The Yankees and Dodgers will meet in the World Series for the 12th time when the 2024 Fall Classic gets underway on Friday night, continuing a matchup that has been seen more than any other in World Series history.
The two teams have had a long layoff in between their October battles, as Friday will mark the first time these iconic franchises have squared off on this stage since 1981, when Los Angeles won in six games.
The World Series rivalry began as a Subway Series in 1941, reached a fever pitch in the 50s when the likes of Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle went at it with Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider, and penned a new chapter in the late 1970s when the two teams faced off in three World Series in a five-year span from 1977 to 1981. The ’78 World Series is still the last time the same two teams faced off in the Fall Classic for a second year in a row.
That rich history has provided several unforgettable moments, from the birth of Mr. October to a day of true perfection. Let’s look at the best of the best from the Yankees in their deep World Series history against the Dodgers:
Reggie gets in the way in ‘78
The 1978 Yankees had been all about the improbable, erasing a 14.5 game deficit in the division to storm back and stun the Red Sox in a one-game playoff at Fenway. In the World Series, the Bombers were in danger of falling behind 3-1 to the Dodgers, but an improbable rally ensued that changed the complexion of the entire series.
Trailing 3-0 in the sixth and 2-1 in the series, the Yanks got on the board thanks to an RBI single by Reggie Jackson, who then became the source of heavy controversy. With Jackson on first and Thurman Munson on second, Lou Piniella hit a soft line drive to shortstop that was dropped by Bill Russell, maybe purposely to set up the double play. Russell stepped on second for the force and flipped to first for what could have been an inning-ending double play, but the ball glanced off Jackson and past first base, allowing Munson to score from second.
Replay showed Jackson standing still in the baseline and taking the ball off his hip, even after being forced out at second. The Dodgers were irate, but after a meeting of the umpires, the ruling stood, the run scored, and the Yanks tied it in the eighth on a Munson double, and walked it off in the 10th on a Piniella single.
Just how much did Jackson’s play change the series? The series was tied instead of a 3-1 lead for LA, and the Yankees won the next two by a combined score of 19-4 to win their second straight title.
Billy Martin’s walk-off single in game six to win 1953 World Series
As there have been 11 World Series battles between the Yanks and Dodgers, there have also been 11 walk-off hits to win a Fall Classic, and Martin holds one of those spots thanks to his heroics in ’53, which clinched a remarkable fifth straight championship.
The Yanks held a 3-2 series lead and a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning of game six before Brooklyn battled back to tie the game, but Martin made sure there would be no decisive game seven, bouncing a single up the middle to score Hank Bauer easily from second base to send the Bronx into hysterics. It also wasn’t the first time Martin played the hero against the Dodgers in the World Series. More on that...right now.
Billy Martin’s game-saving catch in game seven to seal 1952 World Series.
In what would begin a remarkable stretch of four Yankees/Dodgers matchups in the World Series over a five-year span, this Fall Classic came down to the very end, and nearly ended in disaster for the Bombers had it not been for a charging Martin.
The Yankees had forced a decisive game seven after trailing 3-2 in the series, thanks to Mickey Mantle hitting a home run in a one-run game in the eighth inning. Fast forward to game seven, where the Yankees held a 4-2 lead in the seventh on the backs of another critical Mantle home run. But the Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, when Robinson hit an infield popup that looked like trouble as the wind blew the ball back towards home plate, and first baseman Joe Collins lost it in the sun. But Martin charged in and made the sprinting catch at his ankles, ending the rally and providing a massive sigh of relief from the Yankees, who allowed just one baserunner the rest of the way.
Don Larsen is perfect in 1956
Still the only perfect game in World Series history, Don Larsen is an improbable holder of that piece of baseball history, considering he was a journeyman who finished his career with an 81-91 record, and was coming off a World Series start in game two where he failed to make it out of the second inning.
Game five went very, very different, as Larsen retired all 27 batters he faced, allowing only one batter to reach a three-ball count after walking four batters in his last start. Larsen struck out pinch hitter Dale Mitchell for the final out, leading to one of the most iconic images in baseball history, as Yogi Berra jumped into Larsen’s arms in celebration. The Yanks went on to take the series in seven games.
Mr. October is born
Reggie Jackson was the high-profile addition of the offseason, and the prized signing of George Steinbrenner’s tenure as owner, before the 1977 season, but much of his debut campaign brought about turmoil and feuds with Billy Martin, now the Yankee manager.
But all was forgiven in the Fall Classic, and a legend was born in the process. With the Yanks looking to clinch in game six in the Bronx, Jackson delivered one of the greatest individual performances in World Series history, swatting three home runs on three pitches off of three different pitchers to help the Bombers cruise to an 8-4, and their first title of the decade.
Jackson had managed just two singles in the ALCS, but he came alive when it mattered most, even going deep in his final at-bat of a game five loss, meaning he actually went yard four straight times to end that World Series.