"Guidry continues to struggle to regain the fabulous form that made him baseball's premier pitcher in 1978. He blames his '80 woes on a 'flat' slider; there's nothing wrong with his arm or his willingness to work. When he had problems as a starter, he demoted himself to the bullpen to work them out.
'When you throw good pitches and nothing happens, you begin to wonder about yourself.' He's still one of the most respected pitchers in the game. Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, he owns the best slider in the AL as well as a blazing fastball.
'Guidry hits your bat, you don't hit him,' says Seattle's Tom Paciorek. He was bombed in the opening game of the playoffs against the Royals and never got another chance."
-Jim Hawkins, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1981 Edition
"When the season ends, the man known as the Gator heads down to the swamps of his native Louisiana and looks for some fine hunting and fishing. The bigger the challenge, the better Ron Guidry responds. You can use the same analogy and apply it to the batters Ron faces.
When matched against the muscle of a team's offense, their power hitters, Louisiana Lightning is at his best. He's more than happy to hurl bolts disguised as fastballs off that imposing mound at close to 100 miles an hour. Face-to-face and man-to-man. In Gator's line of work, there's no better way to do business, and he should know ... he's one of the masters in his field.
Last season, Ron had what many perfectionists call an 'off' season, winning only 17 games with 166 strikeouts to his credit. The previous two seasons he had won 18 and 25 and led the league both years in ERA while passing the 200 strikeout mark. His 1978 season was one of the best in baseball history and he was unanimously voted the Cy Young Award as the American League's top hurler.
Yankee fans would love to see a return to that 1978 form, but no one would complain if he duplicates 1980. Of course, everyone hopes Ron delays his Louisiana hunting trip long enough to go after the biggest prize of all: a brilliant, golden World Series trophy."
-The New York Yankees Official 1981 Yearbook
"Guidry had an 'off' year in 1980 compared to the standards he set in the previous three years, yet still finished second on the staff in wins, with only one less than the previous year, and ninth in the league. He was third in the AL in strikeouts with 166 after going over the 200 mark in both the previous years.
Ron made his first 25 appearances as a starter and won his first five decisions of the year, then went to the bullpen on August 19 and stayed through September 15, making eight appearances. He reached his 100th career decision during the year and was 72-28 at that point, matching Sal Maglie, Vic Raschi, Spud Chandler and Ed Reulbach behind Whitey Ford's 74-26 for the second best record ever through 100 career decisions. Ron finished the season with four straight wins before losing his first ever postseason game after four wins.
Guidry enters 1981 with a 76-29 (.724) record and is 68-22 (.756) since August 24, 1977. He has performed well in the second half of the year and is 42-11 (.792) after the All-Star break over the last four years.
1977 was Ron's first full year with the Yankees after he was shuttled back and forth from Syracuse the previous two years. After a rough spring he made the squad and was used in relief in six of his first seven appearances. Ron held the staff together after injuries and ineffectiveness struck, finishing the year with 24 straight starts. He finished 18th in the MVP voting that year but was the highest finishing starting pitcher.
The following year, Guidry finished second to Jim Rice after a sensational 25-3, 1.74 season. He led the majors in wins, winning percentage (.893), ERA and shutouts (9), and was second in strikeouts (248) during that 1978 season. Guidry set a Yankee record for most consecutive wins (13) to start a season, breaking the record previously held by Atley Donald, the scout who signed him. He posted back-to-back shutouts four times, and his nine shutouts tied Babe Ruth's AL record for most by a lefty, set in 1916. The Yanks won 30 of the 35 games Guidry started and scored only seven runs in the five they lost, with the league batting just .193 against him.
Ron struck out 10 or more in a game eight times, including a club record 18 against California on June 17, breaking Bob Shawkey's record of 15 set in 1919. His 18 K's also set an AL left-hander mark. He had two 3-hitters and three 2-hitters.
Guidry's 248 strikeouts in '78 set a club record, and his .893 winning percentage was the highest in baseball history for a 20-game winner. His 1.74 ERA was the lowest by a major league lefty since the 1.73 of Sandy Koufax in 1966. 15 of Guidry's 25 wins followed a Yankee loss.
Ron was the unanimous Cy Young Award winner in '78; the only other unanimous choice was Denny McLain in 1968. Ron was also Sporting News Player of the Year, Sporting News Man of the Year, AP Male Athlete of the Year, Baseball Quarterly Performer of the Year, Baseball Digest Player of the Year and Baseball Bulletin Player of the Year. He was also named to the All-Star teams of AP, UPI, and the Sporting News.
Guidry followed that season by going 18-8 in 1979 and winning his second straight American League ERA championship. He dropped seven of his first 13 decisions, then won 11 in a row and 12 of his final 13. He was fourth in wins with 18, eighth in complete games with 15, and had seven 10-plus strikeout performances. He was named to the UPI All-Star team.
Ron has spent his entire life in Lafayette and was named Outstanding Track Man for two years at Northside High where they had no baseball team. He hurled a no-hitter and was named to the Gulf States All-Stars at Southwestern Louisiana where he majored in architecture. Ron is the Executive Vice-President of Munro Oil Tool Inc. in Lafayette and enjoys hunting, chess and studying the Civil War in his spare time.
He has scored four runs as a pinch runner, and played center field for an inning against Toronto on September 29, 1979. His biggest thrill was his 18-strikeout game and his toughest opponent is George Brett.
Ron grew up as a Yankee and Whitey Ford fan."
-1981 New York Yankees Media Guide
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