Steve Garvey vividly remembers the 1981 World Series finals, when the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees. He calls it the highlight of his All-Star baseball career.

Even if he gets robbed seconds later during a wild celebration.

Garvey was a first baseman for the Dodgers. Reliever Steve Howe was pitching. Center fielder Ken Landreau caught the fly ball, resulting in the final out.

“We all run to the mound, and that’s when your dreams come true…” Garvey recalled.

“Winning a championship is the ultimate, whether it’s the World Series, the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup.”

But on the mound, he continued.[catcher Steve] Yeager picked him up and pulled him around, and Howe elbowed me in the head. The hat flew off to the mound. I gathered myself, went to the dugout, drank champagne, and attended the obligatory ceremony. ”

On October 28, the Dodgers defeated the Yankees 9-2 at Yankee Stadium. After dropping the first two games in New York, they won the series 4-2 in six games in an improbable comeback.

“The most important thing was the third game, scored by Fernando.” [Valenzuela] I threw it,” Garvey said. The inspired Mexican immigrant threw 147 pitches, unheard of in today’s world when managers panic when they reach 100 pitches, and completed nine innings for a 5-4 victory.

I interviewed Garvey, 75, the day after Valenzuela died Tuesday at age 63. “He was phenomenal,” Garvey said. “It’s very special to us and to Dodger history.”

Garvey batted .417 in that series, the best of any Dodgers regular.

We spoke as the Dodgers and Yankees prepared to face off on Friday to restart their legendary World Series rivalry. This will be the 12th time the two teams have met in the Fall Classic, but the first time since 1981.

The Yankees have won eight championships, including two in 1977 and 1978 when Garvey was with the Dodgers. That’s what made the 1981 victory so gratifying.

But Garvey doesn’t have to worry about being accidentally belted during his election night victory celebration on Nov. 5. He is the Republican candidate for a U.S. Senate seat. And he has no chance of defeating Democratic Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank.

Garvey was on the losing side of four World Series games with the Dodgers and San Diego Padre. Therefore, defeat is not uncommon.

I asked him if he was ready to lose in the Senate playoffs against Schiff.

“I have no intention of losing, because losing takes away any thoughts about winning,” he replied. “It’s like the Dodgers are two games behind in the World Series. Maybe something will happen.”

But even Valenzuela could not change the outcome of this contest.

A poll of likely voters released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found Mr. Garvey far behind Mr. Schiff, 63% to 37%. Nothing changed during the campaign season. The ranking in the poll was almost the same as in April.

In Los Angeles County, where he was the Dodgers’ star for 14 seasons, Garvey received just 28% of the vote, while Schiff received 71%.

Garvey’s main problem is that he is wearing the wrong uniform. He’s a Republican. And in this blue state, California Republicans are not on the same page as Democrats. That’s at the minor level.

No Republican has won a California Senate seat since Pete Wilson was re-elected in 1988. Wilson ran as a moderate. And no Republican has held statewide office since 2006, when fellow moderate and international celebrity Arnold Schwarzenegger was re-elected governor.

Garvey calls himself a “moderate conservative,” but I think that means he’s a mainstream Republican, not a right-wing weirdo. But it’s still too right for California.

Schiff, on the other hand, has been pitching in the big leagues for years in Washington, including the awful spitballs thrown by Donald Trump, who loves to throw beanballs at opponents’ heads.

Garvey does not officially support Trump, but he admits he has voted for him three times, including this year’s primary. He also plans to vote for Trump against Democrat Kamala Harris.

“I’m voting for Trump,” Garvey told me. “I think he’s the perfect person to move the country forward.”

But what about Trump’s shitty personality?

“I never judge anyone,” Garvey responded. “I make decisions based on substance, including border policy. That’s the existential threat to our country right now. Our borders must be closed.”

What made him join this race where he was destined to lose?

“I saw a dysfunctional Washington,” Garvey said.

He recalled being invited by President Reagan to a small dinner at the White House in 1984. At that table, Republican President Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill were “joking and joking with each other.” They could not be more politically opposed. But they worked together to the best of their ability for the country. ”

Garvey said that inspired him to eventually run for the Senate.

“I knew it was going to be tough. But I love my country and I wanted our people to have another option. Obviously, it was a very narrow path. But maybe like me… Schwarzenegger had a name and a voice that I recognized.”

Garvey was a great baseball player. He was selected to 10 All-Star teams. He also holds the National League record for most consecutive games played with 1,207.

However, in the political field he never got out of the leadership alliance.

Garvey reminded me that I once wrote that I was a “new kid in the headlights.” That seemed to upset him a little.

“I wasn’t a deer in the headlights,” he told me. “It was the kind of steely look I would give Bob Gibson, or…” and he named other famous pitchers.

Garvey plans to attend the first two games of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.

What is his prophecy? “Dodgers in the 6th inning.”

Probably a replay from 1981.

In politics, Mr. Garvey at least held office, but many professional politicians these days lack that courage.