Description
1978 player cards for Payoff Pitch Baseball. This set includes L/R splits on the player cards.
1978 as-played pre-filled score sheets – 1978 pre-filled score sheets PDF download with fielding and running ratings. All regular season games in one file.
The 1978 Major League Baseball (MLB) season was a memorable and dramatic one, marked by a historic pennant race, iconic individual performances, and a thrilling World Series.
The American League featured one of the most famous pennant races in baseball history, as the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees battled for supremacy in the East Division. The Red Sox, led by manager Don Zimmer, boasted a powerful lineup featuring stars like Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, and rookie Fred Lynn. On the other side, the Yankees, under the guidance of manager Billy Martin, had a roster that included Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, and Ron Guidry.
As the regular season progressed, the Red Sox and Yankees stayed neck and neck. The “Boston Massacre” took place Sep 7 – Sep 10, as the Yankees swept a four-game series at Fenway Park. However, the Red Sox didn’t back down. After losing six of seven games to the Yankees in mid-September, Boston won 12 of their last 14 regular season games, including the last 8 to tie the Yankees with identical 99-63 records after 162 games. The Yankees were also on a hot streak winning six games in a row before dropping the regular season finale to Cleveland forcing a 163rd game at Fenway Park. The Yankees emerged victorious in a dramatic game that saw the score at 5-2 after Reggie Jackson’s HR in the top of the 8th inning. With Rich “Goose” Gossage on the hill, four of the first five batter’s had hits knocking in two runs to make the score 5-4 with runners on 1st and 2nd with only 1 out. Gossage slammed the door shut coaxing a fly ball to RF and ending the 8th inning with a strike out. In the bottom of the 9th, Gossage remained the pitcher allowing a walk and a single around one out with Jim Rice coming to bat and Carl Yastrzemski on deck. Rice would hit a fly ball allowing the runner on 2nd to advance to 3rd and Yaz popped out to 3B to end the game and the Red Sox season.
Despite strong pushes by the Texas Rangers and California Angels, manager Whitey Herzog’s Kansas City Royals won the AL West by 5 games, the largest margin of any of the division winners.
The National League also had its share of intrigue in 1978, as the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates competed for the NL East crown. The Phillies, managed by Danny Ozark, boasted a potent lineup featuring Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski with ace Steve Carlton on the mound. The Pirates, led by manager Chuck Tanner, had a dynamic roster that included Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, and pitcher John Candelaria. The teams finished the regular season with a four game series that held some intrigue as the Phillies were 89-69 and the Pirates were 85-72. The Pirates won the first two games but lost game three and any chance of tying the Phillies for the division lead. The NL East title was the third straight for the Philadelphia Phillies.
In the NL West, the Reds won 12 of their last 15 games including seven in a row to end the season but it wasn’t enough to catch the Los Angeles Dodgers. Managed by Tommy Lasorda, the Dodgers won the NL West with a team that featured stars like Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, and Reggie Smith.
The Dodgers and Yankees met in a rematch of the 1977 World Series. Los Angeles would win the first two games at home. The Yankees won the first game at Yankee Stadium. In the 2nd game in New York, Los Angeles held a 3-0 lead after 5 innings. Two singles, a walk and an error led to two Yankee runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. New York would tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the 8th on a Thurman Munson double. Gossage would keep zeroes on the Dodger’s side of the board in the top of the 9th and 10th innings. The Yankees Roy White would walk between two outs in the bottom of the 10th. Reggie Jackson would single to move White to 2nd base and Lou Piniella would follow with another single to bring White home and give the Yankees a dramatic 4-3 win to tie the series at two games apiece. The loss seemed to deflate the Dodgers as they lost the next game 12-2 and then lost game six at home 7-2 allowing the Yankees to capture their second consecutive World Series title.
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