1965 Los Angelas Dodgers
Most observers would remember the 1960s Dodgers teams for their pitching, and that observation would be spot on, especially in the case of the 1965 team. The Dodgers ranked 8th out of 10 teams in the National League in runs scored in '65, scoring only 3.75 runs per game, more than a quarter of a run per game less than the league average. Despite this fact, the team won 97 games to finish the year two games ahead of rival San Francisco, earning them their third World Series birth in seven years (they would actually go to the Fall Classic again in 1966 for four in eight).
This was a team built around their pitching, and in 1965 their pitching was sensational. The Dodgers led the league with a remarkable team ERA of 2.81. Their starters pitched 58 complete games, with 23 total shutouts as a team. Future Hall-of-Famers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale led the staff. Koufax went 26-8 with a 2.04 ERA, completing 27 games and striking out a career best 382 batters in 335.2 innings of work. His strikeout total was a modern day major league record at the time, and it stood until Nolan Ryan struck out 383 batters in 1973, besting Koufax by one. The mark still ranks second on the all-time list to this day. He won the Cy Young Award in 1965, garnering every single vote to win the award unanimously. He finished second to Willie Mays in the MVP vote. Drysdale, for his part, won 23 games with a 2.77 ERA. He also hit seven home runs at the plate to help his cause. Drysdale finished fifth in the MVP vote.The Dodgers dispatched the Minnesota Twins in the World Series four games to three. To nobody's surprise, Koufax was the MVP, tossing a shutout in the decisive game seven, allowing only one run in total in the series in 24 innings pitched.
2001 Arizona Diamondbacks
The 2001 version of the Diamondbacks is the lone representative from the Arizona franchise. An expansion team in 1998, the team won 100 games in only their second year of existence in 1999. But that team was defeated in the Division Series by the New York Mets. After missing the playoffs in 2000, the team won their division in 2001 with a 92-70 and finished only one game back of having the best record in the National League.After dispatching the St. Louis Cardinals in five games in the Division Series, the D-Backs made quick work of the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS, winning four of five to earn their first, and to date only trip to the World Series. Awaiting them was the American League Champions, the New York Yankees. In what would be a terrific Fall Classic, Arizona won game seven of the series in dramatic fashion. Trailing 2-1 heading into the 9th inning, the Diamondbacks scored two runs off future Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera to win the game 3-2, earning the franchise the ultimate prize in only their fourth year of existence.
Curt Schilling couldn't match Big Unit's production, but he had an incredible season nonetheless in 2001. Finishing second in the Cy Young vote, Schilling won 22 games compared to six losses with a 2.98 ERA. He also struck out more than a batter an inning, retiring 293 batters via the K in only 256.2 innings. The tandem of Schilling and Johnson combined to win 43 of the teams 92 wins, or 46.7% of the team's victories. Needless to say, the duo was paramount to the team's success in 2001. The pair led the Diamondbacks to 98 wins in 2002, combining for 47 wins between them (47.9%), but Arizona fell to St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs that year.
PREDICTION
In a very intriguing match-up, this series should be dominated by pitching. It's hard to bet against a team throwing Sandy Koufax out there two times in a five game series, but the Diamondbacks can actually match the pitching prowess of the Dodgers in this one. Factor in the fact Arizona is better offensively and I see an upset in the making here. Don't be surprised if the D-Backs pull off the surprise. DIAMONDBACKS 3-2
Game 1
Chase Field
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| Los Angeles 1965 (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | |
| Arizona 2001 (1-0) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 3 | 5 | 1 | |
| W: C. Schilling (1-0) L: S. Koufax (0-1) | |||||||||||||
What promised to be a pitchers duel turned out to be just that as both starters went the distance for their respective teams. In the end, Curt Schilling out-dueled Sandy Koufax to take the 3-2 victory in game one of the series. Luis Gonzalez doubled in the bottom half of the 8th inning, driving in Junior Spivey in what would be the game-winner. Koufax, for his part, only allowed five hits while striking out nine, but timely hits, including a 3rd inning two-run homer by Spivey, proved to be his downfall. The teams are back at it tomorrow with another marvelous pitching matchup scheduled - Randy Johnson versus Don Drysdale. Tough task for the Dodgers trying to avoid going down 2-0 heading home.Game 2
Chase Field
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| Los Angeles 1965 (1-1) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 1 | |
| Arizona 2001 (1-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 | |
| W: D. Drysdale (1-0) L: R. Johnson (0-1) SV: R. Perranoski (1) | |||||||||||||
Knowing they needed this win in the worst way, the Dodgers responded, scoring three runs in the 1st inning off Arizona starter Randy Johnson, a lead they would never relinquish. Johnson did not have his good stuff in this one, lasting only four innings while allowing ten hits and six runs to cross the plate. His counterpart, Don Drysdale, went eight strong, allowing only six hits and three earned runs while striking out ten D-Backs. Maury Wills was the catalyst for Los Angelas, going 4-5 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. The series heads to LA for the next three.Game 3
Dodger Stadium
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| Arizona 2001 (2-1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles 1965 (1-2) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 | |
| W: G. Swindell (1-0) L: R. Perranoski (0-1) | |||||||||||||
Ron Peranowski had relieved Dodgers starter Claude Osteen the inning prior by getting the last out of the inning to preserve the lead. That would be the only out he would get in the game. Peranowski opened the 9th by giving up back-to-back singles to Craig Counsell and Jay Bell. He followed those up with a walk to Luis Gonzalez to load the bases. The next batter, Matt Williams, proceeded to smack a bases clearing double to give the D-Backs a 5-4 lead with nobody out in the inning. Bob Miller relieved Peranowski, and he opened up by giving up back-to-back doubles to Mark Grace and Reggie Sanders. By the time the inning was over, Arizona had plated six runs to take a commanding 8-4 lead. Miguel Buatista retired the Dodgers in order in the bottom of the 9th, and the Diamondbacks had stolen a game away from home. It's do-or-die for Los Angelas now as they now trail two games to one.
Game 4
Dodger Stadium
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| Arizona 2001 (2-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| Los Angeles 1965 (2-2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 10 | 0 | |
| W: S. Koufax (1-1) L: R. Johnson (0-2) | |||||||||||||
Game four featured the dream pitching match-up of Sandy Koufax against Randy Johnson. Both pitchers came into the game on short rest. Koufax had pitched eight inning in game one. He enters the game on three days rest. Johnson was the game two starter for the Diamondbacks, but he only went four innings in that affair and is back in game four on only two days rest.The Dodgers once again jumped out to an early lead, plating two runs in the bottom of the 1st. The game remained 2-0 until the 5th when Arizona pushed a run across against Koufax. Johnson began to struggle in the 6th. Jim Gilliam opened the inning with a single. Willie Davis was then hit by a pitch, followed by a walk to Ron Fairly to load the bases. With the game on the line, Johnson just didn't come through, giving up a double to Lou Johnson, clearing the bases and giving the Dodger all the runs they would need. Koufax cruised the rest of the way, allowing only five hits while striking out 15 D-Backs to tie the series at two games apiece.
Game 5
Dodger Stadium
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| Arizona 2001 (2-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles 1965 (3-2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 11 | 15 | 0 | |
| W: D. Drysdale (2-0) L: C. Schilling (1-1) | |||||||||||||
Series Recap
This series promised to be about pitching, and although at times it was good, the bats for each team were on display as well. Only game one could be considered a pitchers duel, a 3-2 victory by Arizona. In each of the other four games, the winning team had at least 10 hits. The Diamondbacks gave Los Angelas all they could handle in the series, but in the end it was the Dodgers bats that sealed the series victory. They averaged nearly six runs a game in the series after averaging less than three runs per game in the 1965 season. Lou Johnson was the offensive star for the Dodgers, going 8-21 with a pair of homers and eight RBI. Maury Wills, Jim Gilliam and Ron Fairly all hit above .400 for the series. Don Drysdale though is selected as the series overall MVP for his two wins, including a complete game victory in the finale. He also knocked a home run in that game for good measure. Up next for the Dodgers is a date in round #2 with the winner of the first round match-up between the #3 seeded 1969 New York Mets and the #14 seeded 1984 San Diego Padres.
