One wildly famous baseball name played for both Yankees and Dodgers in World Series

The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have linked up routinely throughout history, but most active MLB players were not yet born the last time this matchup manifested (except Rich Hill, of course).

The last Yankees-Dodgers World Series took place in 1981, which is one reason MLB media members were so thirsty for a renewal of the rivalry this year. Another reason? Literally everything else. Judge vs. Ohtani. Best records in each league. If you can't get down for that, then you're welcome to pop in your Rangers-Diamondbacks DVDs from last year instead.

That 1981 series featured the Yankees taking a 2-0 series lead, then dropping four consecutive contests in devastating fashion, in much the same way they'd eventually capture the World Series from the 1996 Braves 15 seasons later.

One Yankee who didn't struggle in that wild series, though, was 38-year-old wily veteran hurler Tommy John. After all, what did he have to fear about the Dodgers? He'd already gone through the ringer, recovering from a wildly experimental ligament surgery that rejuvenated his arm and career. John started twice in the series and made one relief appearance, posting an 0.69 ERA and a win in 13 innings.

The Dodgers probably should've expected that level of dominance more than any other team, considering when he returned from a year of rehab away from the game in 1976, he did so with Los Angeles, proceeding to pitch against the Yankees in the 1977 and 1978 Fall Classics.

Yankees and Dodgers' World Series history features Tommy John on both sides

John got rocked by New York in his only start of the '77 Series (six innings, nine hits, five runs, four earned), but rebounded to lull the Yankees to sleep in '78 before that series got Reggie-fied; he posted one win across two starts spanning 14 2/3 innings, maintaining a 3.07 ERA.

It's not rare to transcend both sides of this rivalry; everyone from Jerry Hairston Jr. to Gary Sheffield to Joey Gallo has done that. It's much rarer, though, to make a significant World Series impact for both sides in a five-year span. Al Downing pitched for both clubs in the World Series (1963-64 for the Yankees, 1974 for the Dodgers), but he never faced the Yanks with a championship on the line. Leo Durocher couldn't get into the 1941 series with the Brooklyn Dodgers, but he managed the hell out of it. This just does not happen very often.

To make a real impact after having your career revived by a major surgical procedure that's gone on to bear your name and become an extremely unfortunate MLB staple (especially in the Dodgers' locker room)? Well, that'll never be replicated (unless they invent a Jonathan Loaisiga Surgery someday).