(EDITOR’S NOTE

: A series by Times News writer Rich Strack will recall his favorite moments in sports history. Throughout the upcoming weeks, Strack will offer his thoughts about different sports. Today’s topic is Major League Baseball.)

By Rich Strack

tnsports@tnonline.com

In this difficult time of a health crisis, the matter of sports competition - something that brings so much recreational joy to millions of Americans - has rightfully been postponed.

Every level, from the professional and college ranks down to high school spring sports, will have empty stadiums, ball fields, and running tracks for the foreseeable future.

If you’re a sports fan like me, the games may not be live for a while, but from many years of devotion to athletic competition, some of the greatest events continue to play on in my memory.

So, sit back and let me distract you from public concerns for just a moment with Part One of a series of the greatest games and events that will forever remain in my personal Hall of Fame.

Today’s topic is America’s pastime, and three outstanding games that I will never forget.

Cincinnati Reds vs.

Boston Red Sox - 1975

In Game Six of ESPN’s choice for the second greatest World Series of all time, the Red Sox were down three games to two and losing 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth to the Big Red Machine. They were all but counted out until pinch-hitter Bernie Carbo slammed a two-out, 2-2 pitch over the center field wall for a three-run homer to tie the score. While rounding the base at third, Carbo shouted to Pete Rose in the Reds’ dugout, “Hey Pete, don’t you wish you were this strong?”

In the last of the ninth, the Sox were poised to win. With the bases juiced and no outs, Fred Lynn hit a foul fly ball down the left field line that was snared by George Foster. Boston’s runner on third base, Denny Doyle, tagged and broke for home only to be gunned down on a great throw by Foster. The Sox failed to score, sending the game into extra innings.

In the top of the 11th, Joe Morgan belted a long fly that appeared to be going over Dwight Evans’ head, but the right fielder ran the ball down at the wall and doubled up Ken Griffey, who was already rounding second base.

In the last of the 12th, Carlton Fisk lifted a high fly ball down the left field line. In what now has been seen by millions of baseball fans on replays, Fisk was trying to wave the ball fair with both his arms. It struck the foul pole for a Sox win. The next day, the Reds won the seventh game of the Series by a score of 4-3.

New York Yankees vs.

Boston Red Sox - 1978

I was stretched out on the living room floor to watch the Yankees play the Boston Red Sox in an American League East tie-breaker game to determine who would play the Royals in the AL Championship Series. It was an afternoon game, and I remember our black and white Magnavox TV was having trouble with the vertical hold, so my eyes kept on lifting from the bottom of the screen to the top every few seconds during the live telecast.

All seemed wrong for the Yankees that day. They lost the last game of the season, and Boston had won to force a one-game playoff. Then the Yanks lost a coin toss that gave the Sox the home field advantage in Fenway Park.

Losing 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning, light-hitting Bucky Dent came to bat with two on and two out. Because All-Star Willie Randolph was injured and New York had no reserve infielders on the bench, Dent had to bat for himself. With a one-ball count, he fouled a pitch off his foot and fell to the ground.

The trainer sprayed his foot with a freezing element to numb the pain. On the very next pitch, Dent - choking up almost to the bottom of the barrel of his bat - hit a three-run home run over the left field Green Monster wall.

The Yanks won the game, defeated the Royals for the pennant, and then went on to beat the Dodgers in the World Series when Reggie Jackson belted three home runs in the sixth and deciding game.

Boston Red Sox vs.

New York Mets - 1986

Yes, the Red Sox again are my pick by coincidence only. Drama was building in the sixth game of the World Series for the franchise that had been doomed for 68 years under the black cloud of the “Curse of the Bambino” (when Babe Ruth was traded by Boston to the Yankees in 1920). Boston needed just one more win over the Mets to end the curse.

With Roger Clemens on the mound for the Sox, the Mets were hitless over the first four innings at Shea Stadium and trailed, 2-0. New York tied the score in the home half of the fifth, but the Sox took a 3-2 lead in the seventh, aided by a Ray Knight throwing error.

The Mets tied the game again on a Gary Carter sacrifice fly in the eighth. Two more Red Sox runs in the 10th and the champagne bottles were on ice and ready to be popped.

Boston was about to win its first World Series title since 1918. But once again, the “Curse of the Bambino” set the stage for the greatest comeback ever in a World Series game.

I was a huge Mets fan by 1986, having quit on the Yankees after owner George Steinbrenner had fired and hired manager Billy Martin three times. I sat downstairs in my friend George’s house with my head in my hands after Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez had made two quick outs in the bottom of the 10th. George didn’t want to watch the last out and went upstairs to make a pot of coffee.

Boston was one out and one strike away from the title, but base hits by Gary Carter and pinch hitter Kevin Mitchell put the tying runs on base. I weakly called out to George to come and watch what I had hoped would be the Mets winning rally. He didn’t.

Ray Knight then hit a weak single to center to score Carter. Bob Stanley relieved for the Sox, and after three foul balls from Mookie Wilson, Stanley threw a wild pitch that plated the tying run. George ran down the stairs when he had heard the home fans cheering. Wilson then rolled a slow ground ball to first base, setting up Vin Scully’s famous call, “It gets by Buckner. Here come’s Knight and the Mets win!”

Final thoughts

To me, baseball is the greatest game in the world. Unlike basketball, where the star player gets the ball for the big shot at the end of the game, and unlike football, where the star quarterback throws the winning pass to the star receiver, a baseball game is often left up to the luck of the draw. A manager can’t bat his best hitter in the last inning with the game on the line; he has to follow the order of the lineup. These scenarios make unsung heroes - Dent would have never hit the home run, and Carbo and Mitchell never would have gotten huge pinch hits that led to amazing comebacks.

What do you think about my three selections? Send an email to tnsports@tnonline.com or comment on social media about my selections. Or, offer your opinions on your favorite games.