When the New York Yankees took batting practice before Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, they allotted five minutes to each of the starting position players and saved the best for last in the 45-minute session.
By the time Reggie Jackson stepped into the batter’s box, the media contingent was six or seven people deep around the cage and Yankee Stadium was buzzing with more than 50,000 fans.
Jackson lined some balls up the middle and laced some into left-center field — using just enough swings to get into a groove.