1981 World Series

The Dodgers got to the Series with help from Mexican-born rookie phenom Fernando Valenzuela, who won his first eight games including five by shutout. Valenzuela would pitch eight shutouts in all and win both the National League's Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards. Joining Valenzuela in the rotation were veterans Burt Hooton (11–6, 2.28) and Jerry Reuss (10–4, 2.30). The core of the position players remained intact with perennial all-star Steve Garvey at first, Davey Lopes at second, Bill Russell at shortstop, and team leader in home runs with 13, Ron Cey at third. Budding star, Pedro Guerrero, would move to the outfield becoming a regular starter for the first time in his career, in place of the aging and often injured Reggie Smith.

Manager Tommy Lasorda was looking for his first World Series win in his fifth full season with the Dodgers after losing to the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

The Yankees, managed by Bob Lemon (in his second stint, having replaced Gene Michael), had a losing second-half (25–26) but won the first-half (34–22) to qualify for the playoffs. Ace starter Ron Guidry won 11 games against while rookie Dave Righetti emerged as an important starter, winning eight games with a 2.05 ERA. Righetti would win the American League's Rookie of the Year award. Reliever Goose Gossage recorded 20 saves with an 0.77 ERA, striking out 48 in 47 innings.

Dave Winfield was signed as a free agent in the off-season, joined another all-star, Reggie Jackson, in the outfield. Winfield led the Yankees with 25 doubles and 68 RBIs. Winfield's huge contract (US$21 million over 10 years), was added to an already strong lineup. While the Yankees boasted a well-balanced squad, the Dodgers were not to be denied their first World Series title in 16 years.

The Series commenced on October 20, making it the latest start of the Series, breaking the previous record by three days (1910 World Series, October 17). Bob Watson smashed a three-run homer off Jerry Reuss in the first to get the Yankees started. Lou Piniella chased Reuss with an RBI single in the third, and Dodger reliever Bobby Castillo walked four batters in the fourth to give New York a 5–0 lead. Ron Guidry held the Dodgers to four hits and a run (on a Steve Yeager homer) through seven innings. Ron Davis gave up two in the eighth by walking Derrel Thomas and Davey Lopes to lead off. After the walks, Davis was relieved by closer Goose Gossage who gave up a pinch-hit RBI single to Jay Johnstone and a sacrifice fly by Dusty Baker to score Thomas and Lopes, but Gossage closed out the win in the ninth. Yankee third baseman Graig Nettles suffered a hairline fracture of his left thumb when he made a diving stop. The injury caused him to miss Games 3, 4, and 5, but he played in Games 2 and 6.

Former teammates Burt Hooton and Tommy John were locked in a scoreless duel until the fifth, when Larry Milbourne doubled in Willie Randolph for the only run John would really need. The Yankees pushed across two more in the eighth off Steve Howe on a RBI single by Bob Watson and a sacrifice fly by Randolph. John pitched seven shutout innings, and Goose Gossage closed for his second save in two games. Shortly after this game concluded, a small fire broke out in the interview room of Yankee Stadium (that began in a storage locker area of the room); the blaze was contained an hour later, with no injuries occurring; damage to the room was light.[10]

Prior to this game, Yankee manager Bob Lemon sat Reggie Jackson. Jackson injured himself running the bases in Game 2 of the ALCS and missed the first two games of the World Series, but was medically cleared to play Game 3. Jackson was not even allowed to pinch-hit. Lemon said he was resting Jackson as a precaution and because the Dodgers were starting a left hand pitcher.

NL Rookie of the Year, pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, lasted the entire game despite allowing nine hits and walking seven and constantly pitching out of trouble. He walked two Yankee batters in the first, but pitched out of it. Ron Cey, meanwhile, provided him a 3–0 lead in the Dodger half with a three-run homer off Dave Righetti.

The Yankees cut it to 3–2 in the second on a Bob Watson homer and a Larry Milbourne RBI single. Valenzuela stranded two runners in this inning. Rick Cerone gave the Yanks a 4–3 lead in the third with a two-run homer, but the Yankees left two on once again. Watson led off the fifth with a double, but no one scored as Valenzuela pitched out of it again. In both the third and fifth innings, the Dodgers were helped by the Yankees' being unable to use a designated hitter (since it was used in last season's Series). In both innings, Valenzuela issued two-out intentional walks to number 8 hitter Larry Milbourne in order to pitch to Dave Righetti and George Frazier. Valenzuela struck out the pitchers both times.

The Dodgers gave Valenzuela the lead back in the bottom of the fifth off Frazier when Pedro Guerrero doubled in Steve Garvey to tie it, and Cey scored on a double play grounder by Mike Scioscia. With a lead and the Dodger Stadium crowd behind him, Valenzuela appeared to finally settle down. After pinch hitting, Valenzuela's regular catcher Mike Scioscia took over behind the plate. This seemed to have a calming effect on the rookie, as Scioscia knew Spanish and was better able to talk with Valenzuela than Steve Yeager.[11]

The Yankees mounted their final threat in the eighth when Aurelio Rodríguez and Milbourne led off with back-to-back singles. Pinch-hitter Bobby Murcer attempted a sacrifice bunt, but popped it foul. Cey dove and caught it, then doubled Milbourne off first.

Valenzuela, despite giving up 9 hits (including 2 homers), walking 7, and throwing 149 pitches in facing 40 batters, went the distance to give the Dodgers their first win of the series.

After being held out of game 3, Reggie Jackson was back in the starting lineup for this game. The Yankees batters had early success against Dodgers pitcher Bob Welch, who faced four batters without recording an out before being relieved by Dave Goltz. Willie Randolph led the game off with a triple and scored on a Larry Milbourne double. Dave Winfield walked and Jackson singled before Goltz gave up a sacrifice fly to Bob Watson. Randolph smashed a two-out solo home run in the second and Rick Cerone batted in a run with a single in the third for a 4–0 Yankee lead.

Yankee starter Rick Reuschel then had problems of his own. He allowed an RBI single to Davey Lopes and an RBI groundout to Ron Cey in the third before leaving in favor of Rudy May. May gave up a double to Steve Garvey and an RBI single to Cey in the fifth, but the Yankees countered with two in the sixth on RBI singles by Oscar Gamble and Watson off Tom Niedenfuer. Watson's hit was a sinking liner that Dusty Baker attempted to catch, but it was ruled a trap.

With a 6–3 lead, the Yankees turned the pitching over to their relief combination of Ron Davis and Goose Gossage. Davis had troubles in the sixth. He issued a one-out walk to Mike Scioscia and gave up a pinch-hit homer to Jay Johnstone to make the score 6–5. Then, Lopes lifted a fly ball to right that Jackson lost in the sun and dropped for an error. Lopes reached second and stole third with no throw by catcher Cerone three pitches later. Davis then gave up a game-tying single to Bill Russell.

In the seventh, Dusty Baker led off with an infield hit off George Frazier and went to third on a Rick Monday liner that got past center fielder Bobby Brown when he tried to make a shoestring catch. Monday reached second. Pedro Guerrero was then walked intentionally. Yankee manager Bob Lemon then brought starting pitcher Tommy John out of the bullpen instead of Gossage. Steve Yeager, hitting for Scioscia, promptly gave the Dodgers the lead when he drove home Baker with a sacrifice fly. Lopes followed with an infield single that drove Monday home for an 8–6 lead. John managed to strand Guerrero in scoring position to end the seventh and pitched the last two innings, but closer Gossage never got in the game.

Jackson brought the Yankees closer with a home run in the eighth off lefty Steve Howe, capping a 3-for-3 day. But Howe was able to close out the win, despite Willie Randolph pinning Dodger centerfielder Derrell Thomas against the centerfield wall with a deep fly ball. The series was now tied 2–2.

According to Johnstone's book Temporary Insanity (1985), Steinbrenner confronted Davis in the Yankees' locker room after the game and demanded to know, "Why did you throw Johnstone a fastball?"

Needing a win to stop the Dodgers' momentum in this series, the Yankees trotted out their ace, Ron Guidry. Guidry was sharp through six innings, holding the Dodgers to two singles. Reggie Jackson, continuing his torrid hitting, helped provide Guidry a lead by doubling to left in the second off Jerry Reuss, moving to third on a Davey Lopes error, and scoring on a Lou Piniella infield single.

The game then took a turn in the seventh inning. After fanning Dusty Baker, Guidry surrendered back-to-back solo home runs to Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager. After he had struck out, Baker suggested to Yeager and Guerrero that they move up in the batter's box to take away Guidry's late breaking slider. Both home runs were hit on sliders almost to the same place in left-center. Meanwhile, Reuss was as effective as Guidry, holding the Yanks to five hits and the lone run and going the distance.

A tense moment occurred in the eighth when Goose Gossage beaned Ron Cey. Cey had to be helped off the field with a concussion, but was cleared to play Game 6 after it was delayed one day by rain.

This was the latest-ending World Series by calendar date up to that time (surpassing the 1911 World Series, which ended on October 26). Originally scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, Game 6 was postponed a day by rain. This allowed Bob Lemon to start Tommy John opposite Dodger starter Burt Hooton, and also allowed Ron Cey to be in the Dodger lineup. Willie Randolph provided John an early lead with a solo homer in the third. The Dodgers tied it in the fourth on an RBI single by Game 5 hero Steve Yeager.

In the bottom of the fourth, Yankee manager Bob Lemon made a controversial decision. Graig Nettles led off the inning with a double. After Hooton retired the next two batters, he intentionally walked Larry Milbourne to face John (there was no designated hitter in this series). Lemon pinch-hit for his starting pitcher in the fourth inning of a 1–1 game. Pinch-hitter Bobby Murcer flied out to end the inning. In his 1991 autobiography T.J.: My 26 Years in Baseball, John revealed that before the game, Lemon and team owner George Steinbrenner settled on the following strategy: get the lead early and then protect it with the bullpen (despite the bullpen's collapses earlier in the series). As ABC cameras showed during the broadcast, John paced the Yankee dugout in disbelief after being pulled.[12]

In the fifth, George Frazier, who relieved John, gave up an RBI single to Ron Cey and a two-run triple to Pedro Guerrero. Frazier would take the loss and become the first pitcher to lose three games in a best-of-seven World Series and second pitcher to lose three times in any World Series (the first being Lefty Williams, a member of the Chicago White Sox in the best-of-nine 1919 World Series).

New York's bullpen further collapsed in the sixth. Ron Davis issued one-out walks to pitcher Hooton and Davey Lopes. Bill Russell singled to short left field, and Hooton unexpectedly rounded third and headed home. Dave Winfield stumbled on the wet grass, fell forward, and uncorked an errant throw. Hooton scored standing, after which Lemon pulled Davis in favor of Rick Reuschel. On Reuschel's second pitch, Lopes and Russell pulled a double steal. Reuschel walked Steve Garvey intentionally and gave up an RBI force-out to pinch-hitter Derrel Thomas. After Dusty Baker reached on an error by Nettles, loading the bases again, Guerrero singled in two more runs. The Yankees would score in the bottom of the sixth on a pinch-hit RBI single by Lou Piniella. Guerrero would cap a five-RBI night, and the Dodgers' World Series win, by blasting a solo home run in the eighth. Burt Hooton would pitch 5+1⁄3 innings and get the win. Steve Howe replaced him and earned the save.

Winfield's throw typified his struggles in this, his first World Series. At the plate, he went 1-for-22 with one RBI. After the series, Steinbrenner issued a public apology to the City of New York for his team's performance, while at the same time assuring the fans that plans to put the team together for 1982 would begin immediately.[13][14] The Yankee owner was criticized by players and press alike for doing so, as many people felt losing a World Series was not something for which a team needed to apologize.[15]

For the first time, there were co-MVPs in a World Series: Cey (.350 avg., 7-for-20, HR, 6 RBIs), Yeager (.286 avg., 4-for-14, 2 HR's), and Guerrero (.333 avg, 7-for-21, 2 HR's, 7 RBIs) shared the award.

                                          SERIES STATS                   |      REGULAR SEASON       
 Player              G  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO  BA    OBP   SLG  SB |  AB  H  HR  BA     OPS  SB
+-------------------+-+---+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+--+-----+-----+-----+---+----+---+--+-----+-----+---+
 Dusty Baker         6  24  3  4  0  0  0   1  1  6  .167  .192  .167  0 | 400 128  9  .320  .808  10
 Bobby Castillo      1   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |   9   4  0  .444 1.111   0
 Ron Cey             6  20  3  7  0  0  1   6  3  3  .350  .458  .500  0 | 312  90 13  .288  .846   0
*Terry Forster       2   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |   2   0  0  .000  .000   0
 Steve Garvey        6  24  3 10  1  0  0   0  2  5  .417  .462  .458  0 | 431 122 10  .283  .732   3
 Dave Goltz          2   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |  17   1  0  .059  .217   0
 Pedro Guerrero      6  21  2  7  1  1  2   7  2  6  .333  .417  .762  0 | 347 104 12  .300  .829   5
 Burt Hooton         2   4  1  0  0  0  0   0  1  3  .000  .200  .000  0 |  42   8  0  .190  .523   0
*Steve Howe          3   2  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  .000  .000  .000  0 |   1   0  0  .000  .500   0
*Jay Johnstone       3   3  1  2  0  0  1   3  0  0  .667  .667  1.66  0 |  83  17  3  .205  .616   0
*Ken Landreaux       5   6  1  1  1  0  0   0  0  2  .167  .167  .333  1 | 390  98  7  .251  .664  18
 Davey Lopes         6  22  6  5  1  0  0   2  4  3  .227  .346  .273  4 | 214  44  5  .206  .574  20
*Rick Monday         5  13  1  3  1  0  0   0  3  6  .231  .375  .308  0 | 130  41 11  .315 1.031   1
 Tom Niedenfuer      2   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |   0   0  0               0
*Jerry Reuss         2   3  0  0  0  0  0   0  1  2  .000  .250  .000  0 |  51  10  0  .196  .392   0
 Bill Russell        6  25  1  6  0  0  0   2  0  1  .240  .240  .240  1 | 262  61  0  .233  .567   2
 Steve Sax           2   1  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  .000  .000  .000  0 | 119  33  2  .277  .662   5
*Mike Scioscia       3   4  1  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  .250  .400  .250  0 | 290  80  2  .276  .685   0
#Reggie Smith        2   2  0  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  .500  .500  .500  0 |  35   7  1  .200  .632   0
 Dave Stewart        2   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |   5   2  0  .400 1.300   0
#Derrel Thomas       5   7  2  0  0  0  0   1  1  2  .000  .125  .000  0 | 218  54  4  .248  .644   7
*Fernando Valenzuela 1   3  0  0  0  0  0   0  1  0  .000  .250  .000  0 |  64  16  0  .250  .543   0
 Bob Welch           1   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |  45  10  0  .222  .506   0
 Steve Yeager        6  14  2  4  1  0  2   4  0  2  .286  .267  .786  0 |  86  18  3  .209  .598   0
+-------------------+-+---+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+--+-----+-----+-----+---+----+---+--+-----+-----+---+
 Total               6 198 27 51  6  1  6  26 20 44  .258  .329  .389  6 |         82  .262  .696  73
 
   * – bats left-handed, # – switch hits, ? – unknown, else – bats right-handed
   A + before season totals indicates the player was with multiple teams this year.

                                          SERIES STATS                   |      REGULAR SEASON       
 Player              G  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO  BA    OBP   SLG  SB |  AB  H  HR  BA     OPS  SB
+-------------------+-+---+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+--+-----+-----+-----+---+----+---+--+-----+-----+---+
#Bobby Brown         4   1  1  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  .000  .000  .000  0 |  62  14  0  .226  .521   4
 Rick Cerone         6  21  2  4  1  0  1   3  4  2  .190  .320  .381  0 | 234  57  2  .244  .618   0
 Ron Davis           4   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |   0   0  0               0
 Barry Foote         1   1  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  .000  .000  .000  0 |+147  26  6  .177  .559   0
 George Frazier      3   2  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  .000  .000  .000  0 |   0   0  0               0
*Oscar Gamble        3   6  1  2  0  0  0   1  1  0  .333  .429  .333  0 | 189  45 10  .238  .796   0
 Rich Gossage        3   1  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  .000  .000  .000  0 |   0   0  0               0
*Ron Guidry          2   5  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  3  .000  .000  .000  0 |   0   0  0               0
*Reggie Jackson      3  12  3  4  1  0  1   1  2  3  .333  .429  .667  0 | 334  79 15  .237  .758   0
 Tommy John          3   2  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  .000  .000  .000  0 |   0   0  0               0
*Dave LaRoche        1   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |   0   0  0               0
*Rudy May            3   1  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  .000  .000  .000  0 |   0   0  0               0
#Larry Milbourne     6  20  2  5  2  0  0   3  4  0  .250  .375  .350  0 | 163  51  1  .313  .749   2
#Jerry Mumphrey      5  15  2  3  0  0  0   0  3  2  .200  .333  .200  1 | 319  98  6  .307  .783  14
*Bobby Murcer        4   3  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  .000  .000  .000  0 | 117  31  6  .265  .801   0
*Graig Nettles       3  10  1  4  1  0  0   0  1  1  .400  .455  .500  0 | 349  85 15  .244  .731   0
 Lou Piniella        6  16  2  7  1  0  0   3  0  1  .438  .438  .500  1 | 159  44  5  .277  .759   0
 Willie Randolph     6  18  5  4  1  1  2   3  9  0  .222  .464  .722  1 | 357  83  2  .232  .641  14
 Rick Reuschel       2   2  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  .000  .000  .000  0 |+ 25   2  0  .080  .195   0
*Dave Righetti       1   1  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  .000  .000  .000  0 |   0   0  0               0
 Andre Robertson     1   0  0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0                    0 |  19   5  0  .263  .579   1
 Aurelio Rodriguez   4  12  1  5  0  0  0   0  1  2  .417  .462  .417  0 |  52  18  2  .346  .870   0
 Bob Watson          6  22  2  7  1  0  2   7  3  0  .318  .385  .636  0 | 156  33  6  .212  .701   0
 Dave Winfield       6  22  0  1  0  0  0   1  5  4  .045  .222  .045  1 | 388 114 13  .294  .824  11
+-------------------+-+---+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+--+-----+-----+-----+---+----+---+--+-----+-----+---+
 Total               6 193 22 46  8  1  6  22 33 24  .238  .346  .383  4 |        100  .252  .718  47
 
   * – bats left-handed, # – switch hits, ? – unknown, else – bats right-handed
   A + before season totals indicates the player was with multiple teams this year.

                        SERIES STATS                     |     REGULAR SEASON           
 Player              G  ERA   W-L SV CG  IP   H ER BB SO |  W-L   IP  ERA   WHIP  SO SV 
+-------------------+-+------+---+--+--+----+--+--+--+---+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
*Jerry Reuss         2   3.86 1-1  0  1 11.7 10  5  3  8 | 10-4  153  2.30  1.08  51   
 Burt Hooton         2   1.59 1-1  0  0 11.3  8  2  9  3 | 11-6  142  2.28  1.10  74   
*Fernando Valenzuela 1   4.00 1-0  0  1  9.0  9  4  7  6 | 13-7  192  2.48  1.05 180   
*Steve Howe          3   3.86 1-0  1  0  7.0  7  3  1  4 |  5-3   54  2.50  1.28  32  8
 Tom Niedenfuer      2   0.00 0-0  0  0  5.0  3  0  1  0 |  3-1   26  3.81  1.19  12  2
 Dave Goltz          2   5.40 0-0  0  0  3.3  4  2  1  2 |  2-7   77  4.09  1.40  48  1
*Terry Forster       2   0.00 0-0  0  0  2.0  1  0  3  0 |  0-1   31  4.11  1.70  17   
 Dave Stewart        2   0.00 0-0  0  0  1.7  1  0  2  1 |  4-3   43  2.49  1.25  29  6
 Bobby Castillo      1   9.00 0-0  0  0  1.0  0  1  5  0 |  2-4   51  5.33  1.46  35  5
 Bob Welch           1    inf 0-0  0  0  0.0  3  2  1  0 |  9-5  141  3.44  1.29  88   
+-------------------+-+------+---+--+--+----+--+--+--+---+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
 Total                   3.29 4-2  1  2 52.0 46 19 33 24 |            3.01 1.210   
 
   * – throws left-handed, ? – unknown, else – throws right-handed
   A + before season totals indicates the player was with multiple teams this year.

                        SERIES STATS                     |     REGULAR SEASON           
 Player              G  ERA   W-L SV CG  IP   H ER BB SO |  W-L   IP  ERA   WHIP  SO SV 
+-------------------+-+------+---+--+--+----+--+--+--+---+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
*Ron Guidry          2   1.93 1-1  0  0 14.0  8  3  4 15 | 11-5  127  2.76  0.99 104   
*Tommy John          3   0.69 1-0  0  0 13.0 11  1  0  8 |  9-8  140  2.63  1.24  50   
*Rudy May            3   2.84 0-0  0  0  6.3  5  2  1  5 |  6-11 148  4.14  1.21  79  1
 Goose Gossage       3   0.00 0-0  2  0  5.0  2  0  2  5 |  3-2   47  0.77  0.77  48 20
 Rick Reuschel       2   4.91 0-0  0  0  3.7  7  2  3  2 |+ 8-11 156  3.11  1.25  75   
 George Frazier      3  17.18 0-3  0  0  3.7  9  7  3  2 |  0-1   28  1.63  1.34  17  3
 Ron Davis           4  23.14 0-0  0  0  2.3  4  6  5  4 |  4-5   73  2.71  0.99  83  6
*Dave Righetti       1  13.50 0-0  0  0  2.0  5  3  2  1 |  8-4  105  2.05  1.07  89   
*Dave LaRoche        1   0.00 0-0  0  0  1.0  0  0  0  2 |  4-1   47  2.49  1.15  24   
+-------------------+-+------+---+--+--+----+--+--+--+---+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
 Total                   4.24 2-4  2  0 51.0 51 24 20 44 |            2.90 1.180   
 
   * – throws left-handed, ? – unknown, else – throws right-handed
   A + before season totals indicates the player was with multiple teams this year.

Yankees pitcher George Frazier tied a World Series record for losing three of the six games in 1981. The only other pitcher to lose that many was the Chicago White Sox's Lefty Williams, who intentionally lost his three starts in the infamous 1919 World Series.