Relive the 1978 Yankee Season with Paul Keck

Phil Allard Reporting
The 10th Inning Journal

philallard27@hotmail.com

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Here is a great opportunity for fans of all ages to relive the Yankees miraculous 1978 season, just as it happened.

Paul Keck was a 16-year-old Yankee fan in 1978, and he kept a daily journal about his favorite team. He has now turned it into a lively book, The Greatest Comeback Ever: A fan's diary of the 1978 New York Yankees championship season. Keck's account is filled with all the passion and intensity of that exceptional year. I caught up with Paul recently and he was happy to share his thoughts with us about his wonderful new book.

What was the best thing about writing this book for you?

Great question, Phil. I was so thoroughly immersed in being a Yankees fan in 1978 that writing my diary that season gave me extra time each day to celebrate my favorite team, and to enjoy being a part of another great team-Yankees fans everywhere!

How would you compare and contrast the Yankee-Sox Rivalry of 1978 with the current day’s rivalry?

It keeps getting better every year, from the day the Bambino left Boston right till the present day. It is really amazing how this greatest rivalry of all major American sports has been sustained over the better part of a century. With the Steinbrenner family as a team in charge of all operations now, and a new Yankee Stadium for 2009, we can expect the New York-Boston matches to continue to add to the greatness of the game of baseball.

1978 marked the third year that the Yanks beat the KC Royals in the ALCS. Tell us about the heated rivalry between the two teams in the 1970s.

The Royals really were a great match-up in their regular and ALCS play with the Yanks during those years. Hal McRae excelled at throwing full body block dives into Willie Randolph on plays at second, and the intensity of focus when George Brett stepped to the plate to square off against Goose Gossages' 100 mph fastballs was really a sight to be seen. Chris Chambliss was my favorite player on the Yanks shortly after he came over from Cleveland. He became only more so after propelling Mark Littell's pitch over the wall for a homer to win the '76 Playoffs against KC. These were some real competitors that stepped on the field during that period of time.

Many Yankee fans fell into either the “Thurman camp” or the “Reggie camp,” tell us where you fell.

I liked both, though favored Reggie as he had a flair for the dramatic both on the field and in person. He brought a lot of excitement to New York when he came over from Baltimore for the 1977 season. A real fan favorite, and one of the all time best at performing in high pressure moments in the games. He had an uncanny knack of entering into challenging situations and making something great come out of it-for example, turning his hip out to deflect a ball thrown by Dodger's shortstop Bill Russell which allowed a key run to score for the Yanks in Game 4 of the '78 World Series. A very smart and very intuitive ballplayer.

What affect do you thing the newspaper strike had on the team and the fans?

Major. At the time, I was not aware this was a key factor for the Yanks catching fire for the second half of the year. A couple years ago I spoke to Bucky Dent at an autograph signing and asked him how the Yankees accomplished their great comeback in '78. He said two words: Media Strike. Of course, there were several other keys to the comeback, primarily a new manager in Bob Lemon at mid-season and some of the many injured NY players began healing at that time. Catfish Hunter was notable for his great performance down the stretch after a challenging first half in this regards.

As a 16-year-old kid in 1978, what was your opinion of Billy Martin and his affect on the team?

You had to love him. A grandmaster, a field general who took charge of his team like none other. A guy who took took his all, and a great knowledge of the game both as player and manager, and consistently pushed victories through every day. The flipside is his emotions at times took the upper hand and generated division with a number of players on the team. The same spirit of winning he had was usurped by this personal volatility, which ultimately led to a mid year collapse. He'll always be remembered as a true Yankee and fan favorite, because Yankee fans are about winning.

What was your reaction to Bob Lemon taking over the team?
Interestingly, Bob Lemon was the quiet genius behind all of the action and fray of the team of great players he inherited just after Billy's resignation as manager. When he came on board as the Yankees skipper in late July, his wisdom came in doing the exact opposite of Martin. He was a man of peace, just the calm needed in the midst of an agitated yet talented team. Shortly after arriving in the Bronx, Lemon told his new team (a rough paraphrase): "I understand you guys won a World Series last year. Just go out and play ball." With all of the pressure off, and allowed to relax for the first time in a couple years, great results for the team ensued. They became a team again, more powerful together than their individual talents.

The great 1978 season was before the age of ESPN, all-day sports radio, and the internet. With the newspaper strike also hitting, was it hard to keep up with the team?

Not at all. If I recall correctly, the media strike primarily affected city newspapers. So there were still plenty of other media providing fresh news every day-the WPIX broadcasts, WMCA radio with the Scooter, Frank Messer and Bill White, Sports Illustrated, our local newspaper and the daily banter of friends.

Tell us why Chris Chambliss was your favorite Yankee.

A key player on the team, one that helped set a sure foundation amidst a rough and tumble team. Chris was first and foremost a workman, steady, disciplined and hard working. A gold glover with a penchant for dramatic 9th inning homeruns, he spoke with his bat and glove every time more than his words. Very much in alignment with Bob Lemon's managerial philosophy.

In 1977, Sparky Lyle won the Cy Young Award, but then he was more or less supplanted by Goose Gossage in 1978…how would you compare and contrast the two.

It had to be. Goose, with his lights-out fastball, was going to be handed the ball more often than Sparky. It's the same with Mariano Rivera today, and most managers will go for the game-ender every time. The Yanks had the best relief squad in the AL that year, when you add Dirt Tidrow and Rawley Eastwick. They still needed the diverse talents of their relief team to keep other teams off balance with a variety of excellent pitchers, of which Sparky was one of the keys.

To what extent do you think the Yankee announcers in 1978, Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer and Bill White, impacted the average Yankee fan?

One of the best broadcast play-by-play teams ever, each had a truly unique style of announcing. Scooter with his colorful stories of Yankee teams past and present, Messer with his consummate professionalism and distinguished speaking tone and Bill White's blue collar approach from a great former ballplayer whose "Deep to Left!" call on Bucky Dent's playoff homer against Boston in Game 163 of 1978 will always be cherished by Yankees fans. Bronx Bomber fans will always remember this talented group of announcers who did so much to build great memories of this fantastic Yankees comeback season.

Tell the young fan following the Yankees now something he or she doesn’t know about baseball in 1978.

The theme of 1978 is comeback-the Greatest Comeback Ever-against all odds. Apply this to your life. Just as the Yankees came back to surprise the baseball world and take home the World Series title that year, you can also overcome any and all challenges that face you in life. Change, hard work, discipline and a new way of thinking will be needed. In the case of the 1978 Yankees team, a new manager with a new approach was needed-from storm to calm-to allow the ballplayers to form and focus again as a team. With a new attitude, the ability to just go out and enjoy playing and a new wind in your sails, you will attain great things. That's the parable of the 1978 Yankees season for the young Yankees fan, and fans of all ages, for today.

You can purchase The Greatest Comeback Ever: A fan's diary of the 1978 New York Yankees Championship Season at amazon.com