The 1977 MLB season was the beginning of a pattern—for two straight years, the same four teams would win division titles, the same two teams would win pennants and the same team would win the World Series. Given that this script involved the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers meeting in the Fall Classic, I can’t imagine anyone at ABC or NBC, the networks that then carried postseason baseball, were complaining.
From 1969-74, the AL East had dominated by Baltimore, as they won five division titles in that six-year period. The Orioles slipped back to second place in 1975 & 1976, winning 90 & 88 games respectively, and losing out to the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in successive years. The 1977 Baltimore Orioles […]
Franks was brought on to lead the 1977 Chicago Cubs and for a few tantalizing months it looked like the Cubbie Hour of MLB history had finally arrived. Then another cruel late summer and early fall reminded us that indeed, the Cubbies are still the Cubbies.
The 1977 Chicago White Sox made a managerial change coming into the season. The fortunes of the South Side franchise had started to collapse in 1968 and it had been a decade since the team had even won more than it lost. The White Sox hired Bob Lemon, former ace pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. Chicago saw immediate success in a sizzling summer, although in the end that only served to raise false hopes.