sport 1981 los angeles dodgers season
A screwball is a ___MASK97___ and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball . Depending on the pitcher ' s arm angle , the ball may also have a sinking action . The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional ___MASK97___ team based in Los Angeles , California . The Dodgers compete in Major League ___MASK97___ ( MLB ) as a member club of the National League ( NL ) West division . Established in 1883 in Brooklyn , New York , the team moved to Los Angeles before the 1958 season . They played for four seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving to their current home of Dodger Stadium in . Walter Perry Johnson ( November 6 , 1887  December 10 , 1946 ), nicknamed " Barney " and " The Big Train ", was a Major League ___MASK97___ right - handed pitcher . He played his entire 21 - year ___MASK97___ career for the Washington Senators ( 1907  1927 ). He later served as manager of the Senators from 1929 through 1932 and for the Cleveland Indians from 1933 through 1935 . Los Angeles ( ___MASK84___ for " The Angels "), officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L . A ., is the second - most populous city in the United States ( after New York City ), the most populous city in California and the county seat of Los Angeles County . Situated in Southern California , Los Angeles is known for its mediterranean climate , ethnic diversity , sprawling metropolis , and as a major center of the American entertainment industry . Los Angeles lies in a large coastal basin surrounded on three sides by mountains reaching up to and over . Denton True " Cy " Young ( March 29 , 1867  November 4 , 1955 ) was an American Major League ___MASK97___ pitcher . During his 22 - season ___MASK97___ career ( 1890  1911 ), he pitched for five different teams . Young established numerous pitching records , some of which have stood for a century . Young compiled 511 wins , which is most in Major League history and 94 ahead of Walter Johnson , second on the list . Young was elected to the National ___MASK97___ Hall of Fame in 1937 . Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea ( born November 1 , 1960 ), is a Mexican former Major League ___MASK97___ ( MLB ) pitcher who played seventeen seasons , from 1980 to 1997 , for six teams , primarily the Los Angeles Dodgers . He batted and threw left - handed . He has a career won - loss record of 173  153 and a 3 . 54 earned run average ( ERA ). Valenzuela was notable for his unorthodox windup and for being one of a small number of pitchers who threw a screwball regularly . Never a particularly hard thrower , the Dodgers felt he needed another pitch ; he was taught the screwball in 1979 by teammate Bobby Castillo In ___MASK97___ statistics , earned run average ( ERA ) is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched ( i . e . the traditional length of a game ). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine . Runs resulting from defensive errors ( including pitchers ' defensive errors ) are recorded as unearned runs and omitted from ERA calculations . The National League of Professional ___MASK97___ Clubs , known simply as the National League ( NL ), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League ___MASK97___ ( MLB ) in the United States and Canada , and the world ' s oldest current professional team sports league . Founded on February 2 , 1876 , to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , it is sometimes called the Senior Circuit , in contrast to MLB ' s other league , the American League , which was founded 25 years later . Both leagues currently have 15 teams . The two league champions of 1903 arranged to compete against each other in the inaugural World Series . After the 1904 champions failed to reach a similar agreement , the two leagues formalized the World Series as an arrangement between the leagues . National League teams have won 48 of the 112 World Series contested from 1903 to 2016 . The 2016 National League champions are the Chicago Cubs . The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is an American sports stadium located in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles , California . The stadium serves as the home to the University of Southern California ( USC ) Trojans ___MASK48___ team , and as the temporary home for the Los Angeles Rams of the National ___MASK48___ League ( NFL ). The Coliseum was home to the Rams from 1946 to 1979 , when they moved to Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim , California , and is serving as their home stadium again until the completion of Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood , California . The facility has a permanent seating capacity of 93 , 607 for USC ___MASK48___ games , making it the largest ___MASK48___ stadium in the Pac - 12 Conference . For Rams games , capacity is at 80 , 000 , giving it the fourth - largest capacity in the NFL . The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season got off to a strong start when rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitched a shutout on opening day , starting the craze that came to be known as `` Fernandomania . '' Fernando went on to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards . The season was divided into two halves because of a players strike in mid - season . The Dodgers won the Western Division of the National League in the first half and advanced to the playoffs . They beat the Houston Astros in a divisional playoff and the Montreal Expos in the National League Championship Series before beating the New York Yankees to win the World Series . At the end of each Major League ___MASK97___ season , the league leaders of various statistical categories are announced . Leading the league in a particular category is referred to as a " title ". Dodger Stadium , occasionally called by the metonym Chavez Ravine , is a ___MASK97___ park located in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles , the home field of the Los Angeles Dodgers , the city ' s Major League ___MASK97___ ( MLB ) franchise . Opened on April 10 , 1962 , it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of $ 23 million , financed by private sources . Robert Ernie " Babo " Castillo Jr . ( April 18 , 1955  June 30 , 2014 ) was a pitcher in Major League ___MASK97___ . He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins between and . He was in the bullpen for the Dodgers in the 1981 World Series , pitching one inning against the New York Yankees . He also pitched one season in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons in . Castillo is credited with teaching his former Dodgers team - mate , Fernando Valenzuela , how to throw a screwball . In ___MASK97___ , the pitcher is the player who throws the ___MASK97___ from the pitcher ' s mound toward the catcher to begin each play , with the goal of retiring a batter , who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk . In the numbering system used to record defensive plays , the pitcher is assigned the number 1 . The pitcher is often considered the most important defensive player , and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum . There are many different types of pitchers , such as the starting pitcher , relief pitcher , middle reliever , lefty specialist , setup man , and closer .