June 13, 1977 – Royals 8, Yankees 3
- Sal Maiorana
- Jun 13, 2017
- 3 min read
NEW YORK – After watching what Charley Lau did for George Brett, it should have come as a surprise to no one that George Steinbrenner – always looking for an advantage – hired Lau to be the Yankees hitting coach in 1979 after he’d been fired by the Kansas City Royals.
Lau rose to fame in the mid-1970s after he’d been fired by tempestuous A’s owner Charley Finley and went to Kansas City, successfully remodeling the batting approaches of players like Hal McRae, Willie Wilson, Amos Otis, and of course, Brett.
Steinbrenner envisioned Lau revolutionizing the Yankee offense with his methods, and while many of his pinstriped pupils lauded him, Lau didn’t have quite the impact he’d had in Kansas City and lasted only three seasons in the Bronx.
But in 1977, Lau was at the height of his powers, and Brett – fresh off his tremendous 1976 season – was his shining star.
“After some experimentation and refinement, we came up with a stance and hitting approach for me that worked,” said Brett, who led the American League in hits in 1975 and 1976, and average (.333) in 1976, then a couple years after Lau was fired, in his MVP season of 1980, led the major leagues in average (.390), on-base (.454), slugging (.664) and OPS (1.118) while driving in a career-best 118 runs. “And little did I realize at the time what it was going to do and how it was going to change my life.”
Lau was a middling .255 hitter during an 11-year major league career spent with the Tigers, Braves (Milwaukee and Atlanta), Orioles, and Athletics. He once said the most frequent question he was asked once he began to make a name for himself as the Royals hitting coach was, “How can a guy like me who batted .255 for his career be justified in telling others how to hit .300? I'll answer that question with another question. How many superstars are managing baseball clubs? You see, the key to such jobs is not what you've done, but rather how you work with people and express your ideas so others can accept them.”
George Brett reflects on his time with Charley Lau:
Lau’s principles were based on these tenets: Use a balanced and workable stance and proper grip; weight back before striding; start the bat in the launch position; stride with the front toe closed; maintain flat hands through the swing; keep the head still and eyes down; swing fluidly and tension free; use a fluid, tension free swing; have lead-arm extension and a good finish; and keep practicing.
“Hitting a baseball is supposed to be the most difficult thing to do in sports,” he said, “but the real challenge is to hit the ball consistently, game after game.''
That’s exactly what the Royals did in the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium, their first visit to the ballpark since Chris Chambliss’ dramatic ALCS-winning home run the previous October.
The Royals banged out 10 hits and scored eight times in the first seven innings against Mike Torrez and Sparky Lyle before Ken Clay pitched two perfect mop-up innings. Brett hit a two-run homer in the fifth that stretched Kansas City’s lead to 5-1, and he also walked and scored in the first inning.
“He’s the boss,” Brett said afterward of Lau. “He says jump, I ask how high? I got a silver bat and a five-year contract for having faith in him last year, so I shouldn’t stop having faith in him now.”
Upon arrival, the Royals were in fifth place in the AL West, 27-29 and six games behind the Twins. Shortstop Freddie Patek opined, “I’m glad we’re finally here. I hope that playing the Yankees gets us aroused and gets us going. It’s always fun to come here and play the Yankees. Maybe it’ll wake the Kansas City Royals up.”
For one night, it certainly worked.
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