NY Times: Nov. 8, 1978

Paul Semendinger
Dec 6, 2025
1 min read

By Paul Semendinger

December 6, 1978

***

The discussion on who deserved the 1978 MVP is summarized well in this article from the New York Times the day after the award was announced.

In short, this article makes the point that the decision was a very close one and that both players had a rightful claim on the award.

The article also shows that a New York writer voted for Jim Rice. This further illustrates the fact that Guidry not winning the award was not anti-Yankees bias.

Read on: NY TIMES : Rice Is MVP., Guidry 2d

12 Comments

Alan B.

Dec 07, 2025

In 1978 Pitchers had the CY Young, hitters had the MVP, and according to our family friend Burt, Pitchers need something extraordinary with no spectacular offensive player in order to grab the MVP. Jim Rice had a great hitting season.

P.S. I don't agree with Jim Rice as a HOF.

Robert Malchman

Dec 07, 2025

Replying to

In 1981 (a strike year, it's important to remember), Dwight Evans and Rickey Henderson each put up 6.7 WAR. MVP Rollie Fingers was at 4.2 pitching all of 78 innings. Bert Blyleven was more valuable pitching twice as many innings, but still not as good as Evans and Henderson.

In 1984, Willie Hernandez had 4.8 WAR, Dave Stieb 7.9, and Cal Ripken 10.0. Of course, Hernandez's team made the post-season, but that matters only if you're not on the Yankees.

In 1986, Clemens had 8.8 WAR, but Ted Higuera was at 9.4, but the Brewers didn't make the playoffs and the Red Sox did, and that's really important -- unless you're on the Yankees. Also, Wade Boggs had a grea…

Robert Malchman

Dec 06, 2025

"Rice, with most of New England, had contended that a day‐in, dayout player was more valuable. Pitchers, he said, had their award with the Cy Young Trophy."

So Rice, on top of choking in the one-game playoff, is also a hypocrite: AL pitchers won MVP's in 1971, 1981, 1984 and 1986. Where were all the New Englanders outraged by Roger Clemens' MVP because he was merely a pitcher?

"But the Yankee left‐hander halted long enough to give his lawyer a statement congratulating’ Rice ('His statistics were deserving of the award') and net once suggesting that he had been over‐: looked because he was a pitcher and not a hitter. He added that he was 'not disappointed and by not receiving…

Edited

Robert Malchman

Dec 07, 2025

Replying to

When contemporaneous analysis cannot functionally distinguish between two candidates, the one on the winning team is the more valuable, even if it's just by one game. If the Red Sox had won that game, Guidry in hindsight (WAR) still was more valuable over the course of the season, but I couldn't complain at the time if Rice won the award.

Put another way, as a general rule, of course one game should not determine an MVP award. The exception is if it is one game between teams for all the marbles with two roughly equal (to appearances at the time) contenders. That's what happened in the AL in 1978.

Maz should have been the 1960 WS MVP. He slashed .320/.320/.640/.960…

fuster

Dec 06, 2025

you're not going to make your case about the absence of anti-Yankee bias by illustrating that Rice rec'd 20 first-place votes to only 8 for Guidry.

you do make a reasonable case for the fair-mindedness of New York-based sportswriters

and the awful bigotry of the ones based in Newark.

it's long been evident that the people in New Jersey resent their lowly station in life

Paul Semendinger

Dec 06, 2025

Replying to

You're missing the point...

You can have an honest discussion/debate about anything I write.

But you're not doing that. You're making snide comments all over the place on this site the last day or so. On almost every article and for many comments.

I ask respectfully, to please stop the nonsense.

The snide comments distract from serious conversation and it makes my site less welcoming. I have explained this to you plenty of times. You know this. No one wants to be ridiculed - especially by a person with a pen name.

Thank you for understanding.

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