The Birth of the Rhythmic Clap

34 years ago today, June 17, 1978, the two strike rhythmic clap was born. And it's all because of a masterful performance by the Yankees' Ron Guidry in an amazing season.

1978 was a crazy time in the Bronx; Billy Martin fired and re-hired for the future. The Yankees sat 14 1/2 games back of Boston in July before a miraculous comeback and a one game playoff victory that gave Bucky Dent a rude nickname in Boston and led to another World Series championship. There was one consistent that season and it was Ron Guidry. The lefty, who nearly quit the game out of frustation two years earlier (and was nearly dealt by George Steinbrenner), had the most dominant season baseball had seen in years.

It included a Saturday night in the Bronx against the California Angels when Guidry set the team record for strikeouts with 18. It was that night that the fans began to clap with excitement each time Guidry got two strikes on a batter. A tradition was born.

The strikeout victims:
1st inning: Rick Miller, Joe Rudi
2nd inning: Brian Downing
3rd inning: Ike Hampton, Bobby Grich, Rudi
4th inning: Don Baylor, Ron Jackson, Merv Rettenmund
5th inning: Hampton, Grich
6th inning: Dave Chalk, Rudi, Baylor
7th inning: Downing
8th inning: Hampton
9th inning: Chalk, Rudi