Yanks, Dodgers legends dish on historic 1977, ’78, ’81 World Collection showdowns

Was this World Collection matchup inevitable? That query hovered over the postseason from the start, and now we have now our reply. The Yankees and Dodgers — classic October rivals — will meet in Sport 1 Friday in Los Angeles, their first Fall Basic battle in 43 years.

“Right here we go,” stated Ron Guidry, the previous Yankees ace and 1978 AL Cy Younger Award winner. “Name it no matter you need — karma, destiny. However you will have the [probable] AL MVP and the [probable] NL MVP. What else extra might you need?”

This would be the 12th time these groups have met within the Fall Basic. The primary seven got here within the period of the Subway Collection — when the Dodgers have been nonetheless in Brooklyn — between 1941 and 1956, with the Yankees successful all however one time. Brooklyn’s lone World Collection title got here in 1955, one in every of 4 instances they took one another to a Sport 7.

Rather a lot has modified since these two titans final clashed in 1981. Free company and Interleague Play particularly have altered the make-up of groups and scheduling. Powerhouse groups from generations previous stayed collectively for years; as we speak’s rosters flip over extra shortly as groups attempt to strike the stability between homegrown expertise and free-agent signings.

Historical past tells us each are efficient methods to win championships. Historical past additionally proves that this explicit World Collection matchup is each bit as intriguing because it was 40, 60, or 80 years in the past. No matter period, the Dodgers and Yankees convey unmatched star energy to the sport’s largest stage.

Want proof? Take a look at the names that Corridor of Famer Reggie Jackson, the MVP of the 1977 World Collection, rattled off as he thought in regards to the iconic gamers from the Yankees-Dodgers matchups, previous and current.

“Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford … Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella,” he stated. “All these nice names are simply such an incredible a part of baseball. It doesn’t get any higher than the Yankees and the Dodgers. All of that is nice for the sport. [Aaron] Choose and [Shohei] Ohtani, [Juan] Soto and [Mookie] Betts …”

After Sandy Koufax led the now-LA Dodgers to a four-game sweep in 1963, the 2 groups wouldn’t meet once more till 1977. That was the beginning of a five-year run through which they performed 3 times for the trophy, the Yankees successful in ’77 and ’78, and the Dodgers lastly turning the tables in 1981.

“To play in these three World Collection was the last word for me,” stated Steve Garvey, the previous Dodgers first baseman who served as a Dodgers bat boy throughout Spring Coaching within the late Nineteen Fifties and early ’60s.

Each groups have more true rivals inside their league (Yankees-Purple Sox, Dodgers-Giants), however there are nonetheless some sturdy emotional bonds at play between New York and Los Angeles.

“I grew up a Dodgers and Lakers fan in Southern California,” stated Dusty Baker, a Dodgers outfielder from 1976-1983. “There have been two groups that killed the groups that I cherished — the Yankees and the Celtics. So after I bought to the World Collection, it meant a ton to me as a result of I used to be a Dodgers fan who wasn’t loopy in regards to the Yankees. I felt it actual deep.”

He’s not alone. Rick Monday, the previous Dodgers outfielder who has been broadcasting their video games since 1993 and grew up in Santa Monica, Calif., has related recollections.

“I grew up not liking the Yankees, apart from one man,” he stated. “Mantle.”

Childhood allegiances are laborious to shake. So are feelings embedded via the warmth of competitors on the highest stage.

“It’s not that I didn’t just like the gamers,” Guidry stated. “I didn’t just like the Dodgers. They didn’t like my uniform, I didn’t like theirs. As ballplayers they have been super, however they bought a Dodger uniform. So that you checked out them in another way, and I do know they felt the identical manner about us.”

“We didn’t like one another and we performed that manner,” stated Willie Randolph, a former Yankees captain who later performed two seasons with the Dodgers. “They have been extra Hollywood and we have been extra blue collar. There was wholesome respect, however we positively didn’t like one another.”

“We hated everybody,” former Yankees nearer and Corridor of Famer Goose Gossage stated with a cackle.

After all, these emotions have been simply as intense with the followers.

Baker, who final managed the Astros in 2023, stated Yankees followers would nonetheless give him grief 40-some years later.

“I’m going to New York even as we speak they usually yell at me, ‘Baker, I’m mad at you!’ I’m going, ‘For what? ‘You beat us in ’81,’” he stated. “And I’m going, ‘Wait a minute now, you beat us in ’77 and ’78.’ They anticipate to win on a regular basis.”

These three matchups featured some huge moments and lasting photographs. None have been greater or extra memorable than Jackson’s three house run-performance within the series-clinching Sport 6 of the 1977 World Collection.

“I’m uninterested in taking a look at these spotlight movies,” Monday stated with a chuckle. “All three of them you possibly can see me going to the fence.”

“Each bought extra wonderful than the opposite,” stated Chris Chambliss, the Yankees first baseman who was on deck behind Jackson for all three pictures. “He didn’t even take any pitches. It was the primary pitch each time. It was simply surreal.”

“It is like we ran right into a buzzsaw and there wasn’t a lot we might do about it,” former Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey stated.

After the third house run, Jackson’s fifth of the collection, Garvey stood at first base and quietly applauded in his glove as Jackson trotted previous.

“In the event you don’t notice greatness and acknowledge it, then you definitely don’t perceive the sport,” Garvey stated.

Together with the 1974 World Collection when Jackson’s Oakland A’s beat Los Angeles in 5 video games, 9 of Jackson’s profession 18 postseason house runs have been in opposition to the Dodgers.

“That’s why they known as him Mr. October,” stated Graig Nettles, the previous third baseman whose acrobatic fielding helped the Yankees erase an 0-2 deficit and win the 1978 Collection in six video games for back-to-back titles.

The Dodgers lastly bought their style of victory in 1981. It didn’t come a second too quickly for a veteran Dodgers group that knew modifications have been on the horizon. After staving off elimination 5 instances in collection wins over Houston and Montreal, guess who was of their manner once more?

“I used to be like, ‘Rattling, we gotta play the Yankees once more?’” Baker laughed. “Then they beat us within the first two video games.”

This time it was the Dodgers who got here again to win 4 straight and the championship. The complete circle second got here in Sport 6 as Jackson stood on first base subsequent to Garvey, with the Dodgers one out away from victory.

“Garv, it’s your time now,” Jackson advised him as they stood in the identical spot the place Garvey secretly applauded Reggie’s history-making flip 4 years earlier. Moments later, the Dodgers had their championship.

“That yr was not painful after the final out within the ninth inning,” Monday stated. ”It had been painful within the earlier journeys.”

“There’s no query that it sounds lots higher once you say we beat the New York Yankees within the World Collection,” stated Cey, the collection co-MVP.

Total, the Yankees are 8-3 within the World Collection in opposition to the Dodgers. And the rivalry that solely burns in October begins once more Friday night time in Los Angeles.

“They bought a few of the prime stars on this sport on this collection,” Baker stated. “Baseball could not have drawn it up any higher. I’m going to get me some popcorn and a few beer and perhaps a pair sizzling canines and be a fan.”