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It was one of the first signs of the modern era of baseball when New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner took advantage of new free-agency rules to restock his team. One of his acquisitions, outfielder Reggie Jackson, proved himself worthy of his self-label as "the straw that stirs the drink" by powering a record five home runs in the 1977 World Series, breaking a 15-year Yankee championship drought and branding him "Mr. October." The
1977 New York Yankees Collector's Edition set has all six games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, plus the clinching fifth game of the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals (featuring a late Yankee comeback and a brawl between third basemen Graig Nettles and George Brett). Also included are new interviews with a number of the players, including Reggie Jackson, Willie Randolph, Ron Guidry, Lou Piniella, Chris Chambliss, Mickey Rivers, Roy White, Dusty Baker, and Burt Hooton, and some footage of the memorable mid-season squabble between Jackson and manager Billy Martin, plus SleeveStats that print the box score, inning-by-inning summaries, and trivia on each DVD Thinpak case. As a time capsule, it's interesting to watch the players in action--not only future Hall of Famer Jackson (remember how in his three-homer effort in the clinching game, he actually started the Yankees comeback with a base on balls?), pre-Cy Young winner Guidry, and future managers Randolph, Piniella, and Baker. It's also instructive to watch a different era of the game, one that saw Yankees closer Sparky Lyle pitch 3-2/3 innnings for the game 1 win, and umpires who would watch pitches bounce in the dirt without batting an eye, rather than obsessively replacing anything with a hint of a scuff. And even though their team lost, longtime Dodger fans will enjoy watching the squad that boasted four 30-homer hitters, future Hall of Famer Don Sutton, and the record-setting infield of Garvey, Lopes, Russell, and Cey.
--David Horiuchi
