21. “HIT HIM HARDER!“
Halfway through the game, with chaos engulfing the Indians’ ballpark, a Rangers player was hit by a ball. The inebriated and stoned crowd loved it. By now, having gone from the jolly drunk phase to mean drunk mode, they began shouting: “HIT HIM HARDER!” Against that backdrop, the Rangers’ manager Billy Martin, an alcoholic who had supposedly once taken a hit out on an umpire, came out to argue a call.
The home crowd did not like that one bit, and before long, plastic cups were raining down from the stands. They were followed soon thereafter by a hail of firecrackers so intense that the Rangers’ bullpen had to be evacuated for the players’ safety. Somebody made an announcement, asking the fans to stop throwing trash on the field, but that only emboldened them to redouble their efforts.
