Boston Red Sox tickets

The red sox nosed out Detroit and Minnesota in one of the tightest pennant races in baseball history thanks to the superhuman efforts of a potato farmer's son from Long Island, left fielder Carl Michael Yastrzemski. Yastrzemski batted a sublime .523 (23 for 44) with five homers, fourteen runs scored, and sixteen RBI in Boston's final twelve games. In the last two, must-win games of the season, Yastrzemski went 7-for- 8 with five RBI and a three-run homer. The Red Sox Information won their first pennant since 1946 by beating the Twins in that final game behind Jim Lonborg, an intellectual but superstitious 22-game winner who always pitched with a paper horseshoe in his pocket. After such a harrowing pen¬nant race, it didn't matter to the Red Sox MLB whether they won or lost the World Series-the impossible dream had already come true. "I don't care about the World Series Champions 2004 this year or to years from now," Yastrzemski said. "There will never be the equal to those last two games with Minnesota."

The Red Sox opened the Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at home. The scene at Fenway Park included three hundred policemen and thousands of ticket less fans milling about outside the park. Many wore "Yaz For Governor" buttons and most munched on the corned beef sandwiches and fried clams being hawked by sidewalk vendors. Though riots were predicted, nothing materialized except a group of fans who, unsuccessfully, tried to overpower the security guards and ticket takers to force their way into the game.

One fan who did make it into the game brought a trumpet, playing "Hail to the Chief"' whenever Sox manager Dick Williams walked to the pitcher's mound. Bob Gibson was slated to pitch Game 1 for St. Louis. The ace had missed two months late in the sea-son after his leg was broken by a Roberto Clemente line drive, but Gibson, a fierce, confident man, was not intimidated in the least by the unfamiliarity of Fenway Park. "This park is the same as anyplace except for the wall," he said. "You can't change your style of pitching just because of that. You'd be in real trouble."

Yastrzemski contributed two fine defensive plays in the first game, but was held hitless by Gibson, who struck out ten in a 2-1 complete game victory. Lou Brock was the Cardinals' entire offense, collecting a record-tying four hits, stealing two bases, and scoring both runs on grounders by Roger Maris. It was a sign of things to come for Brock, whose base running would drive Boston Red Sox doing shots pitchers crazy throughout the Series. I've never seen a pitcher without flaws," he said. "If they know I'm going to run and I know I'm going to run, then I might as well run."