Yankees-Dodgers World Collection historical past: Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Reggie Jackson and extra magical moments

As World Collection duels go, none is as time-honored, as marbled with historical past and classical moments, because the Yankees versus the Dodgers. They’re the 2 flagship franchises of Main League Baseball, wielding historic and monetary may like none different, and for the twelfth time they are going to meet within the Fall Basic. It’s the most frequent of playoff clashes in MLB, and it isn’t an in depth race. 

Their World Collection rivalry started after they shared the identical metropolis and endured even when the 2 groups occupied reverse coasts and reverse ends of the continent. They’ve performed World Collection video games in 4 completely different stadia, three of which quantity among the many most iconic venues in sports activities. Their video games have featured numberless Corridor of Famers and virtually as many inner-circle legends of baseball. In order the 2 golf equipment get able to conflict for the game’s highest honor as soon as once more – for the twelfth time, to repeat – it is a becoming event to look again on the sprawling historical past of Yankees-Dodgers World Collection encounters. 

Let’s try this now, beginning with their first head-to-head encounter in 1941 and going by their most up-to-date one – at the very least till the primary pitch of the 2024 World Collection flies on Friday. 

1941: Owen’s dropped strike (Yankees in 5)

Within the first Yankees-Dodgers World Collection, the inter-borough New York Metropolis rivals got here in having every authored 100-win common seasons. For Brooklyn, it was the staff’s first pennant in additional than 20 years. Recreation 1 occasioned a then-record crowd of 68,500 at Yankee Stadium. The sequence turned in Recreation 4 at Ebbets Discipline. With the Yankees holding a 2-1 benefit within the sequence, the Dodgers appeared poised to tie it, as they led 4-3 going into the ninth. Brooklyn reliever Hugh Casey received the primary two outs of the body after which he and Yankees outfielder Tommy Henrich labored each other to a full rely. Casey landed a curveball for a known as strike three and what initially gave the impression to be the ultimate out of the sport. Nevertheless, the ball received away from catcher Mickey Owen, and an alert Henrich was in a position to dash to first base earlier than Owen might wrangle the ball and throw him out. Sadly for the Dodgers, that introduced up the meat of the Yankee lineup, beginning with Joe DiMaggio – he of the 56-game hit streak earlier that very same season. DiMaggio singled, Charlie Keller doubled, Invoice Dickey drew a stroll, and Joe Gordon hit his personal double. The Yankees gained the sport 7-4 after which closed out the sequence the following day with a Recreation 5 win. 

1947: Gionfriddo robs DiMaggio (Yankees in seven)

The Yankees gained the pennant on the energy of a June 19-game win streak, and the Dodgers got here in powered by Jackie Robinson’s pioneering rookie marketing campaign. Recreation 1 made historical past the second it began, because it was the first-ever televised World Collection sport. Recreation 4 noticed Yankees starter Invoice Bevens virtually craft an unlikely no-hitter – unlikely first as a result of Bevens within the common season went simply 7-13 with a worse-than-average ERA and in addition unlikely as a result of he wound up strolling 10 batters (!) in Recreation 4. One out from a World Collection no-hitter and staked to a 2-1 lead, Dodgers supervisor Burt Shotton despatched up reserve infielder Cookie Lavagetto to pinch hit for Eddie Stanky. With two on and two out, Lavagetto lasered a double off the wall to finish Bevens’ bid for historical past and, extra basically, give the Dodgers a 3-2 walk-off win. That win evened the sequence at 2-2. 

Recreation 6 introduced in regards to the newest Yankee Stadium attendance file – 74,065 clicks of the turnstiles – and a back-and-forth sport. A signature play got here within the backside of the sixth when DiMaggio received to the plate because the potential tying run. DiMaggio yanked a Joe Hatten pitch deep down the left-field line for what might need been a game-tying homer. Nevertheless, Al Gionfriddo, patrolling left as a defensive substitute for the Dodgers, was on the beat:

As baseball lore has it, when DiMaggio booted the grime it was a maybe never-before-glimpsed instance of his on-field stoicism receding for only a second. Baseball, although, is a sport of bathos, and Gionfriddo’s miracle snare didn’t herald any bigger triumph. In Recreation 7 the following day, the Yankees overcame an early deficit to win 5-2 and safe their eleventh World Collection championship. 

1949: Henrich makes historical past (Yankees in 5)

The Yankees prevailed over the Pink Sox in an exciting pennant race beneath first-year supervisor Casey Stengel. The Dodgers, meantime, edged the Cardinals by a single sport within the Nationwide League. Buoyed by these fraught finishes and every with 97 wins, the Yankees and Dodgers appeared primed for a basic. Recreation 1 definitely caught to the script, as Henrich once more made his October presence felt. This time it was by way of the primary walk-off house run in World Collection historical past. Within the backside of the ninth in a scoreless sport, Henrich drove Don Newcombe’s third pitch of the at-bat over the fence in proper for a Yankees win. Listed here are Pink Barber and Mel Allen on the decision: 

Allie Reynolds was one other hero for the Yankees. Along with notching a complete-game shutout within the opener, he additionally retired 10 straight batters in a Recreation 4 high-leverage reduction look. Sure, the Yankees closed it out in 5 video games, however three of the video games have been determined by a single run and one other by simply two. 

1952: Martin saves the day (Yankees in seven) 

DiMaggio’s retirement following the 1951 season did not perceptibly diminish Stengel’s juggernaut, because the likes of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Hank Bauer stepped into the breach. Additionally making his presence felt on the most well timed of junctures was younger infielder Billy Martin. It occurred within the deciding Recreation 7 of the World Collection. The complete sequence had been a to-and-fro affair, as the 2 golf equipment alternated wins by the primary six video games. In Recreation 7, the Yankees clung to a 4-2 lead within the backside of the seventh. The Dodgers, nonetheless, had the bases loaded with two outs. With the rely 2-2, Robinson popped up a pitch from Bob Kuvaza to the correct aspect. The harmless-seeming ball would usually belong to Yankees first baseman Joe Collins, however he misplaced the ball within the afternoon shadows of Ebbets Discipline. That is when Martin dashed in from second base to safe the ball at his shins and stop the Dodgers from tying the sport. 

Kuzava stored Brooklyn scoreless within the ultimate two innings, and the Yankees claimed their fourth straight title. The Dodgers, although, made some important historical past previous to falling to the Yankees in agonizing style. The opener, a 4-2 Dodgers win, noticed Joe Black turn out to be the primary Black pitcher to win a World Collection sport. 

1953: The primary to 5 (Yankees in six)

The Yankees had beforehand gained 4 World Collection in a row from 1936-39 beneath Joe McCarthy. No staff, nonetheless, had ever gained 5 titles in succession. Stengel’s pinstripers in ’53, although, managed that titan’s elevate. That unprecedented accomplishment got here on the expense of the Dodgers, who gained 105 video games in the course of the 1953 common season. As was the case the prior October, Martin performed the hero, however this time it was due to his bat. He notched a game-tying homer within the second contest of the sequence, an eventual Yankee win. Then in Recreation 6, Martin within the backside of the ninth with the rating tied 3-3 singled by the center of the infield off Clem Labine to attain Hank Bauer with the championship-clinching run.

Martin for the sequence went 12 for twenty-four with a pair of house runs and eight RBI. No staff earlier than or for the reason that 1949-53 Yankees has gained 5 World Collection in a row.  

1955: The Bums break by 

The ’55 World Collection stays a basic because of lasting second upon lasting second and the truth that it yielded the Dodgers’ first and solely title in Brooklyn. It appeared an unlikely time for it, given the getting old Dodger core, however a league-best 98 wins in the course of the common season proved “Dem Bums” had one final crack inside them. Jackie Robinson’s buccaneering steal of house in Recreation 1 stays a World Collection touchstone, however layered behind it’s the truth that the Dodgers started the sequence in a 2-0 gap. They rebounded to take all three video games at Ebbets Discipline, however Whitey Ford pressured one more Recreation 7 between the 2 groups together with his full sport within the penultimate contest. Within the determinative Recreation 7, the Dodgers led 2-0 within the backside of the sixth. But the Yankees have been primed to strike with two on, no outs, and AL MVP Yogi Berra on the plate. Berra lashed a pitch from Johnny Podres to the left-field nook – presumably for further bases and a tie sport. Out in deep left, Sandy Amoros, who’d simply been inserted for defensive functions by supervisor Walter Alston, broke for the ball. He’d been shading the lefty-swinging Berra towards heart, which initially made Amoros’ job appear virtually not possible. It was not, at the very least not for him. 

Amoros not solely had a future to make on Berra’s sinking drive, however he additionally needed to negotiate the unfamiliar Yankee Stadium nook. That defensive task was the primary time Amoros had ever taken the sphere on the Stadium. He was then in a position to hustle the ball to Pee Wee Reese, who minimize down Gil McDougald at first base for the double play. Hank Bauer was retired on a groundout to finish the peril. Podres stared down one other jam within the eighth earlier than working a clear ninth and securing the long-sought belt and title for Brooklyn. 

Podres twirled a pair of full video games with a 1.00 ERA, and for these efforts he was given the first-ever World Collection MVP award. 

1956: The flawless Larsen (Yankees in seven)

In Recreation 2, Yankees right-hander Don Larsen struggled badly, permitting 4 walks and 4 runs in simply 1 2/3 innings en path to a 13-8 Dodgers win. Larsen’s meltdown helped the Dodgers take a 2-0 lead within the sequence. Recreation 5 noticed them tied 2-2. Whereas Stengel might’ve thought higher of utilizing Larsen once more after his efficiency in Recreation 2, he caught with the 26-year-old and let him know the beginning was his, because the story goes, by leaving a baseball in his shoe on the morning of Recreation 5. Larsen took that ball – as an instance it was the precise sport ball for functions of narrative continuity – and spun some of the legendary begins to which baseball has ever borne witness. Throughout 9 innings and 97 pitches towards a Dodger offense that ranked second within the NL in runs scored that 12 months, Larsen did not allow a single baserunner. It was the primary no-hitter and nonetheless solely good sport in World Collection historical past. Larsen additionally labored in leverage for these 9 taut innings, because the Yankee hitters gave Larsen simply two runs of help. In distinction to his Recreation 2 management struggles, Larsen in Recreation 5 allowed just one three-ball rely, to the second batter of the sport. Vin Scully, take it away: 

Recreation 6 noticed one other miracle of a pitching efficiency. Clem Labine, the Dodgers’ reduction ace in the course of the common season (he led the majors in video games completed and saves and made 62 appearances), was pressed into responsibility as a starter for Recreation 6. He rose to the calls for of the second after which some, as Labine threw 10 shutout innings and by no means allowed a runner to achieve third base. Labine’s reverse quantity, Bob Turley, was virtually nearly as good till Jackie Robinson received to him for a walk-off single within the house half of the tenth. 

Recreation 7 afforded no dramatics, because the Yankees barged to an early lead and wound up successful the deciding contest 9-0. Robinson made the final out – a swinging strikeout – in what can be the ultimate sport of his luminous and sky-scraping profession. Adjustments have been quickly afoot, as inside two years the Brooklyn Dodgers would turn out to be the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trailblazing journey they made with the Giants to the virgin territory of California. Reese, the Dodgers’ stalwart shortstop and future Corridor of Famer, can be the one participant to play in each Brooklyn Dodgers-New York Yankees World Collection.  

1963: Dodger pitching dominance (Dodgers in 4) 

Right here now we have the primary Dodgers-Yankees World Collection for the reason that former relocated throughout the nation. The Yankees have been within the Fall Basic for the fourth time within the decade, however indicators of organizational decline have been beginning to present. The Dodgers, in distinction, have been coming into a interval of pitching-driven dominance, thanks largely to a entrance of the rotation that featured Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. The excellence of that rotation in October of ’63 was keenly felt by Yankee hitters. In Recreation 1, Koufax set a World Collection file with 15 strikeouts in a 5-2 Dodgers win within the Bronx. Podres pitched exceptionally nicely in Recreation 2, a 4-1 Dodgers win, and in Recreation 3 Drysdale crafted a three-hit shutout. The Dodgers turned to Koufax to safe the sweep, and that he did with a whole sport through which he out-dueled Whitey Ford in a 2-1 Dodgers win. Within the course of, Koufax set the file for many strikeouts in a four-game sequence. Throughout these 4 contests, the Dodger used simply 4 pitchers. The fourth, reduction ace Ron Perrannoski, labored simply 2/3 of an inning.

1977: Reg-gie! Reg-gie! (Yankees in six)

Coming off a World Collection sweep in 1976 by the hands of the Massive Pink Machine from Cincinnati, the Yankees, helmed by torpedoes-forever-damned proprietor George Steinbrenner, spent the next winter reinforcing an already robust roster. The chief addition was free-agent slugger Reggie Jackson. Whereas the Yankees’ common season in ’77 was notable for its controversies and tumults, to which Jackson was usually central, they did certainly make it again to the World Collection. They reprised their World Collection rivalry towards the Dodgers, who have been guided by first-year supervisor Tommy Lasorda and powered by 4 hitters with 30 or extra homers. The Yankees, meantime, have been skippered by Billy Martin, the World Collection hero of yore who was on the time between firings. 

Jackson homered within the Yankees’ Recreation 4 win at Dodger Stadium after which of their Recreation 5 loss. That was prelude to Recreation 6, when, with the Yankees up 3-2 within the sequence, Jackson on three swings remade himself right into a Yankees and World Collection legend. 

With that ultimate series-clinching blast, Jackson joined Babe Ruth as the one gamers to hit three house runs in a single World Collection sport. Going again to his ultimate at-bat of Recreation 5, it was 4 house runs on 4 swings for Jackson and 5 whole for the six-game sequence. He additionally amassed a then-record 10 runs scored and 25 whole bases for the sequence. 

Martin and Jackson had almost brawled within the Fenway Park customer’s dugout in June of that season and did little to cover their antipathy for each other, however all of the dissension and shared contempt was forgotten, or at the very least tabled, on that night time. Jackson was already, in his personal phrases, the Straw the Stirs the Drink. Together with his Recreation 6 attainments, he grew to become Mr. October. 

1978: The miracle continues (Yankees in six)

The Yankees weren’t alleged to be within the 1978 World Collection. At one level, they trailed the Boston Pink Sox by 14 video games within the AL East race, however the Yankees caught them, edged them in a white-knuckled tiebreaker sport, after which bounced the Royals within the ALCS. That arrange a rematch of the 1977 World Collection. After the primary two video games of the sequence, each gained by the Dodgers, the Yankees gave the impression to be buried. Recreation 2 featured some of the memorable “energy athwart energy” pitcher-hitter encounters of all. Reggie Jackson, the dominating presence within the ’77 World Collection, confronted off towards rookie Bob Welch, proprietor of one of many greatest fastballs within the sport. With two on and two out within the ninth inning of a 4-3 sport, Jackson and Welch matched wits and abilities for 9 pitches with the sport hanging within the stability. 

Welch – and thus the Dodgers – prevailed. Now the Yankees have been able to counterpunch like no staff ever had earlier than. Behind the pitching of Ron Guidry and the doggedly good fielding of third baseman Graig Nettles, the Yankees took Recreation 3. Then in Recreation 4, Jackson was once more a major character. The Dodgers led 3-0 within the sixth because of Reggie Smith’s homer earlier within the sport. The Yankees plated a run and had two on with one out when Lou Piniella lined one to Invoice Russell at shortstop. Russell let the ball drop in an effort to show a double play. Russell stepped on second to retire Jackson operating from first, however Russell’s throw to first base struck Jackson on the hip and bounded into the outfield, permitting Thurman Munson to attain the second Yankee run of the sport. The Dodgers argued vigorously that Jackson had deliberately gotten in the best way of the throw. 

Umpires discovered the Dodgers’ objections unpersuasive, and the play stood as an E6. The Yankees went on to tie the sport within the eighth and win it in extras to even the sequence at 2-2. The subsequent day, one newspaper referred to Jackson’s well timed deflection because the “sacrifice thigh.”

The final two video games of the sequence have been non-competitive, because the Yankees outscored the Dodgers 19-4 in Video games 5 and 6. In an act of reprisal, Jackson homered off Welch within the ultimate sport. His two homers within the sequence helped him set the file for many house runs (7) in consecutive World Collection. One other World Collection first was additionally notched, because the Yankees grew to become the primary staff ever to fall behind 2-0 in a World Collection after which go on to win the following 4 video games.  

1981: An elevator and a pinch-hitter (Dodgers in six)

The second staff to fall behind 2-0 in a World Collection after which go on to win the following 4 video games? That might be the 1981 Dodgers. The third Dodgers-Yankees World Collection matchup in a span of 5 years was the capstone to the strike-shortened ’81 season. The Yankees took the primary two video games of the sequence thanks partially to the pitching of former Dodger Tommy John. Then, nonetheless, the Dodgers barged again in Recreation 3 with a complete-game win from rookie phenom Fernando Valenzuela. Recreation 4 was a slugfest within the favor of the Dodgers, and Recreation 5 was a pitchers’ duel – Jerry Reuss towards Guidry – additionally within the Dodgers’ favor. Down 3-2 and headed again to New York, George Steinbrenner, maybe as a harebrained motivational tactic, unveiled his October shock. Here is the UPI lede dated Oct. 26, 1981:

“New York Yankees proprietor George Steinbrenner suffered a potential damaged proper hand and a minimize lip in a struggle with two younger Los Angeles Dodger followers who made deprecating remarks about his ballclub in a resort elevator.” 

After the alleged fracas, Steinbrenner alerted resort safety in regards to the incident, however the two assailants have been nowhere to be discovered. One needn’t look far to seek out those that suspected Steinbrenner’s story was concocted. Regardless of the fact, he maybe wasn’t carried out injecting himself into the story. Within the fourth inning of Recreation 6, the rating was tied 1-1, and the Yankees had two on with two out. To the shock of these observing the sport, Yankees supervisor Bob Lemon lifted his starter Tommy John, who’d thrown seven scoreless in Recreation 2, for a pinch-hitter. That pinch-hitter, Bobby Murcer, flew out deep to proper to finish the body. The Yankee bullpen rather than John then proceeded to hemorrhage runs, and the Dodgers gained simply, 9-2, to shut out the sequence with 4 straight victories. Yanks reliever George Frazier grew to become simply the second pitcher ever to be saddled with three losses in a single World Collection (the opposite, Lefty Williams of the 1919 White Sox, was being paid by gamblers to maintain his three losses). For the primary time, three gamers – Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager of the Dodgers – shared World Collection MVP laurels. 

Later, Murray Chass of the New York Occasions would write this of the essential and, from the Yankee standpoint, condemnable choice to bat for John so early within the sport: 

“Why did Lemon bat for John? All indications level to Steinbrenner as the rationale. Within the days and months after the sport, gamers mentioned they heard that Steinbrenner had known as the dugout and informed Lemon that the Yankees needed to rating runs that night time and that the supervisor should not miss any probabilities to attain.”

Quickly after the sequence ended, Steinbrenner issued a proper apology to the town of New York for the staff’s efficiency. It is potential the apology, if one was to be given in any respect, ought to have been on behalf of himself moderately than the gamers. 

As for the forthcoming 2024 installment of the Yankees-Dodgers World Collection rivalry, it should reside as much as a previous physique of labor that’s proud, compelling, thrilling, and at occasions ridiculous. Let all of that now stream.