Signature Game
Oct. 22, 1975 - Game 6 of the World Series ended early this morning on Carlton Fisk's 12th-inning homer. But the Cincinnati Reds regrouped to gain a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 behind the heroics of Tony Perez, whose two-run homer started the Reds back from a 3-0 deficit, and Joe Morgan, whose single drove home the winning run in the ninth.
But as much as any of the players, it was manager Sparky Anderson who shone that night at Fenway Park. Shuttling four pitchers to the mound, Captain Hook did what he had done so many times before - he kept the game close until his Big Red Machine could grind out enough runs to win. Staff ace Don Gullett lasted only four innings and gave up all three Boston runs.
Anderson replaced him with Jack Billingham, who pitched two scoreless innings. Anderson had Ed Armbrister pinch-hit for Billingham in the seventh, and Armbrister's walk set up Pete Rose's RBI single that tied the game 3-3.
Anderson's next choice was Clay Carroll, who pitched two hitless innings before he was pinch-hit for by Dan Driessen, who moved the eventual winning run over to third with a groundout. Then Anderson did what he had done 70 times during the regular season and in four earlier Series games: He called on Will McEnaney, his 30th pitcher of the seven games, who closed out the Red Sox with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Odds 'n' Ends
After returning a baseball to University of Southern California coach Rod Dedeaux, Anderson became the Trojans' batboy for six years.
Anderson is the only manager to hold the record for most victories with
two clubs (Reds and Tigers).
His regular-season record was 2,194-1,834 (.545).
He had a better mark in the postseason at 55-34 (.618).
He was named Manager of the Year by The Sporting News in 1984 and 1987 and by the Baseball Writers Association in 1987.
He won the 1953 opener for the Phillies with a single to the left side off Brooklyn's Don Newcombe.
Even though he never hit a homer in the majors, Anderson likes to point out that he did hit one to the fence in Shibe Park - "on 11 bounces."
His best seasons as a minor leaguer player were 1956, when he hit .298, and 1954, when he hit .296.
Anderson has always believed his career was saved by a West Carolinas League umpire who ran him out of a game for foul language but didn't report a bumping incident. Instead, he told him to calm down. The young manager took the lesson to heart and changed his ways.
In 1969, he was prepared to sign with the Angels as a coach for his old friend Lefty Phillips. He was in California general manager Dick Walsh's office when Reds GM Bob Howsam called for permission to approach Anderson about managing the Reds. Howsam then selected Sparky.
While on the road as a manager, he rarely left his hotel room and is a
devoted fan of television news.
As Anderson brought the lineup card to home plate before his first game as a major league manager in 1970, Montreal pilot Gene Mauch told him, "Remember this moment, young man. It will never happen again."
Anderson's white hair and craggy face have always belied his nickname. American League umpire Al Clark once said, "I refuse to call a 56-year-old man with white hair Sparky."
Anderson's penchant for hyperbole created a controversy after the 1976
World Series, when he called the Reds the greatest team in the history of
the National League and made light of suggestions that Thurman Munson could be compared to Johnny Bench.
Anderson is often accused of mangling the English language. His best lines rival those of Casey Stengel. For example, "I've got my faults, but living in the past isn't one of them. There's no future in it."
He is also capable of wonderful homespun common sense, however. He once said, "If I hear Bowie Kuhn say just once more that he's doing something for the betterment of baseball, I'm going to throw up."
His view of the designated hitter is another case in point: "I've changed
my mind about it - instead of being bad, it stinks."
He also said, "Me carrying a briefcase is like a hotdog wearing earrings."
Ditto for his talent as a player: "The day I got a hit off him Sandy
Koufax was when he knew it was all over."
In 1999, Anderson underwent triple bypass surgery.
He always said he would never enter the Hall of Fame except as an elected member - and never did.
He entered the Hall in 2000 in a Cincinnati uniform because the Reds gave him his first chance.
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