Ron Guidry

Ron Guidry was born August 28, 1950 in Lafayette, Louisiana.  In 1969-1970, he excelled as a left handed pitcher for the University of Southwestern Louisiana baseball team.

Guidry was selected by the New York Yankees on the third round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.  He made his debut with the Yankees on July 25, 1975.

Two years later, Guidry became part of the Yankees starting rotation.  He finished the season with an impressive record of 16 wins and only 7 losses.  Guidry was an important factor in the Yankees winning the 1977 World Series championship.  

On June 17, 1978, Guidry struck out a record 18 California Angels.  His totals that year were an amazing 25 wins and only 3 losses.  Guidry again led the Yankees to a second straight World Series victory.

In his fourteen year baseball career, Guidry won a total of 170 games with 1,778 strikeouts.  He won the Cy Young award as the best pitcher in the American League in 1978.  

Guidry was named to the All-Star game four times.  His number 49 was retired by the New York Yankees.  There is a monument in his honor at Yankee Stadium.  

I think it was the summer of 1993 when my young son Bret and I, along with my friend Joe and his young daughter Regine, took a trip to upstate New York to visit my home town of Oswego plus Cooperstown, the location of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

We were having lunch in a restaurant in Cooperstown when I recognized Ron Guidry at a nearby table.  He was there for a money making autograph signing.  Many patrons were hovering near him. 

As I recall, Regine, who, unlike my son, grew up in a home where professional baseball was not important, asked her father why so many people were interested in this man.  He said she should go ask him.  And she did.

According to my friend Joe, Regine asked Ron, "Are you famous?"  He replied, "I used to be."

Regine returned to our table a few minutes later.  And shortly thereafter, so did Ron Guidry.  Apparently, he was so charmed by Regine (he had two daughters himself) that he wanted to meet the group she came from.

We chatted with Ron Guidry for some minutes.  He mentioned that originally he did not want to be a pitcher, but preferred being an every day ball player.  However, he was told that being a pitcher was his ticket to the major leagues.  It certainly was.