This book was a labor of love. It chronicles the miracle comeback season of 1978 by the New York Yankees who overcame a 14 1/2 game deficit versus the dreaded Boston Red Sox. I share the actual daily journal I kept as a kid for every game that season and postseason.
It’s the 40th anniversary of that amazing season. It will be available on Amazon on Halloween. You can pre-order it right now.
If you love the Yankees or you’re just a baseball fan then I think you’ll enjoy this book from the perspective of a young fan. I’ve included chapters for other things such as Whatever Happened to the players and key figures from the 1978 Yankees, published books from players on that 1978 team and much more.
Here is the table of contents to see what’s included in this 438 page tribute to the 1978 Yankees.
I begin with how I became a Yankee fan as a young Italian immigrant that wound up playing on the little league Yankees in Newark, NJ. I then cover all of the many dynasties that the Yankees have had which explains its incredible total of 27 championships (I’ve enjoyed their last 7 titles).
I also cover the lean years where the Yanks couldn’t make it to the World Series for long spans of time (1965-1975, 1982-1995, etc.)
I cover my first postseason experience as a kid in 1976 when Chris Chamblis won the American League pennant with a 9th inning blast but then we got swept by the Big Red Machine.
It all lead to the back to back championships with 1977 and 1978 which I cover in depth including with my journal.
I discuss the impact of captain Thurman Munson’s tragic death in 1979 and the following heartbreaks of losing in the ALCS in 1980 to Kansas City (when we were better) and in the 1981 World Series to the Dodgers (again, we were much better).
I also have chapters on the owner, managers and coaches as well as the broadcast team because they all played major parts in the 1978 season.
My chapter on Ron Guidry was a tribute to my favorite pitcher of all-time whom I firmly believe deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I share the statistics that compare him very favorably to other inducted greats including another amazing lefty, Sandy Koufax. Guidry had the greatest pitching season ever in 1978 going 25-3 with a 1.72 ERA. Statistically, it is the highest winning percentage ever for a 20 game winner. No one has had a better record before or since. The closest anyone has come was 24-4 by Dwight Gooden of the Mets and Roger Clemens of the Red Sox.
1996-2003 covers the most recent dynasty which included 4 World Series titles in 5 years, three in a row and 6 trips to the World Series in 8 years.
The Curse of the Bambino explains how it started and sadly how it ended in 2004 after the Yanks blew a 3-0 series lead to Boston.
2009 covers the last World Series victory by the Yanks which included most of the players from that 2004 collapse. Alex Rodriguez atoned for many years of futility in the postseason by having a historic run to his only ring.
I’ve included the entire original daily journal by scanning every entry as well as the type-written version that I created that same year as a yearbook of sorts.
I have a chapter called “Whatever Happened to” that covers what each player, coach, manager, broadcaster and owner did after that 1978 season.
There’s a chapter on all of the books published by members of the 1978 team including the best seller “The Bronx Zoo” from Sparky Lyle and many others. Some players have had multiple books such as Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry and Lou Piniella.
I conclude the book with a chapter on all of the other greatest comeback seasons in baseball history in order to put 1978 in proper context.
I decided to publish this book this year because it marks the 40th anniversary of the greatest comeback season ever.
I hope you enjoy it.