Chapter 3: 1978, this time with some competition
The Dodgers have to work a bit, but still get to lose to the Yankees in the World Series
While the 1977 season was a relatively smooth path to coronation as NL West Champs, 1978 was a much rockier path. And the season started out not as an expected battle between the Dodgers and Reds, but rather a third team lead most of the year: the Giants.
The Dodgers 1978 squad wasn’t too much different from the 1977 one. Center fielder Glenn Burke would be traded midseason to Oakland for Bill North for reasons that may have had to do with off the field activities. The Dodgers bolstered their bullpen by signing free agent lefty Terry Forster.
Although the Dodgers were playing pretty well at the beginning of the season, the Giants got off to a very hot start, helped out by a 20-6 record in May. However, the Giants hot start would slow down and the Dodgers and Reds began to reel in the Giants by August. The Giants were 52-34 at the All-Star Break, but went 37-39 to finish.
The game I remember the most during that season happened on Labor Day. The Dodgers were facing the Giants at home with a 1 game lead. Don Sutton was facing Ed Halicki in the game.
The Giants were ahead 4-0 in the 5th. Rick Monday led off with a homer. Third string catcher Johnny Oates picked up an infield single. Vic Davalillo pinch hit for Sutton and singled to send Oates up 90 feet.
Since it was September, the Dodgers had extra players to spare so Tommy Lasorda sent in 20-year old Myron White to pinch run for Davalillo. Davey Lopes hit a grounder to Darrell Evans at third who threw to second to start a double play. White took out Giants second baseman Bill Madlock who made a bad throw, which allowed Oates to score and Lopes to move to second. Hits by Bill Russell, Steve Garvey, and Dusty Baker would follow and the Dodgers led 5-4, a lead they would hold on to.
White’s aggressive slide won the plaudits of Vin Scully and the crowd applauded White as he returned to the dugout. Whether or not this was because the crowd appreciated the play or they were reacting to Scully’s radio call1 is unknown. It got Vin to bring out stories of Dick Nen.
The Dodgers faced the Phillies in the NLCS again and for the second straight year, won in four games. The final game was won in extra innings on a game-ending single by Bill Russell after Phillies center fielder Garry Maddox, a defensive wizard, misplayed consecutive balls hit to him.
The World Series started out promising with two straight wins over the Yankees. But the Dodgers never won again, but this time the nemesis was Bucky Dent instead of Reggie Jackson. First base coach Jim Gilliam died during the series after suffering a stroke. Despite having two great seasons in a row, the Dodgers had come up empty.
Bringing a radio to the game in 1978 was still standard practice.
I wonder when people stopped bringing radios to baseball games. I did in the 1990s.