The baseball era of the late 1970s was marked by intense rivalry between the Dodgers and the Yankees. A new ESPN documentary has tried to enliven those four historic seasons, as the two teams now again have a chance to meet in the World Series for the first time after 41 years this October.
From 1977 to 1981, the Dodgers and Yankees played for the title three times against each other. “Yankees-Dodgers: An Uncivil War,” a new documentary about their World Series battles in 1977 and 1978, is going on air on ESPN Tuesday evening.
The Yankees are inching closer to the AL East title. Baseball fans in the country’s two biggest media markets are feeling nostalgic over the expected return of the Dodgers-Yankees rivalry this postseason, and ESPN Films is out to take advantage of this.
The historical period, as well as the surrounding cultural events in Los Angeles and New York, are just as important as the two teams. The historical facts slant more firmly toward Manhattan, where serial murderer the Son of Sam went on a killing spree and the July blackout of 1977 that engulfed the entire New York City give vivid recollections for many who were firsthand witnesses to those days.
Fritz Mitchell, the documentary director, was born and raised 45 miles north of New York City. Oddly enough, he is a die-hard fan of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, and he is still very interested in the historical era defined by the rivalry between the Dodgers and Yankees.
During a remote interview, the director termed himself a child of the 70s who grew with baseball of that time and told:
“I try to appeal to sports fans as well as non-sports fans. There’s a broader story, a context to the time period. Baseball was coming into that free agency period. The ’70s were in full swing with the hubris and greed. There is a certain fascination with that. Because I’m a child of the ’70s, I’m fascinated by what the ’70s are all about.”
The fact that the Dodgers and Yankees constantly faced each other in the World Series for four years is the best example of greed that dominated the minds of baseball and television executives.
Baseball was no longer the undisputed national sport then and no big ratings were given. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that the championship games from 1950 to 1981 were dominated by seven teams. The Dodgers and Yankees led the pack with 15 of 31 series. The Yankees won 10 of their 20 championships, the Dodgers got it five times. Five small-market franchises Oakland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Baltimore have the rest.
Given these circumstances, the rise of the Dodgers and Yankees at the same time had the potential to energize a league that was in need of a new life.
According to Mitchell:
“Football’s really just starting to take off, where football takes the mantle from baseball in the course of the ’70s. By the mid-to-late ’70s, the (Pittsburgh) Steelers and (Dallas) Cowboys overtake the NFL. Yankees-Dodgers, Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin, Tommy Lasorda – baseball was still holding on.”
Reggie Jackson was the primary symbol of how greedy one can be, and his on-camera interviews showed an unusually high degree of openness for such a problematic character in the annals of the sport’s history.
Jackson got the nickname “Mr. October” after his famous three home runs. It was the deciding game of the 1977 World Series and he had these homers against three of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitchers. Off the field and sometimes in the Yankee dugout, Jackson’s big personality captured the attention of the press in a way that few baseball players before or since have reached to that level.
Mitchell said that Jackson was excited for the documentary to show what was going on behind the scenes in the Yankees’ clubhouse and how it affected him.
Mitchell said that Jackson told him:
“Don’t get people who are just going to say nice things about me. Find people who won’t say nice things about me.”
The documentary is sure to rekindle the rivalry that once existed between the Dodgers and Yankees just days before they have an opportunity to meet four decades later.
Who do you think will be the star of the Dodgers-Yankees world series in 2022?
