Two dramatic home runs punctuated the 1985 NLCS between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. The broadcast call of one is remembered in a lot of baseball montages to this day—and that wasn’t even the home run that won the pennant. Another dramatic shot was the final big blow of a competitive six-game series.
For two decades of Los Angeles Dodgers history they were defined by manager Tom Lasorda. The manager, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997, “bled Dodger Blue” by his own proud admission. The Dodgers won games, pennants and championships and this post features links to articles that capture the heart of his best teams.
The 1988 MLB season wasn’t filled with drama when it came to pennant races, but that didn’t stop the year from having an epic ending that was seemingly written in Hollywood and literally ended there.
The two big markets of the National League battled in the 1988 NLCS, as the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The series had the best pitchers and best MVP candidates, and it went the full seven games, with several surprising plot twists, before the Dodgers finally prevailed
The 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers were starting a season that lacked the expectations often associated with this proud organization. They’d missed the playoffs for two straight years and in an era where only the first-place team in a six-team division would qualify, there was no expectation that 1988 would be any different.
1981 was the foreshadowing of a new era in baseball, with the introduction of the Division Series. The circumstances weren’t ideal—a players’ strike from mid-June to mid-August…The 1981 NLDS gave baseball good reasons to like the idea, with both series going the full five games.
Tom Lasorda had known constant success since taking over as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977. He won pennants each of his first two years and contended to the last day—and beyond—in 1980. But Tommy was still looking for his first ring, and the proud franchise was after its first title since 1965. The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers were the breakthrough team, repeatedly coming back in the postseason and winning the World Series.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were old hands at this National League Championship Series business by 1981. The Dodgers had been to the NLCS in 1974, 1977 and 1978, winning pennants all three times, though never the World Series. The Montreal Expos were just the opposite—they were making their first visit to the postseason. The veteran Dodgers and the up-and-coming Expos crossed paths in a well-played 1981 NLCS.
Two traditional foes took a decidedly non-traditional path to meet in the 1981 World Series. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers met for the third time in five years in the Fall Classic.
Tom Lasorda had made a big splash in his first year as manager in Los Angeles, winning the pennant in 1977. The 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers made the new skipper 2-for-2, pulling away to win the NL West on the strength of a dynamite September.
Lasorda took over a team that had been a consistent contender since the age of divisional play began in 1969. The Dodgers finished second in the NL West six times from 1970-76, and they won the division—and the NL pennant—in 1974 before losing to the Oakland A’s in the World Series.
Pitching was the heart of the team…
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies carried on a lively postseason rivalry, meeting three times in seven years for the National League pennant. The 1977 NLCS was the first of those meetings, and after at least two instances of the Phillies appearing ready to take control, it was the Dodgers who snatched it back and won the pennant.