Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager shared World Series MVP honors after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 9-2 in Game 6 on Oct. 28, 1981, to win the 1981 World Series.
The Dodgers finished the Fall Classic with their fifth championship overall and their first title since 1965. They also became the answer to a simple question that still comes up decades later: who won the World Series MVP? In this case, the honor was shared by three Dodgers who each played a major role in the series win.
Guerrero’s numbers stood out most over the full series. He went 7-for-21 with two home runs, one triple, one double and seven RBIs. Cey also delivered at the plate, finishing 7-for-20 with six RBIs. Yeager went 4-for-14 and added two home runs, one double and four RBIs.
How the series turned
The Yankees won Games 1 and 2 at home, but the Dodgers answered by winning Games 3, 4 and 5 by one run each to take a 3-2 lead. That set up Game 6 at Yankee Stadium, where Los Angeles scored eight runs and closed out the series with a convincing 9-2 victory.
The Dodgers’ title run in 1981 came after another comeback earlier that year. They erased a 2-0 deficit against the Houston Astros in a best-of-five series and later came from behind against the Montreal Expos after falling behind 2-1 in another best-of-five matchup. By the time they reached the Yankees, they had already shown they could recover quickly and finish strong.
The co-MVP decision made sense because the production was spread across the lineup. Cey, Guerrero and Yeager all contributed in different ways, and the award reflected how balanced the Dodgers were during the championship run.
That history also helps frame the current connection to the franchise. Clayton Kershaw was named the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award in 2012 and was presented with the award before Game 4 of the World Series at Comerica Park. The Dodgers’ past and present often overlap in moments like that, with their championship history still part of the team’s identity.
