Dodger Playoff Memories.....

Two years in a row the Philadelphia Phillies have beaten the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to take National League pennant. I would have liked to see my favorite baseball team win these match-ups, but the better team was the series winner both times. What these two years did do was bring me back to growing up a Dodger fan in the 70's and 80's, and the Dodger playoff memories during those years. Some were good, and some not so much, but these two NLCSs against the Phillies reminded me of my favorite Dodger playoff memory, also against Philadelphia.

Back in 1977 the Dodgers and Phillies faced off for the NL pennant. They were the best teams in the NL and evenly matched. During the 1977 NLCS, the teams split the first two games in Dodger Stadium, and headed to Philadelphia. Game 3 was an afternoon game that I was able to watch after school. I turned on the game just in time to see the Dodgers take a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. With two outs and two on in the bottom of the inning, Dodger starter Burt Hooton was questions the strike zone. Well the Phillie fans, known to be loud, started "hooting" Hooton. I remember them being so loud through my TV that it was amazing. It was even louder there in the stadium, so much so that Hooton got rattled and walked four batters in a row to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead and was pulled by Tommy Lasorda after the 4th walk. The Dodgers eventually tied it up, but the Phillies took a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th. The Phillies looked like they were going to take control of the series, and looked even better after Gene Garber got the first two outs in the top of the 9th. Starting with Vic Davalillo's bunt single, and then a series of Dodger hits and Phillie errors, and all of a sudden the Dodgers were up 6-5. The Phillies went three up and three down to end the game and put the Dodgers up 2 games to 1. In Philadelphia sport lore, this is known as "Black Friday". For me as an 11 year old fan, it was a game that has always stuck with me in detail.

In 1978, the teams faced off again in the NLCS, and again the Dodgers prevailed. This time in Game 4, with the Dodgers up two games to one, the game went to extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, with Ron Cey on 1st and two outs, All-Star outfielder Garry Maddox misplayed a flyball by Dusty Baker. The next batter, Bill Russell knocked a single to center that Maddox again misplayed as the ball skipped by him allowing Cey to score and the Dodgers to take the series.

These last two years have not been as dramatic, but each had a turning point where the Phillies "hurt" the Dodgers. In 2008 it was Matt Stairs home run off Jonathan Broxton in Game 4, while in 2009 it was also a Game 4 Phillies' win that helped finish the Dodgers. This time a bottom of the ninth comeback off Broxton, highlighted by Jimmy Rollins double.

I wish that some more good memories were made these past two years, but it was not to be. This Phillie team is a tough team with players that just know how to win. They quietly are one of the best teams we have seen in a while.

Oh well. I'll just go back to those Dodger teams from my childhood.

So, what childhood baseball memory, good or bad, is stuck in your mind?