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Posted By: ockday

This is from The Sporting News Top 25 Baseball Moments(this is #21)
http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/25moments/



Chambliss Sinks the Royals

THE DATE
October 14, 1976.


THE PLACE
Yankee Stadium, New York.


THE SITUATION
The ninth inning of Game 5 of the ALCS between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals.

THE KEY PLAYERS
New York's Chris Chambliss and Kansas City's Mark Littell.


THE MOMENT
The Yankees and Royals were tied 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth in the deciding game of a thrilling ALCS. Chambliss, the Yankees first baseman, led off the ninth and hit a home run to right field -- just over the reach of Hal McRae. Chambliss watched his towering fly ball disappear over the right-center field fence, threw both arms into the air, did a little victory dance and headed for first base.

Then things got scary as fans began pouring onto the field. Chambliss fell over a fan while heading to third base and struggled to regain his footing before getting trampled. Chambliss had to bull his way through a horde of fans to get past third but couldn't touch home plate because it was lost in a mass of humanity. He later received a police escort to its former resting spot for a symbolic touch. The journey was complete and the Yankees, 7-6 winners in Game 5, were AL champs for the first time since 1964.


THE CALL
"Mark Littell delivers . . . High drive hit to right-center field . . . It could be . . . it is . . . gone!" -- Keith Jackson, ABC-TV.

"Chris Chambliss has won the American League pennant for the New York Yankees. . . . A thrilling, dramatic game. . . . What a way for the American League season to end!" -- Howard Cosell, ABC-TV.


DO YOU REMEMBER?


The Royals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of Game 5 when John Mayberry homered off Yankees starter Ed Figueroa.

Royals manager Whitey Herzog took his starting pitcher, Dennis Leonard, out in the first inning after Leonard allowed three consecutive hits. The Yankees tied the game 2-2 that inning.

The Yankees had a comfortable 6-3 lead in the eighth inning, but the Royals rallied for three runs. Al Cowens and pinch hitter Jim Wohlford singled. The next hitter, George Brett, homered into the right field seats to tie the game.

In the top of the ninth, the Yankees retired the first two hitters. However, Buck Martinez singled and Cowens drew a walk off eventual winning pitcher Dick Tidrow. Wohlford hit a slow bouncer to third baseman Graig Nettles, who fired to second for the force. Television replays showed Cowens already coming up out of his slide before the ball arrived, but umpire Joe Brinkman called Cowens out. Instead of Brett batting with the bases loaded, the game moved into the bottom of the ninth.

The bottom of the ninth was delayed for about five minutes so the Yankees grounds crew could clean up debris on the outfield grass. The primary target of fan projectiles -- beer cans, bottles and batteries -- was McRae, the Royals' right fielder. Littell, who was just entering the game, appeared distracted by the delay.

During the regular season, Littell had saved 16 games for the Royals and in 104 innings had allowed only one home run.

IN THEIR WORDS
"My first thought was that I hit a home run. Then I realized it was the ninth inning, the game was over and we'd won the championship. Then I thought, 'Oh no, the people are on the field.' I was in the middle of a mass of people and when I fell to the ground, it was scary." -- Chambliss.

"I never felt like it was fun to celebrate that home run with the fans. They didn't belong on the field. I wanted to meet my teammates at home plate and I couldn't." -- Chambliss.

"I didn't know what to do. I just headed toward our dugout. There were so many fans coming at me, but not one touched me. I got down into the dugout, and there weren't many players in there. Somebody pulled my jersey and got me out of the dugout and into the runway. All I can remember is a couple of thousand people running around going crazy." -- Littell.

"First, I knew they weren't going to change the call. Second, the crowd had been throwing bottles and other things all night. I was hit by a tomato during the pregame introductions. I didn't want to go out there and get killed." -- Herzog on why he didn't argue over umpire Joe Brinkman's call in the top of the ninth.


AFTERMATH


Chambliss was named ALCS MVP. He hit an ALCS record .524 with eight RBIs. In the World Series against Cincinnati, Chambliss hit .313 (5-for-16) with one RBI. He played three more seasons with the Yankees and with Atlanta from 1980 to '86. He had one at-bat with the Yankees in 1987 and struck out. Chambliss is in his fourth season as the Yankees' hitting coach.

Littell went 8-4 with 12 saves for the Royals in 1977. He gave up the game-winning hit in Game 5 of the 1977 ALCS when the Yankees rallied for three runs in the ninth for a 5-3 win at Kansas City. He pitched for the Cardinals from 1978-82.

After a thrilling win in the ALCS against the Royals, the Yankees were swept in the World Series by Cincinnati's Big Red Machine.

The 1976 ALCS was the first of three consecutive postseason series featuring the Royals and Yankees -- each ending in defeat for the Royals. However, in 1980 the Royals finally got some revenge -- a sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS.