The 1961 Yankees and 1977 Yankees split their six game series that went back and forth. The '61 Yankees remained at .500 at 9-9 while the '77 Yankees remained 22 games under .500 at 34-56.
The '77 Yankees won Game One 7-2 thanks to a five run rally in the 9th; three of the runs were plated by a bases-loaded triple by Bucky Dent. The '61 Yankees won the next two games 9-1 and 12-9. They scored seven of their nine runs in game Three in the third inning. The '77 Yankees tied the series in Game Four 6-5 on a walk-off homerun by Graig Nettles. The '77 Yankees got another walk-off win in Game Five 3-2 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Chris Chambliss provided the dramatics with a two-run double in the bottom of the 9th after trailing 2-1. The '61 Yankees earned the split by smashing the '77 Yankees 17-3 in the final game.
Reggie Jackson leads the '77 Yankees in hitting at .299, homeruns with 23, and runs scored with 59. Jackson and Thurman Munson both have 59 RBI to lead the team. Ron Guidry (7-7) is the only starting pitcher with an ERA under 4 at 3.84.
After 18 games, Mickey Mantle is still hitting over .400 for the '61 Yankees at .407, and he leads the team in runs scored with 20. Roger Maris raised his average to .262 and leads the team in homers and RBI with 9 and 20 respectively. Starting pitching has been on the mediocre side so far; ace Whitey Ford is 1-1 in four starts with a 3.86 ERA. The 1961 Yankees will compete with the 19-29 1952 Yankees in the next series.