July 30, 1977 – Yankees 9, Athletics 3

OAKLAND – Given all the issues Don Gullett had dealt with in his first four months as a Yankee, it was somewhat remarkable that he improved his record to 10-3 with a solid victory over the woeful A’s.

However, he had to leave after six innings complaining yet again of a sore arm, so Dick Tidrow had to clean up the final three innings. “His arm is bothering him a little bit,” said Billy Martin. “When I took him out he said it felt the same way it did when he started the game. He just couldn’t get loose. He said it isn’t bad.”

Gullett was wrong because as it turned out he would not pitch again for another month. He’d already missed his turn in the rotation three times due to arm and ankle injuries, which is why Martin had struggled to cobble together a regular rotation, especially when he had to factor in Catfish Hunter’s various ailments.

Luckily for Martin and the Yankees, Ron Guidry had stepped in to fill the void and was now entrenched as a starter and putting forth effective performances almost every time out.

All Gullett would say is, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Beyond the Gullett news, it was another enjoyable day for the Yankees as Reggie Jackson and Roy White hit solo homers early, and then White’s two-run single keyed a four-run rally in the fifth that blew the game open. White finished with four hits and four RBI and the Yankees had 14 hits in all, giving them 41 in their last three games.

“That little meeting Billy had after we blew the 4-0 game to Milwaukee really picked up the team,” said Lou Piniella, who at the time of that meeting was flaming mad over what had been going on all year with the team and took issue with its performance. “And it came at a time when Billy was in trouble. I think it sank in because after everyone started hustling. Now everybody’s really playing hard, no question about it. It hasn’t happened like that this year. I think the players have all decided that we’re going to do something and to start to get it done.”

All Martin would say a little more than a week later about that meeting is that, “I thought the time was right. I felt we should air some things out.”

The daily baseball report

#DonGullett #RonGuidry #LouPiniella