Yankees vs Dodgers remains a special part of Willie Randolph's baseball life

NEW YORK – Standing behind the batting cage, Willie Randolph watched the Yankees prepare for their long- anticipated meeting against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Classic, classic World Series,’’ Randolph said at Yankee Stadium early Tuesday afternoon, with a flood of memories returning.

“I think back to ’81, the one we gave away. Still sticks in my craw,’’ Randolph said of his Yankees taking a 2-0 lead, then losing three straight one-run games at Los Angeles.

Despite Randolph getting on base four times from the leadoff spot, the Yankees lost an elimination Game 6 at home – the last Yankees-Dodgers World Series matchup.

Forty-three years later, it’s like old times again − Yankees vs. Dodgers, New York vs. L.A., and all the requisite star power led by Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, on their first World Series stage.

“It would have been great to have a Subway Series,’’ said Randolph, who grew up a Mets fan in Brooklyn and became an All-Star second baseman with the Yankees.

“But I think for the country, for baseball all the way around, this is a great Series to have.’’

Willie Randolph knows how quickly Yankees' fortunes can change

Randolph recalled “the bitter taste’’ of his first World Series, when the Yankees were swept by the Cincinnati Reds of Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez.

But the 1976 pennant was the Yanks’ first since 1964, and “it was just nice to break the ice after all those lean years,’’ Randolph said.

The current Yankees just broke a 15-year pennant-less streak, coming out of an 82-80 season in 2023 termed “a disaster’’ by GM Brian Cashman.

Though the ’76 Yankees were “embarrassed’’ by the Big Red Machine, “it got us back to where we belong,’’ said Randolph, “because it really spurred us on’’ toward back-to-back World Series wins against Tommy Lasorda’s Dodgers.

As a World Series memory against L.A., Reggie Jackson’s three home runs in the Game 6 clincher at Yankee Stadium stand out among Randolph’s memories.

“For me it was about the historic part,’’ said Randolph, who made his final All-Star team as a member of the 1989 Dodgers, and likes that the league’s two best clubs are the ones left standing.

“When you’ve got star power, when you’ve got the best players in the game competing… if you’re a casual fan, you’ll tune in,’’ Randolph said.

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees-Dodgers World Series is special part of Willie Randolph's life