Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
For the first time since 1981, the Los Angeles Dodgers will meet the New York Yankees in the World Series. The 2024 World Series should be a classic. However, the Dodgers and the Yankees are the most common combination for the World Series through the years.
This year is the twelfth time that the Dodgers and the Yankees will meet in the World Series. Starting in 1941, the Dodgers met the Yankees frequently in the World Series until 1956. The Yankees dominated the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees broke the Brooklyn fans’ hearts, and this coined the phrase “Wait ‘til next year.” The Dodgers didn’t play badly, but the Yankees were just better with Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and Billy Martin.
However, in 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the hated Yankees to have their only world championship in Brooklyn. Johnny Podres, a rookie, pitched a shutout in Game 7. The 1955 Dodgers featured many future Hall of Famers, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, and Duke Snider.
Of course, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees met in the 1956 World Series. Don Larsen, a journeyman right-handed pitcher, hurled a perfect game in the 1956 World Series Game 5, and the Dodgers couldn’t rebound from that. This was the last World Series that the Brooklyn Dodgers played.
In 1963, the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a weak offense but starting pitching by Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, swept the Yankees. The Yankees had aging superstars in Berra and Mantle. The Yankees didn’t know how to stop Maury Wills on the base paths and couldn’t hit Drysdale and Koufax. The Dodgers’ sweep of the Yankees was satisfying for them and their fans.
The Dodgers and the Yankees met again in the 1977 World Series. This was the first World Series that Tommy Lasorda managed. He constantly came out on the field to argue with the umpires about controversial plays. Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in a game, earning the World Series MVP. The Dodgers lost in six games.
Again in 1978, the Dodgers and the Yankees met in the World Series. Bobby Welch, a rookie, struck out Reggie Jackson, who had earned the nickname “Mr. October.” However, the Dodgers lost in seven games since they made fielding errors and couldn’t stop shortstop Bucky Dent. The Yankees’ third baseman, Graig Nettles was a human vacuum cleaner.
After a strike-abbreviated 1981 season, the Dodgers, a veteran club with a last chance to win a world championship together, met the Yankees in the 1981 World Series. The Yankees couldn’t play their superstar Reggie Jackson because of an injury. After falling behind by two wins, the Dodgers won four straight to be world champions. Ron Cey, Steve Yeager, and Pedro Guerrero shared MVP of the World Series. Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Howe played a vital role in the series. This was the first world championship managed by Tommy Lasorda.
The Yankees haven’t appeared in the World Series since 2009, and the Dodgers haven’t been to the World Series since 2020 when they won their last world championship. The Dodgers haven’t had a full-season world championship since 1988.
