| 1979 New York Yankees | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Yankee Stadium | |||
| City | New York City | |||
| Owners | George Steinbrenner | |||
| General managers | Cedric Tallis | |||
| Managers | Bob Lemon,Billy Martin | |||
| Television | WPIX SportsChannel NY (Phil Rizzuto,Frank Messer,Bill White) | |||
| Radio | WINS (AM) (Frank Messer,Phil Rizzuto,Bill White,Fran Healy) | |||
| ||||
The 1979New York Yankees season was the 77th season for the franchise. The season was marked by the death of their startingcatcher and team captain,Thurman Munson, on August 2. The team finished with a record of 89–71, finishing fourth in theAmerican League East, 13.5 games behind theBaltimore Orioles, ending the Yankees' three-year domination of the AL East. New York was managed byBob Lemon andBilly Martin. The Yankees played atYankee Stadium.
As the Munson Era came to a tragic end within this season, a new era was about to unfold. 1979 marked the first time ever for the Yankees to broadcast their games on cable within New York City and surrounding areas, becoming the first ever MLB team to do so. Starting Opening Day that year, all Yankees games save for the nationally aired games were broadcast on the then 3-year old cable channelSportsChannel NY (aside from the usualWPIX telecast for free to air television viewers in the New York area and nationwide via satellite and cable).
In January 1979, the Yankees attempted to acquirefirst basemanRod Carew from theMinnesota Twins in exchange forChris Chambliss,Juan Beníquez,Dámaso García, andDave Righetti, but the deal fell through.[1] Carew was later traded to theCalifornia Angels.
In mid-April, closerRich “Goose” Gossage broke the thumb on his pitching hand in a clubhouse fight with teammateCliff Johnson. Gossage missed the rest of April, all of May, and half of June with the injury.Ron Guidry volunteered to take his place as bullpen closer along with his regular starts and posted two saves. Johnson was later traded to theCleveland Indians.
Bob Lemon, who had taken over the team in July 1978 afterBilly Martin resigned amid controversy where he calledReggie Jackson andGeorge Steinbrenner liars, entered the season with the understanding that he would be promoted to a front office position following the season. However, after a 34–31 start to the season, Steinbrenner fired Lemon and asked Martin, who was to take over the team in 1980, to start managing early. Martin agreed, which did not sit well with some of the team including Jackson. The move also did not sit well with team presidentAl Rosen, who resigned from the Yankees shortly thereafter.
On August 6, the Yankees flew to Ohio to attend Thurman Munson's memorial service, then flew back to New York to play their scheduled game against Baltimore. This game was televised live nationwide onABC'sMonday Night Baseball and featured clips of the memorial and an interview Munson gave toHoward Cosell days before.[6]Bobby Murcer hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, then drove in two more runs in the ninth with a single off former YankeeTippy Martinez to account for all five Yankee runs in a 5–4 win.[7] After the game, Murcer gave the bat to Munson's widow.[6]
On September 12,Carl Yastrzemski of theBoston Red Sox joined the3,000 hit club with a single offJim Beattie of the Yankees.[8] The same game also marked the final appearance atFenway Park for Hall of Fame pitcherCatfish Hunter.
On September 18, pitcherBob Kammeyer set a single-season record by giving up eightearned runs without recording an out in his only game of the season. It was his last major league appearance.
As his career progressed, Thurman Munson became increasingly homesick as his schedule did not allow him to spend enough time at home with his wife and children. Since he kept his home in Ohio during the offseason, he decided that air travel was the best solution and began taking flying lessons. Munson bought aCessna Citation I/SP jet and by 1979 was regularly using it to transport himself to and from various cities and his home. On one of these trips, where his manager Billy Martin was a passenger, Martin noticed the plane's engine malfunctioned in flight and informed Munson, who discovered the entire engine was destroyed and he had to pay to have a new one installed. Martin grew concerned but was unable to convince Munson to stop.
On August 2, 1979, Munson was at theAkron-Canton Regional Airport practicing takeoffs and landings. On the fourthtouch-and-go, Munson failed to lower theflaps for landing and allowed the aircraft to sink too low before increasing engine power, causing the jet to clip a tree and fall short of the runway. The plane then hit a tree stump and burst into flames. Munson suffered a broken neck on impact and thus was trapped inside the aircraft, unable to move. His companions were able to escape the wreck. Munson was consumed by the flames and toxic fumes released by the burning fuselage and died ofasphyxiation. He was 32 years old.[9]
Munson's sudden death was major news across the nation and his loss was especially felt in the baseball community. Munson was survived by his wife, Diana, and their three children. The day after his death, before the start of the Yankees' four-game set with theBaltimore Orioles in the Bronx, the Yankees paid tribute to their fallen captain in apre-game ceremony during which the starters stood at their defensive positions, save for the catcher's box, which remained empty. At the conclusion ofRobert Merrill's musical selection, the fans (announced attendance 51,151) burst into a 10-minute standing ovation.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 102 | 57 | .642 | — | 55–24 | 47–33 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 95 | 66 | .590 | 8 | 52–29 | 43–37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 91 | 69 | .569 | 11½ | 51–29 | 40–40 |
| New York Yankees | 89 | 71 | .556 | 13½ | 51–30 | 38–41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 85 | 76 | .528 | 18 | 46–34 | 39–42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 80 | .503 | 22 | 47–34 | 34–46 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 53 | 109 | .327 | 50½ | 32–49 | 21–60 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
| Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
| New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
| Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
| Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
| 1979 New York Yankees | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
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 | 97 | 382 | 110 | .288 | 3 | 39 |
| 1B | Chris Chambliss | 149 | 554 | 155 | .280 | 18 | 63 |
| 2B | Willie Randolph | 153 | 574 | 155 | .270 | 5 | 61 |
| 3B | Graig Nettles | 145 | 521 | 132 | .253 | 20 | 73 |
| SS | Bucky Dent | 141 | 431 | 99 | .230 | 2 | 32 |
| LF | Lou Piniella | 130 | 461 | 137 | .297 | 11 | 69 |
| CF | Mickey Rivers | 74 | 286 | 82 | .287 | 3 | 25 |
| RF | Reggie Jackson | 131 | 465 | 138 | .297 | 29 | 89 |
| DH | Jim Spencer | 106 | 295 | 85 | .288 | 23 | 53 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Murcer | 74 | 264 | 72 | .273 | 8 | 33 |
| Roy White | 81 | 205 | 44 | .215 | 3 | 27 |
| Juan Beníquez | 62 | 142 | 36 | .254 | 4 | 17 |
| Jerry Narron | 61 | 123 | 21 | .171 | 4 | 18 |
| Oscar Gamble | 36 | 113 | 44 | .389 | 11 | 32 |
| Fred Stanley | 57 | 100 | 20 | .200 | 2 | 14 |
| Brad Gulden | 40 | 92 | 15 | .163 | 0 | 6 |
| Bobby Brown | 30 | 68 | 17 | .250 | 0 | 3 |
| Cliff Johnson | 28 | 64 | 17 | .266 | 2 | 6 |
| Jay Johnstone | 23 | 48 | 10 | .208 | 1 | 7 |
| Darryl Jones | 18 | 47 | 12 | .255 | 0 | 6 |
| George Scott | 16 | 44 | 14 | .318 | 1 | 6 |
| Lenny Randle | 20 | 39 | 7 | .179 | 0 | 3 |
| Dámaso García | 11 | 38 | 10 | .263 | 0 | 4 |
| Brian Doyle | 20 | 32 | 4 | .125 | 0 | 5 |
| Bruce Robinson | 6 | 12 | 2 | .167 | 0 | 2 |
| Roy Staiger | 4 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 0 | 1 |
| Paul Blair | 2 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Werth | 3 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy John | 37 | 276.1 | 21 | 9 | 2.96 | 111 |
| Ron Guidry | 33 | 236.1 | 18 | 8 | 2.78 | 201 |
| Luis Tiant | 30 | 195.2 | 13 | 8 | 3.91 | 104 |
| Catfish Hunter | 19 | 105.0 | 2 | 9 | 5.31 | 34 |
| Ed Figueroa | 16 | 104.2 | 4 | 6 | 4.13 | 42 |
| Jim Beattie | 15 | 76.0 | 3 | 6 | 5.21 | 32 |
| Dave Righetti | 3 | 17.1 | 0 | 1 | 3.63 | 13 |
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 Clay | 32 | 78.1 | 1 | 7 | 5.40 | 28 |
| Don Hood | 27 | 67.1 | 3 | 1 | 3.07 | 22 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Gossage | 36 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 2.62 | 41 |
| Ron Davis | 44 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 2.85 | 43 |
| Jim Kaat | 40 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3.86 | 23 |
| Ray Burris | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6.18 | 19 |
| Dick Tidrow | 14 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7.94 | 7 |
| Paul Mirabella | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8.79 | 4 |
| Mike Griffin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.15 | 5 |
| Rick Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 0 |
| Roger Slagle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Bob Kammeyer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 0 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus, West Haven, Oneonta, Paintsville[18]
On October 23, managerBilly Martin got into a barroom fight with Joseph Cooper, a marshmallow salesman from Minnesota. Six days later, Martin was fired from the Yankees byGeorge Steinbrenner and replaced withDick Howser.