Ron Guidry played for the the New York Yankees from 1975-1989. A good player, but not a hall of famer, Guidry is often overshadowed by more boisterous personalities such as Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, Reggie Jackson and manager Billy Martin. However, Guidry contributed a lot to the success of the Yankees during that period. His contributions will never be forgotten by Yankee fans and baseball observers.
His autobiography "Gator" chronicles some of the more memorable moments of his career and the friendships that he made. It also gives insight into his formative years and his family background.
The autobiography begins with the one game playoff between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in 1978. After 162 games, both teams had 99 victories. After a coin flip, it was decided that the one game playoff would be at Fenway Park, which sat 33,000 people. Additionally ,millions were watching and listening to the game on the radio. The game would go down in history because of the famous home run hit by Bucky Dent.
Guidry was the Yankees' starting pitcher for the one game playoff. Guidry says "Pitching in Fenway Park had never bothered me, honestly. Because of the Green Monster - the close, towering wall in left field - Fenway has a reputation for being tough on left handed pitchers. But I knew I couldn't change the way I pitched because of the wall."
The atmosphere for the game was good. Two rivals who had both won 99 games were going to play a one game playoff in an iconic stadium. Guidry says "That Monday, October 2, it was sunny and sixty-five degrees - perfect weather for baseball. It was a wonderful day for fans to come out and watch the game. Both sides had good hitting, good pitching, good defense. Games at Fenway are always special, given our long standing rivalry, but day games are even more so. Its baseball in its classic, purest form." The fans and the players were excited about the game. It would live up to its billing.
Guidry started strong. He says "In the first inning, I mowed down the first three batters. Two strikeouts, including one against Jim Rice, the MVP that season, whose forty-six homeruns led the league." His confidence grew after the first inning. He knew he could pitch well enough to help the Yankees win.
Although Guidry did not change his approach , he realized that he had to adjust his expectations for himself. He says " Most games, I had the mentality that I wanted to throw a complete game and shut the other team out. That day, against Boston's lineup, on short rest, I knew I just had to keep us in the game." Guidry knew the Yankees had a good bullpen that could help him if he struggled. He simply wanted to keep the Yankees in contention and hope that the offense could score enough runs to win the game.
Guidry gave up a home run to Carl Yastrzemski. Carlton Fisk stepped up the plate next. The crowd was getting louder and louder. Fisk hit a fly ball that the crowd thought may be a home run. However, the wind kept the ball in the ball park. In the next few innings, Guidry gave up more hits, but did not give up more runs. He was able to keep his team in the game. Guidry made it through 6 and 1/3 innings in three days rest. He gave up 2 earned runs.
Mike Torrez was pitching well for the Red Sox. In 6 innings, Torrez had surrendered only 2 hits and no runs. However, everything changed in the 7th inning after Chris Chambliss and Roy White both had singles, Bucky Dent stepped up to the plate in what would be the most memorable at bat in his career.
Dent fouled a ball off of his shin. He had injured his shin earlier in the year, so this foul ball made his injury worse. After he fouled the ball off, Mickey Rivers noticed that Dent's bat was broken, so he gave Dent a new bat. Guidry says it was good that Rivers noticed this because "Bucky was a long shot to get a hit to begin with, and nobody has a prayer with a broken bat." The new bat gave Dent a chance. And he made the most of his opportunity.
Then, Dent hit one of the most memorable home runs in Yankee history. Guidry says "Following the delay, the crowd was quiet. Torrez stepped back onto the mound and delivered a belt - high fastball, down the middle. Bucky connected...From the bench, we were all hollering "GO,GO,GO." This was what the Yankees needed. Down 2-0, with two runners on base a home run would give the Yankees the lead. Guidry says that the Boston crowd was quiet "as the ball disappeared behind the Green Monster for a home run." The Yankees took a 3-2 lead.
Guidry ran into trouble in the 7th inning. After striking out Butch Hobson, George Scott singled and Guidry was taken out of the game by manager Bob Lemon. Guidry did not want to leave the game. Thurman Munson and Guidry tried to convince Lemon to allow Guidry to stay in the game. However, Lemon turned the inning over to reliever Goose Gossage. The Red Sox did not score the in the inning.
In the top half of the next inning, Reggie Jackson hit a two run home run to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead. The Red Sox would add two twice to make the score 5-4. That would be the final score. The Yankees had won the one game playoff against Boston. They would go onto defeat the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series and defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
The Yankees' 1978 season was known for its drama. However, according to Guidry, the drama may have actually helped the Yankees. Guidry says "The way I see it, the 1978 Yankees didn't win in spite of what went down in that season. We won because of what happened. A team that is willing to fight - even one another - can go one of two ways - into the toilet or into greatness. A team that is afraid of conflict can settle into complacency. That was not us. We were a team with the potential to be great. And I believe that out of that craziness, we became a team that was both talented and fearless." So, in Guidry's view, the Yankees thrived off of the drama. The conflicts and controversies actually helped the Yankees to fulfill their potential.
In addition to his baseball career, Guidry discussed his Louisiana roots. When Guidry introduced George Steinbrenner to his parents, Steinbrenner tried rabbit stew - a dish made by his parents. Steinbrenner liked the meal so much that he asked Guidry to bring some to every spring training. After Guidry's career was over, he became a spring training instructor. Even as an instructor, he always brought some rabbit stew to sprint training for Steinbrenner to eat.
Guidry's father also cooked for him and his teammates when they played games in Texas. Guidry said, "All of a sudden, by 1978, he was hauling three hundred frog legs to Texas and practically the whole team was joining in." His parents' rabbit stew was a hit with Steinbrenner and the Yankees' team. Guidry was able to share his family's culinary talent with the whole team.
Guidry is very proud of his Louisiana roots and his Cajun heritage. Guidry says "I can't tell you who I am without giving you a taste of where I'm from. Louisiana made me who I was, who I am, who I will always be. My two nicknames - Gator and Louisiana Lightening- are fitting because they pay tribute to my Cajun upbringing and my home state." Guidry has a lot of pride in his heritage and the state that he hails from. He reminds all of us to be proud of our heritage and our home state.
Guidry also emphasizes his family's agrarian background. Guidry says "Most of my family were farmers. A lot of them farmed rice, some sugarcane. They didn't have a lot of money, and they lived off the land." Guidry's family grew multiple crops. They were close to the land. Guidry says "They hunted. They trapped. And even though I didn't grow up on a farm, I learned to help when we visited." Guidry's family seems resourceful and independent. They hunted for some of their own food and they grew some of their own food.
Hunting and baseball have been a part of Guidry's life for a long time. Guidry says "Once I picked up hunting and baseball, the two activities neatly divided my year. Winter meant hunting. Summer meant baseball." The two activities involved different skills, but both are big parts of Guidry's personality.
Guidry grew up a baseball fan. Baseball was a part of his life at a young age. He rooted for the Yankees as a youth before he ever played for them. Guidry says "I mean, I loved watching baseball, and was a big Yankee fan even as a kid.- they were the best team in baseball. The Mick, and Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and Roger Maris were my heroes." In light of his background as a Yankee fan, it must have been thrilling for the young hurler to be drafted and developed by the Bronx Bombers. It also must have meant a lot to him to spend his whole career with the Yankees.
Despite being able to live out his dream of pitching in the big leagues, success did not come easy for Guidry. He spent over four years in the minor leagues before he was able to stick in the big leagues. There were times when he wondered if he would ever get called to the big leagues.
For the first four seasons in the minor leagues, Guidry played for bad teams. He believed that playing for bad teams effected his performance. However, after four seasons on bad teams, he was promoted to triple A Syracuse - a good team. Guidry believes that playing for a good team made it easier for him to be successful.
The 1975 season, his first with Syracuse, was a break through season for Guidry. He says "It was 1975 when I finally learned how to pitch. I watched guys who threw ninety miles per hour get hitters out with ease. It's easy to just throw when you throw ninety-five miles per hour and can count on one hand all the people on this earth who can throw harder than you. Pitching is about harnessing and fine tuning what you're throwing, placing it on the corner. You can't be scared that the guy is going to hit it, because he's going to. And you want him to swing at it, but not have a great swing at it. You can't strike everyone out. But you can try and get everyone out." In 1975, Guidry learned the finer points of pitching. He improved his approach and his understanding of pitching. This would serve him well throughout his career.
In 1975, the Yankees called Guidry up to pitch in relief. In 9 relief appearances, Guidry had an era of 1.74. However, manager Billy Martin never put Guidry into the game during an important spot. Martin did not trust Guidry in an important situation, which upset and irked Guidry.
According to Guidry, Marin did not favor rookies. Guidry says "Of all the things that have been said about Billy Martin, the one that mattered to me was that he did not like rookies. And I was an inexperienced player. This didn't just mean that he didn't pitch me much. He didn't even talk to me." While Guidry had finally made it to the big leagues, he had to overcome Martin's bias against rookies.
After the following spring training, Guidry was sent down to the minors to make room for Ken Brett who had been acquired in the off season. However, Brett was traded in May, so Guidry was recalled to New York.
However, when he got back to New York, he hardly ever got into the game. He struggled with a 10.12 era. Martin and Steinbrenner were tough on Guidry. Steinbrenner wanted to know why Guidry was not pitching better. Eventually, Steinbrenner said "Guidry, you'll never be able to pitch in this league. Now, Guidry had to deal with Martin's bias against rookies and Steinbrenner's consistent criticism. Guidry believed in his abilities and the skills that he developed in the minor leagues, but he faced many challenges as a big leaguer.
Eventually, Guidry received an opportunity to start. The Yankees had just traded for Mike Torrez, who had to go home to Montreal before he joined the Yankees. So, the team needed a starting pitcher. Guidry was informed the day of his start that he would be pitching that night. Despite the short notice, Guidry pitched a gem. Guidry pitched 8 and 1/3 innings against the Seattle Mariners. He allowed no runs. The Yankees won the game.
About three weeks later, Guidry started against the Oakland A's. Guidry pitched well again. After two good starts, Guidry had established himself as a bona ride starting pitcher. He was earning more respect from the team and the organization. All of the hard work in the minor leagues was paying off.
There was a lot of drama with the Yankees in 1977. Much of the drama centered around Martin, Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson. Guidry says "You'd hear shouting and high voices. Billy and George going at it in Billy's office. The slamming of the furniture. Then Reggie walking in and the three of them going at it. Not everyday, but often." Martin, Steinbrenner and Jackson had strong personalities which routinely clashed during the season.
In 1977,the Yankees played the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series. After the team lost game one, Guidry started game two. He pitched a complete game as the Yankees won 6-2.
On only two days rest, Guidry was asked to start the decisive game 5. This was a questionable decision. As Guidry points out, it is a lot to ask a pitcher to start in three days rest, let alone two days rest. Guidry struggled through 2 and 1/3 innings and was taken out of the game after giving up 4 earned runs. He was replaced by Torrez who pitched 5 innings of shut out baseball. Lyle got the save, and the Yankees were going to the 1977 World Series.
The Yankees played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1977 World Series. Guidry's only start was game 4. Guidry wanted to do well after his struggles in game 5 of the American League Championship Series. Guidry says "The result was exactly what I'd hoped for. I went nine innings, gave up two runs again, same as game two of the ALCS, and I allowed only four hits." The Yankees won 4-2 and had a 3-1 lead in the series.
The Yankees won game 5 to win the series 4-1. In game 5, Jackson hit 3 home runs on 3 consecutive at bats. In all, Jackson hit 5 home runs in the series. Reggie Jackson was the MVP of the World Series and Guidry and the Yankees were world champions.
In the offseason the Yankees signed Goose Gossage. Guidry explained that this was difficult for Lyle, who had served as the team's closer. Steinbrenner wanted both Lyle and Gossage to be closers, but Guidry says "Goose became the lead closer for Billy, and Sparky was cast aside." Guidry liked Gossage, but was good friends with Lyle and found it difficult to watch Lyle's role diminished.
The off-season before the 1978 season was also notable because Guidry signed a new contract that gave him some financial security. He also knew that he had a guaranteed role with the team, which helped him to prepare for the season.
Guidry also knew he would be a starting pitcher in 1978. Guidry says "For a starter, the spring is important as a time to build up a different type of stamina. As the ace of the rotation, I was expected to go out there and throw nine innings." Guidry knew a lot would be expected of him as a starter. However, he believed he good pitch effectively as a starter for the Yankees.
Guidry got off to a good start. The Yankees won 3 of his 4 starts, and he had an era of 1.82. After 11 starts, Guidry was 10-0.
On June 17th against the California Angels, Guidry struck out 18 batters, which was one shy of the major league record. However, his 18 strikeouts were the most ever recorded by a Yankee pitcher in one game. Guidry got off to an average start and did not think he would be part of a record breaking evening. He said "Three strikeouts in two innings is a fine start, but that wasn't uncommon for me. And even though I struck out the side in the third, they were split by two singles. It hardly struck me as remarkable. Or the makings of a record - setting outing." However, as the game wore on, Guidry struck out more batters and the fans responded by getting louder and more vocal.
Soon, it became clear to Guidry and the fans that the evening was different from others. Guidry says "My fastball was zipping along the back of home plate. My slider bit hard and in the right spots against lefties and righties. But more than feeling it, I could hear it. I could see it. Because even before I realized my performance could be something special, the fans at Yankee stadium knew it." The fans grew louder with each strikeout and were cheering for Guidry.
Guidry truly appreciates how much the fans supported him that evening. He says "But what was even better than the thrill of chasing history was the energy and atmosphere and camaraderie in Yankee stadium. I wasn't facing the California Angels alone. There were 33,162 hollering fans taking on history along with me." Guidry fed off the energy of the crowd. Guidry was pitching well, but the crowd helped reinforce the strength of his pitches.
Guidry believes this game against California effected the baseball culture. Guidry says "The most gratifying thing about the game was its impact on baseball culture. Now if you go to a game, its tradition, and routine, for fans to get on their feet when a pitcher has two strikes on a batter. That became a thing in baseball on that day." Guidry gives much credit to the Yankees' fans for this change in the culture of baseball. The enthusiasm that the Yankees' fans expressed with each strikeout that night effected how strikeouts are perceived during games today.
At the end of the 1978 season, the Yankees beat the Royals 3-1 in the American Leage Championship Series 3-1 with Guidry winning game 4. Guidry pitched all nine innings. The Yankees were going back to the World Series against the Dodgers.
Guidry also discussed the Yankees culture. Guidry says "The Yankees culture wasn't invented in some owner's box and applied like sunscreen to the players. In fact, it was the other way around. The players themselves changed over the years, but their steadfast commitment to winning never did." For many years, the Yankees have had talented and dedicated players who were focused on winning.
Guidry says that the 1978 team was no different. He says "Our clubhouse culture wasn't what you read about on the back pages of the sports sections or heard about on the radio. It was about our day-to-day focus on accepting nothing but excellence." The Yankees of 1978 had high standards. They were focused on winning a championship.
Guidry especially shows a lot of respect for the leadership of Thurman Munson. Guidry says "Thurman didn't talk just to hear his voice, or because he thought it was the captain's job to do so. So, when Thurman did speak, you stopped what you were doing and you listened hard." Guidry and the other Yankees respected Munson's leadership. They respected what he had to say.
Guidry recounted a time when Munson spoke up after the Yankees had lost the first two games of the 1978 series. Guidry said that Munson expressed how angry he was at the performance of the team. Munson was upset that the Yankees, the defending champions, were not playing well.
Guidry said that the Yankees needed to hear Munson's message. Guidry says "We needed to be shook up. We were the defending world champions...Our cages needed to be rattled. Thurman rattled them." Munson's leadership was effective. His words resonated with the team. The Yankees would win the next four games. They were world champions for the second straight year. Munson's leadership was the catalyst that the team needed.
Guidry believes that the players have created the culture of winning that the Yankees have enjoyed over the years. Guidry says "But there are few qualities that I have observed over the years that have defined the best Yankees leaders, icons and stars - and as a result, our culture. The first is what Thurman showed us in the clubhouse: an unrelenting refusal to accept anything but winning." Munson's high standards were adopted by the rest of the team. Other Yankee leaders through the years have had similar high standards.
Not only was Munson a good player, he was a good person. When he died in a plane crash on August 2, 1978, the Yankees were strongly effected by the loss. Guidry says "We hadn't just lost a great baseball player. We hadn't just lost our captain. We hadn't just lost the man who led us in back to back World Series wins. We had lost a friend. A family had lost their father." The loss of Thurman Munson effected a lot of people.
From 1976-78, the Yankees had appeared in 3 straight World Series. They Yankees won in 1977 and 1978. Entering the 1979 season the team was optimistic and hopeful. However, their bullpen was not as strong as previous years. Lyle was traded to Texas. Dick Tidrow was traded to the Cubs in May. Finally, Gossage injured his hand after a brawl with catcher Cliff Johnson.
The team accepted Guidry's offer to pitch in relief in order to help the struggling bullpen. So, in 1979, Guidry pitched as a starter and as a reliever.
The Yankees were competitive in 1979, but not a championship caliber team. The team finished in 4th place with a 89-71 record. The Yankees finished 14 games in back of the Baltimore Orioles, the division winner.
In 1980, the Yankees won their division with a 103-59 record. It was the most games the Yankees had won since 1963. Guidry went 17-10 with a 3.56 era. The Yankees would once again play the Kansas City Royals for the right to go to the World Series. The Yankees were trying to get to their third World Series in four years.
Guidry started game one of the series against the Royals. However, he did not pitch well. Guidry says "For the first time, we lost a playoff game that I started. For whatever reason, I had no control that day. It might've been the worst game I ever had. I had issues locating the ball, walking four guys in three innings. Only thirty nine of my seventy five pitches went for strikes. It was very uncharacteristic." Even good pitchers have bad games. Guidry had many good games for the Yankees both as a starter and a reliever, however this was not one of them. The Yankees would lose the series to the Royals in three games. There would be no trip to the World Series for the Yankees in 1980.
In 1981, Major League Baseball players went on strike. The Yankees made the playoffs and had to face the Milwaukee Brewers and the Oakland A's in the playoffs. The Yankees won the American League for the first half of the season, while the Brewers won the American League East for the second half of the season. The strike occurred in between the first and second halves of the season. The Yankees beat the Brewers in 5 games and advanced to play the A's.
Guidry pitched game one and five of the series with Milwaukee. The Yankees won both games, but Guidry didn't pitch well. He did not pitch at all in the series against the A's.
In the World Series against the Dodgers, Guidry pitched games one and five. The Yankees won game one, but lost game five. Guidry pitched well in both games. The Yankees won the first two of the series, but lost the final four games. Beginning in 1976, the Yankees had played in 4 World Series in 6 seasons. They had won 3 of them. 1981 was the last season that Guidry would pitch in the World Series.
Prior to the 1986 season, Steinbrenner had named Guidry and Willie Randolph co captains. Guidry was honored by the gesture from Steinbrenner. Guidry says "Willie and I met with George during spring training that year, and George outlined what he thought the role of captain should be. He thought we should be a voice for the players, to speak up about any issues and represent them if anything came up." Guidry and Randolph were both even keeled and consistent. They provided level headed and low key leadership. Guidry says "And as for Willie, he was as low maintenance as it got- stoic, quiet, the type of ball player who just professionally went about his business every single day. He never created a problem and largely kept to himself." Guidry and Randolph brought calm and a quiet strength to the locker room.
Before the 1989 season Guidry decided to retire. He had just had arm surgery and said he was only about 85% of his former self. He felt ,that he was still good enough to help the team. However, Guidry says "after the surgery the Yankees had me pitching in Double-A to prove my health, endurance and effectiveness. And at a certain point, it just felt like I was spinning my wheels. Why go through all of this?" So, Guidry decided to retire in July of 1989. Guidry said that he "didn't make a big show of it" when he retired. He met with a few reporters with his family at his side and discussed some of the highlights of his career.
Guidry retired in 1989, but received a unique honor 14 years later. Guidry says "What really made me tear up was having my number,49, retired in 2003. It was quite a gesture by Mr. Steinbrenner." Guidry was honored by Steinbrenner's show of respect towards him. Guidry says "I was choked up by decision to put me out in Monument Park alongside the names of people like Reggie, Yogi, Billy, Thurman, Don Mattingly, Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth." Guidry was honored to be mentioned with those all time great Yankees.
After Guidry retired, he spent time as a spring training instructor. He and Jim "Catfish" Hunter worked as instructors for the first year of Bucky Showalter's tenure as Yankee manager.
Eventually, Guidry became a pitching coach for the Yankees in 2006 and 2007. He liked working with manager Joe Torre and he liked helping pitchers. Guidry says "I never ruled out the possibility of coaching. I never wanted to be a manager, but I thought in the right situation, I might enjoy the opportunity to coach the pitchers." Guidry had a wealth of knowledge that he wanted to share with pitchers.
Guidry had a good background to be a pitching coach. Guidry says "I had two strengths as a pitching coach. The first was that as a pitcher, I always had a keen sense of the proper mechanics...The other thing I tried to do as a pitching coach was to learn the personalities of my pitchers." So, Guidry understood the finer points of pitching and tried to learn the different temperaments of the pitchers on the staff.
At the end of his autobiograhy, Guidry discusses his friendship with Yogi Berra. Guidry expresses his admiration and respect for Berra. Guidry says "The world lost a giant when Yogi Berra died on September 22nd, 2015. If someone more beloved walked this earth, I'd like to meet that person. Baseball stars, heroes, and legends have come and gone. None has cast the shadow that Yogi did." Clearly, Guidry had great respect for Berra, and he continued to honor his memory.
Guidry emphasizes that Berra had many good qualities. However, Guidry says that Berra, most importantly, "taught the world that the only opinion of yourself that matters is your own." Guidry respects how genuine and authentic Berra was.
Guidry admired all that Berra overcame. Guidry also admired Berra's self confidence. Guidry says "Yogi refused a deal from Branch Rickey, considered one of the greatest general managers to ever work in baseball. He held out until somebody signed him for what he felt he deserved. And if no team signed him, so be it. Eventually one team did just that. The New York Yankees." Berra believed in himself and his abilities. Guidry admired Berra's self confidence and courage.
Ron Guidry has had a good career as a player, instructor and coach. He established a place in the history of baseball and among the pantheon of Yankee greats. He earned a monument in Yankee stadium and had his number retired. Along the way he has made good friends and had many good memories.
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