Looking Back At Ron Guidry

By Sal Maiorana

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Sal Maiorana, a friend of the site, shares some of his thoughts on the Yankees.

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One March 1978 morning at the Yankees spring training complex in Fort Lauderdale, several of the beat writers who covered the Yankees were in manager Billy Martin’s little office and he was telling a story about George Steinbrenner’s past insistence on trading Guidry.

“I’ve got to get rid of him, he can’t pitch,” Martin said, paraphrasing a conversation he’d had with the mercurial owner of the team before the 1976 season, a conversation that resurfaced again in 1977. “I’ve got to get rid of that skinny kid. I’m telling you he can’t pitch.’”

At that time Martin didn’t think much of Guidry either, but general manager Gabe Paul was the voice of reason and once he convinced Martin that Guidry was going to be fine, he then talked Steinbrenner off the cliff. Thus, Guidry was kept out of a trade that had been proposed in 1976, and out of the separate deals in 1977 that ultimately brought pitcher Mike Torrez from Oakland and shortstop Bucky Dent from the White Sox.

Those transactions that Guidry was not included in were probably the biggest decisions the Yankees made in 1977 and 1978 because without the diminutive left-hander, New York wouldn’t have advanced to the playoffs let alone win the World Series both years.

Because he couldn’t master a breaking pitch in the minors, the Yankees converted the hard-throwing Guidry to short relief and he saved 14 games for Triple-A Syracuse in 1975 which earned him a brief and unspectacular promotion to the big club.

He thought he’d get a chance to make the rotation in 1976, but the Yankees acquired starters Ken Brett and Dock Ellis so there was no room for Guidry and back to Syracuse he went. When Brett flopped and was traded to the White Sox on May 18, Guidry was summoned to the Bronx, though that turned out to be a disaster of Martin’s doing, at least in how Guidry tells the story.

“The day I was called up, Billy put me in a game,” said Guidry. “Most of the time, that would be welcome news to me. But I had just pitched a few nights in a row in the minor leagues, and (Syracuse manager Bobby Cox) had sent a report saying I should have a couple of days off.

“Of course, Billy ignored that and threw me into a game right off the bus. I just didn’t have very much. He was sending me out to slaughter. I recorded one out and gave up four runs (against Boston). Billy had gotten Coxy’s report but he was testing me because he didn’t want me there; he was setting me up for failure. I don’t know exactly why. Maybe because I was a rookie and he wanted a more experienced guy. But it was clear he didn’t like me.”

Over the next six weeks Guidry sat in the bullpen and never got into a game and eventually he was demoted to Syracuse and was at his wit’s end. He packed his car and started driving home to Louisiana, intending to quit baseball, only to be coaxed back by his wife, Bonnie.

She asked her husband, “Are you sure you want to give up on everything you’ve been working toward for the last 10 years? You’ve never quit on anything you thought you could do in your life. Don’t quit on your own. Let the Yankees tell you you’re no good before you think of quitting.”

He kind of felt like they already had, but she was right, so he sucked it up, turned the car around and pointed it toward Syracuse where he pitched to a 0.68 ERA in 22 relief appearances and got called back to New York where he pitched in six games over the final two months.

When 1977 rolled around, Guidry started slowly in the spring, Steinbrenner wanted him gone, and Martin would have backed that play but Paul wasn’t having it. He told the Boss, “If you want to trade him, you send him out with the understanding that if he ever comes back to haunt you, you’ll take the blame.” The owner backed down and Guidry finally put it together thanks in large part to the help Sparky Lyle and Dick Tidrow provided.

Tidrow taught him the strategy of setting up hitters and working counts, while Lyle, a fellow lefty, worked on his mechanics and introduced him to the slider which became a devastating compliment to his 95 mph fastball. When it was time to go north, Martin had no choice but to give him a regular turn in the rotation.

“For six years I played in the Yankee farm system and not once did I get the kind of help and advice Tidrow and Lyle gave me,” Guidry said. “In the minors they just give you the ball and say, ‘Here young man, go throw.’ They emphasize that you should throw strikes. That’s a great piece of advice.”

Lyle recalled in his book The Bronx Zoo what it was like watching Guidry pitch that year:

“Guidry’s the most impressive pitcher I’ve ever seen. He’s more impressive than Seaver, Palmer or Ryan. You’re sitting there watching the guy and he’s just winding up, throwing the ball, and the catcher’s throwing it back to him like they’re playing catch. Before you know it, Jesus Christ, the ballgame is over, they’ve got three hits and he’s won, 2-0.”

Once the kid they called Louisiana Lightning established himself in Martin’s circle of trust, he won 10 of his last 11 decisions in 1977 to help carry the Yankees to the AL East crown. He was the winner in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Royals, and he capped that season with a complete game victory in Game Four of the World Series against the Dodgers, finally earning praise from Martin.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Martin said. “He’s one of the hardest left-handed throwers in baseball. And he’s just as good as a guy can be out there. He had a very bad spring, but there was no question he’d come around.”

That was merely the prelude to what happened in 1978 when he was the best pitcher on the planet. Guidry won 25 games, lost only three, had an ERA of 1.74 which was the second lowest for a left-hander in AL history, and he pitched nine shutouts which were the most by an AL left-hander since Babe Ruth in 1916.

On his way to the Cy Young, opponents batted just .193 against him, 15 of his wins followed Yankee losses, he struck out at least 10 batters eight times including 18 in one game against the Angels, and his 248 strikeouts set a new team record that was only just broken in 2023 by Gerrit Cole.

And then in that postseason Guidry was the winning pitcher in the one-game playoff against Boston, in Game 4 against the Royals in the ALCS, and Game 3 in the World Series against the Dodgers. “Nobody ever had a better year pitching in my time,” said Lou Piniella.

Guidry remained a pillar in the Yankees rotation through 1985 - a year when he won an MLB-high 22 games and was the runner-up in the AL Cy Young balloting - and at that point, his career numbers showed a 154-68 record, a 3.18 ERA and a 1.170 WHIP.

But then injuries began to creep in and he struggled in his final three seasons, ultimately retiring after 1988 with a final record of 170-91, an ERA of 3.29 and a WHIP of 1.184 in 14 years, almost all of that accomplished in his last 12 years with the Yankees.

“I’ve always said Ron Guidry, pound for pound, was the fiercest competitor I ever played with,” Willie Randolph said. “Nobody wanted to give him a chance when he came up. Too skinny, too small, they all thought. They couldn’t see what he had in heart. He had a big one and a lot of determination.”