Fansided

Ranking every World Series winners in history

By Staff

UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 05: Brooklyn Dodgers president Walter O'Malley and his manager, Walter Alston, exchange hugs and grins after bringing Brooklyn its first World Series championship in history. Flock did it the hard way, winning the final game in Yankee Stadium. (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 05: Brooklyn Dodgers president Walter O'Malley and his manager, Walter Alston, exchange hugs and grins after bringing Brooklyn its first World Series championship in history. Flock did it the hard way, winning the final game in Yankee Stadium. (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) /
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BRONX, NY – OCTOBER 1981: Steve Howe No. 57 of the Los Angeles Dodgers jumps into the arms of catcher Steve Yeager No. 7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers with Steve Garvey No. 6 and Derrel Thomas No. 30 also of the Los Angeles Dodgers joining the celebration after winning Game 6 of the 1981 World Series against the New York Yankees on October 28, 1981 in the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/ Getty Images)
BRONX, NY – OCTOBER 1981: Steve Howe No. 57 of the Los Angeles Dodgers jumps into the arms of catcher Steve Yeager No. 7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers with Steve Garvey No. 6 and Derrel Thomas No. 30 also of the Los Angeles Dodgers joining the celebration after winning Game 6 of the 1981 World Series against the New York Yankees on October 28, 1981 in the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/ Getty Images) /

105. 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers

63-47, NL West 1st Half Champions, Won World Series 4-2 Over New York

The 1981 season was one of the most unique in Major League Baseball history, and because of a player’s strike that forced the cancellation of nearly two months’ worth of games across June, July and August, it was the first since 1892 to feature a split-season schedule.

Because the season was split into two halves, the division winners of the first half met the division winners of the second half in the playoffs in an additional playoff round prior to the League Championship Series. That was an unfortunate setup for the Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, each of whom had the best record in their respective divisions yet missed the postseason because they could not win either the first half or second half titles.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, on the other hand, edged the Reds by a half-game in the first half of the season, then beat the Houston Astros in the Division Series and the Montreal Expos in the NLCS before coming back from a 2-0 deficit and beating the New York Yankees 4-2 in the World Series.

“Fernandomania” was in full bloom as 20-year old rookie left-hander Fernando Valenzuela won the NL Cy Young Award with a 13-7 record, 2.48 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 192.1 innings across 25 starts – including a Major League-leading eight shutouts. Valenzuela won the only game he started in the World Series – a 5-4 complete game victory in Game 3.

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