1977 New York Yankees season

1977  New York Yankees
World Series Champions American League Champions American League East Champions
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Yankee Stadium
City	New York City
Owners	George Steinbrenner
General managers	Gabe Paul
Managers	Billy Martin
Television	WPIX (Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White)
Radio	WMCA (Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, Pam Bouche)
←  1976 Seasons 1978  →

The 1977 New York Yankees season was the 75th season for the Yankees. The team won the World Series, which was the 21st title in franchise history and the first under the ownership of George Steinbrenner. New York was managed by Billy Martin, and played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. The season was brought to life years later in the book and drama-documentary, The Bronx is Burning. The Yankees also hosted the 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. To date, this is the most recent time the All-Star Game host team has won the World Series the same year.

Offseason

The Yankees signed Reggie Jackson to a five-year contract, totaling $2.96 million, on November 29, 1976. Upon arriving in New York, Jackson asked for uniform number 9, which he had worn in Oakland and Baltimore. However, that number was being worn by third baseman Graig Nettles. So, noting that then-all-time home run leader Hank Aaron had just retired, Jackson asked for and received number 44, Aaron's number.

Notable transactions

• November 5, 1976: Jim Mason was drafted from the Yankees by the Toronto Blue Jays as the 30th pick in the 1976 MLB expansion draft. ^[1]
• January 11, 1977: Willie McGee was drafted by the Yankees in the first round (15th pick) of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase) and he signed on June 6. ^[2]
• January 20, 1977: Elliott Maddox and Rick Bladt were traded by the Yankees to the Baltimore Orioles for Paul Blair. ^[3]
• February 17, 1977: Sandy Alomar Sr. was traded by the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Brian Doyle, Greg Pryor and cash. ^[4]
• March 26, 1977: Kerry Dineen was traded by the Yankees to the Philadelphia Phillies for Sergio Ferrer. ^[5]

Regular season

The team finished in first place in the American League East with a record of 100–62 (.617), 2½ games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles to successfully defend their division title. In the best-of-five League Championship Series (ALCS), they beat the Kansas City Royals in five games. In the World Series, New York defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

Season standings

v t e AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	100	62	0.617	—	55–26	45–36
Baltimore Orioles	97	64	0.602	2½	54–27	43–37
Boston Red Sox	97	64	0.602	2½	51–29	46–35
Detroit Tigers	74	88	0.457	26	39–42	35–46
Cleveland Indians	71	90	0.441	28½	37–44	34–46
Milwaukee Brewers	67	95	0.414	33	37–44	30–51
Toronto Blue Jays	54	107	0.335	45½	25–55	29–52

Record vs. opponents

1977 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	6–8	5–6	5–5	11–4	12–3	4–7	11–4	6–4	8–7	8–2	7–3	4–6	10–5
Boston	8–6	—	7–3	3–7	8–7	9–6	5–5	9–6	4–6	8–7	8–3	10–1	6–4	12–3
California	6–5	3–7	—	8–7	6–4	4–6	6–9	5–5	7–8	4–7	5–10	9–6	5–10	6–4
Chicago	5–5	7–3	7–8	—	6–4	4–6	8–7	6–5	10–5	3–7	10–5	10–5	6–9	8–3
Cleveland	4–11	7–8	4–6	4–6	—	8–7	3–7	11–4	2–9	3–12	7–3	7–3	2–9	9–5
Detroit	3–12	6–9	6–4	6–4	7–8	—	3–8	10–5	5–5	6–9	5–5	5–6	2–8	10–5
Kansas City	7–4	5–5	9–6	7–8	7–3	8–3	—	8–2	10–5	5–5	9–6	11–4	8–7	8–2
Milwaukee	4–11	6–9	5–5	5–6	4–11	5–10	2–8	—	3–8	8–7	5–5	7–3	5–5	8–7
Minnesota	4–6	6–4	8–7	5–10	9–2	5–5	5–10	8–3	—	2–8	8–6	7–8	8–7	9–1
New York	7–8	7–8	7–4	7–3	12–3	9–6	5–5	7–8	8–2	—	9–2	6–4	7–3	9–6
Oakland	2–8	3–8	10–5	5–10	3–7	5–5	6–9	5–5	6–8	2–9	—	7–8	2–13	7–3
Seattle	3–7	1–10	6–9	5–10	3–7	6–5	4–11	3–7	8–7	4–6	8–7	—	9–6	4–6
Texas	6–4	4–6	10–5	9–6	9–2	8–2	7–8	5–5	7–8	3–7	13–2	6–9	—	7–4
Toronto	5–10	3–12	4–6	3–8	5–9	5–10	2–8	7–8	1–9	6–9	3–7	6–4	4–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 5: Oscar Gamble, LaMarr Hoyt, minor leaguer Bob Polinsky, and $200,000 were traded by the Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for Bucky Dent. ^[6]
• April 27: Dock Ellis, Larry Murray, and Marty Perez were traded by the Yankees to the Oakland Athletics for Mike Torrez. ^[7]
• August 2: The Yankees acquired Stan Thomas from the Seattle Mariners for future considerations. ^[8]

Draft picks

• June 7: 1977 Major League Baseball draft
  • Joe Lefebvre was selected by the Yankees in the third round, and signed on July 6. ^[9]
  • Chuck Hensley was selected by the Yankees in the tenth round. ^[10]
  • Chris Welsh was selected by the Yankees in the 21st round. ^[11]

All-Star game

Yankee Stadium hosted the All-Star Game on July 19, less than a week after the blackout. Four Yankees were in the game: Willie Randolph and Reggie Jackson were in the starting lineup at second base and right field, while relief pitcher Sparky Lyle and third baseman Graig Nettles were part of the roster as reserves. The National League defeated the American League 7–5.

Roster

1977 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers 50 Ken Clay 36 Dock Ellis 31 Ed Figueroa 35 Don Gullett 49 Ron Guidry 53 Ken Holtzman 29 Catfish Hunter 28 Sparky Lyle 51 Larry McCall 22 Gil Patterson 36 Stan Thomas 19 Dick Tidrow 48,24 Mike Torrez		Catchers 40 Fran Healy 18 Elrod Hendricks 41 Cliff Johnson 15 Thurman Munson Infielders 10 Chris Chambliss 20 Bucky Dent 39 Mickey Klutts  9 Graig Nettles 27 Marty Perez 30 Willie Randolph 11 Fred Stanley 25 George Zeber		Outfielders 27,59 Dell Alston 54 Dave Bergman  2 Paul Blair 44 Reggie Jackson 46 Gene Locklear 38 Carlos May 14 Lou Piniella 17 Mickey Rivers  6 Roy White 24 Jimmy Wynn Other batters 48 Dave Kingman		Manager  1 Billy Martin Coaches  8 Yogi Berra 21 Cloyd Boyer 33 Bobby Cox 42 Art Fowler 32 Elston Howard 34 Dick Howser

Characters

Reggie Jackson

Jackson's first season with the Yankees was a difficult one. Although team owner George Steinbrenner and several players, most notably catcher and team captain Thurman Munson and outfielder Lou Piniella, were excited about his arrival, Martin was not. He had managed the Detroit Tigers in 1972 when Jackson's A's beat them in the league playoffs. Jackson was once quoted as saying of Martin, "I hate him, but if I played for him, I'd probably love him."

The relationship between Jackson and his new teammates was strained due to an interview with SPORT magazine writer Robert Ward. During spring training at the Yankees' camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Jackson and Ward were having drinks at a nearby bar. Jackson's version of the story is that he noted that the Yankees had won the pennant the year before, but lost the World Series to the Reds, and suggested that they needed one thing more to win it all, and pointed out the various ingredients in his drink. Ward suggested that Jackson might be "the straw that stirs the drink." But when the story appeared in the May 1977 issue of SPORT, Ward quoted Jackson as saying, "This team, it all flows from me. I'm the straw that stirs the drink. Maybe I should say me and Munson, but he can only stir it bad."

Thurman Munson

Thurman Munson was "uncharacteristically happy" about the team getting Jackson in large part because he believed he had received "a verbal agreement from Steinbrenner that, with the exception of Catfish Hunter (who'd signed a five-year, $3.75 million contract with the Yankees before the 1975 season), he [Munson] would always be the highest-paid player on the team." But, Steinbrenner did not follow through and adjust Munson's contract upward. As the baseball book Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of ‘76 puts it, "But the Yankee captain wouldn't be smiling for long, once he realized that Steinbrenner had no intention of making good on their agreement." ^[12]

An article in The New York Times in January 1977 reported, "Munson, however, has continued to be disturbed with Steinbrenner because of what he said first was the owner's denial of any verbal agreement and secand [second] was Steinbrenner's misleading him on Jackson's salary." ^[13]

Billy Martin

Martin feuded publicly with both Yankee owner Steinbrenner and star outfielder Jackson. In one especially infamous incident on Saturday, June 18, in the second game of a three-game sweep by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Martin pulled Jackson off the field in mid-inning for failing to hustle on a check-swing pop double by Boston's Jim Rice. Replaced in right field by Paul Blair, Jackson confronted Martin when he returned to the dugout, and Martin had to be restrained by his coaches (Elston Howard and Yogi Berra) from fighting with Jackson during the nationally televised Game of the Week . ^{[14] [15] [16]}

In popular culture

Jonathan Mahler wrote a bestselling book entitled Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx Is Burning about the turmoil in New York City in 1977, including the Son of Sam, the blackout, and how Yankees season rallied the people of New York. The book was adapted for an ESPN miniseries, The Bronx Is Burning

The 1977 Yankees season provides a backdrop in the Spike Lee film Summer of Sam .

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Thurman Munson	149	595	183	.308	18	100
1B	Chris Chambliss	157	600	172	.287	17	90
2B	Willie Randolph	147	551	151	.274	5	40
3B	Graig Nettles	158	589	150	.255	37	107
SS	Bucky Dent	158	477	118	.247	8	49
LF	Roy White	143	519	139	.268	14	52
CF	Mickey Rivers	138	565	184	.326	12	69
RF	Reggie Jackson	146	525	150	.286	32	110
DH	Carlos May	65	181	41	.227	2	16

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Lou Piniella	103	339	112	.330	12	45
Paul Blair	83	164	43	.262	4	25
Cliff Johnson	56	142	42	.296	12	31
Jimmy Wynn	30	77	11	.143	1	3
Fran Healy	28	67	15	.224	0	7
George Zeber	25	65	21	.323	3	10
Fred Stanley	48	46	12	.261	1	7
Dell Alston	22	40	13	.325	1	4
Dave Kingman	8	24	6	.250	4	7
Mickey Klutts	5	15	4	.267	1	4
Elrod Hendricks	10	11	3	.273	1	5
Gene Locklear	1	5	3	.600	0	2
Dave Bergman	5	4	1	.250	0	1
Marty Perez	1	4	2	.500	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Ed Figueroa	32	239.1	16	11	3.57	104
Mike Torrez	31	217.0	14	12	3.82	90
Ron Guidry	31	210.2	16	7	2.82	176
Don Gullett	22	158.1	14	4	3.58	116
Catfish Hunter	22	143.1	9	9	4.71	52
Dock Ellis	3	19.2	1	1	1.83	5

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Ken Holtzman	18	71.2	2	3	5.78	14
Gil Patterson	10	33.1	1	2	5.40	29

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Sparky Lyle	72	137.0	13	5	26	2.17	68
Dick Tidrow	49	151.0	11	4	5	3.16	83
Ken Clay	21	55.2	2	3	1	4.37	20
Stan Thomas	3	6.1	1	0	0	7.11	1
Larry McCall	2	6.0	0	1	0	7.50	0

ALCS

Main article: 1977 American League Championship Series

Game 1

October 5: Yankee Stadium, New York City

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	7	9	0
New York	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	0
W: Paul Splittorff (1–0)  L: Don Gullett (0–1)
HRs: KC – Hal McRae (1), John Mayberry (1), Al Cowens (1) NYY – Thurman Munson (1)

Game 2

October 6: Yankee Stadium, New York City

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	1
New York	0	0	0	0	2	3	0	1	-	6	10	0
W: Ron Guidry (1–0)  L: Andy Hassler (0–1)
HRs: KC – none; NYY – Cliff Johnson (1)

Game 3

October 7: Royals Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	4	1
Kansas City	0	1	1	0	1	2	0	1	-	6	12	1
W: Dennis Leonard (1–0)  L: Mike Torrez (0–1)
HRs: NYY – none; KC – none

Game 4

October 8: Royals Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	1	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	6	13	0
Kansas City	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	8	2
W: Sparky Lyle (1–0)  L: Larry Gura (0–1)
HRs: Yanks – none; KC – none

Game 5

October 9: Royals Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	5	10	0
Kansas City	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	10	1
W: Sparky Lyle (2–0)  L: Dennis Leonard (1–1)
HRs: NYY – none; KC – none

World Series

Main article: 1977 World Series

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (2)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance	Time of Game
1	Dodgers – 3, Yankees – 4 (12 inns)	October 11	Yankee Stadium	56,668	3:24
2	Dodgers – 6, Yankees – 1	October 12	Yankee Stadium	56,691	2:27
3	Yankees – 5, Dodgers – 3	October 14	Dodger Stadium	55,992	2:31
4	Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 2	October 15	Dodger Stadium	55,995	2:07
5	Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 10	October 16	Dodger Stadium	55,995	2:29
6	Dodgers – 4, Yankees – 8	October 18	Yankee Stadium	56,407	2:18

Awards and honors

• Reggie Jackson, Babe Ruth Award
• Reggie Jackson, World Series MVP
• Sparky Lyle, Cy Young Award
• Graig Nettles, Gold Glove, third base

All-Stars

All-Star Game

• Jackson, Lyle, Thurman Munson, Graig Nettles, and Willie Randolph represented the Yankees at All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Syracuse Chiefs	International League	Pete Ward
AA	West Haven Yankees	Eastern League	Mike Ferraro
A	Fort Lauderdale Yankees	Florida State League	Ed Napoleon
A-Short Season	Oneonta Yankees	New York–Penn League	Art Mazmanian

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: West Haven, Oneonta ^[17]

Notes

1. Jim Mason at Baseball Reference
2. Willie McGee at Baseball Reference
3. Paul Blair at Baseball Reference
4. Brian Doyle at Baseball Reference
5. Kerry Dineen at Baseball Reference
6. Oscar Gamble at Baseball Reference
7. Dock Ellis at Baseball Reference
8. Stan Thomas at Baseball Reference
9. Joe Lefebvre at Baseball Reference
10. Chuck Hensley at Baseball Reference
11. Chris Welsh at Baseball Reference
12. Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of ‘76, Dan Epstein, St. Martin's Press, 2014, pages 365-66.
13. Verbal Agreements Cited by Catcher, The New York Times (archives), Murray Chass, Jan. 19, 1977.
14. "Martin, Jackson clash as Yanks lose, 10-4". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. June 20, 1977. p. D5.
15. "Martin might be fighting to save his job". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. June 20, 1977. p. 1D.
16. "Shouting match!". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 19, 1977. p. 69.
17. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

• 1977 New York Yankees at Baseball Reference
• 1977 World Series
• 1977 New York Yankees at Baseball Almanac