Surprise young Yankees 1977 World Series standout passes away, earns YES tribute

In order to win a World Series, you need a surprising tone-setter or two. No one knows this better than the Yankees — deliver once, and they'll fete you for life. Brian Doyle hit .161 career, but mashed .438 in the 1978 Fall Classic. Graeme Lloyd posted a 17.47 ERA for the 1996 Yankees in the regular season, then allowed just a single hit across eight postseason appearances (scoreless for 2 2/3 frames in the World Series). Damaso Marte: What more can you say about his flash-in-the-2009-pan than has already been said? Ryan Howard just emailed me and asked me to delete the previous sentence. No can do, Ryan.

You can't make a list of subtle, forgotten Yankees tone-setters without including Ken Clay, though. George Steinbrenner didn't have much patience for young pitching, so it's surprising in retrospect to see Clay get opportunities in 1977, 1978, and 1979. Odds are his 1977 World Series appearance did much of the talking for him; George liked rings, after all.

The 23-year-old cherubic Virginian debuted in June that season, but wrote his legacy in October, steadying the ship and saving the bullpen in Game 2 of the series behind a surprisingly ineffective Catfish Hunter. With the Yanks in a hole, he took the ball from Dick Tidrow's 2 2/3 shutout frames and threw three no-hit innings. New York still lost the game to even the series 1-1, but Clay helped clean the slate ahead of Games 3 and 4 on the road. The Yankees' staff took that mid-game momentum and ran with it; both Mike Torrez and Ron Guidry followed with complete games at Dodger Stadium, handing the Yankees a 3-1 series lead they'd eventually finish in six.

Clay passed away this week. He was born in Lynchburg, and that's where he was laid to rest. Nancy Newman of the YES Network paid tribute to his efforts ahead of the Yankees' series opener with the Mariners, another team he pitched for in 1981 ahead of his retirement.

Yankees two-time World Series champion Ken Clay improved even further in 1978 playoffs

If 1977 began Clay's journey as a "Where Did That Come From?" playoff performer, the 1978 ALCS against the Royals cemented it.

Clay had another rough regular season, with an ERA above 4.00 and a negative WAR (he would regress past 5.00 in 1979, then leave New York for good). But when the Yankees needed an innings-eater behind Jim Beattie in Game 1 against KC, Clay threw 3 2/3 more shutout frames, finishing the game with three walks, two Ks, and no hits. The Yankees took the series in four.

Clay also appeared in the World Series that October, but faltered. Thankfully, it came in a six-game win, and the yeoman's work he did in the championship series allowed the Yankees to use Goose Gossage for three innings in Game 3, keeping him in the contest to close the door after he'd blown it and they'd regained the lead.

1978 was a different world, and Clay was just a kid, living the high life with a calm heartbeat whenever the pressure level as at its highest. Yankee fans will always remember him this way.