1978 Game AL East Playoff

Monday October 2nd, 1978 @ Fenway Park Boston, MA

After 162 games played, the bitter rivals of the northeast find themselves deadlocked for the division crown, each sporting identical 99-63 records. The entire season comes down to just one game at Fenway Park, and it’s gonna be a great one. It looked like it was going to be a banner year for the Red Sox, with Jim Rice playing like an MVP, Dennis Eckersley winning 20 games, and a whole host of spectacular performances. But like the previous season, the division lead began slipping away. They were up 14 games on the Yankees in mid-July, but that was cut to just 7 games by the end of August. And after a four game sweep dubbed “The Boston Massacre” in early September, the Yankees had caught the Sox. The downward spiral continued in Beantown, but a furious rally of eight straight wins to close the season has forced a playoff against the Yanks. Having been forced to use their best starters (Eckersley and Luis Tiant), manager Don Zimmer will turn to an experienced, post-season tested veteran, Mike Torrez (16 - 12 3.92 ERA 243 IP). The big righty was instrumental for New York’s World Series run in 1977, but he has scuffled in the stretch run, losing 6 of his last 7 decisions. They’ll need him to recapture his form if they hope to advance to the ALCS.

The 1977 season was tumultuous for the New York Yankees, but it culminated in a World Series and a return of nearly everyone who contributed to that greatness. But a second go-round for this group was filled with turmoil once again, as the Yankees struggled out of the gate. This time, there was too much trouble on and off the field, and it cost Billy Martin his job. They were just 52 - 42 with Martin at the helm, but once again caught fire (47 - 20) in the second half under Bob Lemon’s stewardship. Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Graig Nettles were excellent once again. Goose Gossage was a new weapon out of the pen, and Catfish Hunter had a great rebound. The story of this season, however, was the ascendance of their young lefty, Ron Guidry. The fireballer ran roughshod through the entire American League (24 - 3 1.72 ERA 267 IP), putting together one of the most dominant modern pitching seasons in baseball history. He will get the ball with the season on the line, and there’s no other pitcher in the league you’d rather have.

Audio clips from MLB Vault on Youtube - WPIX broadcast with Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, and Bill White

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