The revival of the proud franchise that started in 1976 and produced two World Series titles (1977 and 1978), was about to disappear for more than a decade. But 1981, in the midst of a year marred by a players’ strike, the Yankees made one more run to an American League pennant.
The A’s won three straight pennants from 1972-74, taking the World Series each time. The Yankees won three straight pennants from 1976-78 and grabbed two Series titles. But the teams’ paths had never crisscrossed in October. That changed when they met in the 1981 ALCS.
An interesting subplot was that Oakland’s revival was under the leadership of manager Billy Martin, who had also restored to the Yankees to prominence five years earlier.
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.
…the first Division Series came about by accident and it produced an ironic result–not only did the New York Yankees advance, but so did their old manager, who moved on with the Oakland A’s.
The New York Yankees won three straight American League pennants and two consecutive World Series from 1976-78. The franchise suffered a step back in 1979 on the field, finishing fourth in a competitive AL East, and they lived through tragedy off of it—the death of catcher and team captain Thurman Munson in private plane crash. Nothing could make up for that loss, but the 1980 New York Yankees were able to turn the on-field part of the equation around, winning another AL East title.
The New York Yankees were coming off two straight pennants—they returned to the World Series in 1976 for the first time in thirteen years, and then won it in 1977. They made it three straight pennants and two straight championships, but it was anything but easy. The 1978 New York Yankees went through a tale of two seasons, a managerial change and finally won one of the most dramatic baseball games ever played
The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers were old sparring partners in the World Series. Their eight previous meetings in the Fall Classic were the most of any matchup combination and they had met six times in ten years (1947-56) when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. They met again in 1963 after the Dodgers moved west. So perhaps it was appropriate that the Yankees’ first championship in sixteen years—and first under the ownership of George Steinbrenner—came over the Dodgers in the 1977 World Series.
One team was the powerful defending champions, already one of the dominant teams of the decade and looking to secure the legacy of a dynasty. Another was the team making its first World Series appearance in over a decade. It was the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees.
There’s only season that matters in the Bronx though, and that’s October. No one knew that better than A-Rod. Since arriving in New York prior to the 2004 season, he had won two MVP awards (2005 and 2007) and been the consensus best player in baseball. But his October failings—shortcomings that were real, and not just the media trumping them up—were overshadowing everything else.
The New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals had waged a classic battle in the 1976 American League Championship Series, a series not settled until Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss won the decisive game with a ninth-inning walkoff home run. In 1977, the Yankees and Royals each won 100 games, won their respective divisions and in the era when leagues were simply an East & West with only first-place teams advancing, a rematch was set for the 1977 ALCS.
The Yankees had won two of the previous three Fall Classics. The Braves were in their fifth Series of the decade and aiming for their second title. It was all set up to a great World Series Showdown…only it didn’t turn out quite that way.
The New York Yankees felt like they’d missed an opportunity in the 1997 playoffs when they lost to the Cleveland Indians in the Division Series. The 1998 New York Yankees took it out on the rest of baseball with a display that, even allowing the many great teams this organization has fielded over the years, was the absolute best.