Back to the future: Dodgers, Yankees to renew their old World Series rivalry

Once upon a time, when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn, they often faced the Yankees in the World Series. They haven't met since 1981, but their upcoming encounter should be worth the wait.

The Dodgers.

The Yankees.

In the 1940s and 1950s, it was pretty common to see them battle in the World Series. Starting in 1941 and extending through 1956, they faced each other seven times for baseball supremacy. The Dodgers won only one of those, in 1955, their lone World Series title in Brooklyn. After Walter O’Malley moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles—a move many Brooklynites and their descendants still consider unforgivably traitorous—the teams met four times, with each winning twice, the Dodgers in 1963 and 1981 and the Yankees in 1977 and 1978,

It seems strange that their paths haven’t carried them both to the World Series in the same year since 1981. But here they are now, preparing to meet again starting on Friday at Dodger Stadium in a rivalry that’s both ancient and new.

Of course, Yogi Berra would have said it best:

“This is what the baseball world wanted,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said during FS1’s telecast of his team’s raucous pennant-clinching celebrations, which included popping a few champagne corks and being sprayed by as many as they popped.

Fans of the New York Mets fans surely didn’t want a Yankees-Dodgers World Series. But the Dodgers earned their six-game National League Championship Series victory over the Mets because of their depth and because Roberts proved able to juggle his bullpen after most of his starting rotation had landed on the injured list or had been ineffective. With no ace to send out to the mound, Roberts often had to resort to bullpen games, using most of the available arms in ways that shouldn’t have worked. Somehow, they did.

His handling of pitchers draws hot criticism from frustrated fans every year, but there’s no arguing with the results so far.

“This series, this postseason, I’ve had a lot of clarity,” Roberts said. “And the players have made me look really good.”

It has helped, of course, that the Dodgers have scored eight or more runs in five postseason games; only the 2002 Angels and the 2004 and 2007 Boston Red Sox, with six such performances, have done that more times in a single postseason.

Yes, there are more postseason rounds and games than there were decades ago, creating more opportunities for those kinds of feats, but it’s still impressive. They pounded out 11 hits and 10 runs to close out the Mets 10-5 on Sunday without first baseman Freddie Freeman (injured ankle) in the lineup and without shortstop Miguel Rojas (hernia), who was left off the NLCS roster. Tommy Edman, who wasn’t certain where he’d play when made his Dodger debut on Aug. 19, started at shortstop on Sunday. He became both an unlikely cleanup hitter and the most valuable player in the NLCS.

“I never imagined once we acquired him, he’d be hitting fourth in a postseason game,” Roberts said of Edman, who became a Dodger through a three-team deal that involved the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox that also brought reliever (and Sunday starter) Michael Kopech to Los Angeles. “But I trust him. The guys trust him. He’s made huge defensive plays for us and had huge hits. Just very fortunate to have a player like Tommy.”

Erdman, who attended La Jolla Country Day School, is 29. He was born nearly four decades after the Dodgers left Brooklyn. But even he knows the magnitude of a matchup between the Dodgers and the Yankees and he’s aware of the nostalgic echoes this year’s World Series will awaken.

“It’s what you always dream about as a little kid, getting to play in the World Series,” said Edman, who had 11 hits, scored five runs, and drove in 11 runs while batting .407 against the Mets. “Playing for the Dodgers against the Yankees—it’s pretty surreal.”

The defeat was all too real for the Mets, though manager Carlos Mendoza was gracious toward the Dodgers.

“They’re deep. They’re good. They faced a lot of adversity,” said Mendoza, who overcame a hefty dose of adversity himself to turn around a team that had a terrible start to the season and steer them to the NL Championship Series.

“They’re missing a lot of key pieces and they’re still a really good team,” he said. “That’s why they’re advancing. You’ve got to be able to weather the storm and they did that as well.”

This World Series will be illuminated by superstars, no question. Start with Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who led the major leagues with 58 home runs this season and is the likely American League Most Valuable Player. Continue with designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who has hit five home runs and driven in 11 runs in the team’s nine postseason games, and outfielder Juan Soto. And there’s expected Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole, the 2023 American League Cy Young award winner.

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who this season became the first player to hit at least 50 home runs (54) and steal 50 bases (59) in one season and is favored to win the NL Most Valuable Player award, remains a source of wonderment. Ohtani, gaining his first postseason experience after six playoff-less seasons in Anaheim, has made his presence known with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 11 games against the San Diego Padres and the Mets. Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, and Kike Hernandez figure to earn their share of the spotlight, too. But there’s also players like Edman, who are able to meet the big moments.

If you’re tired of TV’s constant focus on Ohtani in interviews, reaction shots, and detailed analysis of his every more, take a deep breath because it’s only going to become more frequent and more intense. Not that any of it bothers him: the chance to play for a World Series contender was his primary motivation in signing with the Dodgers and deferring payment on all but $20 million of the $700-million, 10-year contract he signed as a free agent. He’s not likely to let the attention distract him during his first World Series.

“I really feel like we finally arrived,” Ohtani said Sunday. “I finally arrived at this stage. A lot of the games we played were really tough and hard to win. And it was truly a team effort to get here.”

It had to be a team effort for the Dodgers, given their lack of effective starting pitching and Freeman’s obvious struggles with his bad ankle. “I think the common theme for this season has been a lot of people,” Ohtani said. “Different guys have been stepping up over the course of the season.”

Who will prevail in this matchup between baseball’s second-highest (Yankees) and fifth-highest (Dodgers) payrolls? Funny you should ask. This matchup of big market vs. big market will be a turnoff for fans of small-market teams. But remember: how you spend is more important than how much you spend, and the Yankees and Dodgers are getting their money’s worth.

Will the Dodgers’ bullpen become even more extended and finally collapse? Will the hitters behind Ohtani be able to capitalize if the Yankees pitch around him? Will the Yankees’ bullpen, which has crystallized around closer Luke Weaver, hold up? Will they get offensive contributions beyond Judge, Soto, and Stanton? The Dodgers are favored by oddsmakers, but there are so many intangibles that this is a tough call.

Let’s say Dodgers in seven. No matter the outcome, the new edition of this old rivalry is a welcome sight.