View source for 1978 American League Championship Series

{{Short description|10th edition of Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox LCS
  | alcs = yes
  | image =
  | year = 1978
  | champion = [[1978 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] (3)
  | champion_manager = [[Bob Lemon]]
  | champion_games = 100–63, .613, GA: 1
  | runnerup = [[1978 Kansas City Royals season|Kansas City Royals]] (1)
  | runnerup_manager = [[Whitey Herzog]]
  | runnerup_games = 92–70, .568, GA: 5
  | date = October 3–7
  | television = [[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]]<br>[[WPIX]] (NYY)<br>[[KSHB-TV|KBMA-TV]] (KC)
  | announcers = '''ABC''': [[Keith Jackson]], [[Howard Cosell]] and [[Jim Palmer]]<br>'''WPIX''': [[Phil Rizzuto]], [[Frank Messer]], and [[Bill White (first baseman)|Bill White]]<br>'''KBMA-TV''': [[Denny Matthews]], Steve Shannon and [[Fred White (sportscaster)|Fred White]]
  | radio_network = [[Major League Baseball on CBS Radio|CBS]]<br>[[WINS (AM)|WINS]] (NYY)<br>[[WIBW (AM)|WIBW]] (KC)
  | radio_announcers = '''CBS''': [[Ernie Harwell]] and [[Ned Martin]]<br>'''WINS''': [[Phil Rizzuto]], [[Frank Messer]], [[Bill White (first baseman)|Bill White]], and [[Fran Healy (baseball)|Fran Healy]]<br>'''WIBW''': [[Denny Matthews]], and [[Fred White (sportscaster)|Fred White]]
  | umpires = [[Lou DiMuro]]<br>[[Rich Garcia]]<br>[[Ron Luciano]]<br>[[Bill Kunkel (baseball)|Bill Kunkel]]<br>[[Dave Phillips (umpire)|Dave Phillips]]<br>[[Terry Cooney]]
}}
The '''1978 [[American League Championship Series]]''' was a best-of-five playoff in [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[1978 Major League Baseball postseason|1978 postseason]] pitting the [[New York Yankees]] against the [[Kansas City Royals]] for the American League pennant and the right to represent the American League in the [[1978 World Series]]. The Yankees defeated the Royals for the third straight year to win the pennant.

==Background==
The Royals won 92 games that year and won the Western Division title by five games over the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]].  The Yankees overcame a midseason deficit of 14 games and went on to win a [[1978 American League East tie-breaker game|one-game playoff]] against the [[Boston Red Sox]] to win the Eastern crown and finish with 100 wins.

Unlike the prior two ALCS which went five games, this one took the Yankees only four games to wrap up, and the Yankees went on to represent the American League in the [[1978 World Series]]. Notable performers in this series included [[Reggie Jackson]], who hit two [[home run]]s, and [[Chris Chambliss]], who had six base hits in 15 at bats. [[George Brett]] and [[Amos Otis]] were the hitting stars for the Royals.

==Summary==
{{See also|1978 MLB Postseason}}
===New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals===
{{MLB Playoff Summary
| summary =
| winner = New York
| score = 3–1
| score1 = '''New York Yankees''' – 7, Kansas City Royals – 1
| date1 = October 3
| loc1 = [[Royals Stadium]]
| time1 = 2:57
| att1 = 41,143
| ref1 = <ref name="Game1">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1978/B10030KCA1978.htm|title=1978 ALCS Game 1 – New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>
| score2 = New York Yankees – 4, '''Kansas City Royals''' – 10
| date2 = October 4
| loc2 = Royals Stadium
| time2 = 2:42
| att2 = 41,158
| ref2 = <ref name="Game2">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1978/B10040KCA1978.htm|title=1978 ALCS Game 2 – New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>
| score3 = Kansas City Royals – 5, '''New York Yankees''' – 6
| date3 = October 6
| loc3 = [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]]
| time3 = 2:13
| att3 = 55,445
| ref3 = <ref name="Game3">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1978/B10060NYA1978.htm|title=1978 ALCS Game 3 – Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>
| score4 = Kansas City Royals – 1, '''New York Yankees''' – 2
| date4 = October 7
| loc4 = Yankee Stadium
| time4 = 2:20
| att4 = 56,356
| ref4 = <ref name="Game4">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1978/B10070NYA1978.htm|title=1978 ALCS Game 4 – Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>
}}

==Game summaries==

===Game 1===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 3, 1978
|Time=7:30{{nbsp}}pm ([[Central Time Zone|CT]])
|Location=[[Royals Stadium]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[Missouri]]
|Road='''New York'''|RoadAbr=NYY
|R1=0|R2=1|R3=1|R4=0|R5=2|R6=0|R7=0|R8=3|R9=0|RR=7|RH=16|RE=0
|Home=Kansas City|HomeAbr=KC
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=1|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=1|HH=2|HE=2
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Jim Beattie (baseball)|Jim Beattie]] (1–0)|LP=[[Dennis Leonard]] (0–1)|SV=[[Ken Clay]] (1)
|RoadHR=[[Reggie Jackson]] (1)|HomeHR=
||Other={{convert|62|F|C}} clear}}

Prior to the start of this game, both teams had to deal with bad news.  [[Ron Guidry]], he of the incredible 25–3 [[Cy Young Award]]-winning season, would be unavailable to start until Game 4, if played, at least.  Guidry pitched the AL East division [[1978 American League East tie-breaker game|tie-breaker]] game against the [[Boston Red Sox]] and was starting to have arm trouble.  Also, second baseman [[Willie Randolph]] would miss the entire postseason with a hamstring injury and be replaced by a platoon of [[Fred Stanley (baseball)|Fred Stanley]] and [[Brian Doyle (baseball)|Brian Doyle]].  For the Royals, star [[George Brett]] was suffering from a bout of [[hemorrhoids]].

Without Guidry, the Yankees went with young [[Jim Beattie (baseball)|Jim Beattie]].  Beattie pitched five shutout innings and [[Ken Clay]] went the rest of the way.  The Royals would manage just two hits and one run off the two young pitchers.

Meanwhile, the Yankee bats knocked [[Dennis Leonard]] and [[Steve Mingori]] around for 13 hits and four runs, Doyle chipping in an RBI single.  [[Reggie Jackson]] put an exclamation point on the win with a three-run homer in the eighth off [[Al Hrabosky]].

===Game 2===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 4, 1978
|Time=2:30{{nbsp}}pm (CT)
|Location=Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
|Road=New York|RoadAbr=NYY
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=2|R8=2|R9=0|RR=4|RH=12|RE=1
|Home='''Kansas City'''|HomeAbr=KC
|H1=1|H2=4|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=3|H8=2|H9=X|HR=10|HH=16|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Larry Gura]] (1–0)|LP=[[Ed Figueroa]] (0–1)|SV=
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=[[Freddie Patek]] (1)
||Other={{convert|77|F|C}} mostly cloudy}}

Royals' starter [[Larry Gura]] pitched six shutout innings and won with relief help from [[Marty Pattin]] and [[Al Hrabosky]].  The Royals' hitting stars were [[Darrell Porter]], [[Frank White (baseball)|Frank White]], and [[Fred Patek]] with two RBIs each, Patek's on a home run.

===Game 3===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 6, 1978
|Time=3:30{{nbsp}}pm ([[Eastern Time Zone|ET]])
|Location=[[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]] in [[The Bronx|Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
|Road=Kansas City|RoadAbr=KC
|R1=1|R2=0|R3=1|R4=0|R5=1|R6=0|R7=0|R8=2|R9=0|RR=5|RH=10|RE=1
|Home='''New York'''|HomeAbr=NYY
|H1=0|H2=1|H3=0|H4=2|H5=0|H6=1|H7=0|H8=2|H9=X|HR=6|HH=10|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Goose Gossage]] (1–0)|LP=[[Doug Bird]] (0–1)|SV=
|RoadHR=[[George Brett]] 3 (3)|HomeHR=[[Reggie Jackson]] (2), [[Thurman Munson]] (1)
||Other={{convert|66|F|C}} partly cloudy}}

Yankee starter [[Catfish Hunter]] pitched a fine game, going six innings, except for one thing:  three consecutive home runs by [[George Brett]].  Still, Hunter had a 4–3 lead after six thanks to a homer, RBI single, and [[sacrifice fly]] by [[Reggie Jackson]].  Jackson also scored a run in the fourth when [[Fred Patek]] overthrew [[Darrell Porter]] at home plate as Jackson was attempting to score on a hit by [[Lou Piniella]].  The Yankees tried to extend the lead in the fourth, but Piniella was thrown out at the plate on a hit by [[Graig Nettles]].

The Royals missed an opportunity in the top of the sixth when [[Pete LaCock]] led the inning off with a triple, but Hunter retired the next three batters without the run scoring.  They got to [[Goose Gossage]] in the top of the eighth, however.  [[Amos Otis]] doubled to right and Porter singled him in to tie it.  After a [[Clint Hurdle]] single, Porter scored the go-ahead run on a groundout by [[Al Cowens]].

But, the Yanks would not be denied.  After a one-out single by [[Roy White]], Royals manager [[Whitey Herzog]] replaced his starter, left-hander [[Paul Splittorff]], with right-hander [[Doug Bird]] to face [[Thurman Munson]].  Munson then greeted Bird with a 460-foot, game-winning, two-run blast into the Yankee bullpen in deep left-center field.

Gossage retired the Royals in the ninth and got the win.

The other irony of this game, besides Brett's three homers in a losing effort, was that [[Reggie Jackson]] was so productive against [[Paul Splittorff]] after former manager [[Billy Martin]]'s claims that Jackson couldn't hit Splittorff during the [[1977 American League Championship Series]] the year prior.

Brett was the second player to hit three home runs in a League Championship Series game. [[Bob Robertson]] was the first, doing so in [[1971 National League Championship Series#Game 2|Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS]].

===Game 4===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 7, 1978
|Time=8:30{{nbsp}}pm (ET)
|Location=Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York
|Road=Kansas City|RoadAbr=KC
|R1=1|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=1|RH=7|RE=0
|Home='''New York'''|HomeAbr=NYY
|H1=0|H2=1|H3=0|H4=0|H5=1|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=X|HR=2|HH=4|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Ron Guidry]] (1–0)|LP=[[Dennis Leonard]] (0–2)|SV=[[Goose Gossage]] (1)
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=[[Graig Nettles]] (1), [[Roy White]] (1)
||Other={{convert|54|F|C}} mostly cloudy}}

Yankee manager [[Bob Lemon]] decided to use the sore-armed [[Ron Guidry]] to close out the series at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]].  Guidry turned in an effective performance, going eight innings and giving up one run on seven hits and striking out seven.

It didn't start out that way, though.  [[George Brett]] led the game off with a triple off Guidry and [[Hal McRae]] immediately followed by driving in Brett with a single.  But, the Royals would come up zeros the rest of the way.  Meanwhile, [[Graig Nettles]] tied it with a homer in the second inning, and [[Roy White]] hit the deciding homer in the fifth off [[Dennis Leonard]].

Guidry left in the ninth after giving up a leadoff double to [[Amos Otis]] and [[Goose Gossage]] set down the next three Royal batters to close out the series and win their third straight AL pennant.

==Composite box==
1978 ALCS '''(3–1): [[New York Yankees]]''' over [[Kansas City Royals]]
{{Linescore
|Road='''[[New York Yankees]]'''
|R1=0|R2=3|R3=1|R4=2|R5=2|R6=1|R7=2|R8=7|R9=0|RR=19|RH=42|RE=1
|Home='''[[Kansas City Royals]]'''
|H1=3|H2=4|H3=1|H4=0|H5=1|H6=1|H7=3|H8=4|H9=0|HR=17|HH=35|HE=4
|TotalAttendance=194,102 |AveAttendance=48,526
}}

==See also==
* [[1978 in baseball]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1978_ALCS.shtml Series statistics at Baseball Reference]

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}}

[[Category:American League Championship Series]]
[[Category:New York Yankees postseason]]
[[Category:Kansas City Royals postseason]]
[[Category:1978 Major League Baseball season|American League Championship Series]]
[[Category:1978 in sports in Missouri|American League Championship Series]]
[[Category:1970s in Kansas City, Missouri]]
[[Category:1978 in sports in New York City|American League Championship Series]]
[[Category:October 1978 sports events in the United States|American League Championship Series]]
[[Category:1970s in the Bronx]]