On This Date in Sports October 17, 1978: Same Result as Last Year
The New York Yankees won their second straight World Series and 22nd overall, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 in Game 6 at Dodger Stadium. The Yankees are the first team to win four straight after losing the first two games in the Fall Classic. Bucky Dent, who had the big home run in a one-game playoff, is named World Series MVP, hitting .438.
The 1978 postseason was the year of the rematch as the same four teams won their divisions two years in a row, with the same teams meeting in the World Series and the Yankees repeating. The Los Angeles Dodgers, managed by Tommy Lasorda, reached their second straight World Series by posting a 95-67 record in the regular season as they beat out the Cincinnati Reds by two and a half games. In the NLCS, the Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies for the second straight year in four games, winning the finale 4-3 in ten innings on a walk-off hit by Bill Russell. The joy was short-lived for the Dodgers as hitting coach Jim Gilliam, who had been in a coma for several weeks after a brain hemorrhage, died at the age of 49. The Dodgers would wear a patch with his number during the Fall Classic.
The New York Yankees had a decade’s worth of drama in their 162-game season as they dealt with a slew of injuries early and fell 14 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East. Just after the All-Star Break, Manager Billy Martin was forced to resign after making disparaging comments about Owner George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson. Under new Manager Bob Lemon, the Yankees staged a comeback for the ages, beating the Red Sox in a one-game playoff 5-4 at Fenway Park, thanks to a shocking home run by Bucky Dent. In the ALCS, the Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals for the third year in four games as Ron Guidry, fresh off a win in Boston and a 25-3 record, won the clincher 2-1 with home runs by Craig Nettles and Roy White.
The World Series began at Dodger Stadium, with Ed Figueroa on the mound for the Yankees while Tommy John got the start for Los Angeles. The Dodgers got on the board first with a home run by Dusty Baker and a two-run homer by Davey Lopes. Lopes struck again in the fifth with a three-run shot to make it 6-0 in the fourth. In the fifth, Rick Monday scored on a wild pitch, and the rout was on. Reggie Jackson homered in the seventh to put the Yankees on the board as Bucky Dent drove in a pair of runs with a single. However, the Dodgers answered with a two-run double by Bill North. North later scored on a single by Lee Lacy. The Yankees scratched across two runs in the eighth, while Reggie Smith added an RBI single for LA to make the final score 11-5.
In Game 2, with Catfish Hunter getting the start, the Yankees got a two-run double by Reggie Jackson off Burt Hooton in the third to take an early 2-0 lead. The Dodgers got a run back on an RBI by Ron Cey in the fourth inning. In the sixth, Cey gave L.A. the lead with a three-run homer. Reggie pushed across a run in the seventh and came to the plate with two runners on and two out in the ninth, looking to cause more damage. On the mound for the Dodgers was rookie Bob Welsh, who staged an epic duel with Jackson, running a full count. After Reggie fouled off several pitches, Welch got Jackson to chase to end the game and preserve a 4-3 win for the Dodgers.
Facing a must-win, the Yankees had Ron Guidry on the mound for Game 3 at Yankee Stadium against Don Sutton. Roy White gave the Yankees an early lead with a first-inning home run. In the second, the Yankees made it 2-0 on a run-scoring groundout by Dent. Bill Russell put the Dodgers on the board with an RBI in the third. After winning 25 games and pitching some of the biggest games during the season, Guidry pitched the game on fumes. Fortunately, Craig Nettles had one of the greatest defensive games in baseball history at third base, saving four or five runs. The Yankees got three runs in the seventh as Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, and Lou Piniella each drove in runs. The Yankees would win the game 5-1 to get back in the series.
Game 5 was crucial for both teams as the Dodgers, stunned and angered by the Game 4 loss, had Burt Hooton on the mound while rookie Jim Beattie started for the Yankees. The Dodgers got the lead early on an RBI single by Reggie Smith in the first and an RBI double by Bill Russell in the third. In the bottom of the third, the Yankees answered with four runs, with Roy White, Thurman Munson, and Lou Piniella providing the punch. The Yankees singles parade continued in the fourth with three runs more runs driven in by Mickey Rivers, White, and Munson. Rivers, White, and Munson struck again in the seventh, adding four runs to put the game out of reach at 11-2. In the eighth, the Yankees capped the single with Bucky Dent doubling home Brian Doyle, who had a monster series in place of the injured Willie Randolph.
Back at Dodger Stadium, the Yankees looked to close the series out with Catfish Hunter on the mound against Don Sutton. Davey Lopes led off the first with a home run off Hunter to make it 1-0 in favor of LA early. However, in the second, the Yankees got three runs thanks to their keystone duo of Brian Doyle and Bucky Dent, who each hit over .400 in the World Series. Davey Lopes, who had a monster series, added a second run-scoring hit in the third to make it 3-2 in the third, but it would be the closest the Dodgers would get as Doyle and Dent, the Yankees' eight and nine hitters drove in two runs in the sixth. One inning later, Reggie Jackson put an exclamation on the game with a two-run bomb against Bob Welsh to make the final score 7-2 as Goose Gossage got Ron Cey to pop up behind home plate to Thurman Munson to end the game.