Baseball Fans: 50 Years Since Carlton Fisk Beat The Reds in the 12th

From Wikipedia....

Leading off the bottom of the 12th inning of Game 6 at Fenway Park, Fisk hit a pitch that went down the left-field line and appeared to be heading into foul territory. The image of Fisk jumping and waving the ball fair as he made his way to first base is considered by many to be one of baseball's greatest moments. The ball struck the foul pole for a home run, giving the Red Sox a 7–6 win and forcing a seventh and deciding game of the Fall Classic.

Why I saw the celebration....

The image of him waving the ball fair changed the way baseball was televised. During this time, cameramen covering baseball were instructed to follow the flight of the ball. NBC cameraman Lou Gerard said that he had been distracted by a nearby rat. Unable to follow the ball, he kept the camera on Fisk instead. This play was perhaps the most important catalyst in getting camera operators to focus most of their attention on the players themselves.

Fisk was one of two final active players in the 1990s who had played in the 1960s. The other was Nolan Ryan.

Had much respect for the game..

In an incident on May 22, 1990, Deion Sanders approached the plate with one out and a runner on third base, drew a dollar sign in the dirt before the pitch, and didn't run to first base since the popup he hit looked like it would be easily caught. Fisk yelled at Sanders "run the fucking ball out" and called Sanders a "piece of shit." Later in the game, Sanders told Fisk "the days of slavery are over." Fisk was furious. "He comes up and wants to make it a racial issue — there's no racial issue involved." He told Sanders during Sanders' next at-bat, "There is a right way and a wrong way to play this game. You're playing it the wrong way. And the rest of us don't like it. Someday, you're going to get this game shoved right down your throat.

Had to watch the game with the lights out, sound way down, towel under the door since it was a school night.  Better than running home from elementary school to catch the World Series before games were played at night.