The date was Friday, September 29, 1978. The Yankees were in the final stretch of one of the greatest in-season comebacks in history, starting the day one game ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East standings after being 14 games behind Boston in July. With only three games left in the season, and with the safety net of a Wild Card not yet a possibility in MLB, every game was crucial.
The good news was the fact that the Yankees would be hosting Cleveland in the final series, and that ballclub was 21 games under .