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After thinking about this all day, I can’t help but smile as I remember how much fun Whitey Herzog made those summers.
When he took over for Jack McKeon in 75, they were above .500 but McKeon had forced Charlie Lau - who would become the hitting coach guru in the 70’s and 80’s - into a minor league role. And the homegrown pitching ace, Steve Busby threatened to quit, if something wasn’t done about McKeon. And Whitey was hired. The Royals would go on to win 91 games. But the A’s were just so damn good. And they had that ability to just turn it on in the clutch.
I saw 27 home games that season. And I just couldn’t wait for 76. In those days, you had to go to the stadium in early February to purchase blocks of tickets for opening day. And we did that every year. They lost that game to the Angels. Finished April with a 5-7 record.
Heated up in May. Then got hot in June. 51-31 at the All Star Break. Then they got super hot. Coming out of the ASB, took 5 of 6 from the Red Sox (the defending AL Champs), got their manager fired. I saw all of those games. To watch Rice, Lynn and Yaz play in that huge outfield was almost unfair. They chased balls into those rounded corners and would misplay them and the ball would hug the underside of the wall and roll toward CF. I lived a dream that summer.
Endured a collapse down the stretch as the A’s came charging until Larry Gura threw a 2 hitter in Oakland to clinch at least a tie. Then won it on fan appreciation night even though they lost 4-3.
Lost on the Chambliss HR and it crushed a young me. But looking back, I had one of the greatest summers of my life being a fan of a division winner.
There were a LOT of charming characters on those championship teams. The players would sign autographs and the bullpen would spray us down with a water hose on those scorching summer days. George Toma would ride that giant vacuum cleaner on the turf.
Thanks Whitey. You made that decade so much fun for a teenager in the 70’s.
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