THEY BLED BLUE is the rollicking yarn of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ crazy 1981 season. That it culminated in an unlikely World Series win --- during a campaign split by the longest player strike in baseball history --- is not even the most interesting thing about this team. The Dodgers were led by Tommy Lasorda, who unyieldingly proclaimed devotion to the franchise through monologues about bleeding Dodger blue and worshiping the “Big Dodger in the Sky.” Steve Garvey, the All-American, All-Star first baseman, had anchored the most durable infield in major league history. The season’s real story, however, was one that nobody expected at the outset: a 20-year-old chubby lefthander, nearly straight out of Mexico, with a wild delivery and a screwball as his flippin’ out pitch.

The Oakland A’s of the early 1970s: Never before had an entire organization so collectively traumatized baseball’s establishment with its outlandish behavior and business decisions. The high drama that played out on the field was exceeded only by the drama in the clubhouse and front office. Under the visionary leadership of owner Charles O. Finley, the team assembled such luminary figures as Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue, and with garish uniforms and revolutionary facial hair, knocked baseball into the modern age. However, Finley’s insatiable need for control made him ill-suited for the advent of free agency. Within two years, his dynasty was lost.