# 1978 New York Yankees season

The 1978 New York Yankees season was the 76th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 100–63, finishing one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox to win their third American League East title. The two teams were tied after 162 games, leading to a one-game playoff, which the Yankees won. New York played home games at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx and was managed by Billy Martin, Dick Howser, and Bob Lemon.
In the best-of-five League Championship Series (ALCS), they defeated the Kansas City Royals in four games. In the World Series, they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in a rematch of the previous year's.
The season was tumultuous for the Yankees, as Reggie Jackson was suspended in a mid-season showdown with Billy Martin, which resulted in Martin resigning a week later. For television viewers of the Bronx Bombers, it was the first season to be broadcast nationwide via satellite via WPIX, which that year became a superstation as well partly in response to Ted Turner's WTCG-TV nationwide broadcasts of the Atlanta Braves beginning on Opening Day of 1977. WPIX remained the team's exclusive broadcast partner for the Greater New York television viewers on FTA television and then by now superstation status and satellite broadcasts finally enabled millions all over the country to watch Yankees home and away games live as they happened.

## Offseason

* November 22, 1977: Goose Gossage was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
* December 5, 1977: Jesús Figueroa was drafted from the Yankees by the Chicago Cubs in the 1977 rule 5 draft.
* December 9, 1977: Sergio Ferrer was traded by the Yankees to the New York Mets for Roy Staiger.
* December 12, 1977: Stan Thomas and Ed Ricks (minors) were traded by the Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for Jim Spencer, Tommy Cruz, and Bob Polinsky (minors).

## Regular season

Lefthander Ron Guidry was the last Yankee pitcher to win at least 25 games in a season in the 20th century. In 35 starts in the regular season (including the playoff game), he pitched 273+2⁄3 innings, compiled a 25–3 record with 248 strikeouts, 1.74 ERA, and nine shutouts. Guidry won the Cy Young Award by unanimous vote.
Relief pitcher Goose Gossage won Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award, leading the American League with 27 saves.

### Season summary

A week after the All-Star Game in July, the team was fourteen games behind Boston, but rallied to tie for first place. With a week to go, New York led by one game and won six straight, but lost the finale at home to struggling Cleveland on Sunday, October 1, while Boston won their final eight games. The Yankees traveled to Fenway Park and defeated the Red Sox 5–4 in the one-game playoff for the AL East title; the Monday afternoon game featured light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent's famous three-run go-ahead home run in the seventh inning. Jackson's solo home run in the eighth was the winning margin.
For decades, some have mistakenly thought the Yankees trailed by 14½ games, but the maximum deficit was fourteen games, after the July 17 loss and until the July 20 win. New York's biggest lead was 3½ games, after another victory over Boston on Saturday, September 16. The previous weekend, the Yankees swept a four-game series at Fenway, dubbed "The Boston Massacre" by the sports press; it left the teams tied at 86–56 (.606) with three weeks remaining.

### Game log

1978 game log: 100–63 (Home: 55–26; Away: 45–37) :
April: 10–9 (Home: 5–3; Away: 5–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
1April 8@ Rangers1–2Matlack (1–0)Gossage (0–1)Arlington Stadium40,0780–1
2April 9@ Rangers7–1Figueroa (1–0)Alexander (0–1)Arlington Stadium20,2431–1
3April 10@ Rangers2–5D. Ellis (1–0)Tidrow (0–1)Moret (1)Arlington Stadium14,2991–2
4April 11@ Brewers6–9Augustine (2–0)Hunter (0–1)Caldwell (1)County Stadium8,9341–3
5April 12@ Brewers3–5Haas (2–0)Gossage (0–2)County Stadium8,7511–4
6April 13White Sox4–2Guidry (1–0)Wood (0–2)Yankee Stadium44,6672–4
7April 15White Sox3–2Figueroa (2–0)Barrios (0–1)Yankee Stadium20,9653–4
8April 16White Sox3–0Tidrow (1–1)Kravec (1–1)Lyle (1)Yankee Stadium32,7504–4
9April 17Orioles1–6Flanagan (1–2)Hunter (0–2)Yankee Stadium15,6744–5
10April 18Orioles4–3Lyle (1–0)T. Martinez (0–1)Yankee Stadium15,6285–5
11April 19@ Blue Jays3–4Murphy (1–0)Gossage (0–3)Exhibition Stadium13,3065–6
—April 20@ Blue JaysPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 20
12April 21Brewers2–9Augustine (3–1)Figueroa (2–1)Yankee Stadium15,1055–7
13April 22Brewers4–3 (12)Lyle (2–0)McClure (0–1)Yankee Stadium17,5946–7
14April 23Brewers2–3Sorensen (2–1)Hunter (0–3)McClure (0–1)Yankee Stadium26,2916–8
15April 24@ Orioles8–2Guidry (2–0)McGregor (0–3)Memorial Stadium18,0537–8
16April 25@ Orioles4–3Beattie (1–0)Palmer (2–1)Lyle (2)Memorial Stadium14,1598–8
17April 28@ Twins3–1Figueroa (3–1)Thormodsgard (1–2)Metropolitan Stadium11,6749–8
18April 29@ Twins1–3Zahn (2–0)Tidrow (1–2)Metropolitan Stadium10,5439–9
19April 30@ Twins3–2Gossage (1–3)Scarce (0–1)Metropolitan Stadium13,92910–9 :
May: 19–8 (Home: 11–3; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
20May 1Royals8–4Eastwick (1–0)Splittorff (4–2)Lyle (3)Yankee Stadium17,34011–9
21May 2Royals4–2Hunter (1–3)Gura (2–1)Lyle (4)Yankee Stadium19,15212–9
22May 3Royals6–5Figueroa (4–1)Leonard (3–4)Gossage (1)Yankee Stadium21,23013–9
23May 5Rangers5–2Guidry (3–0)Matlack (2–4)Gossage (2)Yankee Stadium17,28514–9
24May 6Rangers5–9Umbarger (1–1)Tidrow (1–3)Yankee Stadium19,78814–10
25May 7Rangers3–2 (12)Gossage (2–3)Barker (1–2)Yankee Stadium53,82915–10
—May 8TwinsPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 30
26May 9Twins3–1Hunter (2–3)Thormodsgard (1–4)Lyle (5)Yankee Stadium11,27116–10
27May 12@ Royals3–4Bird (2–2)Gossage (2–4)Royals Stadium33,06116–11
28May 13@ Royals5–2Guidry (4–0)Leonard (3–6)Gossage (3)Royals Stadium40,90317–11
29May 14@ Royals9–10Hrabosky (1–0)Clay (0–1)Royals Stadium36,03417–12
30May 15@ White Sox4–1Beattie (2–0)Wortham (1–2)Lyle (6)Comiskey Park17,56918–12
31May 16@ White Sox8–3Holtzman (1–0)Wood (3–4)Gossage (4)Comiskey Park21,83719–12
32May 17@ Indians4–5 (10)Monge (1–0)Lyle (2–1)Cleveland Stadium10,37019–13
33May 18@ Indians5–3Guidry (5–0)Kinney (0–2)Gossage (5)Cleveland Stadium13,62520–13
34May 19@ Blue Jays11–3Tidrow (2–3)Jefferson (2–5)Exhibition Stadium26,02521–13
35May 20@ Blue Jays8–10Lemanczyk (1–7)Clay (0–2)Exhibition Stadium30,55021–14
36May 21@ Blue Jays2–1Figueroa (5–1)Underwood (1–4)Gossage (6)Exhibition Stadium–22–14
37May 21@ Blue Jays9–1Clay (1–2)Garvin (2–2)Exhibition Stadium41,30823–14
38May 23Indians10–1Guidry (6–0)Hood (3–2)Yankee Stadium20,61824–14
—May 24IndiansPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 27
39May 25Indians9–3Tidrow (3–3)Waits (3–4)Yankee Stadium15,40325–14
40May 26Blue Jays4–3Lyle (3–1)Garvin (2–3)Yankee Stadium24,17126–14
41May 27Blue Jays1–4Clancy (3–4)Figueroa (5–2)Murphy (3)Yankee Stadium56,07826–15
42May 28Blue Jays5–3Guidry (7–0)Jefferson (3–6)Yankee Stadium–27–15
43May 28Blue Jays6–5 (13)Gossage (3–4)Murphy (2–1)Yankee Stadium41,53428–15
44May 29@ Indians2–0Eastwick (2–0)Waits (3–5)Cleveland Stadium19,56329–15
45May 30@ Indians1–5Wise (3–8)Tidrow (3–4)Cleveland Stadium6,06929–16
46May 31Orioles2–3Flanagan (6–4)Figueroa (5–3)Yankee Stadium21,40429–17 :
June: 14–15 (Home: 7–4; Away: 7–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
47June 1Orioles0–1Palmer (7–4)Beattie (2–1)Yankee Stadium19,94329–18
48June 2@ Athletics3–1Guidry (8–0)Johnson (4–3)Gossage (7)Oakland Coliseum18,99330–18
49June 3@ Athletics1–5Keough (3–4)Messersmith (0–1)Oakland Coliseum14,49930–19
50June 4@ Athletics4–6Lacey (5–2)Eastwick (2–1)Sosa (7)Oakland Coliseum19,28930–20
51June 5@ Mariners3–7House (4–4)Figueroa (5–4)Kingdome15,18930–21
52June 6@ Mariners3–4Rawley (3–5)Gossage (3–5)Kingdome12,63830–22
53June 7@ Mariners9–1Guidry (9–0)Colborn (1–4)Kingdome12,54431–22
54June 9@ Angels3–1Figueroa (6–4)Tanana (9–3)Gossage (8)Anaheim Stadium29,41532–22
55June 10@ Angels3–4 (12)LaRoche (5–2)Gossage (3–6)Anaheim Stadium37,84832–23
56June 11@ Angels6–9D. Miller (2–0)Clay (1–3)Anaheim Stadium31,64632–24
57June 12Athletics2–0Guidry (10–0)Heaverlo (2–2)Yankee Stadium28,45733–24
58June 13Athletics5–3Figueroa (7–4)Langford (1–3)Gossage (9)Yankee Stadium30,77934–24
59June 14Mariners11–9 (10)Lyle (4–1)Montague (0–2)Yankee Stadium18,01535–24
60June 15Mariners5–2Gullett (1–0)Mitchell (2–7)Lyle (7)Yankee Stadium18,64336–24
61June 16Angels7–10Aase (3–3)Beattie (2–2)Yankee Stadium35,96836–25
62June 17Angels4–0Guidry (11–0)Hartzell (1–5)Yankee Stadium33,16237–25
63June 18Angels2–3Knapp (7–5)Figueroa (7–5)Yankee Stadium55,60437–26
64June 19@ Red Sox4–10Burgmeier (2–1)Gossage (3–7)Fenway Park33,16337–27
65June 20@ Red Sox10–4Gullett (2–0)Torrez (10–3)Fenway Park32,64338–27
66June 21@ Red Sox2–9Eckersley (7–2)Beattie (2–3)Fenway Park32,45938–28
67June 22@ Tigers4–2Guidry (12–0)Rozema (2–4)Gossage (10)Tiger Stadium33,97139–28
68June 23@ Tigers12–3Lyle (5–1)Wilcox (4–6)Tiger Stadium39,02240–28
69June 24@ Tigers3–4Slaton (7–4)Tidrow (3–5)Tiger Stadium37,68140–29
70June 25@ Tigers4–2Gullett (3–0)Baker (1–1)Gossage (11)Tiger Stadium34,01441–29
71June 26Red Sox1–4Eckersley (8–2)Messersmith (0–2)Campbell (3)Yankee Stadium52,12441–30
72June 27Red Sox6–4 (14)Lyle (6–1)Drago (2–2)Yankee Stadium55,13242–30
73June 28@ Brewers0–5Caldwell (8–5)Tidrow (3–6)County Stadium–42–31
74June 28@ Brewers2–7Augustine (9–8)McCall (0–1)County Stadium39,28342–32
75June 30Tigers10–2Gullett (4–0)Baker (1–2)Yankee Stadium33,89443–32 :
July: 15–14 (Home: 8–8; Away: 7–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
76July 1Tigers4–8Billingham (6–5)Messersmith (0–3)Yankee Stadium37,26043–33
77July 2Tigers3–2Guidry (13–0)Hiller (6–4)Gossage (12)Yankee Stadium–44–33
78July 2Tigers5–3Gossage (4–7)Slaton (8–5)Yankee Stadium51,32745–33
79July 3@ Red Sox5–9Eckersley (9–2)Figueroa (7–6)Fenway Park34,72245–34
—July 4@ Red SoxPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 7
80July 5@ Rangers2–3Matlack (7–8)Gullett (4–1)Arlington Stadium37,70245–35
81July 6@ Rangers7–2Tidrow (4–6)Medich (3–4)Arlington Stadium37,93046–35
82July 7@ Brewers0–6Caldwell (9–5)Guidry (13–1)County Stadium40,21646–36
83July 8@ Brewers5–6Rodríguez (1–3)Gossage (4–8)McClure (4)County Stadium46,51846–37
84July 9@ Brewers4–8Travers (5–4)Gullett (4–2)Stein (1)County Stadium42,63346–38
49th All-Star Game in San Diego, California
85July 13White Sox1–6Wood (10–5)Tidrow (4–7)Yankee Stadium28,53246–39
86July 14White Sox7–6 (11)Gossage (5–8)Hinton (1–3)Yankee Stadium21,98147–39
87July 15Royals2–8Leonard (10–11)Figueroa (7–7)Yankee Stadium34,97947–40
88July 16Royals1–3Gura (7–2)Beattie (2–4)Hrabosky (13)Yankee Stadium45,08947–41
89July 17Royals7–9 (11)Hrabosky (3–3)Gossage (5–9)Yankee Stadium27,02047–42
90July 19@ Twins2–0Figueroa (8–7)Zahn (8–8)Metropolitan Stadium29,59148–42
91July 20@ Twins4–0Guidry (14–1)Jackson (2–3)Metropolitan Stadium30,66049–42
92July 21@ White Sox7–4Lyle (7–1)Hinton (1–4)Gossage (13)Comiskey Park30,34850–42
93July 22@ White Sox7–2Hunter (3–3)Wood (10–7)Comiskey Park32,16351–42
94July 23@ White Sox3–1Figueroa (9–7)Kravec (7–8)Gossage (14)Comiskey Park27,65152–42
95July 24@ Royals2–5Leonard (12–11)Tidrow (4–8)Royals Stadium38,85952–43
96July 25@ Royals4–0Guidry (15–1)Splittorff (11–9)Royals Stadium40,18353–43
97July 26Indians3–1Gossage (6–9)Waits (7–11)Yankee Stadium31,63154–43
98July 27Indians11–0Figueroa (10–7)Clyde (5–6)Yankee Stadium–55–43
99July 27Indians5–17Hood (5–4)Hunter (3–4)Yankee Stadium33,41255–44
100July 28Twins5–7 (10)Marshall (5–8)Lyle (7–2)Yankee Stadium25,03755–45
101July 29Twins7–3Clay (2–3)Jackson (3–4)Gossage (15)Yankee Stadium46,71156–45
102July 30Twins4–3Gossage (7–9)Marshall (5–9)Yankee Stadium–57–45
103July 30Twins0–2Goltz (10–7)Beattie (2–5)Marshall (14)Yankee Stadium41,49157–46
104July 31Rangers6–1Figueroa (11–7)Medich (5–6)Yankee Stadium15,41958–46 :
August: 19–8 (Home: 11–3; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
105August 1Rangers8–1Hunter (4–4)Matlack (8–9)Yankee Stadium18,48559–46
106August 2Red Sox5–7 (17)Stanley (6–1)Clay (2–4)Yankee Stadium52,70159–47
107August 3Red Sox1–8 (7)Torrez (13–6)Beattie (2–6)Yankee Stadium53,37959–48
108August 4Orioles1–2Flanagan (14–9)Guidry (15–2)Stanhouse (15)Yankee Stadium28,18959–49
109August 5Orioles3–2Lyle (8–2)T. Martinez (3–2)Yankee Stadium26,72760–49
110August 6Orioles3–0Hunter (5–4)Palmer (13–10)Yankee Stadium40,76561–49
111August 8Brewers3–0Tidrow (5–8)Caldwell (14–6)Gossage (16)Yankee Stadium22,54962–49
112August 9Brewers8–7McCall (1–1)McClure (2–3)Yankee Stadium27,17263–49
113August 10Brewers9–0Guidry (16–2)Augustine (10–11)Yankee Stadium35,12764–49
114August 11@ Orioles2–1 (6)Hunter (6–4)D. Martínez (8–10)Memorial Stadium29,53965–49
115August 12@ Orioles4–6Flanagan (15–10)Beattie (2–7)Stanhouse (17)Memorial Stadium32,15365–50
116August 13@ Orioles0–3 (6)McGregor (12–10)Figueroa (11–8)Memorial Stadium31,59165–51
117August 14@ Orioles4–1Gossage (8–9)Palmer (14–11)Memorial Stadium30,39766–51
118August 15@ Athletics6–0Guidry (17–2)Langford (6–8)Oakland Coliseum13,86267–51
119August 16@ Athletics5–3Hunter (7–4)Lacey (8–6)Gossage (17)Oakland Coliseum10,39468–51
120August 18@ Mariners6–1Figueroa (12–8)Mitchell (6–12)Kingdome19,82469–51
121August 19@ Mariners1–4Colborn (4–8)Tidrow (5–9)Kingdome29,91569–52
122August 20@ Mariners4–5Romo (10–4)Gossage (8–10)Kingdome21,83469–53
123August 22@ Angels6–2Hunter (8–4)Tanana (16–8)Anaheim Stadium35,64470–53
124August 23@ Angels3–6Knapp (13–7)Figueroa (12–9)LaRoche (18)Anaheim Stadium33,47270–54
125August 25Athletics7–1Guidry (18–2)Johnson (10–7)Yankee Stadium29,01071–54
126August 26Athletics5–4Lyle (9–2)Lacey (8–8)Yankee Stadium53,88372–54
127August 27Athletics6–2Hunter (9–4)Langford (6–10)Gossage (18)Yankee Stadium40,62873–54
128August 28Angels4–1Figueroa (13–9)Tanana (16–9)Gossage (19)Yankee Stadium22,48174–54
129August 29Angels4–3 (11)Gossage (9–10)LaRoche (9–6)Yankee Stadium24,20375–54
130August 30@ Orioles5–4Guidry (19–2)T. Martinez (3–3)Gossage (20)Memorial Stadium20,50176–54
131August 31@ Orioles6–2Tidrow (6–9)McGregor (12–12)Lyle (8)Memorial Stadium15,57977–54 :
September: 22–8 (Home: 13–4; Away: 9–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
132September 1Mariners0–3Mitchell (7–13)Hunter (9–5)Yankee Stadium20,16777–55
133September 2Mariners6–2Figueroa (14–9)Colborn (4–10)Yankee Stadium18,53078–55
134September 3Mariners4–3Beattie (3–7)Honeycutt (5–8)Gossage (21)Yankee Stadium22,38679–55
135September 4Tigers9–1Guidry (20–2)Wilcox (12–9)Yankee Stadium–80–55
136September 4Tigers4–5Hiller (7–4)Lyle (9–3)Yankee Stadium46,89680–56
137September 5Tigers4–2Tidrow (7–9)Young (5–5)Gossage (22)Yankee Stadium16,89181–56
138September 6Tigers8–2Figueroa (15–9)Billingham (15–7)Yankee Stadium24,45282–56
139September 7@ Red Sox15–3Clay (3–4)Torrez (15–9)Fenway Park34,11983–56
140September 8@ Red Sox13–2Beattie (4–7)Wright (8–3)Fenway Park33,13484–56
141September 9@ Red Sox7–0Guidry (21–2)Eckersley (16–7)Fenway Park33,61185–56
142September 10@ Red Sox7–4Figueroa (16–9)Sprowl (0–2)Gossage (23)Fenway Park32,78686–56
143September 12@ Tigers4–7Young (6–5)Tidrow (7–10)Hiller (13)Tiger Stadium14,16286–57
144September 13@ Tigers7–3Beattie (5–7)Billingham (15–8)Tiger Stadium16,84187–57
145September 14@ Tigers4–2Figueroa (17–9)Slaton (15–11)Lyle (9)Tiger Stadium17,11888–57
146September 15Red Sox4–0Guidry (22–2)Tiant (10–8)Yankee Stadium54,90189–57
147September 16Red Sox3–2Hunter (10–5)Torrez (15–11)Yankee Stadium55,09190–57
148September 17Red Sox3–7Eckersley (17–8)Beattie (5–8)Stanley (9)Yankee Stadium55,08890–58
149September 18Brewers4–3Figueroa (18–9)Travers (10–11)Yankee Stadium20,55791–58
150September 19Brewers0–2Caldwell (20–9)Tidrow (7–11)Yankee Stadium26,68291–59
151September 20@ Blue Jays1–8Willis (3–6)Guidry (22–3)Exhibition Stadium–91–60
152September 20@ Blue Jays3–2Gossage (10–10)Cruz (7–3)Exhibition Stadium38,08092–60
153September 21@ Blue Jays7–1Hunter (11–5)Moore (6–8)Gossage (24)Exhibition Stadium28,65393–60
154September 22@ Indians7–8 (10)Monge (4–3)Gossage (10–11)Cleveland Stadium10,03593–61
155September 23@ Indians1–10Clyde (8–11)Beattie (5–9)Cleveland Stadium17,45293–62
156September 24@ Indians4–0Guidry (23–3)Paxton (12–10)Cleveland Stadium15,85594–62
157September 26Blue Jays4–1Figueroa (19–9)Underwood (6–14)Gossage (25)Yankee Stadium20,53595–62
158September 27Blue Jays5–1Hunter (12–5)Willis (3–7)Yankee Stadium20,05296–62
159September 28Blue Jays3–1Guidry (24–3)Moore (6–9)Yankee Stadium30,48097–62
160September 29Indians3–1Beattie (6–9)Kern (10–10)Gossage (26)Yankee Stadium30,25398–62
161September 30Indians7–0Figueroa (20–9)Paxton (12–11)Yankee Stadium55,21999–62 :
October: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Away: 1–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
162October 1Indians2–9Waits (13–15)Hunter (12–6)Yankee Stadium39,18999–63
163October 2@ Red Sox5–4Guidry (25–3)Torrez (16–13)Gossage (27)Fenway Park32,925100–63 :

#### AL East tie-breaker game

October 2, 1978 at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| WP: Ron Guidry (25-3) LP: Mike Torrez (16-13) Sv: Goose Gossage (27) Home runs: NYY: Bucky Dent, Reggie Jackson BOS: Carl Yastrzemski |||||||||||||

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 100 | 63 | .613 | — | 55‍–‍26 | 45‍–‍37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 99 | 64 | .607 | 1 | 59‍–‍23 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 93 | 69 | .574 | 6½ | 54‍–‍27 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 71 | .559 | 9 | 51‍–‍30 | 39‍–‍41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 86 | 76 | .531 | 13½ | 47‍–‍34 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 69 | 90 | .434 | 29 | 42‍–‍36 | 27‍–‍54 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 59 | 102 | .366 | 40 | 37‍–‍44 | 22‍–‍58 |

### Record vs. opponents

1978 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 7–8 | 4–6 | 8–1 | 9–6 | 7–8 | 2–8 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 11–0 | 9–1 | 7–4 | 8–7 |
| Boston | 8–7 | — | 9–2 | 7–3 | 7–8 | 12–3 | 4–6 | 10–5 | 9–2 | 7–9 | 5–5 | 7–3 | 3–7 | 11–4 |
| California | 6–4 | 2–9 | — | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–7 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 12–3 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 9–6 | 5–10 | 7–3 |
| Chicago | 1–8 | 3–7 | 7–8 | — | 8–2 | 2–9 | 8–7 | 4–7 | 8–7 | 1–9 | 7–8 | 7–8 | 11–4 | 4–6 |
| Cleveland | 6–9 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 2–8 | — | 5–10 | 5–6 | 5–10 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 4–6 | 8–1 | 1–9 | 10–4 |
| Detroit | 8–7 | 3–12 | 7–4 | 9–2 | 10–5 | — | 4–6 | 7–8 | 4–6 | 4–11 | 6–4 | 8–2 | 7–3 | 9–6 |
| Kansas City | 8–2 | 6–4 | 6–9 | 7–8 | 6–5 | 6–4 | — | 6–4 | 7–8 | 6–5 | 10–5 | 12–3 | 7–8 | 5–5 |
| Milwaukee | 8–7 | 5–10 | 5–5 | 7–4 | 10–5 | 8–7 | 4–6 | — | 4–7 | 10–5 | 9–1 | 5–5 | 6–4 | 12–3 |
| Minnesota | 5–5 | 2–9 | 3–12 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 7–4 | — | 3–7 | 9–6 | 6–9 | 6–9 | 6–4 |
| New York | 9–6 | 9–7 | 5–5 | 9–1 | 9–6 | 11–4 | 5–6 | 5–10 | 7–3 | — | 8–2 | 6–5 | 6–4 | 11–4 |
| Oakland | 0–11 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 5–10 | 1–9 | 6–9 | 2–8 | — | 13–2 | 6–9 | 7–4 |
| Seattle | 1–9 | 3–7 | 6–9 | 8–7 | 1–8 | 2–8 | 3–12 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 5–6 | 2–13 | — | 3–12 | 8–2 |
| Texas | 4–7 | 7–3 | 10–5 | 4–11 | 9–1 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 9–6 | 4–6 | 9–6 | 12–3 | — | 4–7 |
| Toronto | 7–8 | 4–11 | 3–7 | 6–4 | 4–10 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 3–12 | 4–6 | 4–11 | 4–7 | 2–8 | 7–4 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 10: Ken Holtzman was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. Ron Davis was sent to the Yankees on June 12.
* June 14: Rawly Eastwick was traded by the Yankees to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bobby Brown and Jay Johnstone.
* June 15: Mickey Klutts, Dell Alston and $50,000 were traded by the Yankees to the Oakland Athletics for Gary Thomasson.

#### Draft picks

* June 6: 1978 Major League Baseball draft
** Rex Hudler was selected by the Yankees in the first round (18th pick), and he signed on June 20.
** Steve Balboni was selected by the Yankees in the second round.

### Notable events

The defending World Series champions got off to a slow start in 1978, prompting owner George Steinbrenner to put pressure on manager Billy Martin. Compounding the issue was the already-tumultuous relationship between Martin and Reggie Jackson, and Steinbrenner was pressuring him as well. On July 17, with the team at 47–42 (.528) and in fourth place in the American League East, it came to a head during a home contest with the Kansas City Royals on Monday, July 17. With the score tied in the bottom of the tenth inning and Thurman Munson on first, Martin sent Jackson to the plate with orders to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Jackson tried to bunt the first pitch, but failed. Martin then relayed to third-base coach Dick Howser for Jackson to swing and Howser passed it on, but Jackson ignored Howser and attempted another bunt. Howser called time and talked with Jackson, but to no avail. On his final bunt attempt, Jackson fouled out to the catcher. Martin then removed Jackson from the game and suspended him (owner Steinbrenner limited it to five days, Tuesday through Saturday), but Kansas City won in eleven innings and swept the three-game series. Tuesday was an open date; the Yankees traveled to Minnesota and Jackson went to California.
Jackson returned to the team in Chicago on Sunday, July 23; he did not take batting practice and remained on the bench as the Yankees swept the White Sox for their fifth consecutive win. Martin commented in a post-game interview at the Chicago airport that (referring to Jackson and Steinbrenner, respectively) 'one's a born liar, and the other's convicted.' The Steinbrenner reference was alluding to a past incident where the Yankee owner made illegal U.S. presidential campaign contributions. The next day in Kansas City, Martin appeared on live television and tearfully announced his resignation as Yankees manager, but most sources believed he was actually fired by Steinbrenner for the "convicted" comment. Howser was acting manager for one game on July 24, a 5–2 loss at Kansas City on ABC's Monday Night Baseball, then Bob Lemon arrived as manager for the rest of the season.
In his first appearance since the bunting incident ten days earlier, Jackson started in right field on Thursday, July 27, and went three-for-three, with a home run, a walk, and three RBI. In the nightcap of the doubleheader, he had two hits.
During the Old-Timer's Day ceremony at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, July 29, Yankee public address announcer Bob Sheppard introduced Martin to the crowd and announced that Martin would return as manager for the 1980 season. Martin returned ahead of schedule, in June 1979, and was fired again four months later, after a fight in a Minnesota hotel. He went west to Oakland in 1980, then owned by Charlie O. Finley. Martin returned to the Yankees and managed the team in 1983, 1985, and 1988.
Under Lemon in 1978, the Yankees were 47–20 (.701) for the rest of the 162-game season to tie for the division title, after having been fourteen games back on July 19. They won the division in a one-game playoff on the road, and went on to repeat as World Series champions.
On September 30, Ed Figueroa won his twentieth game of the season, which clinched a tie for the AL East title. As of 2018, Figueroa is the only native of Puerto Rico to win twenty games in a major league season.

## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

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 | 154 | 617 | 183 | .297 | 6 | 71 |
| 1B | Chris Chambliss | 162 | 625 | 171 | .274 | 12 | 90 |
| 2B | Willie Randolph | 134 | 499 | 139 | .279 | 3 | 42 |
| 3B | Graig Nettles | 159 | 587 | 162 | .276 | 27 | 93 |
| SS | Bucky Dent | 123 | 379 | 92 | .243 | 5 | 40 |
| LF | Lou Piniella | 130 | 472 | 148 | .314 | 6 | 69 |
| CF | Mickey Rivers | 141 | 559 | 148 | .265 | 11 | 48 |
| RF | Reggie Jackson | 139 | 511 | 140 | .274 | 27 | 97 |
| DH | Cliff Johnson | 76 | 174 | 32 | .184 | 6 | 19 |

#### Other batters

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 |
| Roy White | 103 | 346 | 93 | .269 | 8 | 43 |
| Fred Stanley | 81 | 160 | 35 | .219 | 1 | 9 |
| Jim Spencer | 71 | 150 | 34 | .227 | 7 | 24 |
| Paul Blair | 75 | 125 | 22 | .176 | 2 | 13 |
| Gary Thomasson | 54 | 116 | 32 | .276 | 3 | 20 |
| Mike Heath | 33 | 92 | 21 | .228 | 0 | 8 |
| Jay Johnstone | 36 | 65 | 17 | .262 | 1 | 6 |
| Brian Doyle | 39 | 52 | 10 | .192 | 0 | 0 |
| Dámaso García | 18 | 41 | 8 | .195 | 0 | 1 |
| George Zeber | 3 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dell Alston | 3 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Mickey Klutts | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Sherrill | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Fran Healy | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Domingo Ramos | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Ron Guidry | 35 | 273.2 | 25 | 3 | 1.74 | 248 |
| Ed Figueroa | 35 | 253.0 | 20 | 9 | 2.99 | 92 |
| Dick Tidrow | 31 | 185.0 | 7 | 11 | 3.84 | 73 |
| Jim Beattie | 25 | 128.0 | 6 | 9 | 3.73 | 65 |
| Catfish Hunter | 21 | 118.0 | 12 | 6 | 3.58 | 56 |
| Don Gullett | 8 | 44.2 | 4 | 2 | 3.63 | 28 |
| Andy Messersmith | 6 | 22.1 | 0 | 3 | 5.64 | 16 |

#### Other pitchers

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 | 28 | 75.2 | 3 | 4 | 4.28 | 32 |
| Paul Lindblad | 7 | 18.1 | 0 | 0 | 4.42 | 9 |
| Ken Holtzman | 5 | 17.2 | 1 | 0 | 4.08 | 3 |
| Larry McCall | 5 | 16.0 | 1 | 1 | 5.63 | 7 |
| Dave Rajsich | 4 | 13.1 | 0 | 0 | 4.05 | 9 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Goose Gossage | 63 | 10 | 11 | 27 | 2.01 | 122 |
| Sparky Lyle | 59 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 3.47 | 33 |
| Rawly Eastwick | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.28 | 13 |
| Bob Kammeyer | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.82 | 11 |
| Ron Davis | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.57 | 0 |

## Postseason
### Postseason game log

1978 Postseason Game Log (7−3) (Home 5−0; Away 2−3) :
American League Championship Series: 3−1
#DateOpponentStadiumScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1October 3@ RoyalsRoyals Stadium7−1Beattie (1−0)Leonard (0−1)Clay (1)41,1431−0
2October 4@ RoyalsRoyals Stadium4−10Gura (1−0)Figueroa (0−1)41,1581−1
3October 6RoyalsYankee Stadium6−5Gossage (1−0)Bird (0−1)55,4452−1
4October 7RoyalsYankee Stadium2−1Guidry (1−0)Leonard (0−2)Gossage (1)56,3563−1 :
World Series: 4–2
#DateOpponentStadiumScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1October 10@ DodgersDodger Stadium5−11John (2−0)Figueroa (0−2)55,9970−1
2October 11@ DodgersDodger Stadium3−4Hooton (1−0)Hunter (0−1)Welch (1)55,9820−2
3October 13DodgersYankee Stadium5−1Guidry (2−0)Sutton (0−2)56,4471−2
4October 14DodgersYankee Stadium4−3 (10)Gossage (2−0)Welch (1−1)56,4452−2
5October 15DodgersYankee Stadium12−2Beattie (2−0)Hooton (1−1)56,4483−2
6October 17@ DodgersDodger Stadium7−2Hunter (1−1)Sutton (0−3)55,9854−2 :

### ALCS
#### Game 1

October 3: Royals Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| W: Jim Beattie (1-0) L: Dennis Leonard (0-1) S: Ken Clay (1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: NYY – Reggie Jackson (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 2

October 4: Royals Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| Kansas City | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | X | 10 | 16 | 1 |
| W: Larry Gura (1-0) L: Ed Figueroa (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: KCR – Freddie Patek (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 3

October 6: Yankee Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Kansas City | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| New York | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | X | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| W: Goose Gossage (1-0) L: Doug Bird (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: KCR – George Brett 3 (3) NYY – Reggie Jackson (2) Thurman Munson (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 4

October 7: Yankee Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Kansas City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| New York | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Ron Guidry (1-0) L: Dennis Leonard (0-2) S: Goose Gossage (1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: NYY – Graig Nettles (1) Roy White (1) |||||||||||||

### World Series

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (2) :
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
| 1 | Yankees – 5, Dodgers – 11 | October 10 | Dodger Stadium | 55,997 | 2:48 |
| 2 | Yankees – 3, Dodgers – 4 | October 11 | Dodger Stadium | 55,982 | 2:37 |
| 3 | Dodgers – 1, Yankees – 5 | October 13 | Yankee Stadium | 56,447 | 2:27 |
| 4 | Dodgers – 3, Yankees – 4 (10 inns) | October 14 | Yankee Stadium | 56,445 | 3:17 |
| 5 | Dodgers – 2, Yankees – 12 | October 15 | Yankee Stadium | 56,448 | 2:56 |
| 6 | Yankees – 7, Dodgers – 2 | October 17 | Dodger Stadium | 55,985 | 2:34 |

## Awards and honors

* Gold Glove Awards
** Chris Chambliss, first baseman
** Graig Nettles, third baseman
* Bucky Dent, Babe Ruth Award
* Bucky Dent, World Series MVP
* Goose Gossage, Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award
* Ron Guidry, AL Cy Young

### Franchise records

* Ron Guidry, Yankees single season record, most strikeouts in a season (248)

### All-Stars

All-Star Game
* Guidry, Gossage, Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, and Graig Nettles represented the Yankees.

### Other team leaders

* Stolen Bases – Willie Randolph, 36
* Walks – Willie Randolph, 82

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Tacoma Yankees | Pacific Coast League | Mike Ferraro |
| AA | West Haven Yankees | Eastern League | Stump Merrill |
| A | Fort Lauderdale Yankees | Florida State League | Doug Holmquist |
| A-Short Season | Oneonta Yankees | New York–Penn League | Art Mazmanian |
LEAGUE CO-CHAMPION: Tacoma