1978 World Series: Yankee shift

The Teams 
American League: New York Yankees (100-63) - 32nd World Series (won 21 previous times)
National League: Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67) - Seventh World Series (won in 1959, 1963, 1965)

What Happened
One year after the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series, the same two teams were back again to face off in 1978. Though the Yankees had gotten the better of them the previous season, the Dodgers seemed to have more things working in their favor the second time around. Aside from having home-field advantage this time, the Dodgers also came in facing a tired Yankees team - New York had come from 8.5 games back on August 20 to tie the Red Sox, then had won the one-game playoff, then had to endure a tough playoff series with the Royals.

The Dodgers seized on their advantage. They hit three home runs in the first four innings to win Game 1 in a laugher, then took a 4-3 lead into the ninth inning of Game 2. The Yankees got two runners on base in the ninth, but Dodgers pitcher Bob Welch - normally a (very good) starter who was forced to the bullpen for the playoffs because the Dodger starters were too good - retired Yankee stars Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson to end the game and put the Dodgers up 2-0.

From there, the series went to the Bronx, and the momentum of. the series shifted in favor of the Yankees. But it didn't have to be that way. The Dodgers had plenty of chances to stem the momentum that the Yankees were building. Trailing 2-1 in Game 3, the Dodgers twice loaded the bases, only to have both chances snuffed out on a ground out to Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles. A three-run home run by Reggie Smith gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning of Game 4, but the Dodgers only got two hits the rest of the way and let the Yankees tie the game and eventually win it in the 10th.

By then, things were getting out of control. The Yankees unloaded for 12 runs in Game 5, then took a 3-0 lead back in Dodger Stadium in Game 6 before a Reggie Jackson home run clinched the series.

Defining Game
The way the early games of the series played out, it became clear pretty early that the winner of Game 4 was going to win the series. The Dodgers' Tommy John and the Yankees' Ed Figueroa kept the game scoreless through four before Smith's two-out home run gave the Dodgers the lead. The Yankees got two back in the sixth - scoring one on a single by Jackson and another on an error on what should have been an inning-ending double play. Munson's 8th inning double tied the game, and the teams did nothing until the 10th. With two outs sandwiched around a walk, Jackson singled for the Yankees to send Roy White to second representing the game-winning run. Lou Piniella drove White home with a single, and the Yankees had their momentum-shifting win.

MVP
Bucky Dent was named MVP, which is a little weird since this is the first time he's being mentioned in this writeup. It could have easily been Jackson, but maybe the voters figured that since Jackson wasn't as good as the previous year's series, he shouldn't win a second straight MVP. Or maybe it was leftover karma after Dent's playoff-clinching home run. 

Scores:
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

New York	5	3	5	4 (10)	12	7
Los Angeles	11	4	1	3	2	2

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

68. 1978 - New York (A) def. Los Angeles (N) 4-2
69. 2006 - St. Louis (N) def. Detroit (A) 4-1
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

August 2, 1979: The Captain

***UPDATE*** This moment has been replaced. See the new entry here. ***

GREEN, Ohio - He was the heart and soul of the Yankees of the 1970s. He was the first Yankees captain since Lou Gehrig, and he wore that honor with pride, showing exemplary leadership on and off the field.

The Yankees of Steinbrenner and Jackson and Martin were often a circus, a sideshow of he-said she-said intrigue that often featured physical confrontations, but Thurman Munson remained respected despite his association with that team. Sure, he'd take part in his share of fights, but his words and actions always carried more weight than those of most of his other teammates'.

The Yankees played in three World Series in the 70s, winning two of them, and while free-agent stars like Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter got a lot of the publicity and credit, Munson may have had more to do with their success than anybody else. He shined offensively, as shown by his 7 all-star game appearances and the fact that he's the only Yankee to win both the Rookie of the Year and the MVP awards. But he was also superb defensively, throwing out runners at nearly a 50 percent clip throughout his career; in 1971, he made only one error as a catcher, and that came on a play where he dropped the ball after being knocked unconscious.

In 1979, though, the Yankees and Munson started slipping. The three-time defending AL champions were languishing in 4th place, the tension of the previous three years finally starting to wear on them. Munson, too, was struggling, with his power noticeably missing. He seemed to be homesick, and was seriously contemplating either requesting a trade to his hometown Indians or retiring altogether.

To help with the homesickness, Munson bought a plane and started taking pilot's lessons, with the idea that he could go home on off days more often if he could fly. August 2, 1979, was such an off day, and he spent part of it practicing takeoffs and landings at Akron-Canton Regional Airport. On the third takeoff, Munson's plane was too low, clipping a tree at the end of the runway. It crashed, bursting into flames. His flight instructor and a friend both escaped the plane without serious injuries, but Munson was trapped.

His death sent a shockwave through the Yankees and all of baseball. The Yankees had an on-field memorial service before their next game, with the all the Yankees starters taking the field save for the catcher, whose spot remained empty until moments before the game began. The fans gave their captain an 8-minute standing ovation; Reggie Jackson spent most of his time in the Bronx openly feuding with Munson, but at the memorial, he was moved to tears.

The Yankees retired Munson's number 15 and gave him a plaque in Monument Park. They left his locker untouched, covered in glass, until the day the original Yankee Stadium closed; current captain Derek Jeter kept a locker next to Munson's his entire career. As time has passed, players like Hunter and Jackson and characters like Martin and Steinbrenner have become associated with the Yankees of the 70s. But perhaps nobody epitomized the Yankee Way during those turbulent times as Thurman Munson.

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HONORABLE MENTION
August 2, 1992: BARCELONA - Named the best female athlete of the 20th Century, Jackie Joyner-Kersee had her share of highlights in the track and field world. At the 1992 Olympics, she solidified her standing as one of the greatest track stars regardless of gender, winning gold in the heptathlon for the second straight Olympics after having won silver in 1984. In Barcelona, Joyner-Kersee never trailed in the heptathlon, leading from the first event. She added a bronze medal in the long jump for good measure.