It was early April of 1967. On April Fools Day, the headlines in the Globe read: “Saigon Constitution Now in Effect; Hailed as Major Step Toward Democracy.” The joke was on the United States-democracy would not exist in Vietnam, and does not to this day.
Meanwhile, on the sports page, it was time for season prognostications. On the weekend before the Sox opener, Harold Kaese asked in an article: “Sox to Jump Three Notches?” He begins quoting Plato as saying “Do you think Dick Williams will win more pennants for the Red Sox as a manager than Ted Williams won for them as a player?” Socrates answers; “Do you mean more than one?” “Yes,” replies Plato. “I hope he ties him,” answers Socrates, “and the sooner the better.” Socrates turned out to be a real prophet in 67.
Kaese picks the Sox to finish sixth and “lead the second division of the American League”. For long-suffering Boston fans, finishing sixth would be like finishing first for many teams. But Kaese hedged a bit when he added: “It could be an atrocious guess.”
The Sox had not finished in the “first division” since 1958. An upward leap of three places (they had finished ninth in 66) hadn’t happened since the magic year of 1946. Kaese’s pick was not a confident one. Fans and writers had been fooled before. He quotes Dodger skipper Walter Alston as saying “spring training games don’t mean a hell of a lot.”
Kaese goes on to praise Williams, but crosses his fingers. “I like the way he has tackled the job, the respect he commands from his players, the emphasis on fundamentals, his appreciation of physical conditioning….but I still have some reservations.”
He asks three questions: “How will he react when his club loses five or six games in a row? Will he over-do his one-run attack at Fenway, a big-inning ballpark? Can he continue to hit it off harmoniously with the front office?” The first two questions would become moot. Number one-only once did the Sox lose as many as five in a row, and they soon rebounded with a ten-game winning streak. Number two-Williams would find ways to win with both one-run attacks and big innings. Number three-at least for that year, the answer would be yes.
Kaese also mistakenly states that the Red Sox “have almost the same cast of players with whom they finished a somewhat lucky ninth ahead of the Yankees in 1966.” Not true. Rookies Reggie Smith, Russ Gibson, Joe Foy and Mike Andrews would make big contributions.
In closing, Kaese says: “I’m betting that Williams can (succeed). He impresses me more than Billy Herman, Johnny Pesky, Bill Jurges, Mike Higgins, Lou Boudreau-more than any Sox manager since Joe McCarthy.”
Before the season was over, Williams would be impressing people more than any of those other men. Much much more.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
