Tom Lasorda had made a big splash in his first year as manager in Los Angeles, winning the pennant in 1977. The 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers made the new skipper 2-for-2, pulling away to win the NL West on the strength of a dynamite September.
The season was a noble effort, one that marked the Red Sox the second-best team in baseball (their 99 wins exceeded that of every other division winner and the Yanks went on to win the World Series) and the Sox had no quit in them. That’s a thin reed to hold onto when the best team is your archrival, when you had a 14-game lead after the All-Star break and you have to watch them celebrate on your home field.