April 13, 1977 - Yankees 5, Royals 3

KANSAS CITY - In Ron Guidry's time with the Yankees in 1975 and 1976, the club was still trying to figure out exactly what they had in the diminutive 5-foot-11, 165-pound left-hander. He was projected as a starter when New York picked him in the third round of the 1971 draft from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, but when he reached double-A West Haven in 1974, he started only eight of the 37 games he appeared in.

At triple-A Syracuse in 1975, Guidry worked as the Chiefs closer and saved 14 games in 42 relief appearances, then had nine saves in 22 games in 1976. In fact, when he was called up to New York in both of those seasons, he started just once in 17 appearances, so entering 1977, it was a bit of a mystery what Billy Martin was going to do with Guidry.

Well, making his first appearance of the season at Royals Stadium, Guidry was called on to relieve Ed Figueroa in the seventh inning of a 3-3 game, and when New York scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings while Guidry was blanking Kansas City on a hit and a walk over 2.2 innings, the man who would become known as Louisiana Lightning earned the first victory of his major league career. In the process, the Yankees ended the Royals’ quest for an undefeated season. Hey, they’d won their first four.

Willie Randolph singled with two out in the eighth and raced home on Bucky Dent's double off reliever Steve Mingori which provided Guidry the insurance run he didn't end up needing.

Once again, another off day for the Yankees on April 14, so the blog will feature another player video profile, this one on Guidry.

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