The 1978 Season

[Yankee4Life]

Jim825 has just released Total Classics 1978, which, by the way, you can get right here. It's a quick and easy install and I have enjoyed playing it very much. It brings back many good memories.

Speaking of memories, I am going to try to give you a feel of how it was to be a fan during that year.

Media coverage

It was different back then following your team. In the New York area, the Yankees were on WPIX TV and the Mets were on WOR TV. But if you didn't live in the New York area, you didn't get to see them. Cable TV was not around. No DirectTV either. If you lived in a minor league town like I did, you didn't get the local team games.

All we had were the Nationally televised games. NBC TV had the Game of the Week every Saturday afternoon starting in April and ending right when the season did. In the middle of June, ABC TV would televise Monday Night Baseball. Saturday and Monday for me were the best days because then I had a chance to see the Yankees on TV. Forget any other day of the week.

Radio was a big part of following your team. To this day I enjoy listening to a game on a warm summer night in my backyard. I would rather do that then listen to Michael Kay any day.

The morning paper would be a requirement also to follow your team. Although it was not a big help on west coast games. Instead of posting the final score of the night before, it would just say "Boston at Seattle" and we would not know the score of the game until that evening when the evening paper came. We would always have a paper when we were playing ball.

This Week in Baseball

This show was hosted by Mel Allen. This also was the only chance you would get to see plays and players from other teams around the country. It was a half hour show and it was one of my favorite shows of all time.

The Sporting News

The Sporting News back then had every box score of every game and we went over each game like that. Every week we bought this. Back then it was a good newspaper with great articles and writers. The way it looks today is a sad comparison to what it once was.

The '78 season

Rolling Red Sox

It was a season that saw the greatest comeback of all time and fortunately for the Yankees and their fans, it was in their favor.

As Jim stated in his read me file, when you picked up your morning paper

on July 19, 1978, you saw the Yankees 14 games behind the Red Sox and going nowhere fast. How they got in that position was a string of injuries that I have not seen a team have until ironically, on this year's Yankee team.

Boston was rolling. Dennis Eckersley, Luis Tiant, Mike Torrez and Bill Lee were racking up wins and the Red Sox offense, lead by Jim Rice was tearing up the American League. On that same day, on July 19th, Boston had a record of 62-28.

Origins of this comeback started in an odd way

But you have to go back a couple of days to get to the beginning of this Yankee comeback. The Yankees just got finished being swept by the Royals at Yankee Stadium July 15, 16 and 17 and in the final game on the 17th, a

9 - 7 loss to Kansas City, Reggie Jackson tried to bunt when the bunt sign was taken off. Jackson was suspended for five games because of this.

In his absence, the Yankees won the next five games in a row. But when the five games were up and Jackson was due to come back, Billy Martin made his famous comment in Kansas City about Jackson and owner George Steinbrenner. "They deserve each other. One's a born liar [Jackson], and the other's convicted [steinbrenner]"

Well, because of that, on the 24th of July 1978, the Yankees did not have Billy Martin as a manager. The official statement is that he resigned, but everyone knew better.

I should add that on a personal note that when this first happened, I was upset. At that time I thought the world of Billy Martin and I thought this was the worst thing the Yankees could have done. I know better now.

Bob Lemon was hired and his calming influence on the Yankees provided immediate results. A big assist has to go to this man for eliminating all the off field drama and allowing the '78 team to just go out and play.

Eventually, that's what they did. At the expense of Boston, Kansas City and Los Angeles.

[elduque]

Thanks for this rollback, me being a Cuban I didn't have none of those "few" media coverages you had, not even now they have any over there, the only way to listen to a game is taking your radio and walking all over your house roof and look for a "safe" corner where you could get a "decent" reception. Talking about the Yankees I just followed (that way) their last world series win.

Can you or anyone else be able to find those papers from the days you relate so well?

Thanks again for bringing to life this piece of history.

[Yankee4Life]

Can you or anyone else be able to find those papers from the days you relate so well?

I have saved newspapers from back then and I have scrapbooks.

[elduque]

I have saved newspapers from back then and I have scrapbooks.

Will you scan/post those you found more interesting in here?

That will be great to read 1978 papers on a "baseball simulation site" in the internet era :D

[Yankee4Life]

I do not have a scanner, so I can't. But if I did this would be a great idea.

[elduque]

I do not have a scanner, so I can't. But if I did this would be a great idea.

Maybe in Kinko's or something like (well at least was there I got myself to scan when I used to live in USA) or maybe someone in mvpmods could do it for you if lives near and has a scanner, I am sure it could be great and will give more young people an idea of what it was like to play and follow the game at those times.

The baseball game is the best life learning thing in the world IMO, I love it, cause it has given me so much "education" during my life, It's a fair game, that's why is so good, you'll always have the same chances to beat your opponent as he'll have.

[ronmexico]

YAY History! Great thread, wish I was alive for this, but you know what, I'll see something like this in my lifetime too, maybe even this year =P

[superciuc]

This will happen! We're gonna comeback and win the World Series! And that's the bottom line, because 'ciuc said so!

Stone Cold style.

Now, back on track. The 1978 season was one of the greatest for the Yankees and the Yankees fans.

[fred13]

Y4L, every time you make a thread like this, I just can't help but be drawn toward it. Its always great hearing about these unbelievable accomplishments and wishing I was alive back then to experience it. But I'm sure it will be the same for the next generation. I'm sure my kids will say to me,"I can't believe you were alive to see Joe Carter's walk off Home Run." :D

[Yankee4Life]

Y4L, every time you make a thread like this, I just can't help but be drawn toward it. Its always great hearing about these unbelievable accomplishments and wishing I was alive back then to experience it. But I'm sure it will be the same for the next generation. I'm sure my kids will say to me,"I can't believe you were alive to see Joe Carter's walk off Home Run."

That's exactly it Fred. It was a great experience that I have enjoyed sharing with people that wanted to know about it that either were not born yet or were too young at the time.

It's what baseball was about. My father told me stories of seeing Mickey Mantle and Joe Dimaggio play the outfield the same time in Cleveland one year. And of all the tough World Series' against the Dodgers in the fifties. I soaked it in and remembered everything he said.

Let me tell you another story, this also has to do with 1978, but this really happened at Frontier Field in Rochester back in 2003. Bucky Dent and Mike Torrez came to Rochester's ballpark for a picture and card signing. So I went. I stood in line and got both of their autographs. I had to stand in line over thirty minutes. The line moved at a slow to medium pace.

As we were waiting, there was a father and his son directly behind us. This kid was a product of the Jeter era of Yankees fan. You know, the people who don't think baseball started before Derek Jeter came to town. But he did manage to hear about Dent's homerun, probably because it was ultra famous.

Anyways, as we are waiting, this kid is asking his dad questions about this event. "Is Bucky his real name?" "Was Torrez a terrible pitcher?" On and on. His father didn't know the answer to the question of what Dent's name was, so he taps me on the shoulder (because he must have seen that I had a Yankee hat and shirt on) and asks me if I knew. "Sure" I said, "Bucky Dent's real name is Russell Earl Dent. The Yankees got him from the White Sox in April of 1977 by the way."

Well, that helped the line move faster as we talked about the '78 playoff game. Right before it was my turn to get the autographs, I turn to the kid and I told him "listen to what I tell Torrez." After Torrez signed, I shook his hand and I told him thank you. He said I was welcome, but I said no, you don't know what I mean. I am saying thank you because if it were not for you, we would not have won the deciding game of the ALCS in 1977. I told him what happened to you the next year in Boston was unfortunate, but your work against the Royals the year before (he pitched 5 1/3 inning of three hit ball in relief of an ineffective Ron Guidry) and he kept the Royals from adding on any more runs. (The score when he entered the game was 3 - 1 Royals and when he left the game in the 8th, the Royals still had not scored more.) I told him that is what I was really grateful for and I thanked him for his time. Bucky Dent, hearing our conversation, even said that was nice. Dent, of course, was on that '77 team.

And that's what you'll do in the future Fred. Some kid, five or ten years from now will become a big Blue Jay fan and he'll read about their history and you'll tell him where you were and how you felt and what you did when Carter hit that home run. And he'll listen Fred and never forget what he heard.

That's why baseball is the greatest game around.

[superciuc]

That's exactly it Fred. It was a great experience that I have enjoyed sharing with people that wanted to know about it that either were not born yet or were too young at the time.

It's what baseball was about. My father told me stories of seeing Mickey Mantle and Joe Dimaggio play the outfield the same time in Cleveland one year. And of all the tough World Series' against the Dodgers in the fifties. I soaked it in and remembered everything he said.

Let me tell you another story, this also has to do with 1978, but this really happened at Frontier Field in Rochester back in 2003. Bucky Dent and Mike Torrez came to Rochester's ballpark for a picture and card signing. So I went. I stood in line and got both of their autographs. I had to stand in line over thirty minutes. The line moved at a slow to medium pace.

As we were waiting, there was a father and his son directly behind us. This kid was a product of the Jeter era of Yankees fan. You know, the people who don't think baseball started before Derek Jeter came to town. But he did manage to hear about Dent's homerun, probably because it was ultra famous.

Anyways, as we are waiting, this kid is asking his dad questions about this event. "Is Bucky his real name?" "Was Torrez a terrible pitcher?" On and on. His father didn't know the answer to the question of what Dent's name was, so he taps me on the shoulder (because he must have seen that I had a Yankee hat and shirt on) and asks me if I knew. "Sure" I said, "Bucky Dent's real name is Russell Earl Dent. The Yankees got him from the White Sox in April of 1977 by the way."

Well, that helped the line move faster as we talked about the '78 playoff game. Right before it was my turn to get the autographs, I turn to the kid and I told him "listen to what I tell Torrez." After Torrez signed, I shook his hand and I told him thank you. He said I was welcome, but I said no, you don't know what I mean. I am saying thank you because if it were not for you, we would not have won the deciding game of the ALCS in 1977. I told him what happened to you the next year in Boston was unfortunate, but your work against the Royals the year before (he pitched 5 1/3 inning of three hit ball in relief of an ineffective Ron Guidry) and he kept the Royals from adding on any more runs. (The score when he entered the game was 3 - 1 Royals and when he left the game in the 8th, the Royals still had not scored more.) I told him that is what I was really grateful for and I thanked him for his time. Bucky Dent, hearing our conversation, even said that was nice. Dent, of course, was on that '77 team.

And that's what you'll do in the future Fred. Some kid, five or ten years from now will become a big Blue Jay fan and he'll read about their history and you'll tell him where you were and how you felt and what you did when Carter hit that home run. And he'll listen Fred and never forget what he heard.

That's why baseball is the greatest game around.

That's exactly what i'll do with my son. I'll talk about the Yankees and i'll explain how great were Roger Clemens, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter.

[eddieel7]

I have been trying to download Total Classic 1978 but when it gets to 25% it completely stops and says there's been an error and doesn't download completely.

[Jim825]

I have been trying to download Total Classic 1978 but when it gets to 25% it completely stops and says there's been an error and doesn't download completely.

Do you have a firewall running?