1978 World Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season New York Yankees (4) Bob Lemon 100–63, .613, GA: 1 Los Angeles Dodgers (2) Tommy Lasorda 95–67, .586, GA:2+1⁄2
Dates	October 10–17
Venue(s)	Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) Yankee Stadium (New York)
MVP	Bucky Dent (New York)
Umpires	Ed Vargo (NL),Bill Haller (AL),John Kibler (NL),Marty Springstead (AL),Frank Pulli (NL),Joe Brinkman (AL)
Hall of Famers	Yankees: Goose Gossage Catfish Hunter Reggie Jackson Yogi Berra (coach) Bob Lemon (manager) Dodgers: Tommy Lasorda (manager) Don Sutton
Broadcast
Television	NBC
TV announcers	Joe Garagiola,Tony Kubek, andTom Seaver
Radio	CBS
Radio announcers	Bill White (in Los Angeles) Ross Porter (in New York) Win Elliot
ALCS	New York Yankees overKansas City Royals (3–1)
NLCS	Los Angeles Dodgers overPhiladelphia Phillies (3–1)
← 1977 World Series 1979 →

The1978 World Series was thechampionship series ofMajor League Baseball's (MLB)1978 season. The 75th edition of the World Series, it was abest-of-seven playoff played between theAmerican League (AL) championNew York Yankees and theNational League (NL) championLos Angeles Dodgers. In a rematch of theprevious year's World Series, the Yankees won, four games to two, to repeat as champions and to win their 22nd World Series. As of 2025, it remains the most recent World Series to feature a rematch of the previous season's matchup.^[1]

The 1978 series was the first of 10 consecutive years that saw 10 different teams win the World Series. TheLos Angeles Dodgers would break the string with a World Series win in1988, having won in1981.

This series had two memorable confrontations between Dodgers rookie pitcherBob Welch and the Yankees'Reggie Jackson. In Game 2, Welch struck out Jackson in the top of the ninth with two outs and the tying and go-ahead runs on base to end the game. Jackson would avenge the strikeout, when in Game 4 he singled off Welch which movedRoy White to second, from which White would score the game winning run on aLou Piniella single to tie the series at 2–2. In Game 6, Jackson smashed a two-run homer off Welch in the seventh to increase the Yankees' lead to 7–2 and a Yankees' victory to win the series.

The Yankees became the first team to lose the first two games of a World Series then win the next four. The Dodgers became the second vs. the Yankees three years later.

TheNew York Yankees were as far back as 14 games behind theBoston Red Sox at mid-July suffering from injuries to pitchersCatfish Hunter andJim Beattie. A public display of antipathy between managerBilly Martin and sluggerReggie Jackson resulted in the replacement of Martin by the amenable, easygoingBob Lemon on July 17. With time running out, the Yankees, four games behind the Red Sox in theAmerican League East, began a crucial four-game series atFenway Park in Boston. On September 7, the Yanks began the "Boston Massacre" with a15–3 drubbing of the BoSox, withsecond basemanWillie Randolph driving in five runs. (Randolph was sidelined in the postseason, due to a pulled hamstring in late September.)^[2] The assault continued with the Yankees winning game two13–2, game three7–0 (Ron Guidry winning his 21st—a two-hitter), and an 18-hit,7–4 victory in game four, completing thesweep. The Yankees and Red Sox were now tied for first place with 20 games remaining forboth clubs.^[3]

New York went 48–20 (.706) in their last 68 scheduled games, but lost on the final day toCleveland to finish the regular season in a dead-heat with Boston at 99–63 (.611). The Yanks had to travel to Fenway for theone-game playoff on Monday, October 2. Down 2–0 after six innings, they won5–4, made famous by light-hittingBucky Dent's clutch three-run homer in the seventh inning (his fifth of the year).Ron Guidry won his 25th game (against only three losses) andGoose Gossage recorded the last eight outs for his 27th save, retiring Hall of FamerCarl Yastrzemski with the tying run at third base for the final out.

In theNational League theLos Angeles Dodgers were locked in a tight three-way race with therivalSan Francisco Giants andCincinnati Reds falling as far as6+1⁄2 games back. Taking a lesson from the in-fighting Yankees, this normally close-knit group caught fire after a clubhouse fight between teammatesSteve Garvey andDon Sutton in August, ultimately finishing2+1⁄2 games ahead of theCincinnati Reds. Unlike the1977 Dodgers with four 30+ home run hitters, thissquad's leader in home runs wasReggie Smith with 29. No pitcher won 20 or more games but five pitchers did winat least ten games. RookieBob Welch was a key after being promoted from the minors, winning seven games and saving three while being utilized as both a starter and reliever.

During the World Series the Dodgers wore on their uniforms a black patch with the number 19 in dedication to coachJim Gilliam, who died from abrain hemorrhage two days before the start of the Series. His uniform number was retired by the Dodgers prior to the start of Game 1.Davey Lopes, the Dodgers player closest to Gilliam,^[4] led the Series in home runs (3) and the team inslugging percentage (.654),on-base plus slugging (1.011) and runs scored and batted in (7 each).^[5] His inspired play left Reggie Jackson saying, "Lopes is blatantly penetrated by the spirit of Gilliam."^[6]

In a repeat of the 1977 playoffs the Yankees again dispatched theKansas City Royals, this time three games to one as the Dodgers did the same to thePhiladelphia Phillies by the same margin. After losing the first two games of the World Series, the Yankees would become the first team to come back to win the Series in six. The Dodgers would duplicate that feat against the Yankees in the1981 World Series.

ALNew York Yankees (4) vs. NLLos Angeles Dodgers (2)

With Yankee aceRon Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, the Dodgers pounded 20-game winnerEd Figueroa. Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs toDusty Baker andDavey Lopes. Lopes would add a three-runshot in the fourth offKen Clay to make it 6–0. Another Dodger run crossed the plate in the fifth;Ron Cey scoring on a Clay wild pitch.

The Yankees tried to claw back in the seventh asReggie Jackson homered andBucky Dent singled in two runs, but the Dodgers bounced back with three of their own, two coming on aBill North double. The Dodgers would cruise to an easy Game 1 win from there.

Ron Cey drove in all the Dodgers' runs with a single in the fourth and a three-run homer in the sixth off Yankee starterCatfish Hunter.Reggie Jackson would try to keep pace by batting in all three of the Yankee runs with a two-run double and RBI groundout, but this game would be remembered for one memorable Jackson at-bat.

RookieBob Welch was brought in to pitch the ninth to save the game forBurt Hooton. The previous reliever, Terry Forster, had allowedBucky Dent andPaul Blair to reach base between outs, bringing up Jackson. Welch ran the count to 3–2. Jackson fouled off several pitches before Welch finally got a fastball by him, sending theDodger Stadium crowd into a frenzy.

In post-game interviews, Jackson initially blamed his striking out onBucky Dent running from second with the 3–2 pitch and distracting him from focusing on Welch. In later interviews, however, Jackson would give Welch his proper due.

With the Yankees desperately needing a win, aceRon Guidry provided a victory aided by the stunning defense of third basemanGraig Nettles.

Guidry pitched a complete game, even though he allowed eight hits, walked seven, and struck out only four. Nettles' defense saved at least four runs.

The Yankees got on the board in the first offDon Sutton on aRoy White homer and added a run in the second on an RBI forceout byBucky Dent.

In the third, the Dodgers began to come back against Guidry, who clearly did not have his best stuff.Bill North led off with a walk, stole second, then went to third on aSteve Yeager groundout.Davey Lopes hit a hard liner Nettles snared to turn a certain extra-base hit into a key out and temporarily save a run.Bill Russell followed with an infield single to score North and drive in the Dodgers' only run. The next batter,Reggie Smith, hit a hard ground ball to third. Nettles made a diving stop to save another extra-base hit and probable run, and threw Smith out at first to end the inning.

In the fifth, the Dodgers had runners on first and second with two outs when Smith came up to bat. Nettles knocked down Smith's sharply hit ground ball down the third base line. Smith reached first, but no runs scored.Steve Garvey, the next batter up, hit another hard ground ball down the third base line, and Nettles made a backhanded stop and forced Smith at second base to end the inning. The Dodgers loaded the bases again with two outs in the sixth inning, but Nettles again made a great stop on a ball hit byDavey Lopes, and threw to second to complete the inning-ending force play.

The Yankees would later add three more runs.Thurman Munson andReggie Jackson had RBI singles in the rally that put the game out of reach.

StartersEd Figueroa andTommy John were locked in a scoreless duel beforeReggie Smith struck with a three-run homer in the top of the fifth inning. John continued his shutout through the fifth, but, in the Yankees' half of the sixth, they scored.

Reggie Jackson finally got the Yankees on the board with a one-out RBI single. WithThurman Munson on second and Jackson on first,Lou Piniella hit a low, soft liner that shortstopBill Russell fumbled (some claim intentionally). Russell recovered the ball, then stepped on second to force Jackson, then his attempted throw to first to complete the double play struck a "confused" Jackson in the right hip and caromed into foul territory. Munson scored, partially because first basemanSteve Garvey stopped to yell at the first-base umpire over the non-interference call before retrieving the ball.The Dodgers' protests went for naught but would not have been necessary if Russell had made the proper play.Thinking Russell was going to catch Piniella's liner, Munson retreated towards second and wason second base when Russell picked up the ball. Munson then turned to third and Russell stepped on second to force Jackson and threw to first. The inning would have been over if Russell had tagged Munson (out #2) and stepped on second (out #3) to force Jacksonor Russell steps on second to force Jackson (out #2) and gets Munson in a rundown between second and third (out #3); the score would have remained 3–1, instead the score was then 3–2. But of course, Russell had no reason to the think his throw would not reach first base.

Later review of the play clearly showed Jackson had stopped midway between first and second when Russell had made his throw to first. As the ball carried very close to Jackson's immediate right, Jackson had moved his hips to the right just as the ball sailed past, deflecting the ball down the first base line. While Jackson continued to deny it, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, along with other eyewitnesses, steadfastly believed the Yankees outfielder purposefully interfered in the play.^{[citation needed]}

The Yankees tied it in the eighth when Munson doubled homePaul Blair. The score remained tied until the bottom of the tenth inning. Dodgers rookie and Game 2 heroBob Welch walkedRoy White with one out. After Welch retired Munson, Jackson strode to the plate for his first confrontation with Welch since Game 2. This time, Jackson got the better end by singling White to second.Lou Piniella then lined a single to center, scoring White and tying the series.

The bungled Russell/Jackson play changed the game and the entire Series; instead of the Dodgers going up 3–1 in games, the Series was then tied and the momentum shifted to the Yankees who outscored the Dodgers 19–4 in the final two games.

The Yankees took one step closer to a repeat World Series championship on the strength of an unexpected complete game victory by youngJim Beattie. Beattie scattered nine Dodgers hits and was buoyed by an 18-hit Yankees performance, including a World Series-record 16 singles.

Early on, the Dodgers tried to run to take advantage of a sore-shoulderedThurman Munson behind the plate.Davey Lopes led off the game with a single, stole second, and scored on aReggie Smith single. The Dodgers stretched their lead to 2–0 in the third when Lopes scored again on a double byBill Russell.

But, that would be it as Beattie settled down and shut out the Dodgers the rest of the way. In the bottom of the third, after a leadoff walk and single,Roy White's RBI single cut the Dodgers' lead to 2–1. After a double steal, Munson's two-run single put the Yankees up 3–2. One out later,Lou Piniella's RBI single made it 4–2 Yankees and knocked starterBurt Hooton out of the game. Next inning, after two one-out singles,Mickey Rivers's RBI single and White's sacrifice fly made it 6–2 Yankees.Charlie Hough relievedLance Rautzhan and allowed an RBI single to Munson. In the seventh, with runners on second and third and two outs, a strike three wild pitch by Hough to Rivers allowed a run to score and Rivers to reach first. White's RBI single made it 9–2 Yankees, then Munson's two-run double increased their lead to 11–2. They scored one more run in the eighth onBucky Dent's RBI double off Hough as their 12–2 win gave them a 3–2 series lead heading back to Los Angeles.

Game 6 turned out to be theBucky Dent–Brian Doyle show.

Davey Lopes gave the Dodgers home crowd a ray of hope with a leadoff home run offCatfish Hunter. Dent and Doyle put the Yankees ahead in the second; Doyle with an RBI double, Dent with an RBI single and an additional run scoring on an error on the play. Lopes had an RBI single in the third to cut it to 3–2 through the fifth inning, but that would be it for the Dodgers. Sutton pitched well until the sixth inning. It was Hunter's first World Series victory since game 3 in 1974.

Dent and Doyle pushed the score to 5–2 in the sixth with RBI singles andReggie Jackson put the final nail in the Dodgers coffin with a tremendous two-run blast in the seventh inning to get revenge against his Game 2 nemesis,Bob Welch.

Dent would be named World Series MVP, batting .417 with ten hits, seven RBI, and three runs scored. Doyle would make a claim for the MVP himself with a .438 average, seven hits, two RBI, and four runs.

While Lopes had a monster series with three homers and seven RBIs andBill Russell had 11 hits, the Dodgers power hitters lack of production and the Dodgers shoddy defense was their downfall.Steve Garvey (5–for–24, no RBIs) was no factor, and neither wereDusty Baker (5–for–21, one RBI) orRon Cey (no RBIs after Game 2) and the Dodgers defense committed seven errors.

Thurman Munson caught the final out of the game on a foul pop by Cey. This would be the final post-season game for Thurman Munson before hisdeath during the 1979 season.

1978 World Series(4–2):New York Yankees (A.L.) overLos Angeles Dodgers (N.L.)

NBC televised the World Series, withJoe Garagiola on play-by-play andTony Kubek andTom Seaver providing color analysis.Curt Gowdy hosted the pregame shows and conducted interviews. This was the final World Series broadcast for Gowdy, who'd previously called play-by-play of the event for NBC from 1966 to 1975.

CBS Radio also broadcast the World Series, with Yankees announcerBill White calling the games in Los Angeles, Dodgers announcerRoss Porter calling the games in New York, andWin Elliot providing color commentary. This was the last time that local announcers for the participating teams would call games on the national World Series radio broadcast.

This Series is tied with the1980 World Series for the highest overall television ratings to date, with the six games averaging aNielsen rating of 32.8 and a share of 56.^[14]

TheYankees became the last repeat World Champions until 15 years later (1992–1993;Toronto Blue Jays). This was the last time the Yankees won a World Series until1996, and the last World Series championship for the city of New York until the Yankees'cross-town rivals, theMets, won in1986 when they defeated the Red Sox four games to three. The Dodgers won the World Series in1981, against the Yankees in the same way the Yankees won this series (losing the first two games, then winning the next four), and1988, against theOakland Athletics. For the Yankees, they again lost the first two games of the World Series in 1996 against theAtlanta Braves, then won the next four games.

As of 2025^[update], this is the last time that the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in the World Series.

For the Dodgers in Los Angeles, this was the first time they had lost back-to-back World Series appearances, as that feat would occur 39 years later, losing in2017 to theAstros, and in2018 to the Yankees chief rivalRed Sox.

• 1978 Japan Series
• Manhattan - ActorsWoody Allen andMariel Hemingway were in attendance for Game 3 atYankee Stadium while filming the 1979 movieManhattan.NBC's cameras caught the duo sitting behind theYankees' dugout as third basemanGraig Nettles was running back to it at the end of the top of the third inning.
• Dodgers-Yankees rivalry

• Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990).The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 371–376.ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
• Reichler, Joseph (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2206.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.
• Forman, Sean L."1978 World Series".Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information.Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. RetrievedDecember 9, 2007.

• 1978 World Series atWorldSeries.com viaMLB.com
• 1978 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 1978 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 1978 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1978 atThe Sporting News. Archived fromthe original in May 2006.
• 1978 AL East Playoff at MLB.comArchived October 11, 2006, at theWayback Machine
• The Yankee D Boys did Double Duty at SI.com
• The Sporting News' Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Over the Green Monster at SportingNews.com
• The 1978 New York Yankees at baseballlibrary.com
• The 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers at baseballlibrary.com

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