Fall Classic Rewind Patrick Casey O'Neill

1978 World Series Game 5 and 6

Sunday October 15th @ Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, New York

Tuesday October 17th @ Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles, California



After being down two games to none to start this series, the Yankees have evened things up in the Fall Classic, and they look to keep things rolling here in game five. No team has yet to overcome a 2 - 0 deficit by winning four straight, but if any team could be the first, it would be Bob Lemon’s Yankees. They’ve certainly had their share of good fortune here at Yankee Stadium, and they have capitalized on nearly every Dodger’s mistake. Misplays, errors, and just rotten luck have been the story of Tommy Lasorda’s squad the past few days. Whether it was Graig Nettles incredible reflexes, Bucky Dent’s unrelenting hustle, or Reggie Jackson’s ‘subtle’ hip movement, there was always something in the way for Los Angeles, not to mention a costly errors in the field and on the bases from the usually reliable Bill Russell. If they don’t clean up their act soon, they will lose their second straight World Series.

Since the Yankees evened this series at two games apiece, we are guaranteed at least one game back in Los Angeles. Who will have the advantage heading in to game six will come down to the pitching matchup in game five. For the Yankees it will be rookie righty Jim Beattie(6 - 9 3.73 ERA 128 IP). The former Dartmouth basketball star was shaky, but effective against the Royals in the ALCS, but he hasn’t pitched in nearly two weeks. The Dodgers will send Burt Hooton (19 - 10 2.71 ERA 236 IP) to the mound, and although he’s been their best regular season pitcher the past few seasons, his postseason starts have been hit or miss. He can be brilliant, but if that knuckle-curve isn’t dancing, ‘Happy’ Hooton can make his hot-tempered manager furious. In game six, it will be a match-up of future Hall-of-Famers and 200 game winners, Don Sutton (15 - 11 3.55 ERA 238 IP) and Catfish Hunter (12 - 6 3.58 ERA 118 IP). Ultimately this series will come down to who can come up with the big hit. Will it be the stars, like Reggie Jackson or Steve Garvey? Or maybe it will be someone unheralded, like a pair of scrappy middle-infielders?



Audio clips from joeydbball on Youtube. NBC broadcast with Joe Garagiola, Tony Kubek, Tom Seaver, and Curt Gowdy



Game 5

Game 6 - some CBS radio with Bill White



As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.

Saturday October 14th, 1978 @ Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, New York



The sun is out on a Saturday afternoon in the Bronx, but rain clouds are looming in the distance. Thanks to an outstanding defensive game from third baseman Graig Nettles, the Yankees took game three in convincing fashion to avoid going down three games to none in this series against the Dodgers. If they hope to even things at two games apiece, the Yanks will need a much better effort from their starting pitcher, Ed Figueroa (20 - 9 2.99 ERA 253 IP). The Puerto Rican right-hander has been lit up in his previous postseason starts, but New York manager Bob Lemon has a lot of trust in the guy who has won the third most games in the American League the past three seasons. For Los Angeles, it will be veteran lefty Tommy John (17 - 10 3.30 ERA 213 IP) taking the ball. John was solid, but unspectacular in a blowout game one win. His reconstructed left elbow has been a dependable weapon for manager Tommy Lasorda, though John’s approach is pitch-to-contact, which could be an issue given the shaky infield defense the Dodgers have displayed of late. Of greater concern, though, has been the Dodgers' struggles with runners in scoring position. Los Angeles stranded eleven men on base in game three, and they were unable to deliver the big hit despite that constant opportunity. If Los Angeles wants to maintain control of this series, they can’t let those opportunities slip away again.



Audio clips from joeydbball on Youtube - NBC broadcast with Joe Garagiola, Tony Kubek, Tom Seaver, and Curt Gowdy

CBS radio with Ross Porter, Win Elliot, and Bill White



As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.



Catch you next time,



P.C.O.

1978 World Series Game 3



Friday October 13th, 1978 @ Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, New York



As the series heads east, the Dodgers are in strong position, up two games to none. Game one was a blowout, thanks to a power outburst from LAD 2B Davey Lopes, but game two was nail biter. Ron Cey drove in all four runs, including a go-ahead three run homer off of Catfish Hunter in the 6th inning. The Yankees had the tying and go-ahead runners on base in the ninth for Thurman Munson and Reggie Jackson, and Tommy Lasorda turned to rookie fireballer Bob Welch to hold the line. With incredible determination and guile, the kid came through, forcing Munson to fly out and striking out Jackson after an epic nine pitch battle. The crowd was electric, and while they would love another opportunity to cheer on their squad, the LA faithful are hoping the Boys in Blue take care of business in New York.

In previous World Series, only five teams had ever overcome a 2 - 0 deficit, the most recent being the 1971 Pirates. And in each of those series where a team did come back, they had to do it in seven games. The task is hard, but it is nigh impossible if you go down 3 - 0 in the series. No team has ever overcome a 3 - 0 deficit in a World Series, so the Yankees are desperate to win this one. Good thing that they have the best pitcher in the world going for them, Ron Guidry (25 -3 1.74 ERA 273 IP). The young lefty has been sensational the entire year, but it has been quite the workload he’s compiled. For a pitcher who relies on plus stuff matched with plus command, fatigue could hamper his effectiveness. If the Gator isn’t missing bats like usual, he’ll need his defense to be sharp, particularly the left side with Bucky Dent and Graig Nettles.

On the other side, the Dodgers will turn to Don Sutton (15 - 11 3.55 ERA 238 IP). The future Hall-of-Famer picked up his 200th career win during the regular season, however 1978 was probably his weakest year in nearly a decade. Sutton, who entering the playoffs had never lost a postseason start, got shelled against the Phillies in the NLCS. He’ll need to be much sharper if the Dodgers hope to take an insurmountable lead in this series.



Audio clips from joeydbball on Youtube - NBC broadcast with Joe Garagiola, Tony Kubek, and Tom Seaver



As always, shoutout to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.



Catch you next time,



P.C.O.

1978 World Series Games 1 and 2

Tuesday October 10th and Wednesday October 11th @ Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA



The Los Angeles Dodgers (95 - 67) and the New York Yankees (100 - 63) meet yet again in the World Series. Behind the heroics of Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, the Yankees took last year’s Fall Classic in six games, securing the 21st championship in their franchise’s dominant history. If they’re going to repeat as champions, it will be with a new manager, as Bob Lemon replaced Billy Martin in July. The Yanks turned their season around under the stewardship of Lemon, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a pitcher in 1976. His cool, calm, and collected manner was in stark contrast to the explosive Martin; still, there are rumors abound that owner George Steinbrenner regretted firing the firebrand (technically Martin resigned for ‘health reasons’), and even wanted him back as manager within a matter of days. You can’t deny the success the Yankees have had under Lemon, but they’ll need to win it all to satisfy the Boss. And even that might not keep him happy for long.

The Dodgers dispatched the Phillies in four games, winning the series in walk-off fashion with a Bill Russell single to score Ron Cey. Their offense was hitting on all cylinders in the NLCS, and it was their vaunted All-Star infield that led the way. The aforementioned left side (Russell and Cey) combined for 12 hits and 5 RBI in the four games, only to be outdone by the right side. Team Captain 2B Davey Lopes and former MVP 1B Steve Garvey combined for 14 hits, 6 home runs, and 12 RBI, with Garvey taking home NLCS MVP honors. It has been truly inspired play from this core group, who lost their mentor, hitting and infield coach Jim Gilliam, just a few days ago. His memorial service is planned before the start of game two. 

Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda desperately wants to start this series with a pair of wins, so to defend home-field advantage he will turn to the top two in his excellent rotation, Tommy John and Burt Hooton. John is coming off of a shutout against Philly, and Hooton is as good as anyone when that knuckle curve is dancing. Yankees manager Bob Lemon will counter with 1978 20 game winner Ed Figueroa and former five time 20 game winner Catfish Hunter. Ace Ron Guidry won’t be available until game three, as he pitched the final game of the ALCS against Kansas City.



Audio clips from joeydbball on Youtube (links to games below). NBC Broadcast with Joe Garagiola, Tony Kubek, Tom Seaver, and Curt Gowdy



Game 1: LAD LHP Tommy John (17 - 10 3.30 ERA 213 IP) vs. NYY RHP Ed Figueroa (20 - 9 2.99 ERA 253 IP)

Game 2: LAD RHP Burt Hooton (19 - 10 2.71 ERA 236 IP) vs. NYY Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter (12 - 6 3.58 ERA 118 IP)



As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.



Catch you next time,



P.C.O.

1978 NLCS

We have another repeat matchup on the National League side of the playoffs, with the Los Angeles Dodgers (95 - 67) and the Philadelphia Phillies (90 - 72) squaring off once again. This is the third straight NLCS appearance for the Phils, but they’ve yet to win a playoff game at Veterans Stadium, much to the disappointment of their energized fans. Although the Phillies lead the NL East for most of the season, there was fear of a 1964-esque collapse in September. The Pirates and Cubs were chasing them down, but Danny Ozark’s squad rallied for a strong finish to stave off their pursuers. The pitching staff was solid, yet unspectacular. Carlton and Christenson provided both quality and quantity in terms of innings, and the bullpen was as reliable as ever with Reed, McGraw, and Brusstar. The Phillies had an elite offense just a year ago (5.23 R/G 108 OPS+ 1st in NL), but their run production slipped this season (4.37 R/G 99 OPS+ 3rd in NL). This was largely due to a significant drop in power from the likes of Mike Schmidt (.574 SLG in ’77 -> .435 SLG in ’78), and Bake McBride (.564 SLG -> .392 SLG), not to mention paltry bench production compared to the previous year. Greg “The Bull” Luzinski put together another excellent campaign (35 HR 101 RBI 153 OPS+) and will look to continue his great postseason play. He’ll need his teammates to join him this year if they want to advance to the World Series.
The Dodgers road back to the World Series was certainly more challenging than last year, as they trailed both San Francisco and Cincinnati in the NL West at the beginning of August. They proceeded to finish out the year 33 - 19 while the Giants and Reds sputtered down the stretch. Although not as dominant as they were in ’77, Tommy Lasorda’s Dodgers were quite formidable. The lineup boasted a quartet of 30 HR hitters last year, but did not have a single guy reach that mark this season. That is not to say those guys had bad years. To the contrary, Reggie Smith (29 HR 93 RBI 162 OPS+), Steve Garvey (21 HR 113 RBI 138 OPS+), and Ron Cey (23 HR 84 RBI 134 OPS+) provided more than enough punch to lead the NL’s top offense (4.49 R/G 108 OPS+). Bounce back seasons from veteran Rick Monday and pinch-hitter extraordinaire Lee Lacy offset letdowns from Steve Yeager and Dusty Baker. The starting rotation was best in the league once again, with Sutton, Hooton, John, and Rau all winning at least 15 games and throwing nearly 200 innings or more. General manager Al Campanis added much needed bullpen help with a free agent signing of a former White Sox and Pirate standout, Terry Forster (22 SV 1.93 ERA 65 IP). The lefty fireballer has been money in the late innings for LA.
As the Dodgers get ready to defend their NL Pennant, their thoughts are with their hitting coach, Jim Gilliam. The former All-Star second baseman, who spent all of his MLB playing and coaching career with the Dodgers, suffered a brain bleed in late September and has been in a coma ever since. Unfortunately, he will never wake up from that coma. Gilliam had always felt lucky to be a Dodger, and they were lucky to have him. If the Dodgers are able to win this series, it will be for Jim Gilliam.

Game 1: PHI RHP Larry Christenson (13 - 14 3.24 ERA 228 IP) vs. LAD RHP Burt Hooton (19 - 10 2.71 ERA 236 IP)
Game 2: PHI RHP Dick Ruthven (13 - 5 2.99 ERA 150 IP) vs. LAD LHP Tommy John (17 - 10 3.30 ERA 213 IP)
Game 3: LAD RHP Don Sutton (15 - 11 3.55 ERA 238 IP) vs. PHI LHP Steve Carlton (16 - 13 2.84 ERA 247 IP)
Game 4: LAD LHP Doug Rau (15 - 9 3.26 ERA 199 IP) vs. PHI LHP Randy Lerch (11 - 8 3.96 ERA 184 IP)

Audio clips from joeydbball on Youtube - ABC Broadcast with Al Michaels, Don Drysdale, and Johnny Bench

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, boxscores, background information and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

1978 ALCS - October 3rd - 7th, 1978 



For the third straight season, the Kansas City Royals (92 - 70) and the New York Yankees (100 - 63) will battle for the American League pennant. The previous two series were classics, with the Yanks pulling through in the ninth inning of winner-take-all game fives. For the Royals, they are hoping that the third time will be the charm. Their offensive machine kept rolling, with strong performances by stalwart George Brett, reliable Darrell Porter, and a return to form from Amos Otis. The starting pitching continued to be solid, led by Leonard, Splittorff, and Gura, but perhaps the most significant addition was to the bullpen (which had struggled in previous playoffs). The ‘Mad Hungarian’, Al Hrabosky, has been outstanding in late innings, and the fans have certainly appreciated his showmanship. Manager Whitey Herzog will need his lefty reliever to combat the big left-handed bats of New York.

 

The final three games of this series will be in New York, but the Yankees will be at a slight pitching disadvantage to start, since ace Ron Guidry won’t be available until game four. Rookie Jim Beattie will get the game one start for the Yankees, and the Royals will turn to back-to back 20 game winner Dennis Leonard. Manager Bob Lemon will need some innings from the young righty. If the Yankees can steal one in Kansas City, they will be in position to take the series when it gets back to New York.



Audio clips from joeydbball on Youtube (links below)

ABC broadcast with Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, and Jim Palmer

WPIX Broadcast with Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, and Bill White



Game 1: KCR RHP Dennis Leonard (21 - 17 3.33 ERA 294 IP) vs. NYY RHP Jim Beattie (6 - 9 3.73 ERA 128 IP)

Game 2: KCR LHP Larry Gura (16 - 4 2.72 ERA 221 IP) vs. NYY RHP Ed Figueroa (20 - 9 2.99 ERA 253 IP)

Game 3: NYY RHP Jim 'Catfish' Hunter (12 - 6 3.58 ERA 118 IP) vs. KCR LHP Paul Splittorff (19 - 13 3.40 ERA 262 IP)

Game 4: NYY LHP Ron Guidry (25 - 3 1.74 ERA 273 IP) vs. KCR RHP Dennis Leonard



As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.



Catch you next time,



P.C.O.