Dodgers: Revisiting the Dodgers-Yankees 1981 World Series

The Dodgers and Yankees have met up in the World Series eleven times.  Their last World Series matchup came back in 1981 with the LA coming out victorious.

The Dodgers are renewing their historic rivalry with the Yankees this weekend.  The two clubs have met up eleven times in the World Series and the Yankees have won eight times.  Despite that big advantage, the last time they battled in the World Series, the Dodgers won back in 1981.  That was after two losses to the Yankees in the 1977 and 1978 World Series.  A reminder to current Dodgers that they too can overcome the past two WS defeats.

World Series Recap

The series did not start in the Dodgers’ favor as they fell behind two games to zero before rattling off four straight wins to win the series 4-2.  Fernando Valenzuela pitched a complete game allowing four earned runs.  Valenzuela battled despite not having his best stuff and even walked seven batters.  “The Penguin”, Ron Cey homered in game three and Pedro Guerrero doubled in a run.

Game four of the series, the Yankees had a chance to put the Dodgers in a 3-1 series deficit but they were unable to hold on to a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning.  Jay Johnstone hit a two-run pinch-hit home run to cut the Yanks’ lead to one.

Reggie Jackson who missed the first three games with an injury, allowed Davey Lopes to get on base and he later scored on a base hit by Bill Russell.  A sac fly by Steve Yeager and an RBI infield single by Lopes gave the Dodgers a two-run lead they would not relinquish.

The Dodgers’ defeated the Yankees’ top starter Ron Guidry in game five of the series to put the Yankees on the brink of elimination.  Guidry cruised through six innings but gave up back to back home runs in the seventh inning to Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager.  Jerry Reuss bested Guidry’s solid effort as he pitched a complete game allowing five hits and just one run.

After five closely contested games, the Dodgers clinched their World Series title in game six and the game was not close as the final score was 9-2.  Ron Cey and Pedro Guerrero combined to drive in three runs early on in the game before the Yankees fell apart in the sixth inning.

The Dodgers scored four runs in the sixth to extend the lead to 8-2 on two errors and base hits to Bill Russell, Derrel Thomas, and Pedro Guerrero. That was more than enough runs for the Dodgers to close out the Yankees to win their fifth World Series title.  Ever since then the Dodgers and Yankees have never met in the postseason again.

MVP X3

The Dodgers had three MVP’s of the 1981 World Series which were Steve Yeager, Ron Cey, and Pedro Guerrero.  Guerrero led the Dodgers with two home runs and seven RBI’s.  Yeager also hit two home runs while driving in four runs.  The Penguin was second on the club with six RBI’s and one home run while hitting .350 in the World Series.

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Dodgers catch a few breaks

As with all World Series champions, the Dodgers caught a few breaks in the World Series.  The first is that Reggie Jackson sat out the two first games of the series due to a leg injury he sustained in the ALCS.  Jackson did not start game three either against southpaw Fernando Valenzuela.  The other was Dave Winfield having a horrible World Series and recorded just one base hit in twenty-two AB’s.

Ron Cey and the ’81 Dodgers also caught a break due to mother nature.  Cey was hit in the helmet in game five of WS by a Goose Gossage fastball.  Due to a rainout, game six of the series was delayed by a day.  If the game had not been pushed back then there is a good chance that Ron Cey would have missed the game with a concussion.

The present

With the Dodgers and Yankees owning the best record in their respective leagues, many baseball fans are wondering if this is finally the year we get the long-overdue Dodgers-Yankees World Series matchup.  There is still plenty to be determined but this is one of the best chances in years for an LA-NY World Series.

The Yankees seem to have the harder path to the WS with the Houston Astros in the American League, but the Dodgers have some competition of their own with the Braves, Nationals, and Cubs all worth of putting up a fight.  For now, Dodger fans can enjoy a stress-free series against the Bronx Bombers and hope for a twelfth meeting between the two this October.