New York Yankees - The Disco Era (1970-1979)

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1970

1973

1977

100

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1971

1974

1978

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Championships

Top New York Players of the Seventies

1976 AL Champs (Lost WS to Reds)

1977 World Champs (Beat Dodgers)

Pitchers:

1978 World Champs (Beat Dodgers)

Sparky Lyle (15.04) - 55

Mel Stottlemyre (14.47) - 41

BallPark:

Ron Guidry (20.82) - 39

Yankee Stadium (1970-1973)

Fritz Peterson (9.9) - 39

Shea Stadium (1974-1975)

Catfish Hunter (10.08) - 36

Yankee Stadium (1976-1979)

Ed Figueroa (10.72) - 35

Doc Medich (11.25) - 32

Team Name:

Lindy McDaniel (6.78) - 22

Yankees

Pat Dobson (5.96) - 20

Dick Tidrow (4.31) - 17

Owner:

Tommy John (5.52) - 16

CBS (Mike Burke CEO) (1970-1972

Stan Bahnsen (3.97) - 16

George Steinbrenner (1973-1979)

Goose Gossage (5.06) - 16

Steve Kline (7.93) - 16

General Managers:

Rudy May (5.39) - 10

Mike Burke (1970-1972)

Dock Ellis (1.49) - 9

Gabe Paul (1973-1979)

Luis Tiant (2.4) - 7

Al Rosen (1978-1979)

Mike Torrez (2.44) - 7

Don Gullett (2.63) - 6

Managers:

Ken Holtzman (1.89) - 2

Ralph Houk (1970-1973)

Larry Gura (2.94) - 2

Bill Virdon (1974-1975)

Scott McGregor (0) - 0

Billy Martin (1975-1979)

Tippy Martinez (1.16) - 0

Dick Howser (1978)

Bob Lemon (1978-1979)

Catchers:

Thurman Munson (45.72) - 102

Hall of Famers:

John Ellis (1.19) - 4

Catfish Hunter

Rick Dempsey (1.08) - 0

Goose Gossage

Reggie Jackson

First Basemen:

Chris Chambliss (15.44) - 28

Rookie of the Year:

Ron Blomberg (9.38) - 18

Thurman Munson (1970)

Danny Cater (2.86) - 10

MVP:

Second Basemen:

Thurman Munson (1976)

Willie Randlolph (20.76) - 32

Horace Clarke (6.47) - 10

No Hitters:

None

ShortStop:

Bucky Dent (7.74) - 19

Cy Young

Stick Michael (0.73) - 12

Sparky Lyle (1977)

Jerry Kenney (5.3) - 12

Ron Guidry (1978)

Third Base:

Notable Events:

Graig Nettles (36.98) - 53

1970 - The decade starts with a bit of a bang as the Yanks finish second with

Outfield:

93 wins. However, it was a mirage as the Yanks overachieved as a team.

Roy White (38.24) - 97

The Yankees scored a lot more runs in '70 than the surrounding seasons

Bobby Murcer (25.41) - 50

pretty much with the same cast of characters performing pretty much the same.

Mickey Rivers (15.09) - 39

It was one of those things that you don't see that often, they were just a

Reggie Jackson (11.47) - 37

lot better hitting in the clutch. Also, as often is the case when a team over

Lou Piniella (7.94) - 36

achieves, the bullpen was very strong, winning the close ones. Lindy

Elliott Maddox (7.48) - 15

McDaniel had a huge year as the closer and that made a difference.

Bobby Bonds (5.04) - 11

Nonetheless, the talent base was decent and ready for a boost to the next level.

Matty Alou (1.39) - 11

The biggest hurdles to success were a couple of super teams in the league

Felipe Alou (1.03) - 10

in the A's and the Orioles. They were both oozing quality talent.

Oscar Gamble (4.67) - 9

Charlie Spikes (-0.41) - 0

1972 - Mike Burke deals Danny Cater to Boston for Sparky Lyle.

Burke did some nice work on that one

Notable Events:

1973 - A consortium led by George Steinbrenner buys the Yankees from CBS

1976 - The Yankees make it to the World Series on the strength of a

for $10M. The new owners bring in savvy baseball veteran Gabe Paul as GM.

Chris Chambliss walk off home run against the Royals in the ALCS.

The connection being that Paul and Steinbrenner had ties in Cleveland.

It is their first World Series appearance in twelve years.

What a refreshing change from Mike Burke whose only contribution

An incredible dry stretch for this franchise. However,

was to keep the seat warm.

The Yankees get swept by the Big Red machine in the World Series.

1973 - Let the trading begin! Not many times in baseball history does a GM

1977 - Shortstop Bucky Dent, 25, is obtained from the White Sox in exchange

trade his team up to the next level. Gabe Paul does this with the Yankees.

for outfielder Oscar Gamble and righthander LaMarr Hoyt

The advent of free agency certainly doesn't hurt the Yankee cause,

Hoyt would go on to have a couple of huge seasons in Chicago.

but overlooked in the free agent frenzy of the era is the sensational job

Paul does in building a winner. His first couple of deals parlayed his

1977 - Righthander Mike Torrez, 30, is picked up from the A's for Dock Ellis

knowledge of the Cleveland Indians personnel from where he had just left.

□ 1973 - Cleveland 3B Graig Nettles, 28, for four youngsters

1977 - Arbitrator Peter Seitz sets the baseball world on it's ear when he rules

(Spikes, Ellis, Kenney, Torres)

that the reserve clause is only valid for a year.

□ 1974 - Cleveland 1B Chris Chambliss, 25, and righty Dick Tidrow, 27,

Marvin Miller, labor genius, had negotiated a labor contract with ownership

for Fritz Peterson, Steve Kline, Tom Buskey and Fred Beene

that released only a fraction of players into free agency each year thus

□ 1974 - Kansas City OF Lou Piniella, 30, for Lindy McDaniel

increasing the market value tremendously for those who attain free agency.

□ 1974 - Anaheim Lefty Rudy May, 29, purchased

The upshot of this is now George can go nuts spending on free agents and he

□ 1975 - Giants OF Bobby Bonds, 29, for Bobby Murcer

signs the big fish in the pond, Reggie Jackson.

□ 1976 - Anaheim righthander Ed Figueroa, 27 and OF Mickey Rivers, 27

George stumbles onto the key to big financial success in the largest market

for Bobby Bonds

in the world, New York - spend. If you've got a great brand (Yankees) and

□ 1976 - Pirates righty Dock Ellis, 31 and 2B Willie Randolph, 21,

you've got big stars and you've got a winner, you can't over spend in New York.

for Doc Medich

Scared money never makes money and George wasn't scared.

After all of these great trades, however, Gabe pressed his luck and made a

George didn't know this, he just knew he wanted to win. The result:

couple of deals which would not hurt the Yankees immediately but did

in thirty years, he parlayed a 10 million investment into a 10 billion enterprise.

great damage to them in the Eighties:

□ 1976 - Kansas City catcher Fran Healy for Larry Gura

1977 - Twenty six year old lefthander Ron Guidry emerges as a star

□ 1976 - Baltimore lefty Ken Holtzman, righty Doyle Alexander,

lefty Grant Jackson and catcher Elrod Hendricks for

1977 - Twenty six year old lefthander Don Gullett is signed as a free agent.

Scott MacGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May and Rick Dempsey

He is an absolute stud and starts out the season going 14-4 before hurting

This last one could be the worst deal in Yankee history, I'm hard pressed

his arm and effectively ending his career.

to think of a worse one. The yougsters that the Yankees gave up were

Too bad for a lot of reasons, he was an exciting player to watch and a one-two

part of the core of the Orioles teams that beat up on New York regularly

punch of lefties Guidry and Gullett would have been something to behold.

in the coming decade.

1977 - When you get the New York media reporting on a group of drama

1974 - A two year renovation of Yankee Stadium begins.

queens like Steinbrenner, Martin, Jackson and Munson, you end up with a

The Yankees are exiled to use Shea Stadium in 1974 and 1975

TV miniseries about the season.

Through all the tumult, the Yankees go on to win the World Series with

1975 - Steinbrenner wins a bidding war for Catfish Hunter who was let out

Jackson hitting three home runs on three pitches in the final game of the

of his contract by an arbitrator when A's owner Charley Finley reneged on a

Series against the Dodgers to clinch it. It would be hard to make this stuff up.

contractual payment due to Hunter.

Catfish goes on to a 23-14 mark - sticking it to Finley

1978 - Twenty six year old righthander Goose Gossage is signed as a free agent.

He emerges as the best relief pitcher of his time.

1975 - The Billy Martin era as Yankee manager begins.

It's an embarassment of riches at this point as the Yankees already

He will have five separate stints as Yankee manager -

happen to have ace closer, Sparky Lyle, in the fold.

becoming a farce in the process.

Too bad because Martin was a good manager and a good baseball man.

1978 - New York comes from fourteen games behind to catch Boston and

He had the reputation of being able to take any team to the next level

then beats them in a playoff to make it into the ALCS. This comeback is

and of following that initial blush by wearing out his welcome after a

reminiscent of what the Yankees did to Boston and Ted Williams in 1949.

couple of years. He got a reputation as being especially useful to owners

The Yankees go on to beat the Dodgers again in the World Series.

looking to sell their clubs who wanted a quick boost in their team's

It marks the eighth time in ten all time meetings between the two

performance to raise value but who weren't interested in the long term.

franchises that the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series.

This is an incredibly useful talent for someone to possess and he probably

didn't exploit it nearly as well as he could have. Billy wasted a lot of time

1979 -Thirty six year old lefthander Tommy John signs as a free agent.

yo-yo-ing as Yankee manager. He didn't deserve the clownish legacy

It turns out that he has tons left in the tank and wins twenty games for New York

that Steinbrenner ended up giving him in New York.

1979 - Thirty eight year old righthander Luis Tiant signs as a free agent.

1976 -The additions of righthanders Dock Ellis, 17-8, and Ed Figueroa, 19-10,

He has very little left in the tank. Luis goes 13-9 in '79.and that's it for him.

plus centerfielder Mickey Rivers, .312 with 43 SB, and second baseman

George is starting to overreach now on the free agent market

Willie Randolph, 37 SB move the Yankees to the next level.

Overlooked because of their power game, speed kills the opposition as

1979 - An era is over. Thurman Munson dies in a plane crash.

Roy White also had 31 steals and even Graig Nettles and Thurman Munson

Thurman was the heart and soul of the Yankees.

hit double figures in stolen bases.

The thirty two year old catcher could not be replaced.

Speed, combined with smart, aggressive base running is a huge weapon

in baseball that usually seems to be largely overlooked.

Applied properly, speed can put a huge amount of pressure on the defense.