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Spartacus
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little Bud Harrelson didn't take any of Pete's sh*t:
The scene was Shea Stadium, the third game of the 1973 National League playoffs, and the New York Mets were clobbering the Cincinnati Reds 9-2, looking to take a 2-1 lead in the best of five series. But though the game had long been decided, their was some excitement still to come. That’s they way it was when Pete Rose was on the field.
In the fifth inning, trailing 9-2 (Rusty Staub had homered in both the first and second innings for New York), Rose was on first when a ball was hit to the middle of the infield. Met shortstop Bud Harrelson made the force at second and crossed the bag ready top complete a double play, but Rose slid into him hard, taking out his legs. The two men ended up on top of each other in the middle of the infield dirt, rolling around like two cats in an alley. Rose ended up on top of Harrelson and soon the benches cleared and the field filled with Reds and Mets. The ensuing melee proved tame (as do most baseball brawls), though Cincinnati reliever Pedro Borbon did turn heads when he ripped apart a Met cap with his teeth.
When calm was restored, the game continued. But in the bottom of the inning, as Rose took his position in left field, New York fans showed off their arms – pelting debris at the Cincinnati star. When a whiskey bottle whizzed past his head, Rose retreated to the dugout as manager Sparky Anderson took his team off the field. New York City police surrounded the field and the game was finished in a bizarre roped-off atmosphere.
But the crowd continued their relentless booing and taunting of Rose. In the ninth inning, his team still trailing hopelessly, Rose showed his moxie and the reason he never gave away an at-bat. He singled sharply to center field and defiantly stood on first base, receiving the jeers of the partisan crowd. When the game ended, he sprinted to the clubhouse, with police guarding him from the unruly mob.
Now trailing two games to one, the Reds battled the Mets in Game Four the next day, again at Shea Stadium. Tied 1-1 in the top of the twelfth, the Reds clung to life. A loss would end their season. But it was at such critical moments that Rose lived for. With the Shea crowd yelling for his scalp, Rose clobbered a pitch from Harry Parker, sending it over the right field wall for a 2-1 Reds lead. As he rounded the bases to a chorus of boos, Rose pumped his fist and stomped on home plate. Borbon closed the door in the bottom of the inning, and the Reds were tied. That damned Charlie Hustle, the most hated man in New York, had done it again.
The scene was Shea Stadium, the third game of the 1973 National League playoffs, and the New York Mets were clobbering the Cincinnati Reds 9-2, looking to take a 2-1 lead in the best of five series. But though the game had long been decided, their was some excitement still to come. That’s they way it was when Pete Rose was on the field.
In the fifth inning, trailing 9-2 (Rusty Staub had homered in both the first and second innings for New York), Rose was on first when a ball was hit to the middle of the infield. Met shortstop Bud Harrelson made the force at second and crossed the bag ready top complete a double play, but Rose slid into him hard, taking out his legs. The two men ended up on top of each other in the middle of the infield dirt, rolling around like two cats in an alley. Rose ended up on top of Harrelson and soon the benches cleared and the field filled with Reds and Mets. The ensuing melee proved tame (as do most baseball brawls), though Cincinnati reliever Pedro Borbon did turn heads when he ripped apart a Met cap with his teeth.
When calm was restored, the game continued. But in the bottom of the inning, as Rose took his position in left field, New York fans showed off their arms – pelting debris at the Cincinnati star. When a whiskey bottle whizzed past his head, Rose retreated to the dugout as manager Sparky Anderson took his team off the field. New York City police surrounded the field and the game was finished in a bizarre roped-off atmosphere.
But the crowd continued their relentless booing and taunting of Rose. In the ninth inning, his team still trailing hopelessly, Rose showed his moxie and the reason he never gave away an at-bat. He singled sharply to center field and defiantly stood on first base, receiving the jeers of the partisan crowd. When the game ended, he sprinted to the clubhouse, with police guarding him from the unruly mob.
Now trailing two games to one, the Reds battled the Mets in Game Four the next day, again at Shea Stadium. Tied 1-1 in the top of the twelfth, the Reds clung to life. A loss would end their season. But it was at such critical moments that Rose lived for. With the Shea crowd yelling for his scalp, Rose clobbered a pitch from Harry Parker, sending it over the right field wall for a 2-1 Reds lead. As he rounded the bases to a chorus of boos, Rose pumped his fist and stomped on home plate. Borbon closed the door in the bottom of the inning, and the Reds were tied. That damned Charlie Hustle, the most hated man in New York, had done it again.
