Background
The Yankees and Red Sox had combined to win the past three American League (AL) pennants. The Red Sox lost the 1975 World Series. The Yankees lost the 1976 World Series, and then won the 1977 World Series. The Yankees and Red Sox were both seen as contenders for the AL East. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles, who competed for the AL East championship in 1977, all expected that they would compete for the AL East in 1978. The Orioles and Red Sox tied for second place in 1977, 2 1⁄2 games behind the Yankees. The young Detroit Tigers, with Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell, also appeared ready to challenge for the AL East.
The Red Sox signed Mike Torrez, who won two games in the 1977 World Series for the Yankees, as a free agent during the offseason. Before the season, the Red Sox acquired Dennis Eckersley to join Torrez, Bill Lee, and Luis Tiant in their starting rotation. The Yankees acquired Goose Gossage and Rawly Eastwick to join Sparky Lyle, 1977's AL Cy Young Award winner, in their bullpen during the offseason. Both teams placed five players on the AL squad for the 1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game: Gossage, Ron Guidry, Graig Nettles, Thurman Munson, and Reggie Jackson represented the Yankees, while Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Rick Burleson, Carlton Fisk, and Jim Rice represented the Red Sox.
The Red Sox had once led by 10 games; the Milwaukee Brewers were in second place at the time, while the Yankees were in third. The Yankees experienced injuries to Andy Messersmith, Willie Randolph, Catfish Hunter, Bucky Dent, and Mickey Rivers, and fell to fourth place in the division. After a shake up engineered by owner George Steinbrenner, with Munson moving from catcher to right field, the Yankees fired their combustible manager Billy Martin, replacing him with Bob Lemon. The Yankees trailed Boston by 14 games by mid-July. However, New York finished the season 53–21 in their last 74 games (a .716 winning percentage), while the Red Sox went 38–36 (.514) over the same time frame. This included a four-game sweep of Boston in Fenway Park in early September. The Yankees outscored the Red Sox by a composite score of 42–9, and the series was dubbed "The Boston Massacre" by the sports press. By the end of the four games, the two teams were tied for first place.
The Yankees took the AL East lead three days later, and did not lose it until the final Sunday of the season. Holding a one-game lead with seven games to play, New York finished on a 6–1 run. However, Boston was a perfect 7–0, enabling them to tie the Yankees at season's end. After New York lost to the Cleveland Indians on October 1, the Fenway Park video screen flashed the happy news: "THANK YOU RICK WAITS, GAME TOMORROW."
Read more about this topic: 1978 American League East Tie-breaker Game
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