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"This is a strange game." In 1975, Sparky Anderson's "Big Red Machine" had once again dominated the National League, putting the Reds in a position to end their 35-year World Series drought. But the Boston Red Sox, while not considered among the best in the American League that year, had shocked the baseball nation after ending the defending champion Oakland's A's three-year reign with a sweep of their own. The 1975 season was a difficult one for Yastrzemski. Since the 1970 season, Yaz's numbers had dropped off significantly, and '75 was no different. That season he batted just .269 and had the fewest RBI's in his career. Everybody's hero in 1967 was suddenly being booed off the field for every ground and pop out. But Yaz was about to have his second wind. In the 1975 playoffs, he wowed the crowd and the Oakland A's by hitting .455, then .310 during the World Series. Yaz had resurrected his carreer, hitting in the clutch and driving in runs. Yaz once again won the hearts and minds of Red Sox fans everywhere. Sadly for the Sox, the '75 World Series proved to be as impossible as 1967. In familiar form, the Sox lost in seven games, but not before they made their mark on history. Game 6 of the series is often thought of as one of the greatest games ever played. Anyone who saw will never forget Carlton Fisk's game winning home run wrap around the left field foul pole, or Fisk's flailing arms as he seemed to push the baseball into fair territory. The Reds may have won the World Series, but Fisk's moment often comes to mind first when the '75 Series is mentioned. In that sense, it could be considered a Sox victory.
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