The New York Yankees were as far back as 14 games behind the Boston Red Sox at mid-July suffering from injuries to pitchers Catfish Hunter and Jim Beattie.
With time running out, the Yankees, four games behind the Red Sox in the American League East, began a crucial four-game series at Fenway Park in Boston.
On September 7, the Yanks began the "Boston Massacre" with a 15–3 drubbing of the BoSox, with second baseman Willie Randolph driving in five runs.
[3] New York went 48–20 (.706) in their last 68 scheduled games, but lost on the final day to Cleveland to finish the regular season in a dead-heat with Boston at 99–63 (.611).
In the National League the Los Angeles Dodgers were locked in a tight three-way race with the rival San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds falling as far as 6+1⁄2 games back.
Taking a lesson from the in-fighting Yankees, this normally close-knit group caught fire after a clubhouse fight between teammates Steve Garvey and Don Sutton in August, ultimately finishing 2+1⁄2 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds.
Rookie Bob Welch was a key after being promoted from the minors, winning seven games and saving three while being utilized as both a starter and reliever.
"[6] In a repeat of the 1977 playoffs the Yankees again dispatched the Kansas City Royals, this time three games to one as the Dodgers did the same to the Philadelphia Phillies by the same margin.
Ron Cey drove in all the Dodgers' runs with a single in the fourth and a three-run homer in the sixth off Yankee starter Catfish Hunter.
The previous reliever, Terry Forster, had allowed Bucky Dent and Paul Blair to reach base between outs, bringing up Jackson.
In post-game interviews, Jackson initially blamed his striking out on Bucky Dent running from second with the 3–2 pitch and distracting him from focusing on Welch.
With the Yankees desperately needing a win, ace Ron Guidry provided a victory aided by the stunning defense of third baseman Graig Nettles.
The Yankees got on the board in the first off Don Sutton on a Roy White homer and added a run in the second on an RBI forceout by Bucky Dent.
Nettles made a diving stop to save another extra-base hit and probable run, and threw Smith out at first to end the inning.
The Dodgers loaded the bases again with two outs in the sixth inning, but Nettles again made a great stop on a ball hit by Davey Lopes, and threw to second to complete the inning-ending force play.
Starters Ed Figueroa and Tommy John were locked in a scoreless duel before Reggie Smith struck with a three-run homer in the top of the fifth inning.
With Thurman Munson on second and Jackson on first, Lou Piniella hit a low, soft liner that shortstop Bill Russell fumbled (some claim intentionally).
Munson scored, partially because first baseman Steve Garvey stopped to yell at the first-base umpire over the non-interference call before retrieving the ball.
While Jackson continued to deny it, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, along with other eyewitnesses, steadfastly believed the Yankees outfielder purposefully interfered in the play.
The Yankees took one step closer to a repeat World Series championship on the strength of an unexpected complete game victory by young Jim Beattie.
They scored one more run in the eighth on Bucky Dent's RBI double off Hough as their 12–2 win gave them a 3–2 series lead heading back to Los Angeles.
Dent and Doyle pushed the score to 5–2 in the sixth with RBI singles and Reggie Jackson put the final nail in the Dodgers coffin with a tremendous two-run blast in the seventh inning to get revenge against his Game 2 nemesis, Bob Welch.
NBC televised the Series, with Joe Garagiola on play-by-play and Tony Kubek and Tom Seaver providing color analysis.
This was the last time that local announcers for the participating teams would call games on the national World Series radio broadcast.