Classic World Series matchup in place

By David Mullen

The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers meet in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series on Friday, Oct. 25 at stately Dodger Stadium at 7:08 p.m. When informed of the impending matchup, the casual sports fan might say, “Yankees and Dodgers again?”

The Yankees have appeared in 41 previous Fall Classics, winning 27. The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have appeared in 21 World Series battles (nine in Brooklyn and 12 in LA), winning seven. The Yankees and Dodgers facing each other in the 2024 World Series seemed like a foregone conclusion from Opening Day. 

But they have not faced each other in the World Series since 1981. A players’ strike halted that season for nearly seven weeks in June and July, causing MLB to revamp the playoff schedule and try to win back fan interest. The season was divided into two “halves” with a four-team playoff schedule in each league determining the World Series representatives. 

The 1981 season was full of inequity. By honoring a divisional “first half” and “second half” champion, teams with better overall records like the Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers failed to qualify for the playoffs. Division champions faced each other in a truncated five-game playoff schedule. 

The Yankees emerged as AL Champions by defeating the then AL East Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics. The Dodgers beat the then NL West Houston Astros and Montreal Expos for the NL crown. The last time the Yankees and Dodgers met in the World Series, Montreal and Oakland had baseball teams and Milwaukee and Houston were in different leagues.

In 1981, the Dodgers won the series 4 games to 2, led by the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award winner Fernando Valenzuela and timely hitting from Dodgers veterans. Befitting a chaotic season, Pedro Guerrero, Ron Cey and Steve Yeager shared the series MVP trophy. Sadly, Valenzuela passed away on October 23 at age 63, just two days before the start of the World Series.

The Yankees versus Dodgers rivalry has provided some of the most memorable moments in World Series history. In 1941, the first World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers, New York prevailed 4 games to 1. 

In 1955, the Dodgers defeated the Yankees, 4 games to 3, in a series that highlighted the baserunning skills of Jackie Robinson.

One year later, the tables were turned as the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series 4 games to 3. Yankees starting pitcher Don Larsen pitched the first and only perfect game in World Series history. Catcher Yogi Berra famously leaped into the arms of Larsen after the final strike. Pitching also prevailed in the 1963 World Series. The Dodgers, leaning on Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, defeated the Yankees 4 games to 0, holding New York to four runs in four games.

But in the first of three World Series matchups during the next five years, the 1977 World Series may be the most memorable in the run. Yankees right fielder Reggie Jackson hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches in Game 6, earning him the nickname of “Mr. October.” Only Babe Ruth had hit three home runs in a World Series game, and that milestone had taken place 49 years earlier.

The 2024 matchup was inevitable. Each team had the best records in their leagues. Both teams have huge payrolls. New York’s Aaron Judge hit an AL record 62 home runs in 2022. Judge is wedged in between Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, creating a modern day “Murderer’s Row.”

LA’s Shohei Ohtani became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same year. Ohtani is followed in the lineup by All-Stars Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. With his Japanese roots and with all due respect to Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James and soccer’s Messi and Renaldo, Ohtani is the most popular male athlete in the world. The Dodgers pitching staff have been decimated by injuries. The pride of Highland Park, LA ace Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, Gavin Stone and others are out for the series. Both teams will rely heavily on their bullpens. The best pitcher in the series is Yankees starter Gerrit Cole. He may be the difference maker. The Yankees haven’t won the World Series since 2009, and the Dodgers last won the 2020 World Series played in Arlington because of COVID-19. The Dodgers are slight favorites to win in 2024. I’ll take the Yankees in six games because of a better pitching situation. 

It is East Coast versus West Coast. Broadway meets Hollywood. The No. 1 media market in the U.S. against the second largest. Games will be played in the iconic venues of Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium. Both ballparks reflect the cultural differences between the two locations. Yankee Stadium is dark, steeped in history and tradition and full of gritty, knowledgeable fans. Dodgers Stadium, despite opening in 1962, looks new and bright and is blue and airy like a walk on Malibu Beach. 

The world will be watching.