Dodgers: '81 Team Celebrates 41 Years Since WS Win Over the Yankees

Around this time in 1981, the Dodgers accomplished the unexpected: they topped the Yankees in Game six to win their fifth-ever World Series title.

October 28th, 1981 will go down as one of those best days in Dodger history, something we haven't gotten to experience in a few years. 

Burt Hooton picked up the final win for the Dodgers after they cruised to an easy 9-2 win in Game six.

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The 1981 World Series, held at the old Yankee Stadium, was historical in many ways. 

1. This was the Dodgers’ first World Series title since 1965 and their first victory over the Yankees since 1963.

The Dodgers lost back-to-back World Series matchups against the Yankees in 1977 and 1978 so the 1981 win was even sweeter. 

Interestingly enough, Game six was supposed to be played on October 27th but it was postponed due to rain. But maybe the extra day of rest gave the Dodgers that little edge they needed to finish out the series.

The team who was 63-47 that year, went on to collect 13 hits in that final game and put together eight runs between the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to put the Yankees away. 

2. For the first time in World Series history, the MVP title was shared between three players: Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager.

Across the six-game series, Cey recorded 7 hits, one homer, and 6 RBI. He slashed .350/.458/.400 with a .958 OPS and only recorded three strikeouts.

Guerrero slashed .333/.417/.762 with a 1.179 OPS, seven hits, two home runs, and seven RBIs in 24 at-bats. 

Yeager, the final co-MVP slashed .286/.267/.786 with a 1.052 OPS in 14 at-bats. He also had four hits, two home runs, and four RBI’s to help lead the Dodgers to their fifth World Series title in franchise history. 

1981 was a historic year not only around the world but also for the city of Los Angeles. 

Since that World Series title was captured 41 years ago, the Dodgers have only been able to secure two rings; one in 1988 and most recently during the 2020 abbreviated season. 

We all know how this past 2022 season went down and it wasn't pretty. So let's just hope that postseason magic comes back next year and the Dodgers can make another World Series run just like how the 1981 team did.