In 1981, my father was a 14-year-old living in an apartment in Boyle Heights with his parents and seven siblings. His family had moved to Los Angeles from Zacatecas, Mexico, to provide a better future for their children. My father didn’t have much back then, as his parents fought to keep the lights on while navigating the perils of being undocumented.
However, one thing they did have was a love of baseball.
My father watched his first Dodgers game in 1974 on a black-and-white television set. He kept score of the game while his brothers and father gathered around the radio set as Spanish announcer and icon Jaime Jarrín told stories of the greats like Tommy Lasorda, Steve Garvey, and Don Sutton.
For as successful as the Dodgers were in the ‘70s, championship gold eluded them. The team lost all three World Series they played in, with two losses coming back-to-back in 1977 and 1978 against the New York Yankees. Baseball’s standard bearers, my dad’s family watched as the Yankees’ Reggie Jackson smashed three home runs to clinch the title in Game 6 of the ‘77 series, then forced to watch as they won their second consecutive championship in Los Angeles the following year.
So when the two titans met again in the 1981 World Series, revenge and dread were on my father’s mind. He wanted to see the Dodgers finally get one over their cross-country rivals but lamented the thought of losing yet another World Series.
But 1981 was a different story. Behind 2-0 in the series, a 147-pitch complete game victory from that year’s Cy Young Award winner Fernando Valenzuela turned the tide in the Dodgers’ favor. With stellar performances from World Series co-MVPs Ron Cey, Steve Yeager and Pedro Guerrero, the Dodgers won the next three games and took down the Yankees to win their first world title since 1965.
That World Series was a defining moment for my father and Angelenos everywhere. 43 years later, Los Angeles is in for another historic moment as the two teams lock horns again.
No other World Series matchup has been played more than Dodgers-Yankees. Legends line the hallowed grounds of this iconic matchup. From Babe Ruth to Jackie Robinson, from Sandy Koufax to Reggie Jackson and Fernando Valenzuela, this series is one where icons become immortalized.
That’s especially true for Valenzuela, who passed away on Oct. 22. Valenzuela represented the best of what Los Angeles had to offer, a man who connected to the city’s Latino population with his Navojoa, Mexico roots and unassuming stature. With his patented windup and screwball, his 1981 season is considered one of the greatest rookie seasons from a pitcher in baseball history, turning the city manic with “Fernandomania.” Fernando’s name will live on across the city, and his memory will loom over Chavez Ravine throughout the series.
But this World Series isn’t just about reminiscing. It’s an opportunity for a new generation of players and fans to write their own chapter of history — one that carries on the past’s legacy with modern-day star power.
Shohei Ohtani. Aaron Judge. Mookie Betts. Juan Soto. Giancarlo Stanton. Freddie Freeman. These players helped define the last decade of baseball, and now have a chance to stake a claim in this iconic rivalry.
In particular, Ohtani and Judge can cement their cases as all-time greats. Both lead their respective leagues in home runs during the regular season. Both will likely win their league MVP awards. Both are playing for their first World Series rings. Baseball’s two biggest stars on baseball’s grandest stage.
Just like my father did decades ago, young Dodgers fans will sit with their parents and create formative memories that will shape their love of baseball. To dream of being someone like Jack Flaherty, who also sat with his family watching games in his home in Burbank. Someone who went from pitching at Dodger Stadium as a student at Harvard-Westlake High School, to getting the start for Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.
My father, that 14-year-old from Boyle Heights, is now 57, and has four children raised on Dodger Blue. He will be watching the Dodgers and Yankees face off once more, now with his son at his side. We may have 37 years separating us, but for one week, we will both be consumed with childlike optimism as the next chapter of baseball history is written.
