Yankees All-Time Greatest Rookie Seasons

Ron Guidry

Although he had received brief cameos with the big league club the previous two seasons, Louisiana Lightning didn’t really make a name for himself until 1977, when he emerged as one of the most dominant pitchers in Yankees history. Ron Guidry led the league with a 2.73 FIP over 210.2 innings of work that year, pitching to a 2.82 ERA and racking up 176 strikeouts.

Guidry’s incredible performance tend to be overlooked somewhat because the loud conflicts between Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin, and George Steinbrenner tend to dominate the discussion of the 1977 season and the “Bronx Zoo” era as a whole, but it’s hard to overstate how important Gator was to that club’s success.

In his first full season, the 26-year-old Guidry received both Cy Young and MVP votes. As amazing as he was, his 1977 campaign was really just a warm up for his career-year the next season, when he led the league in ERA (1.74), FIP (2.19), WHIP (0.946), ERA+ (208), Wins (25), and winning percentage (.893) in route to the AL CY and a runner-up finish in the MVP voting.

The Yankees were undefeated during the rookie’s three postseason starts. Overall, he allowed just seven earned runs in 20.1 IP, striking out 15 batters and walking six, leading New York to their first World Series championship since 1962.

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