The 1947 Yankees and the 1978 Yankees split their six game series. The '47 Yankees stayed six games over .500 at 54-48 while the '78 Yankees stayed four games over at 47-43.
The two teams took turns winning games, with the '47 Yankees winning games 1,3, and 5 and the '78 Yankees winning games 2, 4, and 6. The series was also bookended with 1-0 games between Spec Shea and Ron Guidry. Shea pitched six no hit innings in Game One and won 1-0 thanks to a Joe Dimaggio walk-off double off Guidry in the 9th. Guidry pitched a three-hitter of his own in the final game and added nine strikeouts in a 1-0 win for his team. The other two '47 Yankee wins came in dramatic fashion. In Game Three, The lead changed hands five times. Graig Nettles hit a 1st. inning 2-run homer to give the ’78 Yankees a 2-0 lead. The ’47 Yankees countered with three runs in bottom of the inning, capped by a Dimaggio 2-run homer. The ’47 Yankees tied the game in the 3rd on a two-out infield hit by Chris Chambliss. Aaron Robinson put ’the 47 Yankees back ahead 4-3 with a solo HR. Later, the ’78 Yankees scored three in the 7th on a Lou Pinella RBI double followed by a Reggie Jackson 2-run homer to take a 6-4 lead. The ’47 Yankees scored one in 8th and one in the 9th off Goose Gossage on a George McQuinn RBI single to send it to extras. McQuinn then hit a walk-off triple in the 10th for a 7-6 win. They won game Five by an identical 7-6 score and again in 10 innings. The '47 Yankees had a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the 6th when Gary Thomassen capped a four-run rally with a three-run homer to tie the game. McQuinn was a late hero again, this time with a RBI double in the 10th to give them the lead. Mickey Rivers was thrown out trying to steal third base in the bottom of the inning. The '78 Yankees won a comeback game of their own in Game Four when Mickey Rivers helped them overcome a 4-1 deficit with a two-run blast in the 6th for a 5-4 win.
Jackson leads the '78 Yankees in hitting at .334 with 26 home runs, 65 RBI, 65 runs scored, and a 1.016 OPS. Rivers is hitting .331 with 32 stolen bases and 52 RBI. Nettles is hitting .279 with 18 home runs and 55 RBI. Guidry gave up one run in 17 innings in this series to reduce his ERA to 2.26 to go with a 9-8 record. Ed Figueroa picked up another win to go to 13-3 with a 3.09 ERA.
Dimaggio hit .417 in the series with two homers and eight RBI to raise his overall average to .300 with 18 home runs and 84 RBI. Phil Rizzuto’s average dropped to .283 with 17 stolen bases. Shea is now 9-8 with a 4.45 ERA after his two stellar starts. The '47 Yankees will face the 41-31 1950 Yankees in the next series.
