Similarities to the Last Time the Yankees and Dodgers Were in the World Series

The 2024 World Series matchup has been set with the New York Yankees squaring off against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s been 43 years since the last time these two teams have seen each other in the Fall Classic, and even though it’s been over four decades these two teams have been paired against one another the most in World Series history. Back when these two teams played in the World Series in 1981, the Dodgers took home the championship in six games, their first title since 1965 and their third championship win over the Yankees. Both of these teams in the present day have some interesting similarities to the last time they played each other for a championship in 1981. Could we see either team repeat some of their successes or failures from the past?

Let’s start with the Yankees. New York had their slugger in Reggie Jackson for five seasons between 1977-1981. Ultimately after the 1981 World Series loss to the Dodgers, Jackson signed a five-year deal with the California Angels. Now, last season, the Yankees dealt with offseason drama as they had to resign their former MVP Aaron Judge. While that drama doesn't affect the Yankees this season, especially after they signed Judge to a massive deal, the big news coming out of this World Series will be, can the big man get the job done and get the Yankees their long-awaited 28th banner? During the 1980 offseason, the Yankees signed future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield. This past season, New York traded for perhaps a future Hall of Famer in Juan Soto. Back in 1981, Yankees rookie pitcher Dave Righetti became a huge asset with a 2.05 ERA and eight wins on his docket. Luis Gil, who made his debut in 2021, but Tommy John surgery kept him on the Injured List for the past two seasons now officially a rookie, Gil has led all rookie pitchers with 15 wins while also finishing with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts.

For Los Angeles, back in 1981, Fernando Valenzuela paved the way as a rookie winning his first eight games, five of them by shutout. He eventually pitched eight shutouts for the season and won the 1981 NL Cy Young Award and NL Rookie of the Year Award. Even though he did not pitch this season, Shohei Ohtani has made history this season during his first year with the Dodgers. Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to record a 50-50. Los Angeles’ current starting pitching rotation is extremely strong with the likes of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, and Walker Buehler. Just like Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda has much World Series experience so does current manager Dave Roberts, who is now heading to his fourth World Series as a manager, his fifth overall, winning one as a player in 2004 and one as a manager in 2020. Now, Roberts will have to get past the Yankees just like Lasorda did to claim his legacy as a top-tier manager.

With the Dodgers having home-field advantage it will be intriguing to see if they can get the job done in front of their home fans. Yankee fans will be dependent on their teams pulling off the win in Games Three, Four, and Five in the Bronx. It will be a battle of firsts. Who will gain their first World Series championship? Judge or Ohtani? Game One will be a classic and starts on Friday at 8:08 pm EST.