And then there were four.
All four of the remaining teams have won a championship, and three of them have even done so in the current millennium. Of the four possible matchups, all but one has been seen before (not necessarily all that recently.)
The Yankees, who did win more games than any team in the AL, have made it to the World Series 40 times - I know, the world is not fair - and they've won 27 of them. Enough is enough. On the bright side, they haven't made it to the Fall Classic since 2009, which matches the longest such streak since they became the Yankees back in 1913. Ah, the glory years between their Series appearances in 1981 and 1996. Once they match that by losing to Cleveland they can get to work on matching their longest streak without a championship (the period between 1978 and 1996.) Just a few more years of disappointment in the Bronx will do the trick.
The Dodgers, who won more games than any team in the majors this year, probably deserve to be here. But they've already been to the World Series 21 times, winning seven times. I suppose we all tend to discount somewhat the most recent of them, in the pandemic year of 2020. Obviously it's not the Dodgers' fault that it was a 60 game season, any more than it was their fault in 1981 that there was a strike and a split season, and all kinds of stupid stuff that somehow tainted their accomplishment. But there was, and it did.
The Mets have made five trips to the World Series, winning twice - the Miracle Mets won in 1969, and Bill Buckner couldn't handle a ground ball in 1986. You've probably seen the video. They were last here in 2015, only to be dismissed in five games by Kansas City.
Cleveland has made six trips to the World Series, winning twice - but both victories happened so long ago that on both occasions their best player also happened to be the team's manager (Tris Speaker in 1920, Lou Boudreau in 1948.) Most recently they lost a memorable seven game affair in 2016 as another star-crossed franchise, the Cubs, finally ended a string of futility that had lasted more than a century.
The Dodgers and the Yankees have met before, as everyone knows. Not recently, but they made up for it back in the day. It's a long story:
The Yankees won their first meeting in 1941, in the first Subway Series - there would be seven such meetings over the next sixteen years. This was a series that famously turned on a dropped third strike. With two outs, no one on base, and a one-run lead, the Dodgers were one pitch away from evening the series at two games apiece. But Mickey Owen couldn't handle a third strike from reliever Hugh Casey and Tommy Henrich reached first base. The Yankees got off the mat - DiMaggio singled, Keller doubled in two runs, Dickey walked, Gordon doubled in two more runs - for the sudden, shocking win. They closed out the Series the following day.
The Yankees needed seven games to win again in 1947, a series best remembered for the Dodgers win in the fourth game. Yankees starter Bill Bevens was one out away from the first no-hitter in World Series history. He had already walked nine men, and when pinch-runner Al Gionfriddo (who would later make a famous a catch on DiMaggio in the sixth game) stole second, the Yankees decided Bevens might as well make it ten bases on balls. The intentional walk to Reiser pit the go-ahead run on base for pinch hitter Cookie Lavagetto. In the last at bat of his career, Lavagetto broke up the no-hitter and walked it off with a two-run double.
The Yankees won again in 1949. They only needed five games this time, and Tommy Henrich connected for the first walk-off home run in World Series history in the opener. Allie Reynolds tossed a two-hit shutout to win that game; in the fourth game he came out of the pen in the sixth inning with the tying runs on base and retired all ten batters he faced.
The Yankees won in seven games in 1952 - Reynolds pitched a shutout in the fourth game, and came out of the pen to save the sixth game and yet again to win the finale (that was the game with Billy Martin's famous catch of the wind-blown pop up.) A year later, Martin was the hitting hero (his 12 hits tied the Series record) as the Yankees took the 1953 Series in six games. Wait Until Next Year had become a Brooklyn cliché.
Next year actually arrived in 1955, as a young southpaw named Johnny Podres shut out the Yankees 2-0 in the seventh game. The Yankees avenged that defeat a year later, in a series always remembered for Don Larsen's perfect game. ("Do you ever get tired of talking about the perfect game, Don?" "No, why would I?") And then the Dodgers lit out for the coast. The Boys of Summer were gone, and I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.
The teams would meet again in 1963, and the Dodgers pitchers - Koufax, Drysdale, Podres - completely shut down the Yankees bats (New York hit .171/.207/.240) in a four game sweep. They met again in 1977 (Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!) and 1978 (more Reggie), with the Yankees winning both times. And finally they played each other one last time in 1981. That one went to the Dodgers - Dave Winfield went 1-22 and Yankee reliever George Frazier went 0-3, 17.18 in his three appearances.
The Yankees and the Mets have met just one time - it was back in 2000, and while it went just five games and is mostly remembered for Roger Clemens flinging a bat at Mike Piazza, all five games were close and interesting.
Cleveland and the Dodgers have met just once in the World Series - and wouldn't you know it, but I've actually written some 1600 words about that very encounter. (It's buried in the midst of a 10,000 word epic on the 1920 season.) Cleveland's team was known as the Indians back then and the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. In fact, back in 1920, they had yet to become the Dodgers - they were known as the Brooklyn Robins. It was an incredible season, one of the most significant in all of the game's history (Babe Ruth, the death of Ray Chapman, the Black Sox scandal, Babe Freaking Ruth) and the World Series had its moments as well - the first World Series grand slam, an unassisted triple play, the first World Series homer hit by a pitcher.
All four of the remaining teams have won a championship, and three of them have even done so in the current millennium. Of the four possible matchups, all but one has been seen before (not necessarily all that recently.)
The Yankees, who did win more games than any team in the AL, have made it to the World Series 40 times - I know, the world is not fair - and they've won 27 of them. Enough is enough. On the bright side, they haven't made it to the Fall Classic since 2009, which matches the longest such streak since they became the Yankees back in 1913. Ah, the glory years between their Series appearances in 1981 and 1996. Once they match that by losing to Cleveland they can get to work on matching their longest streak without a championship (the period between 1978 and 1996.) Just a few more years of disappointment in the Bronx will do the trick.
The Dodgers, who won more games than any team in the majors this year, probably deserve to be here. But they've already been to the World Series 21 times, winning seven times. I suppose we all tend to discount somewhat the most recent of them, in the pandemic year of 2020. Obviously it's not the Dodgers' fault that it was a 60 game season, any more than it was their fault in 1981 that there was a strike and a split season, and all kinds of stupid stuff that somehow tainted their accomplishment. But there was, and it did.
The Mets have made five trips to the World Series, winning twice - the Miracle Mets won in 1969, and Bill Buckner couldn't handle a ground ball in 1986. You've probably seen the video. They were last here in 2015, only to be dismissed in five games by Kansas City.
Cleveland has made six trips to the World Series, winning twice - but both victories happened so long ago that on both occasions their best player also happened to be the team's manager (Tris Speaker in 1920, Lou Boudreau in 1948.) Most recently they lost a memorable seven game affair in 2016 as another star-crossed franchise, the Cubs, finally ended a string of futility that had lasted more than a century.
The Dodgers and the Yankees have met before, as everyone knows. Not recently, but they made up for it back in the day. It's a long story:
The Yankees won their first meeting in 1941, in the first Subway Series - there would be seven such meetings over the next sixteen years. This was a series that famously turned on a dropped third strike. With two outs, no one on base, and a one-run lead, the Dodgers were one pitch away from evening the series at two games apiece. But Mickey Owen couldn't handle a third strike from reliever Hugh Casey and Tommy Henrich reached first base. The Yankees got off the mat - DiMaggio singled, Keller doubled in two runs, Dickey walked, Gordon doubled in two more runs - for the sudden, shocking win. They closed out the Series the following day.
The Yankees needed seven games to win again in 1947, a series best remembered for the Dodgers win in the fourth game. Yankees starter Bill Bevens was one out away from the first no-hitter in World Series history. He had already walked nine men, and when pinch-runner Al Gionfriddo (who would later make a famous a catch on DiMaggio in the sixth game) stole second, the Yankees decided Bevens might as well make it ten bases on balls. The intentional walk to Reiser pit the go-ahead run on base for pinch hitter Cookie Lavagetto. In the last at bat of his career, Lavagetto broke up the no-hitter and walked it off with a two-run double.
The Yankees won again in 1949. They only needed five games this time, and Tommy Henrich connected for the first walk-off home run in World Series history in the opener. Allie Reynolds tossed a two-hit shutout to win that game; in the fourth game he came out of the pen in the sixth inning with the tying runs on base and retired all ten batters he faced.
The Yankees won in seven games in 1952 - Reynolds pitched a shutout in the fourth game, and came out of the pen to save the sixth game and yet again to win the finale (that was the game with Billy Martin's famous catch of the wind-blown pop up.) A year later, Martin was the hitting hero (his 12 hits tied the Series record) as the Yankees took the 1953 Series in six games. Wait Until Next Year had become a Brooklyn cliché.
Next year actually arrived in 1955, as a young southpaw named Johnny Podres shut out the Yankees 2-0 in the seventh game. The Yankees avenged that defeat a year later, in a series always remembered for Don Larsen's perfect game. ("Do you ever get tired of talking about the perfect game, Don?" "No, why would I?") And then the Dodgers lit out for the coast. The Boys of Summer were gone, and I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.
The teams would meet again in 1963, and the Dodgers pitchers - Koufax, Drysdale, Podres - completely shut down the Yankees bats (New York hit .171/.207/.240) in a four game sweep. They met again in 1977 (Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!) and 1978 (more Reggie), with the Yankees winning both times. And finally they played each other one last time in 1981. That one went to the Dodgers - Dave Winfield went 1-22 and Yankee reliever George Frazier went 0-3, 17.18 in his three appearances.
The Yankees and the Mets have met just one time - it was back in 2000, and while it went just five games and is mostly remembered for Roger Clemens flinging a bat at Mike Piazza, all five games were close and interesting.
Cleveland and the Dodgers have met just once in the World Series - and wouldn't you know it, but I've actually written some 1600 words about that very encounter. (It's buried in the midst of a 10,000 word epic on the 1920 season.) Cleveland's team was known as the Indians back then and the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. In fact, back in 1920, they had yet to become the Dodgers - they were known as the Brooklyn Robins. It was an incredible season, one of the most significant in all of the game's history (Babe Ruth, the death of Ray Chapman, the Black Sox scandal, Babe Freaking Ruth) and the World Series had its moments as well - the first World Series grand slam, an unassisted triple play, the first World Series homer hit by a pitcher.
But Cleveland and the Mets have never met in the World Series. Never. Not even once. So I suppose that's got to be my preferred selection.
As a consolation prize, I'll accept a rematch of the 1920 Series. Just no damn Yankees.
