The 1978

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the America ...

was a best-of-five playoff pitting the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

for the American League pennant and the right to represent the American League in the

1978 World Series The 1978 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1978 season. The 75th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the Natio ...

. The Yankees defeated the Royals for the third straight year to win the pennant.

Background

The Royals won 92 games that year and won the Western Division title by five games over the Texas Rangers. The Yankees overcame a midseason deficit of 14 games and went on to win a

one-game playoff A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff, tiebreaker game or knockout game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a ...

against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

to win the Eastern crown and finish with 100 wins. Unlike the prior two ALCS which went five games, this one took the Yankees only four games to wrap up, and the Yankees went on to represent the American League in the

. Notable performers in this series included

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

, who hit two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and Chris Chambliss, who had six base hits in 15 at bats.

George Brett George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are second- ...

and Amos Otis were the hitting stars for the Royals.

Summary

New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals

Game summaries

Game 1

Prior to the start of this game, both teams had to deal with bad news. Ron Guidry, he of the incredible 25–3

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...

-winning season, would be unavailable to start until Game 4, if played, at least. Guidry pitched the AL East division

tie-breaker In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests. General operation In matches In some situations, the tiebreaker may consi ...

game against the

and was starting to have arm trouble. Also, second baseman Willie Randolph would miss the entire postseason with a hamstring injury and be replaced by a platoon of Fred Stanley and Brian Doyle. For the Royals, star

was suffering from a bout of

hemorrhoids Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''h ...

. Without Guidry, the Yankees went with young Jim Beattie. Beattie pitched five shutout innings and Ken Clay went the rest of the way. The Royals would manage just two hits and one run off the two young pitchers. Meanwhile, the Yankee bats knocked

Dennis Leonard Dennis Patrick Leonard (born May 8, 1951) is a former pitcher for the Kansas City Royals in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He retired in 1986 due to injuries. Born in Brooklyn, Leonard attended Oceanside High School on Long Island, then play ...

and

Steve Mingori Steven Bernard Mingori (February 29, 1944 – July 10, 2008) was an American left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians (1970–1973) and Kansas City Royals (1973–1979). He was born in Kansas Cit ...

around for 13 hits and four runs, Doyle chipping in an RBI single.

put an exclamation point on the win with a three-run homer in the eighth off Al Hrabosky.

Game 2

Royals' starter Larry Gura pitched six shutout innings and won with relief help from

Marty Pattin Martin William Pattin (April 6, 1943 – October 3, 2018) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 475 games in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher. He pitched for the California Angels (1968), Seattle Pilots / Mi ...

and Al Hrabosky. The Royals' hitting stars were

Darrell Porter Darrell Ray Porter (January 17, 1952 – August 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1971 to 1987 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Texas Range ...

, Frank White, and

Fred Patek Freddie Joseph Patek (; born October 9, 1944), nicknamed The Flea or The Cricket, is an American former professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals and California Angels ...

with two RBIs each, Patek's on a home run.

Game 3

Yankee starter

Catfish Hunter James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...

pitched a fine game, going six innings, except for one thing: three consecutive home runs by

. Still, Hunter had a 4–3 lead after six thanks to a homer, RBI single, and

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

. Jackson also scored a run in the fourth when

overthrew

at home plate as Jackson was attempting to score on a hit by Lou Piniella. The Royals, however, got to

Goose Gossage Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New Y ...

in the top of the eighth. Amos Otis doubled to right and Porter singled him in to tie it. After a Clint Hurdle single, Porter scored the go-ahead run on a groundout by Al Cowens. But, the Yanks would not be denied. After a one-out single by Roy White, Royals manager

Whitey Herzog Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; born November 9, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career. He made his MLB debut as a player in 1956 ...

replaced his starter, left-hander Paul Splittorff, with right-hander Doug Bird to face Thurman Munson. Munson then greeted Bird with a 460-foot, game-winning, two-run blast into the Yankee bullpen in deep left-center field. Gossage retired the Royals in the ninth and got the win. The other irony of this game, besides Brett's three homers in a losing effort, was that

was so productive against Paul Splittorff after former manager

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

's claims that Jackson couldn't hit Splittorff during the 1977 American League Championship Series the year prior. Brett was the second player to hit three home runs in a League Championship Series game. Bob Robertson was the first, doing so in Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS.

Game 4

Yankee manager

Bob Lemon Robert Granville Lemon (September 22, 1920 – January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. Lemon was raised in Californi ...

decided to use the sore-armed Ron Guidry to close out the series at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. Guidry turned in an effective performance, going eight innings and giving up one run on seven hits and striking out seven. It didn't start out that way, though.

led the game off with a triple off Guidry and

Hal McRae Harold Abraham McRae (; born July 10, 1945) is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1968, 1970–72) and Kansas City Royals (1973–87). Utilized as a designated hitter for most of his career, Mc ...

immediately followed by driving in Brett with a single. But, the Royals would come up zeros the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Graig Nettles tied it with a homer in the second inning, and Roy White hit the deciding homer in the fifth off

. Guidry left in the ninth after giving up a leadoff double to Amos Otis and

set down the next three Royal batters to close out the series and win their third straight AL Pennant.

Composite box

1978 ALCS (3–1):

over

References

External links

Series statistics at Baseball Reference
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