1978 New York Yankees season

1978 New York Yankees
1978 AL East Champions
1978 AL Champions
1978 World Series Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
  • New York City (since 1903)
Other information
Owner(s) George Steinbrenner
General manager(s) Cedric Tallis
Manager(s) Billy Martin, Dick Howser, Bob Lemon
Local television

WPIX

(Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White)
Local radio WINS (AM)
(Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, Fran Healy)
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The 1978 New York Yankees season was the 76th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 100-63, finishing one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox to win their third American League East title. The two teams were tied after 162 games, leading to a one-game playoff, which the Yankees won.

In the ALCS, they defeated the Kansas City Royals in 4 games. In the World Series, they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in 6 games in a rematch of the 1977 World Series. New York was managed by Billy Martin, Dick Howser and Bob Lemon. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

The season was tumultuous for the Yankees, as Jackson was suspended in a midseason showdown with Billy Martin, which later resulted in Martin resigning mid-season.

Offseason

Regular season

During the season, Ron Guidry became the last pitcher to win at least 25 games in one season for the Yankees in the 20th century.[5] Guidry won the Cy Young Award by unanimous vote. In 273 2/3 innings, he compiled a record of 25-3, with 248 strikeouts, 1.74 ERA, and 9 shutouts.

Relief pitcher Goose Gossage won Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award, leading the American League with 27 saves.

Season summary

In July, the team was  14 1⁄2 games behind the Boston Red Sox, but rallied in the second half of the season to finish tied for first place. The Yankees were victorious over the Red Sox in the one-game playoff for the AL East title. This game featured Bucky Dent's famous 3-run go-ahead home run in the 7th inning.

Game log

AL East tie-breaker game

October 2, 1978 at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 5 8 0
Boston Red Sox 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 4 11 0
WP: Ron Guidry (25-3)   LP: Mike Torrez (16-13)   Sv: Goose Gossage (27)
Home runs:
NYY: Bucky Dent, Reggie Jackson
BOS: Carl Yastrzemski

Season standings

AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 100 63 0.613 — 55–26 45–37
Boston Red Sox 99 64 0.607 1 59–23 40–41
Milwaukee Brewers 93 69 0.574 6½ 54–27 39–42
Baltimore Orioles 90 71 0.559 9 51–30 39–41
Detroit Tigers 86 76 0.531 13½ 47–34 39–42
Cleveland Indians 69 90 0.434 29 42–36 27–54
Toronto Blue Jays 59 102 0.366 40 37–44 22–58

Record vs. opponents

1978 American League Records

Sources:

Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore — 7–8 4–6 8–1 9–6 7–8 2–8 7–8 5–5 6–9 11–0 9–1 7–4 8–7
Boston 8–7 — 9–2 7–3 7–8 12–3 4–6 10–5 9–2 7–9 5–5 7–3 3–7 11–4
California 6–4 2–9 — 8–7 6–4 4–7 9–6 5–5 12–3 5–5 9–6 9–6 5–10 7–3
Chicago 1–8 3–7 7–8 — 8–2 2–9 8–7 4–7 8–7 1–9 7–8 7–8 11–4 4–6
Cleveland 6–9 8–7 4–6 2–8 — 5–10 5–6 5–10 5–5 6–9 4–6 8–1 1–9 10–4
Detroit 8–7 3–12 7–4 9–2 10–5 — 4–6 7–8 4–6 4–11 6–4 8–2 7–3 9–6
Kansas City 8–2 6–4 6–9 7–8 6–5 6–4 — 6–4 7–8 6–5 10–5 12–3 7–8 5–5
Milwaukee 8–7 5–10 5–5 7–4 10–5 8–7 4–6 — 4–7 10–5 9–1 5–5 6–4 12–3
Minnesota 5–5 2–9 3–12 7–8 5–5 6–4 8–7 7–4 — 3–7 9–6 6–9 6–9 6–4
New York 9–6 9–7 5–5 9–1 9–6 11–4 5–6 5–10 7–3 — 8–2 6–5 6–4 11–4
Oakland 0–11 5–5 6–9 8–7 6–4 4–6 5–10 1–9 6–9 2–8 — 13–2 6–9 7–4
Seattle 1–9 3–7 6–9 8–7 1–8 2–8 3–12 5–5 9–6 5–6 2–13 — 3–12 8–2
Texas 4–7 7–3 10–5 4–11 9–1 3–7 8–7 4–6 9–6 4–6 9–6 12–3 — 4–7
Toronto 7–8 4–11 3–7 6–4 4–10 6–9 5–5 3–12 4–6 4–11 4–7 2–8 7–4 —

Notable transactions

Draft picks

Roster

1978 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Munson, ThurmanThurman Munson 154 617 183 .297 6 71
1B Chambliss, ChrisChris Chambliss 162 625 171 .274 12 90
2B Randolph, WillieWillie Randolph 134 499 139 .279 3 42
3B Nettles, GraigGraig Nettles 159 587 162 .276 27 93
SS Dent, BuckyBucky Dent 123 379 92 .243 5 40
LF Piniella, LouLou Piniella 130 472 148 .314 6 69
RF Jackson, ReggieReggie Jackson 139 511 140 .274 27 97

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Spencer, JimJim Spencer 71 150 34 .227 7 24
Doyle, BrianBrian Doyle 39 52 10 .192 0 0
Sherrill, DennisDennis Sherrill 2 1 0 .000 0 0
Healy, FranFran Healy 1 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Guidry, RonRon Guidry 35 273.2 25 3 1.74 248
Figueroa, EdEd Figueroa 35 253 20 9 2.99 92
Tidrow, DickDick Tidrow 31 185 7 11 3.84 73
Beattie, JimJim Beattie 25 128 6 9 3.73 65
Hunter, CatfishCatfish Hunter 21 118 12 6 3.58 56

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Clay, KenKen Clay 28 75.2 3 4 4.28 32
Holtzman, KenKen Holtzman 5 17.2 1 0 4.08 3

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Gossage, GooseGoose Gossage 63 10 11 27 2.01 122
Lyle, SparkySparky Lyle 59 9 3 9 3.47 33
Eastwick, RawlyRawly Eastwick 8 2 1 0 3.28 13
Kammeyer, BobBob Kammeyer 7 0 0 0 5.82 11
Davis, RonRon Davis 4 0 0 0 11.57 0

Postseason

ALCS

Game 1

October 3: Royals Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 011 020 030 7160
Kansas City 000 001 000 122
W: Jim Beattie (1-0)  L: Dennis Leonard (0-1)  S: Ken Clay (1)
HRs: NYY – Reggie Jackson (1)

Game 2

October 4: Royals Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 000 000 220 4121
Kansas City 140 000 32X 10161
W: Larry Gura (1-0)  L: Ed Figueroa (0-1)
HRs: KCR – Freddie Patek (1)

Game 3

October 6: Yankee Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 101 010 020 5101
New York 010 201 02X 6100
W: Goose Gossage (1-0)  L: Doug Bird (0-1)
HRs: KCR – George Brett 3 (3)   NYY – Reggie Jackson (2) Thurman Munson (1)

Game 4

October 7: Yankee Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 100 000 000 170
New York 010 001 00X 240
W: Ron Guidry (1-0)  L: Dennis Leonard (0-2)  S: Goose Gossage (1)
HRs: NYY – Graig Nettles (1) Roy White (1)

World Series

Main article: 1978 World Series

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (2)

Game Score Date Location Attendance Time of Game
1Yankees – 5, Dodgers – 11 October 10Dodger Stadium 55,997 2:48
2Yankees – 3, Dodgers – 4 October 11Dodger Stadium 55,982 2:37
3Dodgers – 1, Yankees – 5 October 13Yankee Stadium 56,447 2:27
4Dodgers – 3, Yankees – 4 (10 inns) October 14Yankee Stadium 56,445 3:17
5Dodgers – 2, Yankees – 12 October 15Yankee Stadium 56,448 2:56
6Yankees – 7, Dodgers – 2 October 17Dodger Stadium 55,985 2:34

Awards and honors

Franchise records

All-Stars

All-Star Game

Other team leaders

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Tacoma Yankees Pacific Coast League Mike Ferraro
AA West Haven Yankees Eastern League Stump Merrill
A Fort Lauderdale Yankees Florida State League Doug Holmquist
A-Short Season Oneonta Yankees New York–Penn League Art Mazmanian

LEAGUE CO-CHAMPION: Tacoma[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Goose Gossage at Baseball Reference
  2. ↑ Jesús Figueroa at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ Sergio Ferrer at Baseball Reference
  4. ↑ Stan Thomas at Baseball Reference
  5. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 99, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  6. ↑ Ken Holtzman at Baseball Reference
  7. ↑ Bobby Brown at Baseball Reference
  8. ↑ Mickey Klutts at Baseball Reference
  9. ↑ Rex Hudler at Baseball Reference
  10. ↑ Steve Balboni at Baseball Reference
  11. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

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