The following is the opening paragraph from an article on Guidry in Sports Illustrated's September 19, 1977 edition entitled "Getting Fat With The Thin Man," a reference to the slender Louisianan's emergence as the Yankee ace as the team surged past the Red Sox and Orioles to win the AL East title.

"From Aug. 7 through the end of last week, the Yankees won 28 of 34 games and moved from third place, five games out, to two ahead in the American League East...And when a team goes on a tear, there invariably is a starting pitcher high on the list of streakers. Because the Yanks' staff is loaded with the likes of World Series heroes Catfish Hunter, Don Gullett and Ken Holtzman, it is hardly surprising that New York found a hot arm. The astounding thing is that the limb is attached to the left shoulder of Ron Guidry, a pitcher whose reputation had been as puny as his 5'11", 158-pound body."

Guidry's epic performance during the '78 pennant - the win in the one-game playoff at Fenway, the back-to-back two-hit shutouts of the Sox in September - didn't come as a surprise in Yankee fans. In fact, it seemed very familiar, because Guidry had been almost as dominant during the Yanks' 41-13 charge down the stretch in '77. It's likely Guidry's '77 performance would occupy a more significant place in baseball lore but for the shadow cast by the legendary '78 season.

The Yankees lost four of their first five games in August '77 to drop five games behind the Red Sox and 2.5 games behind the Orioles. Don Gullet, the Yanks' prize free-agent signing of '77, was on the disabled list. Catfish Hunter, Mike Torrez and Ed Figueroa, the mainstays of the Yanks' staff in '76, were collectively 26-25. And Ron Guidry, a relief pitcher plucked from the bullpen by Billy Martin in mid-May to bolster the stumbling starting staff, had a decent if unspectacular record of 8-6 and a 3.25 ERA.

Torrez pitched a six-hitter on August 7th to break a three-game Yankee skid and begin a streak of 24 wins in 27 games that vaulted the Yankees past the Red Sox and Orioles into first place in the AL East. The Yankees remained hot the rest of the season, ultimately winning 41 of their last 54 games, equalling the '51 Giants' 54 game dash to the NL pennant in the Miracle of Coogan's Bluff. As Sports Illustrated noted, the Yankees' ace down the stretch was, improbably, the slightly built Louisianan who'd pitched only 54 innings in the major leagues before joining the Yankees starting staff.