1978 World Series

When the two teams met again the following fall, it was very much an encore of the previous season. Once again, the Dodgers knocked off the Phillies in the NLCS, while the Yankees ended the Royals' season for the third straight year. Of course, the Yankees struggled to even reach the ALCS. The 1978 AL East wasn't the summer long three team dog fight that it had been the previous year, but the Yankees needed a furious late season comeback and one game playoff in Boston to win the division. Oddly enough, the big blow in that game - Bucky Dent's improbable go-ahead homer - was served up by Mike Torrez, who had signed with Boston after winning Game Six of the '77 Series for the Yankees.

Both clubs carried relatively the same rosters as in '77, but for the Yankees there were two major changes: one in the bullpen, one in the dugout. Goose Gossage was signed as a free agent in the off-season, relegating Sparky Lyle to a lesser role in bullpen. Or, as Graig Nettles put it, causing him to go from Cy Young to sayonara. Meanwhile, the ever present tension amongst Steinbrenner, Martin, and Jackson finally boiled over in July. Martin suspended Jackson for failing to follow a bunt sign, then choosing to follow it after it had been taken off. Feeling that Steinbrenner didn't have his back, Martin quipped "The two deserve each other. One's a born liar, the other's convicted", referencing Steinbrenner's earlier conviction for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon. Citing his health, Martin resigned before he could be fired, replaced by Bob Lemon. Then, in a move perfectly representative of the Bronx Zoo years, at Old Timers Day, five days after his resignation, it was announced that Martin would return as Yankee manager in 1980, with Lemon being promoted to the general manager's position.

-1978-

The Series began in L.A. on Tuesday October 10th. Tommy John, who had lost Game Three to the Yankees the year before, started for L.A. The Yankees countered with Ed Figueroa, who had just become the first, and thus far only, native of Puerto Rico to post a twenty win season. The Dodgers chased Figueroa early, with homers from Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes knocking him from the game in the second. Ken Clay, Paul Lindblad, and Dick Tidrow didn't offer any relief, combining to allow an additional eight runs. The Yankees put up five over the seventh and eighth, including another homer from Reggie Jackson, but it was a drop in the bucket as the Dodgers won 11-5.

The Yankees sent Catfish Hunter out to oppose Burt Hooton in Game Two. A two run double from Jackson gave the Yankees the lead in the third. The Dodgers got on the board with a Ron Cey RBI single in the fourth, and took the lead when he hit a three run homer in the sixth. Jackson brought the Yankees within one with an RBI groundout in the seventh, and had a chance to tie it in the ninth. Jackson came up with two outs, runners on first and second, and the Yankees trailing by a run. Lasorda called on fireballing twenty one year old rookie Bob Welch. In a 1-2 hole, Jackson fouled off four pitches in working the count full. On the ninth pitch of the at bat, Welch blew one by Jackson, putting the Dodgers up two games.

Back in New York for Game Three, the Yankees sent Ron Guidry out to avoid falling behind three games. Guidry had just turned in the finest pitching season in Yankee history, going 25 and 3 in 35 starts, his final victory coming in the one game playoff in Boston. He led the league in wins, winning percentage at .893, ERA at 1.74, shutouts with nine, WHIP at 0.946, and hits per nine at 6.1. He also led the league in WAR on his way to capturing the Cy Young Award and a second place MVP finish. He had a convincing victory against Kansas City in the ALCS and with his team in desperate need of win in Game Three, Guidry found a way to dominate without having his best stuff. He struck out only four and worked around eight hits and seven walks, but allowed just one run in nine innings of work. Graig Nettles made no fewer than four outstanding plays at the hot corner to help Guidry work out of trouble. The Yankees got a second inning home run from veteran Roy White, and RBIs from Dent, Munson, Jackson, and Piniella to take a 5-1 victory.


Game Four was a rematch between John and Figueroa. A three run homer by Reggie Smith in the fifth opened the scoring. The Yankees got two back in the sixth. A single by White and a walk to Munson put two on for Jackson. His single scored White to make it 3-1, but his biggest contribution came from his butt rather than his bat. With Munson on second and Jackson on first, Lou Piniella bounced a tailor made double play ball to short. Bill Russell made the force at second, but as his relay throw sailed towards first, Jackson, caught halfway between the bases, not-so-subtly turned his right hip into the path of the ball. The ball bounced off into short right field, allowing Munson to score despite the protests of Tommy Lasorda. In the eighth, Paul Blair led off a with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice from White, and scored the tying run when Munson doubled him home. Welch and Gossage kept the slate clean in the ninth. In the bottom of the tenth White drew a one out walk. Without two outs, Jackson turned the tables on Welch, singling to keep the inning alive. Piniella followed with a base hit, and the Yankees walked off with the Series tied at two.

For Game Five, the Yankees turned to young Jim Beattie, passing over Hunter. The tall 23 year old rookie had made the fourth most starts for the club on the season, but was also demoted mid-season and was skipped on several occasions. He put the Yankees in a two run hole over the first three innings, but his offense soon came to his aid. White, Munson, and Piniella combined to drive in four runs in the third, then Rivers, White, and Munson combined for three more in the fourth. Beattie shut the Dodgers down the rest of the way and the Yankees added five more in the seventh and eighth to take a convincing 12-1 victory and come back from being down 0-2 take a 3-2 lead in the Series.

Back in L.A. the Yankees looked to Catfish Hunter to close it out, while the Dodgers asked Don Sutton to save their season. Davey Lopes' leadoff home run gave the Dodgers a 1-0 first inning lead, but in the top of the second Brian Doyle, subbing for an injured Willie Randolph, doubled home Nettles, and Bucky Dent followed with a single that scored Jim Spencer and Doyle. Lopes made it 3-2 with an RBI single in the third, but it was the last offense the Dodgers would get. Hunter, pitching in the 22nd and final post-season game of his career shut the Dodgers down into the eighth. Doyle and Dent added RBIs in the sixth, and Jackson hit a two run shot off Welch in the seventh to make it 7-2. Gossage retired the final five in a row, and the Yankees had won their second consecutive title and their twenty second overall.

6 Days Until Spring Training: Roy White

By the time the Yankees ended an eleven season pennant drought in 1976 the only connections they had to their most recent successes were coaches Yogi Berra and Elston Howard, and digging back even further in their history, manager Billy Martin. But there was one player on the club who had just missed out on the success of the teams of the early sixties.

Roy White was signed as an amateur free agent in the summer of 1961. He made his professional debut the next year, and worked his way through the minor league system over the next three years as the Yankees won their third, fourth, and fifth consecutive pennants. After a breakout season at AA in 1965, the switch hitting second baseman was called up in September as the Yankees wound out their first losing season in forty years.

The rookie made his debut on September 7th, singling as a pinch hitter in the front end of a double header and picking up two more hits as the second baseman in the second game. It would be White's only appearance at second base in '65, and one of only three in his Major League career. The day after White made his debut, another highly touted Yankee rookie made his debut at shortstop. Like White, Bobby Murcer soon would be moved from the middle infield to the outfield. After Murcer's return from military service in 1969, the pair would be two bright spots in a rather dismal period in Yankee history.

White took over as the regular left fielder in '66, patrolling the Yankee outfield with Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Despite the lofty company he kept, the 22 year old White proved not quite ready for prime time. He began the '67 season loaned out to the Dodgers' AAA affiliate in Spokane, returned to the Bronx in July, and despite some lackluster numbers he earned himself a job for good.

White broke out in '68, batting .267/.350/.414, good for a 136 OPS+ in the year of the pitcher. He finished third in the American League in runs, fourth in times on base, seventh in triples, and tenth in stolen bases. It was the start of a five year stretch for White in which he posted an overall OPS+ of 138, never posting a season lower than 130.

Even as offense improved following the lowering of pitcher's mounds in 1969, power remained suppressed. While White had enough pop to rack up a decent amount of extra base hits, his keen batting eye was his greatest asset. It allowed him to far outpace the league in OBP. Seven times in his career he finished in the top ten in walks, including four of the five years during his peak and league leading 99 free passes in 1972.

After a down year in '73, White rebounded to post three more seasons with an OPS+ over 120. In the Yankees' pennant winning season of '76 White led the AL with 1o4 runs scored. He slipped a bit in the Yankees World Series winning seasons of '77 and '78, but remained a regular in the line up and a contributor offensively. Following a poor 1979, White departed for Japan and spent the final three seasons of his career playing for the Tokyo Giants - the Yankees of Japan.

White returned to the Yankees as a coach in 1983, '84, '86, '04, and '05. He ranks seventh on the team's all-time games played and plate appearance lists, sixth on the walks list, fifth on the stolen base list, and eighth in times on base.

Roy White doesn't rank with the Hall of Famers in Yankee history, but he was a very good player for a long time. His body of work has been underestimated due to his best years coming in an offensively suppressed era and during one of the worst stretches in Yankee history. Yet he was a very good Yankee for fifteen seasons, a quiet and dignified player who was a calming presence on what were often chaotic teams. In his New Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James ranked White as the 25th best left fielder of all time, ahead of more celebrated contemporaries Don Baylor, Greg Luzinski, George Foster, and even Hall of Famer Jim Rice.

Game 109: Shakedown Street

While the Yankees were shaking down the Sox last night, the new Yankee Stadium had a watershed moment for itself. Not only did the ballpark have its highest attendance (49,005) in its brief history, but it came alive for the first time.

The Stadium has been justifiably panned for a number of reasons: the insane ticket prices, the obstructed view bleacher seats, the decreased capacity compared to the old joint, the institutionalized caste system, the cold and sterile nature of the place, Monument Cave, etc. I'm not sure it's quite as bad as it's been made out to be, but it certainly has it flaws.

My biggest problem with it has been the lack of atmosphere. Part of that may be structural, with the upper deck recessed much further back from the field than across the street. Part of that can be attributed to the best seats being empty on a nightly basis. Part of that can be chalked up to the place being a mall with a baseball field in the middle. How can fans create an atmosphere if they're off at the farmer's market, or the art gallery, or the butcher shop?

Last night though was a lot different, and I couldn't be happier. There was a buzz all day long. The Yanks were rolling, the Sox were struggling, and the Yanks were overdue for some head-to-head wins. On the interwebs, on talk radio, in the tabloids, amongst the fans - the energy was building back to the way it should be.

Once I hit the Major Deegan on my way to the game, I knew this one would be different. The gridlock from the Mosholu down past Van Cortland Park, Fordham, and the GW, all the way to the Harlem River lots was a good indication the people were coming out for this one.

River Ave was buzzing, once again the Bronx's version of Shakedown Street at a Dead show. T-shirt vendors on the sidewalk. A fully packed Stan's. Roy White doing an autograph signing at one of the memorablia shops.

The Stadium itself didn't disappoint. It was fairly electric from the first pitch, and stayed that way even through some early bumps for the Yanks and a sloppy strikezone from Derryl Cousins. The atmosphere in the eight-run fourth inning is how Yankee Stadium is supposed to be, Sounds like our pal Joe at RAB got what he wanted.

I'm hoping for much of the same tonight. Big ptiching match-up with Burnett vs. Beckett for the third time this year. It'll be interesting to see if Beckett, never one to shy away from pitching inside, goes after anyone in the wake of Pedroia's plunking last night. A.J.'s first two against the Sox were ugly, but he's been on an absolute tear since then - Saturday's start notwithstanding. As a team the Yankees cashed in on being overdue against the Sox last night - let's hope A.J. get his tonight and that the Stadium is rocking again.

Grateful Dead - Shakedown Street


Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
When I can hear it beat out loud!

Nothing shaking on Shakedown Street
Used to be the heart of the town
Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
You just gotta poke around