Bernie Carbo

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Bernie Carbo - TSN archives.

Bernardo "Bernie" Carbo (born August 5, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former Major League Baseball right fielder/designated hitter who played with the Cincinnati Reds (1969-72), St. Louis Cardinals (1972-73, 1979-80), Boston Red Sox (1974-76, 1977-78), Milwaukee Brewers (1976), Cleveland Indians (1978) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1980). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Carbo was a journeyman outfielder who started his career with Cincinnati. He had been the Reds' number-one draft pick in the inaugural 1965 draft, ahead of Johnny Bench. In his 1970 rookie season, Carbo posted career highs in batting average (.310), home runs (21), runs batted in (63), hits (113), on base percentage (.454), slugging average (.551), OPS (1,005) and games played (125). Carbo was selected Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News. But he slumped in the next two seasons and was sent to the Cardinals. Then, he landed in Boston in 1974.

In the 1975 World Series, huge favorite Cincinnati was looking for their first title since 1940. Boston also suffered a drought by not winning a Series since 1918. Both clubs battled back and forth, with the Reds winning three of the first five games. In Game 6, with two outs and two strikes in the 8th inning, Carbo's pinch 3-run home run tied the score at 6-all, paving the way for Carlton Fisk's legendary game-winning homer in the bottom of the twelfth for a 7-6 Red Sox victory. Carbo's pinch homer was his second of the Series, tying a Series record. Game 7, watched by an estimated 71 million TV viewers, saw the Reds triumph in the ninth inning on a bloop single by Joe Morgan for a 4-3 win. But Carbo's pinch-hitting heroics were not in vain. He saved himself from baseball anonymity with one of the most dramatic pinch home runs in post-season baseball history.

In a 12-year career, Carbo was a .264 hitter with 96 home runs and 358 RBI in 1010 games. On November 10, 2004, he was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

[edit] Quotation

I knew once they beat the Yankees, they were going to go to St. Louis and beat the Cardinals. Babe Ruth was tired of being put in the position to always be criticized to be looked at as the curse of the Red Sox. The Yankees have the curse now. They have to live with being up 3-0 and losing four in a row. That's hard to take and I know Yankees fans aren't going to stomach that very well. But the worst part is they never got to meet hollyn, and she is the prettiest girl in the world! -Bernie Carbo, during the 2004 Red Sox Hall of Fame induction. [1]