For fans of the other 28 Major League Baseball franchises, this is the matchup they were dreading. For Fox and MLB itself, they have exactly what they wanted: The best two names in baseball– the Yankees and the Dodgers– with the largest international audience going for the biggest prize.
Those of a certain age will remember when the Dodgers, then in Brooklyn, were denied four times in the late 1940s to the early 1950s, only to finally defeat the younger, yet more successful, Yankees in 1955. Then Don Larsen’s perfect game defeated the Dodgers, giving the Yankees their 17th of an eventual 27 world titles, and sending the Dodgers packing to Los Angeles (LA).
Younger readers may remember the 1977 and 1978 series when New York was burning and the Yankees captured what would be their final rings until the mid-1990s.
The last meeting between these two storied franchises was in 1981, 43 years ago, when the Dodgers earned their fifth ring. Their win in 1988 over the Athletics stands as their final World Series win in a full season. The 2020 win is criticized due to many changes from COVID-19.
The Yankees fell dormant until the mid-1990s, but have been waiting since 2009 to capture number 28 and even return to the Fall Classic. This unexpected postseason sees a twelfth meeting between the Dodgers and the Yankees, and one of baseball’s two biggest stars will capture their first career championship.
The Dodgers started this year with perhaps the biggest signing in all of baseball. Japan’s Shohei Ohtani was signed in after six eye-catching years with the cross-town Angels. When he signed the dotted line with the Dodgers he already had two American League Most Valuable Player awards, and a third is well on its way in his first National League season.
Ohtani’s 20-year contract will see him only paid $2 million per year in his first decade with the team and $20 million for each of his last ten. It is safe to say that this signing has worked out for the National League champions. He has a 9.2 WAR, which means he provides about nine wins over an average player, not including his pitching.
Reports from the Dodger camp are that Ohtani could return to the mound in this series, which would be his first time pitching since August 2023 after receiving Tommy John Surgery, and his career 3.01 ERA could help a Dodger pitching staff that has seen mixed results in these playoffs. Yet, this seems to be a far-fetched scenario.
A team average ERA of 4.36 is hampering what could be called the best offense in baseball. The runs scored by their triple-threat lineup of Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman have been trampling nearly every opponent. With a supporting cast of Teoscar Hernández, Will Smith (not the one you may think), and NLCS MVP Tommy Edman, the question is not ‘Can the Dodgers score?’ but rather ‘Can the Dodgers score enough to offset their pitchers?’
It has been a tough postseason for LA. After receiving the National League’s top seed, they barely hung on in a harshly fought rivalry series that went the full five games against San Diego. Then they had to withstand the barrages of the New York Mets in a six-game NLCS.
The Dodgers are definitely battle-tested and have the hitters to show for it. The doubt in this series for LA is definitely in the pitching.
After missing the playoffs last year, the Yankees were still projected as the top American League team. They delivered on those expectations, and have a star signing of their own in Juan Soto.
To say the Soto signing has worked out for New York is a major understatement. He has a 7.9 WAR, and his home run in the tenth inning of Game 5 against Cleveland, essentially single-handedly gave the Yankees this World Series berth.
But to tell you that Soto is the star of the Yankees is a lie, his 7.9 WAR is just the second most on the team, as he is augmenting Aaron Judge. Judge went cold to start the postseason, but his home run in Game 2 of the ALCS has reignited the presumptive American League MVP.
The ALCS MVP award went to someone entirely different from these two, Giancarlo Stanton. He has faced overrated chants during the 162-game regular season but has come into his own in the playoffs. Leading the team in postseason home runs with five and driving in 11 runs as well, he has more than deserved the title of Yankee postseason MVP.
As with the Dodgers, the question for the Yankees lies in their pitching. They have a 3.27 ERA this postseason, about one run better than the Dodgers. The starters are also significantly better than the presumptive ones for LA, with a 4.02 ERA compared to LA’s 8.29.
In a series that I believe will be influenced by pitching, the Yankees have the edge. Perhaps this is due to the lesser competition that the Yankees have faced. Both the Orioles and Astros were eliminated in the Wild Card, so New York only had to beat Kansas City and Cleveland. However, LA has perhaps the top five hitters in all of baseball in their lineup.
Everyone will focus on the Judge vs. Ohtani matchup, and they should, but defense wins championships. Because of the very slight edge for the Yankees on paper, I would say they would win, but I am of a generation that has seen little success in New York sports.
Thus, I say this series goes the full length, and it will be a seven-game Dodger victory. No one doubts that both teams can score runs, so the question now is “Who can limit the other team’s offense the best?”
Game 1 is this Friday night on FOX News, and will see Yankee ace Gerritt Cole go up against the Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty. It should be a hard-fought and long-winded rekindling of this classic rivalry, so enjoy the 120th Fall Classic!
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