The 1977 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1977 season. The winners of each division advance to the postseason and face each other in a League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 4–18, 1977[1] |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New York Yankees (21st title) |
| Runner-up | Los Angeles Dodgers (15th World Series appearance) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| MVP | Reggie Jackson (NYY) |
In the American League, both the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals returned for the second year in a row. In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies made their second consecutive appearance, and the Los Angeles Dodgers returned for the second time in four years. This was the first of two consecutive postseasons to feature the Yankees, Royals, Phillies, and Dodgers. The former three teams would again appear in the postseason in 1980, and all four would appear again in the expanded 1981 postseason and the 2024 postseason.
The playoffs began on October 4, 1977, and concluded on October 18, 1977, with the New York Yankees defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1977 World Series. It was the Yankees' first championship since 1962.
Playoff seeds
editThe following teams qualified for the postseason:
American League
edit- New York Yankees – 100–62, AL East champions[2]
- Kansas City Royals – 102–60, AL West champions[3]
National League
edit- Philadelphia Phillies – 101–61, NL East champions[4]
- Los Angeles Dodgers – 98–64, NL West champions[5]
Playoff bracket
edit| League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||
| East | NY Yankees | 3 | |||||||
| West | Kansas City | 2 | |||||||
| AL | NY Yankees | 4 | |||||||
| NL | Los Angeles | 2 | |||||||
| East | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||
| West | Los Angeles | 3 | |||||||
American League Championship Series
editKansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees
editNew York won the series, 3–2.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 5 | Kansas City Royals – 7, New York Yankees – 2 | Yankee Stadium | 2:40 | 54,930[6] |
| 2 | October 6 | Kansas City Royals – 2, New York Yankees – 6 | Yankee Stadium | 2:58 | 56,230[7] |
| 3 | October 7 | New York Yankees – 2, Kansas City Royals – 6 | Royals Stadium | 2:19 | 41,285[8] |
| 4 | October 8 | New York Yankees – 6, Kansas City Royals – 4 | Royals Stadium | 3:08 | 41,135[9] |
| 5 | October 9 | New York Yankees – 5, Kansas City Royals – 3 | Royals Stadium | 3:04 | 41,133[10] |
This was the second straight ALCS to feature the Yankees and Royals. The Yankees took the previous series in five games on a Chris Chambliss home run in the ninth inning of Game 5. The Yankees again defeated the Royals in 5 games to advance to the World Series for the second year in a row.
Both teams split the first two games at Yankee Stadium - the Royals blew out the Yankees in Game 1 thanks to stellar pitching from starting pitcher Paul Splittorff and closer Doug Bird. In Game 2, the Yankees evened the series with a 6–2 victory as starting pitcher Ron Guidry pitched a complete game. When the series moved to Kansas City, Royals' starter Dennis Leonard pitched a four-hit complete game as the Royals won 6–2, and were now one win away from clinching their first World Series berth in front of their home fans. However, the Yankees narrowly took Game 4 as they held off a late rally by the Royals. In Game 5, the Royals held a 3–2 lead going into the ninth, but the Yankees yet again defeated the Royals in their last at bat, scoring three unanswered runs to take the lead for good and secure the pennant.
Both teams would meet again in the ALCS the next year, which the Yankees also won. It would be in 1980 that the Royals would finally break through against the Yankees. They would also meet again in the ALDS in 2024, which was won by the Yankees.
National League Championship Series
editPhiladelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
editLos Angeles won the series, 3–1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 4 | Philadelphia Phillies – 7, Los Angeles Dodgers – 5 | Dodger Stadium | 2:35 | 55,968[11] |
| 2 | October 5 | Philadelphia Phillies – 1, Los Angeles Dodgers – 7 | Dodger Stadium | 2:14 | 55,973[12] |
| 3 | October 7 | Los Angeles Dodgers – 6, Philadelphia Phillies – 5 | Veterans Stadium | 2:59 | 63,719[13] |
| 4 | October 8 | Los Angeles Dodgers – 4, Philadelphia Phillies – 1 | Veterans Stadium | 2:39 | 64,924[14] |
This was the first postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Phillies. The Dodgers defeated the Phillies in four games to advance to the World Series for the second time in four years (in the process denying a rematch of the 1950 World Series between the Yankees and Phillies).
Game 1 was a slugfest which the Phillies narrowly won in the top of the ninth off RBI singles from Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa. The Dodgers blew out the Phillies in Game 2 off a complete game performance from Don Sutton, evening the series headed to Philadelphia. Game 3 went down in Phillies' baseball lore as "Black Friday."[15] The Phillies held a 5–3 lead going into the top of the ninth, but the Dodgers scored three unanswered runs to prevail and take a 2–1 series lead. It was the first time since Game 4 of the 1947 World Series that the Dodgers won a postseason game when trailing going into the ninth. Tommy John pitched a complete game for the Dodgers in Game 4 as they secured the pennant.
Both teams would meet each other again in the NLCS in 1978, 1983, 2008, and 2009, with the Dodgers winning in the former series, and the Phillies taking the latter three series.
1977 World Series
editNew York Yankees (AL) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
editNew York won the series, 4–2.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11 | Los Angeles Dodgers – 3, New York Yankees – 4 (12) | Yankee Stadium | 3:24 | 56,668[16] |
| 2 | October 12 | Los Angeles Dodgers – 6, New York Yankees – 1 | Yankee Stadium | 2:27 | 56,691[17] |
| 3 | October 14 | New York Yankees – 5, Los Angeles Dodgers – 3 | Dodger Stadium | 2:31 | 55,992[18] |
| 4 | October 15 | New York Yankees – 4, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 | Dodger Stadium | 2:07 | 55,995[19] |
| 5 | October 16 | New York Yankees – 4, Los Angeles Dodgers – 10 | Dodger Stadium | 2:29 | 55,955[20] |
| 6 | October 18 | Los Angeles Dodgers – 4, New York Yankees – 8 | Yankee Stadium | 2:18 | 56,407[21] |
This was the ninth World Series meeting in the history of the Dodgers-Yankees rivalry. They last met in 1963, which the Dodgers won in a sweep. In this World Series between the two historic rivals, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in six games to capture their first championship since 1962.
The first two games were split between both teams - the Yankees prevailed in a 12-inning battle in Game 1, while the Dodgers convincingly took Game 2 off a five-hit complete game performance from starter Burt Hooton to even the series. When the series moved to Los Angeles, the Yankees took Game 3 off a complete game performance from Mike Torrez, and ace Ron Guidry pitched yet another complete game for the Yankees in Game 4 as they went up 3–1 in the series. In Game 5, the Dodgers, thanks to a complete game performance from Don Sutton, blew out the Yankees, 10–4, to send the series back to the Bronx. In Game 6, the Yankees prevailed by four runs, capped off by a solo home run from Reggie Jackson in the bottom of the eighth which sealed the title for New York.
The Dodgers and Yankees would meet each other again the next year, in 1981, and 2024, with the Yankees winning the former and the Dodgers winning the latter two.
Broadcasting
editNBC televised both LCS nationally in the United States. Each team's local broadcaster also televised coverage of LCS games. ABC aired the World Series.
References
edit- ^ "1977 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 New York Yankees Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 Kansas City Royals Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 Philadelphia Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 Los Angeles Dodgers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 ALCS Game 1 – Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 ALCS Game 2 – Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 ALCS Game 3 – New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 ALCS Game 4 – New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 ALCS Game 5 – New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 NLCS Game 1 – Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 NLCS Game 2 – Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 NLCS Game 3 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 NLCS Game 4 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (2004). You Can't Lose 'Em All: The Year the Phillies Finally Won the World Series. ISBN 9781589790865. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
- ^ "1977 World Series Game 1 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 World Series Game 2 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 World Series Game 3 – New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 World Series Game 4 – New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 World Series Game 5 – New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "1977 World Series Game 6 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.