Rewatching Game 6 of the 1981 World Series

The Dodgers and Yankees had to wait a day to get things going, but after rain washed away plans on Tuesday, we are set for Game 6 of the 1981 World Series on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

So far this has been a mirror image of the 1978 Fall Classic, also between these two teams. That year the Dodgers won the first two games at home, only to lose the next three on the road. The Yankees closed things out with a Game 6 win on the road for their second straight championship at the Dodgers’ expense.

This year the Yankees held serve in their first two in The Bronx, followed by the Dodgers winning three one-run nail-biters at Dodger Stadium. The last game might have been the best of the bunch, a world class pitchers’ duel between Ron Guidry and Jerry Reuss. New York led until the seventh inning, when back-to-back home runs by Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager turned the tide for Los Angeles.

Now, the Dodgers are one win away from their first championship since 1965. They will have the services of Ron Cey, who was hit by a pitch in the head in the ninth inning of Game 5. Cey starts at third base, batting cleanup for the Dodgers tonight in Game 6. The Penguin is 5-for-17 (.294) with a home run, five RBI, and three walks in this World Series.

Burt Hooton, 3-1 this postseason with a minuscule 0.33 ERA in four starts, is on the mound for the Dodgers, facing old friend Tommy John. The Yankees prevailed in this same pitching matchup, 3-0 in Game 2.

The game, for our purposes, will start at 5 p.m. PT, broadcast on YouTube.