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Dodgers-Yankees by the Numbers
2004-06-18 15:25
1 The number of times the Dodgers have beaten the Yankees in the World Series in my lifetime. 1.43 Mariano Rivera's ERA in 2003-2004. 1.59 Eric Gagne's ERA in both 2004 and 2002-2004. 1.91 Guillermo Mota's ERA in 2003-2004. 2 The uniform number of Tommy Lasorda, who became Dodger manager in 1977, the first full season that I religiously followed a pennant race, a pennant race culminating in a Dodger-Yankee World Series. A manager who, despite that initiation, I never learned to adore. 3 Game 3 of the 1977 World Series was the first postseason baseball game I ever attended. What I remember from that game without doing any research is that there was a moment of silence before the game to honor Bing Crosby on the day of his passing, and that Dusty Baker homered in a Dodger loss. Looking at the box score, I can see that Baker's three-run home run dramatically tied the game in the third inning, but that the Yankees pushed across single runs in the fourth and fifth to back Mike Torrez's complete-game effort. 3.1415926535897... What will be on the Yankee faces if the Dodgers win at least π-1.1415926535897 games this weekend. 4 The over/under on both the number of runs the Yankees figure to score against Hideo Nomo on Saturday and the number of innings he will pitch, given his performance this season. Alex Belth of Bronx Banter says he thinks Nomo "will be fine." Harumph. 4.5 The approximate size in inches of the black-and-white TV screen on which I watched Bob Welch's electric strikeout of Reggie Jackson in Game 2 of the 1978 World Series. 5 The average number of hours of a cross-country flight, which is what I was on, traveling from Boston to Los Angeles, when the airline pilot reported that Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager had hit back-to-back home runs to give the Dodgers a 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the 1981 World Series. 6 The number of consecutive World Series games the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in from October 13, 1978 through October 21, 1981, before the Dodgers won four straight to take the '81 Series. 7.41 Jeff Weaver's average number of strikeouts per nine innings in 2004, the best rate of his career. 8 The number of years of interleague play before the Dodgers and Yankees met, as Dodger and Yankee fan (yes, it's true) Jay Jaffe points out in his must-read preview of this weekend's series. (.002 the difference in EQA between the two teams) 9 The number of All-Stars my cousin, Yankee fan James Gray, must see in the Yankee batting order before he can relax - and focus on the pitching staff. 13.52 Eric Gagne's ratio of strikeouts per nine innings since 2002. 17 The number of home runs in 2004 by the Dodger bench of Jason Grabowski (5), Jose Hernandez (4), Olmedo Saenz (3), Jayson Werth (3), David Ross (2) and Robin Ventura (0) in 350 at-bats - an average of one homer per 20.5 at-bats - a better rate than every Dodger starter except Adrian Beltre. 18 The number of strikeouts by Ron Guidry in a 1979 Strat-o-Matic baseball game (played with 1978 statistics), as the Robyn Weisman-managed Yankees smothered the Jon Weisman-managed Dodgers in Jon's bedroom. 20-20 The vision that Reggie Jackson did not have when he lost a Davey Lopes fly ball in the sun in the sixth inning of Game 4 of the 1981 World Series, setting the stage for a game-tying single by Bill Russell en route to an 8-7 Dodger victory. 40 The number of home runs Shawn Green is on pace to hit in the 2003-2004 seasons combined. 42 The number of home runs Shawn Green hit in 2002, his first season as a Dodger without Gary Sheffield. 44 The uniform number of ... Ken Landreaux, who caught the final out of the Dodgers' 1981 World Series victory in Yankee Stadium, as ESPN researcher Mark Simon recalls. (God help me, I'm doing this one from memory and I'm suddenly having second thoughts as I walk out the door - I hope I'm right.) 145 The number of pitches Dodger rookie Fernando Valenzuela reportedly threw in his complete-game, nine-hit, seven-walk, six-strikeout enduranceaganza over the Yankees in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series. 447 The numbers it takes on a telephone to spell HIP, which is what Reggie Jackson used to block a Bill Russell throw and spark a Game 4 rally that evened the 1978 World Series, 2-2. Perhaps the first true moment of appalling sports injustice that I experienced in my life. 163,653 The Dodger Stadium record for tickets sold for a three-game series, set April 23-25 vs. San Francisco this year, an average of 54,551 per game.
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