1980 – Despite having missed 45 games with injuries, George Brett is named American League Most Valuable Player. The 27-year-old third baseman’s .390 batting average was the highest in the major leagues since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Brett added 24 home runs and 118 RBI to lead the Kansas City Royals to their first AL pennant.
1980 – George Brett hits an upper-deck three-run home run off relief ace Goose Gossage to give the Kansas City Royals a 4 – 2 victory and a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
At Arlington Stadium’s season opener, Jon Matlack and Yankee southpaw Ron Guidry match zeroes for nine innings. In the 12th, with his 1978 Opening Day nemesis, Richie Zisk, at the plate, Goose Gossage allows Mickey Rivers to score the game’s only run from third base when his first and only pitch is wild, giving the Rangers a 1-0 victory.
On October 2, 1978, In a one game playoff, Bucky Dent’s unlikely home run helps the New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox in a dramatic one-game playoff at Fenway Park. Trailing by two runs in the seventh inning, Dent smacks a three-run shot against pitcher Mike Torrez into the screen above the Green…
September 26, 1978 LOOK ME IN THE EYE Erika Weitzner of the New Brunswick (N.J.) Home News interviews New York Yankees second baseman Willie Randolph in the Yankee clubhouse after Tuesday night’s game with the Toronto Blue Jays. Earlier, a court ordered the Yanks to open the doors to women. “It’s not a very…
At Jack Murphy Stadium, Steve Garvey becomes the first two-time MVP in All-Star history. The Dodgers first baseman’s game-tying, two-run single and a triple help the National League beat the American League, 7 – 3. Vida Blue starts for the NL, the first pitcher to start for both leagues. Blue also started in 1971 and 1975 for the American League.
At Royals Stadium, a potential game-ending routine fly ball becomes an Amos Otis walk-off inside-the-park home run as Reggie Jackson and Mickey Rivers collide in the outfield. The misplay turns a sure Goose Gossage save into a sour loss for the current World Champion New York Yankees.
On March 16, 1978, high-priced free agent Andy Messersmith separates his shoulder in an exhibition game for the New York Yankees. A 20-game winner both for the Angels and Dodgers, Messersmith will never win a game for the Yankees. He will pitch one more season in 1979 before retiring. Messersmith will however leave an impact…
At Yankee Stadium, the National League scores four times in the opening inning off Jim Palmer, en route to a 7 – 5 All-Star Game victory. Don Sutton, hurling three scoreless innings, is named the game’s MVP.
On December 10, 1976 the Pittsburgh Pirates traded outfielder Richie Zisk and pitcher Silvio Martinez to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for pitchers Goose Gossage and Terry Forster. Martinez was a minor leaguer at the time while the other three were just one year away from free agency. By 1978 none of the four…
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