Cracking The MLB Vault

Check out these classic Red Sox highlights.

Major League Baseball, the dour organization that spent the past few years completely scrubbing its highlights off YouTube, has totally redeemed itself. (Almost.) Late last week, MLB—“Which has hoarded its old archives and clips like Scrooge Freaking McDuck,” wrote Grantland’s Jonah Keri—released a bunch of embeddable videos that will make fans swoon. (On Friday, Keri posted some of his favorites.) I figured it was my duty to scour the freshly stocked MLB archive for great Red Sox stuff, of which there’s lots.

Forget Carlton Fisk’s home run, this is easily my favorite highlight from Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. I’m still not sure how Dwight Evans doesn’t end up falling into the stands after making the catch.

“One of the strangest games,” Jerry Remy chimes in after Mo Vaughn’s walk-off grand slam capped a seven-run ninth inning, “I think you’ll ever see.” It was barely a week in to the ’98 season, and Mariners manager Lou Piniella looked like all was lost.

Thanks to Dave Henderson’s home run off Donnie Moore, Game 5 of the ’86 American League Championship Series is the one we remember. But this Jim Rice homer from Game 7 is also worth watching over and over. What a moonshot.

Umpire Terry Cooney deserves some credit for inciting epic tantrums by both Red Sox manager Joe Morgan and Roger Clemens. The pitcher, who on that afternoon wore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shoelaces, got tossed from the game after arguing balls and strikes. (Delightfully, the video also shows Clemens cursing out Cooney.)

Sean McDonough’s voice is practically shaking as he declares the Red Sox the champions of the American League East. Also: check out reliever Jeff Reardon’s beard.