One of the first signs that George Brett would be a special player came in 1976, when he battled pre-eminent AL batting leader Rod Carew and fellow Royal Hal McRae for the American League batting crown. Finishing the season against Carew's Twins in KC, the race was a toss-up entering the final game. The events of the final day were bizarre, and when the smoke cleared, only one batter would claim the crown.
Carew, Brett and McRae all had two hits entering the ninth inning. The two Royals were due up in the bottom of the inning. A hit by either and an out by the other would give the title to the Royal batter. Brett batted with McRae waiting on deck and sliced a drive toward left field that Steve Brye misplayed. The ball rolled to the warning track and Brett circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run. This ended Carew's hopes, but if McRae could hit safely he would still win the title by a narrow margin. The Royal DH grounded out however, and Brett won his first batting crown.
But the fireworks were just beginning. As McRae left the field he began motioning to the Twin dugout and particularly at manager Gene Mauch. Mauch quickly answered McRae's tirade with one of his own. McRae accused Mauch of ordering his fielders to allow Brett a hit, thus ensuring the title be won by a white man. The ensuing furor wasn't helped by the strange play of Brye on the ball hit by Brett. For his part Brett shied from the controversy, with Carew and McRae later acknowledging that he deserved to win the title. Brett would later add titles in 1980 after a feverish attempt to bat .400, and in 1990 with a second-half flurry.
» DAN HOLMES is a Detroit Tigers fan, who longs for the days of Ernie Harwell and Paul Carey ("the voice of God"), the "Bemo-Potato Chips Home Run," Mark Fidrych, George Kell, and Tiger Stadium. He's disturbed by the shrinking strike zone, the wild card, the tax code...well, he's just disturbed. Dan is the Web Manager for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He has been published in several newspapers and magazines. He is also a baseball contributor on WJAB radio in Portland, Maine, where he can be heard each Tuesday morning at 7:45 AM.
Also by Dan Holmes
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Posted November 19, 2001.
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