the line and will drop into the seats.
Concepcion gives chase, but it's at least 20 rows back.
Well, for the Oakland Roaders, wherever you are, your team has a one-run lead in the ninth inning.
For the Reds Rooters, and there are lots of them around also, your team won the National League Championship
down by a run in the last of the ninth at the deciding game and pulled it out.
Two strikes now to Dick Green. The pitch, swinging strike three, breaking pitch.
Hall has now struck out his third man, and that will bring up Raleigh Fingers the pitcher.
Fingers is in his sixth game, and yet he has yet to come to bat.
This is his first time at bat in a World Series.
One out on the ninth, and there's a fastball. He throws it right by.
Raleigh is up there not thinking base hits so much as he is thinking the last of the ninth inning, which he must pitch.
Back again, off-speed pitch, catches the outside corner, and strikes two to Fingers.
They play Raleigh to hit the other way to right, figuring that he'll not get around on a fastball of Tom Halls and pull it.
There's a ground ball toward third base.
Micky takes it on the big second half, and Raleigh, chugging down the first base line, has thrown out.
So now with Fingers all the way down the first base line, Campaneras gets some dirt and walks away,
and he'll be excused if he'll try to give Fingers a little chance to get some rest.
So that's what he's doing. He's pointing to the on-deck batter, Manuel, saying,
give me the rosin bag, and what he's really doing is left Fingers trot back across the field,
and after that run to first base, get a little extra breathing room.
Three runs on five hits and one error for the A's, two runs, four hits, and two errors for the Reds.
The go-ahead run was knocked in by Sal Bando, the team captain who led the team in game-winning RBIs during the regular season,
but had no RBIs in this World Series until his double drove in the go-ahead run on the sixth.
Hall is ready to pitch to Campaneras. Now it's down low, ball on.
Seventh game, World Series, two out, Oakland ninth. The Reds have one more chance.
Hall back and throws a strike at the knees to Campaneras.
Well, we cannot talk too much about the championship playoffs of both leagues,
and for the first time in history, each went to five games. Neither had been to the full five before.
And here we are in another seven-game World Series. One ball, one strike, and there's a ground ball up the middle.
Campaneras has a base hit. First hit off all, and that's the sixth hit for the A's, and that will bring up Manuel,
who scored the first run when Bobby Tolan, out of the game now with an injury,
misplayed his line drive into a three-base error. Gene Tennis knocked him in.
Since then, Manguelas popped out, sacrificed successfully, and grounded the third.
Tennis left the ballgame for a runner after driving in two more runs in this game.
That gives him nine RBIs for the World Series, and of course he had a record-tying four home runs.
Three to two the score. Campaneras down at first base, leading off. He's all the way on the turf. He's not over near.
Perez is holding him there, and Campaneras retreats, and there's a swinging strike on a good fastball by Hall.
He had Campaneras going back to first base as he's throwing the pitch to Manguelas.
Campaneras again edges out on that turf, away from the dirt spot, on this almost fully covered turf here.
Now they check him at first base, and Campaneras is back in plenty of time ahead of the soft lob throw of Tom Hall,
the fifth Cincinnati pitcher in this seventh game of the series.
Pitching from the stretch, Campaneras moves it to go but does not. Drive out to center field.
Geronimo is playing there and comes in a couple of steps and takes it. We go to the last of the line.
It was in the last of the ninth of the fifth game against the Parts, as the Reds won the National League Championship.
And this is their last chance coming up to win the World Series. We go to the last of the ninth.
Oakland leads Cincinnati 3-2. Now for the last of the ninth of the World Series.
This is Jim Simpson at Riverfront Stadium. Conference on the mound between Bandaw, Duncan, and Raleigh Fingers,
to Geronimo Concepcion and a pinch hitter. Jim McLaughlin, Don Gullick, warming up, should this go to nine innings.
They know they're going to have to back for the pitcher Tom Hall. They want somebody ready. Should it go to the tenth inning?
Bida Blue is still warming up down in the Oakland dugout. Geronimo has walked once in three trips today.
Left-handed batter against the right-handed Raleigh Fingers, who showed in his last appearance he has trouble with left-handers.
Throws the first pitch. It's a fastball in under the hands. Ball one to Geronimo.
A's lead it 3-2. Fingers right back and throws another pitch. It's fouled off. Fastball fouled off to the left.
One ball, one strike. To the left-handed hitting Geronimo, Fingers in his first two pitches has gone with the fastball.
Charles O. Finley, very nervous, down behind the A's dugout. Back again with the fastball and again he fouls it back.
And now Fingers is ahead of the left-handed hitter Geronimo. One ball, two strikes. Concepcion, a right-handed swinger, is on deck.
One and two. Fingers ready. Throws a breaking pitch. It's popped up towards shortstop. Caponera says he's got it and takes it. One out of the ninth.
Well, Dick Williams got away with something that you don't do too often, that is on the road, put the winning run on base.
But with a man like Johnny Bench up there, he put Bench on base. The man ahead of John scored, but Bench was left-stranded at third base.
One run scored and won the last of the night of a 3-2 ball game. Darryl Cheney, a switch hitter, is on deck as Concepcion steps in.
Blue continues to war. Fingers stares in at Concepcion who has walked, flied out, and struck out in the seventh game of the World Series.
Fingers throws him a good fastball on the outside corner. Strike one.
Concepcion might have been looking for that sweeping curve of fingers that he usually gives the right-handers.
Now he comes back and it's another fastball run of the right side. Dick Green is there up with it. Throws over to Hegan and there are two out.
In the last of the ninth, Bando, Duncan, fingers can hardly contain themselves as Darryl Cheney, a switch hitter, comes up.
Cheney, of course, will bat from the left side. He has been up seven times without a base hit in the World Series.
And despite the fact that the right-hander, Odom, started the day, Sparky Anderson went with Concepcion at shortstop, a right-hander, rather than Cheney who can swing from the left side.
Dick Williams is up holding onto the railing. Williams was in the World Series as a player. He managed the Red Sox in 67. Both other appearances he was a loser.
Today he would like to win. Cheney up in this three-to-two game. Fingers back, throws a fastball, fouled off to the left. Strike one.
A's lead it by a run. They came in without Darryl Knowles, their good left-handed reliever, and more importantly, without Reggie Jackson, their slugging clean-up batter in center fielding.
They have extended the Reds to seven games. The Reds were a heavenly favorite. Breaking pitch. It is hit, Cheney. He takes first base.
And it brings up Pete Rose.
The man who started the rally in the eighth inning, the man who has had eight straight 300 years,
the man who led the major leagues in hits with 198, Pete Rose will get his swings. It's a breaking pitch from Fingers.
It's Cheney on the foot. And Cheney is still hobbling around at first base.
Rose is up. Joe Morgan comes out on deck with two out in a three-to-two ball game in the last of the ninth.
And now the Reds and their fans will remember that against the Pirates in the last of the ninth, they were down by a run and won it.
Nick Williams comes out to talk to Roddy Fingers. As Marty Moore, who departed for the open dressing room, told us,
Fingers is the type of man who needs a lot of encouragement. He needs to be told the situation.
Now, Bida Blue is down on the bullpen. If Blue comes in, Rose will swing around to the right side of the plate.
Pete is a better hitter from the left side of the plate.
So the question, I am sure that Williams are saying, can you get him out? With Morgan on deck, this may be Fingers' last man to face.
Either the ball game is over or Morgan comes up and Bida Blue comes in.
But we also remember that Morgan hits left-handers very well.
So, even with two out in the last of the ninth, the wheels continue to turn and hold up. This series isn't over yet.
Rose steps in. He has two for four today and has made great contact all four times.
The other two were driven deep to the center field wall.
Fly ball deep left field. Rudy goes back. The other one in crack is there. The World Series is over.
And on one pitch, Rose is out. And the Underdog Oakland Athletics won their first championship since they were in Philadelphia in 1930.
Fingers is mobbed. And the Cincinnati Reds fans, a record crowd of better than 56,000, are absolutely stunned by the fact that the Underdog A's,
without Reggie Jackson, have taken the big red machine of the National League. And they did it in seven games.
And so one record is intact. No club has ever lost the first two games at home and then come back to win a World Series.
Only five clubs have been down three to one and come back to win a World Series.
And the Reds fell short in another exciting game. The A's win it three to two.