1979 New York Yankees
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Yankee Stadium (since 1976)
New York City, New York (since 1903)
Other information
Owner(s)	George Steinbrenner
General manager(s)	Cedric Tallis
Manager(s)	Bob Lemon, Billy Martin
Local television	WPIX SportsChannel NY (Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White)
Local radio	WINS (AM) (Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, Fran Healy)
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The 1979 New York Yankees season was the 77th season for the franchise in New York and its 79th season overall. The season was marked by the death of their starting catcher, Thurman Munson, on August 2. The team finished with a record of 89-71, finishing fourth in the American League East, 13.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles, ending the Yankees' three-year domination of the AL East. New York was managed by Billy Martin, and Bob Lemon. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

Offseason[edit]

In January 1979, the Yankees attempted to acquire first baseman Rod Carew from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Chris Chambliss, Juan Beníquez, Dámaso García, and Dave Righetti, but the deal fell through.^[1] Carew was later traded to the California Angels.

Notable transactions[edit]

• November 10, 1978: Sparky Lyle, Domingo Ramos, Mike Heath, Larry McCall, Dave Rajsich, and cash were traded by the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Dave Righetti, Juan Beníquez, Mike Griffin, Paul Mirabella and Greg Jemison (minors).^[2]
• November 13, 1978: Luis Tiant was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.^[3]
• November 21, 1978: Tommy John was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.^[4]
• December 4, 1978: Bobby Brown was drafted from the Yankees by the New York Mets in the 1978 rule 5 draft.^[5]

Regular season[edit]

On August 6, the Yankees flew to Ohio to attend Thurman Munson's memorial service, then flew back to New York play the Orioles on Monday Night Baseball.^[6] Bobby Murcer hit a three run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, then drove in two more runs in the ninth with a single off former Yankee Tippy Martinez to account for all five Yankee runs in a 5-4 win.^[7] After the game, Murcer gave the bat to Munson's widow.^[6]

On September 12, Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox joined the 3,000 hit club with a single off Jim Beattie of the Yankees.^[8] The same game also marked the final appearance at Fenway Park for Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter.

On September 18, pitcher Bob Kammeyer set a single-season record by giving up eight earned runs without recording an out in his only game of the season. It was his last major league appearance.

Thurman Munson[edit]

Thurman Munson's number 15 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1979.

Munson was frequently homesick, and took flying lessons so that he could fly home to his family in Canton on off-days. On August 2, 1979, he was practicing takeoffs and landings in his new Cessna Citation I/SP jet at the Akron-Canton Regional Airport. On the third touch-and-go, Munson failed to lower the flaps for landing and allowed the aircraft to sink too low before increasing engine power, causing the jet to clip a tree and fall short of the runway. The plane then hit a tree stump and burst into flames, killing Munson (who was trapped inside) and injuring two other companions. It is believed that the inability to get out of the plane, and the ensuing asphyxiation, is what killed Munson, rather than injuries sustained on impact or burns (the two passengers survived). He was 32 years old.^[9]

Munson's sudden death was major news across the nation and especially sorrowed the baseball community. Munson was survived by his wife, Diana, and their three children. The day after his death, before the start of the Yankees' four-game set with the Baltimore Orioles in the Bronx, the Yankees paid tribute to their fallen captain in a pre-game ceremony during which the starters stood at their defensive positions, save for the catcher's box, which remained empty. At the conclusion of Robert Merrill's musical selection, the fans (announced attendance 51,151) burst into a 10-minute standing ovation.

Season standings[edit]

AL East	W	L	GB	Pct.
Baltimore Orioles	102	57	--	.642
Milwaukee Brewers	95	66	8	.590
Boston Red Sox	91	69	11.5	.569
New York Yankees	89	71	13.5	.556
Detroit Tigers	85	76	18	.528
Cleveland Indians	81	80	22	.503
Toronto Blue Jays	53	109	50.5	.327

Record vs. opponents[edit]

1979 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	8–5	9–3	8–3	8–5	7–6	6–6	8–5	8–4	5–6	8–4	10–2	6–6	11–2
Boston	5–8	—	5–7	5–6	6–7	8–5	8–4	8–4	9–3	5–8	9–3	8–4	6–6	9–4
California	3–9	7–5	—	9–4	6–6	4–8	7–6	7–5	9–4	7–5	10–3	7–6	5–8	7–5
Chicago	3–8	6–5	4–9	—	6–6	3–9	5–8	5–7	5–8	4–8	9–4	5–8	11–2	7–5
Cleveland	5–8	7–6	6–6	6–6	—	6–6	6–6	4–9	8–4	5–8	8–4	7–5	5–7	8–5
Detroit	6–7	5–8	8–4	9–3	6–6	—	5–7	6–7	4–8	7–6	7–5	7–5	6–6	9–4
Kansas City	6–6	4–8	6–7	8–5	6–6	7–5	—	5–7	7–6	5–7	9–4	7–6	6–7	9–3
Milwaukee	5–8	4–8	5–7	7–5	9–4	7–6	7–5	—	8–4	9–4	6–6	9–3	9–3	10–3
Minnesota	4–8	3–9	4–9	8–5	4–8	8–4	6–7	4–8	—	7–5	9–4	10–3	4–9	11–1
New York	6–5	8–5	5–7	8–4	8–5	6–7	7–5	4–9	5–7	—	9–3	6–6	8–4	9–4
Oakland	4–8	3–9	3–10	4–9	4–8	5–7	4–9	6–6	4–9	3–9	—	8–5	2–11	4–8
Seattle	2–10	4–8	6–7	8–5	5–7	5–7	6–7	3–9	3–10	6–6	5–8	—	6–7	8–4
Texas	6–6	6–6	8–5	2–11	7–5	6–6	7–6	3–9	9–4	4–8	11–2	7–6	—	7–5
Toronto	2–11	4–9	5–7	5–7	5–8	4–9	3–9	3–10	1–11	4–9	8–4	4–8	5–7	—

Notable transactions[edit]

• April 12, 1979: Paul Blair was released by the Yankees.^[10]
• April 19, 1979: Bobby Brown was purchased by the Yankees from the Toronto Blue Jays.^[5]
• May 11, 1979: Jim Kaat was purchased by the Yankees from the Philadelphia Phillies.^[11]
• May 23, 1979: Dick Tidrow was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago Cubs for Ray Burris.^[12]
• June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Don Mattingly was drafted by the Yankees in the 19th round.^[13]
  • Otis Nixon was drafted by the Yankees in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the secondary phase. Player signed June 9, 1979.^[14]
• June 15, 1979: Jay Johnstone was traded by the Yankees to the San Diego Padres for Dave Wehrmeister.^[15]
• June 26, 1979: Paul Semall (minors) was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago Cubs for Bobby Murcer.^[16]
• August 1, 1979: Mickey Rivers and players to be named later were traded by the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Oscar Gamble, Amos Lewis (minors) and players to be named later. The deal was completed on October 8, when the Rangers sent Ray Fontenot and Gene Nelson to the Yankees, and the Yankees sent Bob Polinsky (minors), Neal Mersch (minors), and Mark Softy (minors) to the Rangers to complete the trade.^[17]
• August 20, 1979: Ray Burris was selected off waivers from the Yankees by the New York Mets.^[12]

Roster[edit]

1979 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers 19 Rick Anderson 45 Jim Beattie 53 Ray Burris 43 Ken Clay 39 Ron Davis 31 Ed Figueroa 54 Goose Gossage 52 Mike Griffin 49 Ron Guidry 46 Don Hood 29 Catfish Hunter 25 Tommy John 36 Jim Kaat 53 Bob Kammeyer 36,55 Paul Mirabella 56 Dave Righetti 50 Roger Slagle 23 Luis Tiant 19 Dick Tidrow		Catchers 27 Brad Gulden 41 Cliff Johnson 15 Thurman Munson 38 Jerry Narron 47,58 Bruce Robinson Infielders 10 Chris Chambliss 20 Bucky Dent 18 Brian Doyle 59 Dámaso García  9 Graig Nettles 30 Willie Randolph 41 George Scott 12 Jim Spencer 57 Roy Staiger 11 Fred Stanley 24 Dennis Werth		Outfielders 26 Juan Beníquez  2 Paul Blair 58 Bobby Brown 17 Oscar Gamble 44 Reggie Jackson 27 Jay Johnstone 2,27 Darryl Jones  2 Bobby Murcer 14 Lou Piniella 34 Lenny Randle 17 Mickey Rivers  6 Roy White		Manager 21 Bob Lemon  1 Billy Martin Coaches  8 Yogi Berra 33 Mike Ferraro    Art Fowler 50 Jim Hegan 32 Elston Howard 39 Charley Lau 42 Tom Morgan

Player stats[edit]

Batting[edit]

Starters by position[edit]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Munson, ThurmanThurman Munson	97	382	110	.288	3	39
1B	Chambliss, ChrisChris Chambliss	149	554	155	.280	18	63
2B	Randolph, WillieWillie Randolph	153	574	155	.270	5	61
3B	Nettles, GraigGraig Nettles	145	521	132	.253	20	73
SS	Dent, BuckyBucky Dent	141	431	99	.230	2	32
LF	Piniella, LouLou Piniella	130	461	137	.297	11	69
CF	Rivers, MickeyMickey Rivers	74	286	82	.287	3	25
RF	Jackson, ReggieReggie Jackson	131	465	138	.297	29	89
DH	Spencer, JimJim Spencer	106	295	85	.288	23	53

Other batters[edit]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Beníquez, JuanJuan Beníquez	62	142	36	.254	4	17

Pitching[edit]

Starting pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Beattie, JimJim Beattie	15	76	3	6	5.21	32
Righetti, DaveDave Righetti	3	17.1	0	1	3.63	13

Other pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Burris, RayRay Burris	15	1	3	0	6.18	19
Mirabella, PaulPaul Mirabella	10	0	4	0	8.79	4
Griffin, MikeMike Griffin	3	0	0	0	4.15	5
Anderson, RickRick Anderson	1	0	0	0	3.86	0
Slagle, RogerRoger Slagle	1	0	0	0	0.00	2
Kammeyer, BobBob Kammeyer	1	0	0	0	∞	0

Awards and honors[edit]

All-Stars[edit]

• Ron Guidry, reserve
• Reggie Jackson, reserve
• Tommy John, reserve
• Graig Nettles, reserve

Farm system[edit]

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Columbus Clippers	International League	Gene Michael
AA	West Haven Yankees	Eastern League	Stump Merrill
A	Fort Lauderdale Yankees	Florida State League	Doug Holmquist
Short-Season A	Oneonta Yankees	New York–Penn League	Art Mazmanian
Rookie	Paintsville Yankees	Appalachian League	Bill Livesey

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus, West Haven, Oneonta, Paintsville^[18]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• 1979 New York Yankees
• 1979 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

1979 MLB season by team AL East Baltimore Boston Cleveland Detroit Milwaukee New York Toronto AL West California Chicago Kansas City Minnesota Oakland Seattle Texas NL East Chicago Montréal New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis NL West Atlanta Cincinnati Houston Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco 1979 MLB draft 1979 All-Star Game 1979 World Series

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