1977 New York Yankees Outlook

"The New York Yankees can be summed up in one word: invincible.
Sorry about that, fans in 13 other American cities, but George Steinbrenner's money and Gabe Paul's energy have created a monster in the Bronx. The Yankees won their first pennant since 1964 last season and then went out and strengthened themselves in the free agent market by signing Reggie Jackson for an estimated $2.9 million and Don Gullett for about $1.7 million.
The 1977 Yankees have overpowering credentials in virtually every phase of the game and could turn an Eastern Division race into a mockery unless the Boston Red Sox return to their 1975 form. No other team in the league is remotely capable of coping with them. They won the Eastern title by 10 1/2 games in 1976 and could do it by 15 to 20 this year.
Manager Billy Martin's pitching staff begins with five starters who rank among the 25 best pitchers in baseball. Jim Hunter, the $2.8 million man, is the nominal ace of the staff, although he had a somewhat shaky 17-15 and 3.52 performance last season after winning 20 or more games in five consecutive years. Gullett had an 11-3 record and a 3.00 earned run average for the Reds in 1976 and starts the new season with a 91-44 won-lost record, good for a .672 percentage. Ed Figueroa was a 19-game winner with a 3.01 ERA last season and Dock Ellis won Comeback Player of the Year honors on the strength of a 17-8 mark and 3.18 ERA. Then there is Ken Holtzman who won only 14 games last season after four consecutive campaigns in which he won at least 18.
Backing up the strongest front line pitching in the league are relievers Sparky Lyle (7-8, 2.25 with 23 saves) and Dick Tidrow (4-5 and 2.64 with 10 saves), plus highly touted Ron Guidry, who got a brief look from the Yankees last season after compiling a 5-1 mark and 0.68 ERA in 22 games for Syracuse.
The Yankees should also boast the best catching corps in the league, headed by 1976 AL MVP Thurman Munson. Munson, who had been grumbling for years that he didn't get proper recognition from the news media and the fans, put it all together with a .302-17-105 contribution. He has two capable backup men in Elrod Hendricks and Fran Healy.
Offensively, the Yankees will be awesome with Jackson, Graig Nettles, Mickey Rivers, Roy White, Oscar Gamble, Munson, Lou Piniella, Carlos May, Paul Blair and Jim Wynn all available to Martin. Their one weakness, however, could be infield defense. This brings us to Fred Stanley.
Stanley is the shortstop again for 1977 and the guy the Yankees' rivals are hoping will mess up New York's season. His .238-1-20 offensive marks in 1976 can decrease in '77 and it won't make any difference. The Yankees are going to score plenty of runs even if Stanley bats .000. What they need from him is a solid major league defense ... period. The belief here is that he will deliver.
Chambliss, who capped a .293-17-93 year with his dramatic homer that gave the Yankees a 7-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the decisive game of the playoffs, will be at first, with Willie Randolph (.267-1-40) at second base and Nettles (.254-32-93) at third. Sandy Alomar will be the chief utility infielder, but the Yankees also have a youngster who could solve their shortstop woes, rookie Mickey Klutts. Klutts is up from Syracuse where he hit 24 homers with 80 RBIs and batted .319 to win International League MVP honors.
Give the Yankees a cheer for getting Jackson, but shed a tear for the left-handed imbalance his presence in their lineup creates. Jackson is probably the most talented all-around player in the league and a sure-shot to improve on his .277-27-91 figures of last season. He is happy to be playing in New York and is ready for a great year.
Rivers was a vital factor in the Yankees' pennant victory, although he was psyched out by Cincinnati's Pete Rose in the World Series. Their teammates weren't sure whether Munson or Rivers was the more valuable to the club. Munson hit with more power, of course, but Rivers had a .312-8-67 performance and stole 43 bases. He set the tempo for a running game that kept rivals off-stride and set the stage for the power hitters.
White (.286-14-65) is finally recognized as an excellent outfielder after several years of being made a scapegoat for everything that went wrong, and no other team has such capable reserves as Gamble (.232-17-57), the fleet Blair (.197-3-16), Piniella (.281-3-38), May (.259-3-43) and Wynn (.207-17-66).
Things often look different in March than they will in October, and the Yankees may somehow contrive to lose the AL's Eastern title. But there is simply no logical case that can be made against the club winning - probably with ease.
PITCHING: This is a staff with two pitchers who have won 20 games (Hunter and Holtzman), two have won 19 (Ellis and Figueroa), and one who has won 18 (Gullett) in a season. Manager Billy Martin's only pitching problem could be rain days early in the season - which conceivably could mess up the rotation and prevent some of the stars from reaching their peaks until mid-campaign. There is every likelihood that Hunter, Holtzman, Ellis, Figueroa and Gullett will pitch between 1,250 and 1,300 innings, leaving light work for the relief specialists.
Tidrow was especially effective in 1976, and toward the end of the season Martin often used him even when Lyle was available. The Yankees are very high on Guidry, another reliever.
The New York staff is high in quality, though not especially deep in numbers. Unless injuries strike, pitching should present no problem on this team.
Performance Quotient: 1 [1 through 5, 1 being best]
CATCHING: MVP Munson was clearly the best catcher in the league last season, and there is no reason to think he can't come through with a performance about as productive this year. He clearly outdistanced his chief - and only - rival for top honors, Boston's Carlton Fisk. Hendricks and Healy are sound backup catchers who have been regulars in the major leagues. Hendricks, though, is aging.
Performance Quotient: 1
INFIELD: Stanley has stood up well under considerable criticism, and it says here he can't cost this team the division title or pennant. He is, in fact, a sound, scrappy player.
Chambliss's development as a power hitter was remarkable last season, and he also is a very dangerous game-winning batter. Ask the Kansas City Royals!
Nettles has an erratic arm at times but is an excellent fielder and led the league in homers.
Many experts consider 1976 rookie Randolph the best all-around athlete in the league. He is somewhat reminiscent of Joe Gordon, a Yankee second baseman of the 1940s, except he doesn't have Gordon's power.
Bergman is a rookie Yankee scouts say bears watching, but how can he replace Chambliss? Alomar is an exceptional utility player if he doesn't have to play for long periods of time. Klutts did everything at Syracuse, and if there is a change in the starting cast, barring a trade for a star shortstop, it will be this rookie beating out Stanley.
Performance Quotient: 2
OUTFIELD: An outfield of Rivers in center, White in left and Jackson in right can be challenged for all-around effectiveness in the league only by the Red Sox trio of Dwight Evans-Fred Lynn-Jim Rice. The Yankees could field a second-string outfield superior to some starting outfields in the league.
Keep an eye on Gamble; coach Yogi Berra touts him as a 'game-winning hitter,' and Yogi knows hitters. Wynn's average has gone down in recent years but the acquisition from Atlanta will supply right-handed longball power. Blair has been a popgun hitter for the last three years but is an excellent defensive outfielder. Blomberg has been hurt; a bad shoulder cost him virtually all of 1975 and 1976. Piniella and May are professional hitters. The Yankee designated hitters will come from this group.
Performance Quotient: 1"

-Fred Down, Major League Baseball 1977


HITTING
"To the second-leading run-producing team in the league, add the booming bats of Reggie Jackson and Jimmy Wynn - 44 homers and 157 RBI between them - and you know what frightens rival AL teams.
Jackson, MVP Thurman Munson, Chris Chambliss and Graig Nettles are all potential 100 RBI men. And Roy White and Mickey Rivers can both score over 100.
If there is a weakness, it's that the Yankees failed to come up with a right-handed slugger to protect the lefty bats of Jackson, Rivers, Chambliss and Nettles. They are likely to see a lot of left-handed pitching.
'So what,' says Billy Martin. 'Most of our left-handed hitters hit just as well against left-handed pitchers. And I'd rather face a mediocre lefty than a good right-hander any day.' "

-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1977 Edition

PITCHING
"For a typical five-game stretch, the Yankees can string together a starting rotation of Catfish Hunter, Don Gullett, Ed Figueroa, Ken Holtzman and Dock Ellis, easily the best quintet this side of the Jackson Five. Among them, they won 78 games last year and Gullett was injured almost half the season and Hunter had his poorest year in the last five.
And a bullpen of Sparky Lyle, Dick Tidrow and Ron Guidry isn't too shabby, either.
Not since the 1971 Orioles has a team had four 20-game winners, but there are many who think the Yankees might match that this season. Only match it? Would you believe five 20-game winners?"

-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1977 Edition

FIELDING
" 'It wasn't our arms in the outfield that cost us the World Series, it was our lack of hitting,' argues club president Gabe Paul.
Maligned for their defensive deficiencies, especially in the outfield, the Yankees still finished third in the league in fielding. And the four men who made up their outfield combined for 29 assists, which is better than most people would have guessed.
It's strange, too, that the Yankees should have tried so hard to find a new shortstop. The one they had, Fred Stanley, made the fewest errors (7) of any shortstop who appeared in at least 100 games."

-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1977 Edition

OUTLOOK
"On paper, the Yanks look like cinch repeaters in the AL, which is how the Red Sox looked a year ago. Given normal conditions, average contributions from all hands and a minimum of injuries, the Yankees should make it two straight. But if there is anything that can stop them, it is a long injury to Thurman Munson, their indispensable man."

-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1977 Edition


"When Reggie Jackson and Don Gullett fell prey to the lure of Yankee pinstripes, Broadway's bright lights and George Steinbrenner's persuasive millions, rival baseball executives bitterly conceded that the 1977 Yankees will be even more formidable than they were last season when they breezed to a division title and went on to win the AL championship. The addition of these prominent and expensive talents to an already awesome roster seems to have insured another World Series appearance and hopefully, a more successful one.
The heart of the Yankees is a pitching staff of proven winners that led the league with a 3.19 ERA. Gullett (11-3, 3.00 ERA with Cinci), a strong southpaw who throws bullets, is made to order for the spacious Stadium and Jim 'Catfish' Hunter (17-15, 3.52) completed 21 starts despite arm problems and remains the main man in the rotation. Ed Figueroa was the big winner (19-10, 3.01) and as steady as they come while Dock Ellis startled his critics with an excellent (17-8, 3.18 ) showing. Left-hander Ken Holtzman had a so-so year (14-14, 3.64), possibly due to changing teams twice in 1976. The bullpen is equally impressive with Sparky Lyle (7-8, 2.25) topping all AL relievers with 23 saves while right-hander Dick Tidrow (4-5, 2.64) chipped in another 10 saves, mostly down the stretch when needed. Young southpaw Ron Guidry will see plenty of action this season.
Under Billy Martin, the Yankees will again present a varied attack, one that blends explosive hitting with daring baserunning. Catcher Thurman Munson, the American League MVP, is a superb clutch hitter (.302, 17 HRs, 105 RBI) and quick as a cat behind the plate. Fran Healy and Ellie Hendricks will back his play again.
Playoff hero Chris Chambliss (.293,17,96), a masterful hitter, returns at first base, where he may be supported by DH Ron Blomberg or minor league slugger Dave Bergman. Willie Randolph showed remarkable poise in his rookie year at second base and received All-Star recognition for his performance (.267 with 37 steals). Fred Stanley (.238) is challenged by young Mickey Klutts, co-MVP of the International League where he hit .319 with 24 homers. Nobody plays the blur better at the hot corner than third-sacker Graig Nettles, the AL's home run king with 32 round-trippers. Infield depth is assured by veterans Sandy Alomar and Cesar Tovar.
Jackson brings speed, a powerful arm and an equally potent bat (.277, 27, 91 plus 28 steals with Baltimore) to the right field position; a bona fide left-handed slugger, he should add to New York's 120 homer total of last season. Lightning fast Mickey Rivers (.312, 8,67 plus 43 SB) patrols center field and is a devastating leadoff man. Veteran Roy White (.286, 14, 65 and 31 SB) led the league in runs scored (104) batting second in the order and playing left field. Jim Wynn comes from Atlanta (17 HRs, 66 RBI) where he led the National League in walks (127) to join longball hitting Oscar Gamble (17 HRs, 57 RBI) and possibly young Terry Whitfield, up from Syracuse, as reserve outfielders. The status of holdovers Lou Piniella and Carlos May is questionable at this writing. The addition of Paul Blair lends strong backup support.
The Yankees appear to have it all - breathtaking speed, awesome power, exceptional defense and overwhelming pitching talent; they could surpass their fine 97-62 (.610) pace of '76 and win over 100 games this season. They face strong competition from the Red Sox and possibly the Indians, but on paper, the Bronx Bombers seem destined for another World Series."

-Baseball Forecast 1977


"Add Reggie Jackson to an attack that already led its division in batting last season; add Don Gullett to a pitching staff that compiled the lowest earned run average in both divisions; add Ron Blomberg restored to health; add Jimmy Wynn and Paul Blair for reasons unknown. And you have a club so cluttered with talent that Billy Martin's toughest job this year will likely be to find work for his players.
As for the championship, the race is over before it starts. On paper, there will no beating the Yankees in 1977. Fortunately for the rest, however, they don't play the game on paper. It's done on the field, and well ... stranger things have happened.
A look at the Yankees' winter roster gave a firm indication that Gabe Paul would be obliged to make some of his athletes available before the season got underway. The Yankees owned, for instance, no fewer than 10 outfielders with major league credentials, and if Gabe could come up with a way to carry more than seven of them, he would have had a brand new approach to the 'system.'
Jackson, richest of baseball's new millionaires, will take his .277 batting average into right field - also his 91 RBI and his 27 homers, all of which were part of a curtailed season of biding his time in Baltimore. With Mickey Rivers (.312) in center and dependable Roy White in left, where do you play the rest? Elliott Maddox, who underwent a knee operation, was traded for Blair, but that didn't change the numbers any. Then there's Blomberg, Wynn, Gene Locklear, Oscar Gamble, Lou Piniella and Carlos May. Somewhere among these are designated hitters, utility outfielders, and candidates either for sales to other clubs or outright releases.
A trade? Maybe. But the Yankees don't really need to trade for anyone. This is a lethal ballclub, set at every position. If they do anything it would be to improve their shortstop position where Fred Stanley is adequate - but lost in a sea of superstars. Stanley batted .238 and was outfielded only Cleveland's Frank Duffy.
Chris Chambliss had his best year as the Yankees' Rock of Gibraltar at first base. He drove in 96 runs, second only to the club's MVP catcher Thurman Munson, who had 105. Graig Nettles knocked in 93, and with Reggie now among these, there's hardly anyplace for an opposing pitcher to hide. Munson batted .302, Chambliss .293, White .286, but Nettles only .254 with his 32 homers.
Willie Randolph, acquired a year ago in a trade with Pittsburgh, appears to be the answer to whatever second base problems the Yankees had. Randolph batted .267 in his '76 debut, and also stole 37 bases; and he won't be 23 until the season is half over. Veteran Cesar Tovar was the first of the fringe players to be released, thus leaving Sandy Alomar and Mickey Klutts as the fill-in players in the only area where Yankee depth appeared lacking.
In the receiving department, Munson is backed up by Fran Healy and Elrod Hendricks. But working behind Munson, an ironman who played 152 games, is hardly reassuring for anyone who fancies himself capable of more than once-a-week play.
Trying to find a rookie with a chance of survival is another fruitless task. Ron Guidry, a left-handed relief pitcher who got into seven games in '76, has a chance. But his task was to prove that he could take Sparky Lyle's job - either that or line up behind him. Lyle won seven and saved 23 but was less than sensational toward the end of last season. Dick Tidrow, a right-hander, came on instead to be the relief ace, winning four and saving ten.
Martin has five blue ribbon starters, having lost one to the free agency sweepstakes. Doyle Alexander, who was 13-9, scarcely figures to be missed. In the same re-entry draft, the Yankees signed Cincinnati's southpaw ace Gullett, who was only 11-3 last year but was idled considerably with arm trouble. A sound Gullett would give the Yankees one of history's more formidable staffs.
The rest of Martin's rotation regulars stack up as Ed Figueroa (19-10), Dock Ellis (17-8), Catfish Hunter (17-15) and Ken Holtzman (14-11). Holtzman came in June from Baltimore, has a staggering multi-year contract, but couldn't get into a World Game - so overloaded with talent are the Yankees.
Beyond these eight hurlers, there isn't anyone with major league experience on the Yankee staff. Even if Martin ultimately goes with only nine hurlers, he'll either have to get one in a deal or add somebody named Ken Clay, Doug Heinold, Bob Polinsky or Ed Ricks from his Syracuse list of last season. No more than one of these, however. It's simply not a team that has to comb the rookie ranks."

-Richard Dozer, 1977 Steet and Smith's Official Baseball Yearbook