World Series: Did You Know?

In 1977, it was many of the "new" guys on the Bronx Bombers that brought 'em their first Fall Classic triumph since 1962.

Reggie Jackson was obviously their biggest off-season acquisition. But you can't win without pitching, right? The pitching staff had some excellent starters!

There was Catfish Hunter, who the New York Yankees had got in 1975 after he'd spent a decade with the Athletics. Hunter won 23 games his first year in New York, slipped to 17-15 in 1976, then seemed to hit a low point in '77 as Catfish went just 9-9 with a 4.71 ERA. But you couldn't overlook all that experience he brought with him.

Ron Guidry had no experience at the big-league level prior to 1977. But his rookie year was quite impressive. Wins? 16? ERA? 2.82. And the next season? Let's just say, "Lights-out!" Mike Torrez hadn't quite been that in '77 but he still won 17 games. In Oakland the year before, Mike won 16 games and posted an ERA of just 2.50. He even had a 20-win season to his name as recently as 1975 with Baltimore. How about Don Gullett? He'd won a World Series in 1975 and the next year, too. He went 15-4 in 1975 and 11-3 the next year. But in 1977, Don led the American League in W%, .778 (14-4). That, is a splendid pitching staff.

After knocking off the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in the American Championship Series, New York found themselves back in the World Series for the second straight year. But unlike 1976, Don Gullett was pitching for them, not against. The opposition was stiff, as the Los Angeles Dodgers had reached the Fall Classic three years prior, losing to Catfish Hunter's team, Oakland.

Gullett pitched quite admirably in the opening tilt. After surrendering two runs in the top of the first inning at Yankee Stadium, Don gave up just one more run the rest of the way. For his 8 1/3 innings pitched, the lefty allowed just three runs and five hits. However, Sparky Lyle didn't do the job, as he'd blown the save by not stranding Dusty Baker. Baker had singled to start the top of the ninth. Steve Yeager had drawn a one-out walk which ended Gullett's night. Lyle surrendered a single to Lee Lacy and this thing was headed to extras.

But if Lyle didn't do the job in the ninth, he did the next three innings. The Dodgers went down 1-2-3 in the 10th, 11th and 12th. Yes, that meant Sparky retired eleven in a row after Lacy had greeted him with a game-tying single.

In the last of the twelfth, it was time for a new acquisition to deliver the game-winning single.

That was veteran Paul Blair. Paul was no stranger to the World Series. He'd hit a key home run in 1966 for Baltimore, and made a game-saving catch. Then he played in three more Fall Classic's with the Orioles from 1969-1971. But 1977 was his first with New York. Although he was light-hitting (.250 lifetime), he had some pop. 134 home runs. Blair drove home Willie Randolph with a single. Randolph himself had joined the Yankees in 1976 after playing the previous year with the Pirates.



But Los Angeles hammered Hunter into submission in the second contest, which went LA's way, 6-1.



It seemed from there that it was New York's series. A 5-3 win right their at Chavez Ravine in the third contest was due to Mike Torrez's pitching and some timely hitting. Reggie Jackson had only on hit. But he also drew a walk and twice crossed the dish. That nearly equaled the Dodgers' entire offence, and the Yankees won.



Okay, maybe that wasn't one of Reggie's best games in October. But Mr. October hit a home run and a double, scoring two more runs in the visitor's 4-2 win in the fourth contest. And Ron Guidry didn't look like a pitcher taking the hill for the first time in the World Series. He went all the way and finished with a fine four-hitter!



Alas, New York couldn't finish 'em off in LA. Game five? All LA. It was one of those games where no matter what the Yankees tried, the Dodgers found a way. LA routed Gullett, who gave up eight hits and seven runs in 4 1/3. Veteran Thurmon Munson, newbie Reggie Jackson, Chris Chambliss and Greg Nettles got two hits each. Munson's and Jackson's were the most impressive. Each went yard. Jackson scored two runs again. But LA scored ten times by the time it was all over.



Reggie must have felt something needed to be done back in New York for game six. The home team didn't want to play game seven at Yankee Stadium. But Los Angeles continued their assault of the Yankees' pitchers.

It seemed like game five hadn't ended. It just switched venues, right? The Dodgers tacked on two runs before the Yankees' grabbed their lumber. Another long night? Yes, but primarily for the visitors has the hosts' had Mr. October and his hot bat!

Last of the second. Reggie Jackson looked a four straight balls. His last swing of game five had a been a warning shot, and clearly LA got the message to pitch carefully to him. But Chris Chambliss followed with a home run and this thing was tied at two. From there, every time Reggie batted, it was swift trouble for Los Angeles.

However, the New York Yankees still seemed unable to hold off the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mike Torrez had given up a two-run triple in the top of the first to Steve Garvey. So when LA grabbed their bats to hit in the top of the third in this now-tied ballgame, Torrez faced Reggie Smith.

Smith launched a solo home run with two down. Torrez got out of there without further damage, but now the Dodgers had scored twelve runs in their last eleven innings. But remember what I told you about Reggie Jackson's last swing in game five? How about his first swing in this game? It was a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth off Burt Hooton! The home team led 4-3. And they added another run that inning via a Lou Pinella sac fly.

Torrez allowed Los Angeles two hits but no runs in the top of the frame. In the fifth, it was much easier as he got 'em 1-2-3. The visitors, with Elias Sosa now on the hill, weren't so lucky as they tried to hold the Yankees in the bottom of the frame. Reggie, as he had in the fourth, swung on the first pitch. And again, a two-run home run! It was 7-3 and Torrez had it! By the last of the eighth, Mike had faced the minimum batters in the last four innings.

Jackson wasn't finished, either. In his last plate appearance of the inning, Reggie capped a magnificent day with another home run off Charlie Hough. First pitch swinging, again! Torrez went out to nail it down.

The top of the ninth started promising for him. Ron Cey? No problem. He looked at a 2-2 pitch and was out. But then LA started seeing pitches they liked again. Steve Garvey grounded to short but beat it out. Dusty Baker was next and he stroked a clean single to left. Rick Monday was out on a fly to right, with Garvey taking third. Torrez needed just one more out.

But Vic Davalillo batted for Steve Yeager and surprised everyone with a bunt up the third base line. Nettles threw home, but too late. It was now 8-4 but manager Billy Martin wasn't about to take the ball from Torrez. And when Lee Lacy attempted a bunt of his own, Mike Torrez made sure to grab it, and the Yankees had their first World Series in fifteen years.



References


Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball. 12th ed. Richmond: Raincoast Books, 1992. Print.

---. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. Richmond: Raincoast Books, 1990. Print.

Nemec, David. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. <http://www.baseball-reference.com/>. Web. 27 Dec. 2019.

Youtube. Youtube. Web. 27. Dec. 2019. <https://www.youtube.com/>.

World Series: Did You Know?

1977 was the last time there were no saves.

I guess this was all lost in Reggie Jackson's five home runs (Including four in four consecutive at bats in game 5 / game 6), a classic six-game World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers, and some great starting pitching, perhaps?

Not that each team didn't have a pretty good closer. The New York Yankees had Sparkly Lyle, 13-5 with 26 saves. The Los Angeles Dodgers had both Charlie Hough (22 saves) and Mike Garman (12 saves).

And game one looked like there might be a save. New York, at home, led by a run in the top of the ninth, only to see starter Don Gullet falter. Dusty Baker started the Dodgers with a single. One out later, Steve Yeager reached first via a bases on balls. That ended Gullet's night. But he was in line for the win. Sparkly Lyle was in line for a save, should he hold Los Angeles in check.

That, he didn't.

Lee Lacy singled, tying the game, 3-3. The home team won it in extras, but all Lyle could do was pick up the win.



Burt Hooton went the distance for Los Angeles in game two, and the Dodgers tied it with a 6-1 win. The visitors had a 5-0 lead after only three innings, so the game was over very quickly. No chance for a save here.



The series moved to Los Angeles for games three, four and five, and New York won the first two road games. It was close, as the Yankees won it, 5-3. Mike Torrez went all the way, surviving a bad bottom of the third as the Dodgers plated three runs to erase a 3-0 Yankees' lead. Single tallies by New York in the top of the fourth and fifth ended the scoring.



Game four was also decided by two runs. New York won, 4-2. The Yankees got all the offence they needed in the top of the second, scoring three times off Doug Rau, knocking him out of the game. It was Ron Guidry all the way on a fine four-hitter.



The Dodgers, though, weren't through. They routed the Yankees 10-4 in the fifth contest, getting back in the series though still trailing 3-2. The game quickly turned into a rout. Los Angeles was up by 5 after 4 innings, and then up 10 after 6. Four meaningless runs crossed the plate by the Yankees from there, but Don Sutton picked up the win despite allowing 9 hits and 4 earned runs.



Los Angeles looked to keep the momentum going in the sixth game. They built a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. But Yankees, at home, were looking to put the Dodgers away. And they did.

Two runs scored in the last of the second. Though the Dodgers got the lead back in the third, three runs in the last of the fourth and another two in the fifth put this contest out of reach. Mike Torrez hung on. He settled down and carried an 8-3 lead into the top of the ninth, thanks to Reggie Jackson's famed three-homer game.

The Dodgers didn't go quietly. Steve Garvey and Dusty Baker singled with one out. Torrez induced Rick Monday to fly out (Garvey went to third), but then pinch hitter Vic Davalillo got the third hit of the inning. Only a bunt single, but it was enough to score Garvey. 8-4. Since the tying run was on deck, this was now officially a save situation. But Yankee manager Billy Martin had no intentions of pulling Torrez, despite allowing 9 hits and 4 earned runs like Don Sutton had the previous game.

Another pinch hitter, Lee Lacy (Batting for pitcher Charlie Hough), was the batter. And like Davalillo, he tried to bunt hit way on. But all Lee could do was pop to the third base side, where Torrez got it before it hit the ground.


So there was no saves in the 1977 Fall Classic. The two teams would meet again the following season. Same result, Yankees in six. However, in game two, reliever Bob Welch preserved the Dodgers 4-3 win at home, striking out Reggie Jackson on the ninth pitch of the at bat to end it. And while this proved to be the only save of the 1978 World Series, it set the precedent of at least one save in the next forty Fall Classics.


References

Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

Retrosheet. Web. 01 July. 2018. <www.retrosheet.org>.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 01 July. 2018.

Youtube. Web. 01 July. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.

World Series: Did You Know?

Both times the Yankees broke a long dry spell between World Championships, it ended in game six. With two men on. And on a pop-up to the third base side in the top of the ninth. And finally, both times it was after the opposition actually scored a run in the ninth. So New York would gladly take the pop-up for the final out.

But the New York Yankees of 1977 were seeking their first World Series win since 1962. The Yankees had lost in 1963, 1964, and 1976. They were up against the very team that had beaten them in the '63 Fall Classic, the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had Reggie Jackson going in game six. The Yankees were up three games to two and needed just one more win. A good setting was Yankee Stadium for this to happen. They'd be there in game seven if necessary.

Reggie made that not necessary. He walked on four pitches his first time up. Then he swatted three home runs in his next three trips to the plate. Off three different pitchers. And all on the first pitch. His final long ball in the bottom of the eighth off Charlie Hough made it 8-3 for the home team. Three more outs.

Mike Torrez got Ron Cey on a strikeout, as the top of the ninth started out on the right foot. Steve Garvey grounded to short, but beat the throw. Dusty Baker singled to left. The Dodgers still had life. Rick Monday then got a hold of one, and sent right fielder Jackson all the way to the warning track in right. Reggie made the catch, but Steve made it to third. Baker held at first. Two down.

Vic Davalillo was sent up by Tommy Lasorda to pinch hit for Los Angeles. The lefty wasted no time in dropping a perfect bunt down the third base line. Greg Nettles hustled in, and got off the throw to Thurmon Munson the catcher. Too late. Garvey scored. 8-4. Two runners on, two out. Billy Martin, Lasorda's counterpart as skipper of the Yankees, kept Torrez in. Another pinch hitter was sent by Lasorda. Right-handed hitting Lee Lacy batted for Charlie Hough. The count went to 1-1, and Lacy tried a bunt. He got too much under it. It went high in the air to the right of Torrez, who snared it. The Yankees had ended their 15-year drought!

But after winning it all again the next season, New York waited until 1996 to win it all again. In between, the Dodgers had their revenge in the 1981 Fall Classic. The '96 World Series would be against the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta had a World Series win the previous year, and were looking for the repeat.

It sure looked like it as the Braves took games one and two right there at Yankee Stadium. But the Yankees won all three games in Atlanta, and headed home for game six (And perhaps game seven) at the Stadium.

It was a close one. The home team lead 3-1 after eight innings. But soon, trouble emerged. The Braves didn't quit, just as the Dodgers didn't 19 years earlier. John Wettland was going for his fourth straight save for New York.

He started the ninth with a K of Andruw Jones. But then, Ryan Klesko singled. As did Terry Pendleton. Wettland bore down and fanned Luis Polonia for the second out, and John had his second K of the inning. One more out to go.

But any celebratory thoughts were cut short as Marquis Grissom singled. Klesko scored. 3-1. The tying run was at second, and the go-ahead run was at first. Anything that got past the outfielders would put Atlanta ahead.

Mark Lemke, a lefty, was the next batter. Wettland fell behind 2-1, then got him to swing and miss. One more strike. Wettland missed the strike zone on the next pitch, running the count full. Both runners would be off with the pitch. A long single could put the Braves ahead now. Lemke popped it foul to third. Charlie Hayes, a defensive replacement for Wade Boggs at third in the seventh inning, raced over to Atlanta's dugout to try and get it, only to fall into it. The Braves still had life. But not for long.

On another 3-2 pitch, Lemke popped it up, again in foul territory to third. This time, Hayes had a play on it. When he put the long-awaited squeeze on it, New York was on top of the world for the first time since 1978.

References

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990. Print. pp.365-270.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 04 July. 2016.

Youtube. Web. 04 July. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/>