Being that I have been a part of baseball and the New York Yankees for 51 years, I get to enjoy my tenth World Series.
Win or lose it has all been beautiful.
The first one was in 1976 when we lost in four games to the big red machine ( Cincinnati Reds ). That was the one where Chris Chambliss hit the walk-off homer to give George Steinbrenner his first pennant versus the K. C. Royals to get us into the Series.
1977 for me was the best one of all because that was the birth of Mr. October and Reggie Jackson’s 3 homer game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
I must add that Thurman Munson actually gave Reggie the nickname.
In 1978 there would be a repeat of the Yankees vs the Dodgers. Again the Yankees would win in six games. This series would be known as the Bucky Dent series. Bucky’s heroics would earn him the Most Valuable Player award.
We would get back to the World Series in 1981. This had the makings of another classic but after winning the first two games the Yankees seemed to of run out of gas. The Dodgers would win the next four games and that fall classic.
It has taken 43 years to get these two juggernauts to get back to the World Series and settle a long-standing East Coast West Coast rivalry.
The timing is perfect because of the incredible marquee players on both teams.
To be able to have Shohei Ohtani vs Aaron Judge, Juan Soto vs Mookie Betts and Freddie Freedman vs Giancarlo Stanton makes for an epic showdown during one of the most anticipated Fall classics ever.
My own analytics say that the offense will virtually be a draw so I see this series coming down to who will have the stronger pitching.
At the end, I see the Yankees win in a possible 6 but most likely seven grueling games.
For me on a personal note, I will agonize at the thought that two extremely dear friends will not be here to enjoy the game they loved so much.
I’m very hurt by the passing of the great Luis Tiant who was truly family to me and the Wonderful lefty pitcher Rudy May. He was truly one of the most underrated pitchers ever. They both passed within the last week. I am very grateful to the Yankees for having a moment of silence for Tiant and hope they do the same for Rudy who died last night.
I send my heartfelt condolences to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the passing of the incredible Fernando Valenzuela. Believe it or not, Fernando and Rudy May were the two best pitchers during the 1981 World Series.
Today was a very sad day for me because in talking to two of my other heroes, Roy White and Bucky Dent I was truly feeling our mortality. I wanted to reach out to them and tell them how much I appreciated them during my formative years and how much I love them.
I’m extremely heart broken that I can’t tell Tiant that I love him anymore. He treated me like a son so this one really hurts.
Congratulations to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred for a fantastic season both on and off the field. Being a community-conscious person and someone that comes from these streets I know that our young people are starting to adore our national pastime again.
