The 1970s saw the Yankees bring home one championship in a memorable World Series against the Mets, but ended it falling back toward the bottom of the AL East. The decade was also the beginning of a new era in baseball as free agency began. The Yankees used the new player acquisition method and made a big splashes, bringing in Pete Rose, among others.
As the new decade begins, can the Yankees build back into World Series contention or will the slide even further out of contention?
1980: 77-85, 6th in AL East, 20 GB, Team WAR Leader: SP Dennis Leonard (6.