This story appears in the June 3, 2019, issue of Sports Illustrated. For more great storytelling and in-depth analysis, subscribe to the magazine—and get up to 94% off the cover price. Click here for more.
On the afternoon of June 13, 1973, in the seventh inning of a game between the Indians and Rangers in Cleveland, Texas manager Whitey Herzog turned to a 22-year-old righthander with a 3–14 career record named Don Stanhouse. With Texas clinging to a 3–1 lead, Stanhouse recorded the last nine outs of the game and earned his first major league save.