In the beginning, all I wanted was to right what was wrong with Boston Red Sox history. I wanted to bring a world Championship to that storied franchise, even if it was with paper cards, a scoring board and two dice. In this, the 50^th anniversary of APBA Baseball, Beckett Baseball Card Monthly price guide

Analyst Rich Klein and myself- two veteran APBA players with thousands of games logged in our

Combined lifetimes – set out to replay the 1975 World Series as a sort of nod to the 25^th anniversary of one of the all – time great seven – game series. Rich would take the Reds, and I would take the Red Sox. But in the end, my trying to bring Beantown even a mythical board game title was as hopeless a cause as ignoring the curse of the Bambino or trying to retire Mookie Wilson on a grounder to first. Indeed, this was supposed to be a rematch of the 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and

Cincinnati Reds in which history would be bent in Boston’s favor – mainly that left fielder

Jim Rice. Who batted 309 with 22 home runs and 102 RBI that season but missed the real ’75 World Series with an arm injury suffered in September, would be penciled into the APBA Red Sox’s lineup. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Rice  (.083, 1-for-12, 0 RBI) would up the APBA World Series as just another futile disappointment in an entire lineup of cardboard and paper disappointments. And while we looked forward to a replay of the famous game 6 match up of the real ’75 World Series – often called one of the finest World Series games ever played and a game ultimately decided on Carlton Fisk’s hand – waving 12 inning home run – we didn’t get a repeat of that game. Mainly because we didn’t get a game 6.

We never even got to a game 5. The Red Sox, under my watch and cold dice – rolling hand, were swept, 4-0. And so I say to you Boston and Red Sox fans everywhere, forgive me. Forgive me like you. Forgive Buckner. I did my best I stayed true to real – life manager Darrell Johnson’s pitching rotation and (with the exception of Rice) lineup. We just didn’t get any breaks, and the Reds, under “Sparky” Klein, were rolling all the right numbers. “What a strange run of bad luck” with the dice, Klein said after the series ended with a 5-8 come –from –behind Reds victory in game 4. “Who would have guessed that the vaunted Red Sox attack would go down so quietly.

GAME 1 (at Fenway Park)  REDS 12  BOSTON 4

Instead of one of his famous celebratory victory cigars, it was Luis Tiant that got lit up in game 1.Tiant, the Red Sox’s 18- game winner that season, coughed up a 4-1 lead by allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits – including a two –run home run to Tony Perez in the fourth inning and a solo shot by Joe Morgan in the fifth. A double by George Foster to open the sixth inning followed  immediately by run –scoring singles by Dave Concepcion and Ken Griffey ( the “Sr.” would not be added another 14 years) finally chased Tiant.

 Boston came out swinging in the first inning with Dwight Evans singling to open the inning for Boston. He then was sacrifice to second by Denny Doyle (and Doyle was safe on an error) and scored on an RBI-single by Carl Yastrzemski. Carlton Fisk then singled in Yaz and Doyle, giving the Red Sox a quick 3-1 lead. The team went down without scoring again in the first, and – little did we know at the time the inning would prove to be Boston’s best of the series. The Reds batted around in the sixth. Perez did much of the damage in the game, going 3-for-5 with a home run and 5 RBI. Morgan scored three runs and catcher Johnny Bench was 2-for-2 with an RBI and scored two runs. Reds starter Don Gullett, despite a rocky first inning, survived and pitched six innings in which he did not walk anyone.

GAME 2 (at Fenway Park)  REDS 6  BOSTON 0

This was perhaps the strangest game of the four-game series. For starters Red Sox first baseman and spiritual leader Carl Yastrzemski was injured in the top of the first inning when Tony Perez’s spike caught Yaz during a boom – boom play at first, opening a wound in the Boston leader that forced him out of the game and forced him to miss all of game 3 as well. That sent Cecil Copper into the game at first base. Ending, at least temporarily, the source of some controversy.  Remember 1975 was the last World Series played without a Designated hitter. So it was Copper who was sent to the bench when we (read: Klein and I deemed Jim Rice miraculously healthy and available to play in the series. Now Copper had to grab his first baseman’s glove and trot out to his defensive position in the top of the first. Yaz’s injury wasn’t the only one of the game, nor was it the most devastating. In the top of the sixth, Johnny Bench suffered groin injury trying to break up a double and wound up missing the remainder of the series. Klein had to turn to Bill Plummer to take over for the future HOFER behind the plate. It didn’t matter that Plummer went 0-for-7 the remainder of the series. The Reds could have had Jake Plummer catching and it wasn’t going to change the fact that the Boston offense was in a serious funk. The Red Sox never could figure out Reds starter Jack Billingham. Indeed, a Boston base runner reached third base just twice – Fred Lynn in the second and again in the ninth. Billingham was masterful, pitching a complete game shutout while scattering five hits. In the interest of trying to stay true to the real World Series results, Klein was going to yank Billingham in the sixth, but relented when he realized the starter had only allowed three singles and was cruising along. Perez slugged his second homers in as many games, and finished the game 3-4 with 2 RBI.

GAME 3 (at Riverfront Stadium)  REDS  7  BOSTON 2

If the Red Sox were going to climb back into this APBA Series, it was going to have to be by winning on the road. Alas, Boston starter Rick Wise proved to be a better hitter in the game (1-2) than pitcher (six earned runs 6 1/3 innings). And it was bad for Wise right from the start. How bad?  With the bases loaded in the Reds half of the first inning  - following a single by Joe Morgan and two – out walks to Tony Perez and George Foster – Wise hit Dave Concepcion with a pitch to bring in the first run of the game. He then surrendered a two – run single by Cesar Geronimo and followed that up with a walk to weak – hitting Bill Plummer. Only a whiff of pitcher Gary Nolan with the bases loaded saved Wise from possibly being pulled in the first inning. With the absence of Bench, Ken Griffey was moved up to second in the batting order and responded with a 2 –3 game that included a double, two runs scored and RBI. Foster delivered the only home run in the game. The Red sox broke a 23 – inning scoring drought – no, that’s’ not a misprint – with two runs in the eighth, after Dwight Evans tripled and scored on Rick Burleson’s groundout to second base, and Cecil Copper doubled in pinch – hitter Bernie Carbo who had walked and moved into scoring position on a ground out.

GAME 4 (at Riverfront Stadium)  REDS 5  BOSTON 3

“There’s no way I swept,” I told Klein as we prepared for game 4. “There’s no way you get swept,” the APBA Reds manager said in agreement. Things seemed to point to a Red Sox victory even before the first dice was rolled. The odds were already in our favor, as was the pitching match up. The Red Sox would go with ace Luis Tiant while the Reds would start “crafy” left-hander Fred Norman. It was a match up of the real game 4 in 1975. The game was the best of the Series, and both clubs were held scoreless through three innings before the Red Sox scored twice in the top of the fourth on singles by Denny Doyle and Carl Yastrzemski, a sacrifice fly by Carlton Fisk and a run – scoring double from Fred Lynn. But Tiant couldn’t hold the lead for even an inning, as the Reds stormed back with four runs in their half of the inning on an RBI-double from Joe Morgan, a run-scoring by Tony Perez and a two-run home by short-stop Dave Concepcion. And although the Red Sox added one more run in the fifth on a single by Juan Beniquez, Boston never could mount another rally off Reds relievers Pedro Borbon, Clay Carroll and relief ace Rawley Eastwick who earned the save. “The odds of a sweep were astronomical’ Klein said as we boxed up the game.” But that’s odds for you.” Perez was named MVP of the Series. And it was pretty clear why: he batted .563 (9-for-16), with three home runs and 10 RBI. Who would have guessed that even the loss of Johnny Bench wouldn’t slow down the Reds’ offense.  Or that Tiant would be touched for 12 earned runs in 12 innings? Who would have guessed that Jim Rice would not make one bit of difference (in a dice –rolling game only, folks), or that the Red Sox offense would be shut down for 23 straight innings? Who, indeed - Red Sox fans every-where - That’s who. For it’s those long-suffering fans- and great fans they are- who have now seen everything.

Mike Payne is the managing Editor of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly, and is one cold dice roller.