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For the twelfth time, Broadway and Hollywood will face off in the World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers.
Oct
Hollywood against Broadway. Freeway versus Subway. Ohtani v. Judge.
The Yankees and Dodgers, who were once neighbors in New York but are now cross-country rivals, are resuming their illustrious battle in the World Series for the first time in forty-three years.
>>> Read More: The Dodgers defeat the Mets 10-5 in the NLCS to progress to the World Series to play the Yankees.
“It must feel different to play for the Dodgers and the Yankees,” LA manager Dave Roberts remarked at Yankee Stadium in June of last year. “If not, you had better pursue a different line of work.”
Starting Friday at Dodger Stadium, two of baseball’s most successful teams will square off; the Dodgers are coming off their 25th National League title, while the Yankees are coming off their 41st American League pennant. The Dodgers are vying for their eighth and second World Series titles in five years, while New York is vying for their 28th, but first, since 2009.
Dodgers against. Yankees Pinstripes, Pantone 294. The heirs of the Dem Bums versus the Bronx Bombers. With the San Gabriel Mountains visible beyond the pavilions, the granite and limestone of the new Yankee Stadium on cool fall evenings against Dodger Stadium in sunny Chavez Ravine.
Dodgers star Mookie Betts remarked, “It’s kind of what the people wanted, what we all wanted.” “There will be a lot of lengthy flights across the nation, and it will be a battle between two strong teams.”
In the most frequent World Series encounter, New York is 8-3 versus the Dodgers, including 6-1 against Brooklyn and 2-2 against Tinseltown since the rivalry was renamed the Big Apple.
In the clash, which began in 1941 with one of the most bizarre World Series turns, Mickey Owen, Al Gionfriddo, Cookie Lavagetto, Sandy Amoros, Johnny Podres, Don Larsen, Sandy Koufax, and Reggie Jackson all left enduring impressions.
When Tommy Henrich swung and missed at strike three from Hugh Casey in the ninth inning at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, trailing 2-1 in the Series, led 4-3 with two outs. As Henrich reached on the dropped third strike, the ball moved toward the Dodgers dugout after bouncing off Owen. The Yankees won 7-4 and went on to win the championship in five games after Joe DiMaggio singled, Charlie Keller doubled for two runs, and Joe Gordon added another double for two runs later in the inning.
In 1947’s Game 4, Bill Bevens’ no-hit quest was interrupted by Lavagetto’s two-out, pinch walk-off double in the ninth inning. Two games later, Gionfriddo denied DiMaggio a game-winning three-run homer.
Brooklyn ultimately won the championship in 1955 after Podres pitched a Game 7 shutout at Yankee Stadium and Gil Hodges drove in both runs. New York defeated the Dodgers again in 1949, 1952, and 1953, infuriating the Flatbush supporters. With two on and a run on Yogi Berra’s drive in the left-field corner in the sixth inning, Amoros maintained the lead by relaying it to shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who threw to Hodges at first and doubled up Gil McDougald. Roger Kahn’s 1972 book “The Boys of Summer” praised those players.
The Yankees won Game 7 behind Johnny Kucks’ three-hit shutout in what ended up being the final World Series game at Ebbets Field, while Larsen pitched the only perfect game in the series in 1956’s fifth game in the Bronx, with Berra leaping into his arms after the final out.
After the 1957 season, Walter O’Malley relocated the Dodgers to California, and when Koufax struck out a then-Series record 15 in the 1963 opener at Yankee Stadium, his cap bore an interlocking “LA” rather than a “B.” It wasn’t until 1977—the first of three meetings over a five-year period—that the rivalry returned.
In Game 6 of 1977, Jackson’s three home runs gave the Yankees the decisive victory. Graig Nettles, the third baseman, made diving stops on Reggie Smith, Steve Garvey, and Davey Lopes, which helped the Yankees win another six-game Series the next year.
After dropping the first two games in the Bronx in 1981, Los Angeles went on to win four straight, including a 9-2 victory that made Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda sway. The loss caused Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to write an apology “to the people of New York and to the fans of the New York Yankees everywhere.” Steinbrenner had his right hand bandaged following an alleged altercation with Dodgers fans in a hotel elevator.
The history made by their forebears is felt by both teams.
Yankees slugger Juan Soto remarked, “When you put that jersey on and those pinstripes, it just feels different.”
When they faced off in a highly anticipated series in June, Los Angeles lost two of three games.
As Roberts gets closer to Dodger Stadium, the history comes back to him.
“When I go to work, I can’t believe I’m driving up Vin Scully Way,” he remarked. “I try not to let my mind go there too often; I just try to do my job,” the speaker said.
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