1977 World Series Game 2
Wednesday October 12th, 1977 @ Yankee Stadium New York, New York
After a thrilling extra-inning walk-off victory, courtesy of reserve outfielder Paul Blair, the Yankees look to press the advantage in this best of seven World Series. To the surprise of many, it will be Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter (9 - 9 4.71 ERA 143 IP) getting the ball for Billy Martin’s Yankees, who has not pitched in over a month. It has certainly been a year to forget for the 8x All-Star, 5x 20 game winner, 3x World Series champion, former Cy Young, and future Hall-of-Famer. Arm fatigue and other health issues have maligned him all year, but the Yankees hope he can rediscover the craft that made him one of the best postseason pitchers of the decade (8 - 4 2.81 ERA 109 IP 15 GS *thru 1976).
For Tommy Lasorda and the Dodgers, they really want to win tonight. Going down 2-0 in a series before 3 straight games at home is not an overwhelming deficit, but it’s not ideal. If they can steal a game on the road, they will feel much better about their chances on the flight back to Los Angeles. Who better to turn to than one of the best road warriors in 1977, Burt Hooton (12 -7 2.62 ERA 236 IP). The veteran righty is admist the best stretch of his underrated career, and he was outstanding away from LA with a 2.32 ERA in 124 IP. He did fail to get out of the second inning in his NLCS start at Philly, but that might have had more to do with questionable umpiring than his pitching ability. When Hooton has his signature knucklecurve dancing, he can be near unhittable. If the Dodgers hope to tie up this series, they will need Hooton to lead the way.
Audio clips from joeydbball on Youtube
As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.
Catch you next time,
P.C.O.
