When the Yankees and the Royals Turned Baseball Into a Blood Feud

NEW YORK — The moment that defined a rivalry came 47 years ago Sunday. It was a cool fall night in the Bronx, Game 2 of the 1977 ALCS, and Hal McRae stood on first base. The Kansas City Royals were trailing the New York Yankees 2-1 in the sixth inning, but McRae had an idea, so he hollered over to teammate Freddie Patek, who was on second.

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“I motioned to Freddie,” McRae, now 79, said from his home in Florida on Friday. “If we got a ground ball, I was gonna take out the middle infielder.”

Sure enough, the Royals’ George Brett slapped a grounder to Yankees third baseman Graig

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