the last time la dodgers went to the world series was 1988.
the last time la dodgers went to the world series was 1988.
when was the last time la dodgers went to the world series?
1988
the 1988 world series is remembered for the iconic home run by the los angeles dodgers' kirk gibson with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of game 1. the dodgers were huge underdogs against the 104-win oakland athletics, who had swept the boston red sox in the alcs. baseball's top relief pitcher, dennis eckersley, closed out all four games in the alcs, and he appeared ready to do the same in game 1 against a dodgers team trailing 4–3 in the ninth. after getting the first two outs, eckersley walked mike davis of the dodgers, who were playing without gibson, their best position player and the nl mvp. gibson had injured himself in the nlcs and was expected to miss the entire world series. yet, despite not being able to walk without a noticeable limp, gibson surprised all in attendance at dodger stadium (and all watching on tv) by pinch-hitting. after two quick strikes and then working the count full, gibson hit a home run to right, inspiring iconic pronouncements by two legendary broadcasters calling the game, vin scully (on tv) and jack buck (on radio). on nbc, as gibson limped around the bases, scully famously exclaimed, "the impossible has happened!" and on radio, buck equally famously exclaimed, "i don't believe what i just saw!" gibson's home run set the tone for the series, as the dodgers went on to beat the a's 4 games to 1. the severity of gibson's injury prevented him from playing in any of the remaining games.
world series
after solid but unspectacular years in 1979 and 1980, hooton enjoyed an 11–6 campaign in the strike-shortened 1981 season, posting a career-best 2.28 era and being named to his only all-star team. he began the playoffs with a win against the houston astros in game 3 of the division series, allowing only three hits, including an art howe solo homer, through seven innings. after the dodgers won the series in five games, they went on to face the montreal expos in the nlcs; hooton won game 1, allowing only six hits before leaving in the eighth inning with a 2–0 lead. returning in game 4 with the dodgers behind two games to one, he allowed only five hits and one unearned run before leaving in the eighth inning with a 3–1 lead; the dodgers went on to a 7–1 win, and won game 5 to advance to the world series, again meeting the yankees. hooton was named the nlcs mvp for his two wins and perfect 0.00 era. he started game 2 of the world series, but took a tough loss after leaving the game in the seventh inning, behind 1–0 on an unearned run; the yankees went on to win 3–0 behind the pitching of his former dodger teammate tommy john. but he came back with another strong outing in game 6, leaving with an 8–1 lead in the sixth inning as the dodgers won 9–2, taking their first world series title since 1965. because of his unassuming nature, broadcaster vin scully said that to celebrate, hooton would probably go out and "paint the town beige." hooton remained with the dodgers for three more years, but with a combined record of just 16–21; he spent most of 1984 in the bullpen.
burt hooton