Hey, it could happen!
We’re one round away from a World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers.
Back in the spring of 2015, the NHL Conference Finals were underway and I started getting texts from other hockey fans I knew. Could this really happen? Had the sports gods gone crazy? Would my childhood favorite New York Rangers face off in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Anaheim Ducks who had called me a season ticket holder for a decade? Both were among the final four teams standing, so the possibility was far from remote.
As it turned out, the Rangers were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ducks lost a competitive series to the Chicago Blackhawks. In short, the scenario never came to pass. I know I would have rooted for the Rangers as I do during their regular season matchups, but the situation would have presented at least a little conflict of interest. The photo at the top is from April 18, 2023 when my brother and I watched the Rangers defeat the Devils 5-1 in Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals held in Newark, New Jersey.
Fast forward to today, as the National League Championship Series is tied at one between the Dodgers and New York Mets. Los Angeles survived a rollercoaster series against the Padres but will need to win three more contests to reach the Fall Classic. Meanwhile, the Yankees have jumped out to a 2-0 ALCS edge against Cleveland. The Guardians battled back to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the decisive game of their Division Series but will need to rally at home to get back into this one.
While my combined ties to the Ducks and Rangers probably can’t be matched in baseball, I have considered Los Angeles my second favorite team since college when I attended both Dodger home games and their road contests in San Francisco with friends. While the Dodgers captured the 2020 “bubble” title, Angelenos would love to be able to attend home games the next time they win the pennant. Before that, Kirk Gibson hit one of the most famous home runs of all time to help them defeat Oakland in 1988.
If the Yankees advance, it will be either a rematch of the 2000 Subway Series between the New York squads or the 1981 World Series won by Tommy Lasorda and the Dodgers. That amounted to revenge for the 1978 season when the Yankees beat the Red Sox in a one-game playoff thanks to a timely Bucky Dent home run. The Yanks would go on to defeat Los Angeles in the ’78 World Series. I’ll always remember 2000 for taking place while I was acting in a high school play during my senior year. Without the connectivity we enjoy today, I didn’t know the Yankees had defeated the Mets until I got to my front door and my father told me about it. Don’t worry, everyone: my parents had already seen Flowers for Algernon on a previous evening.
The Guardians will be motivated to advance in the quest to win their first World Series since 1948. Lost in the celebration about the Cubs winning it all in 2016 was the fact that the Guardians (once known as the Indians) endured a long drought of their own. Cleveland also took home the title in 1920.
Of course, the Mets could continue riding their magic streak and knock off the Dodgers. The next three games will be played at Citi Field in the New York borough of Queens. The Miracle Mets of 1969 were followed by the 1986 squad which got an assist from an error by Boston’s Bill Buckner and won the second championship in franchise history.
This season, the Yankees celebrated the 15th anniversary of their 2009 World Series win. During my teenage years, the Bombers won four World Series in five seasons between 1996 and 2000. Fans are already nostalgic for the great seasons turned in by Hideki Matsui, CC Sabathia, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera in 2009 because they represent the thrill of ultimate victory that has eluded the franchise ever since. If he’s voted in, Sabathia would join Jeter and Rivera in the Hall of Fame next year. That would be a fitting tribute to a fine pitching career.
