This is a World Series of big cities, big fanbases, big stars and big expectations, and it all starts Friday night at Dodger Stadium. For now, though, here is a look at five key storylines heading into this highly anticipated matchup.
1. The biggest postseason rivalry is renewed
No two teams have faced off in October as often as the Yankees and Dodgers. The matchup, which dates back to the 1940s when both clubs were based in New York, has occurred 11 times in the postseason, with the Yankees winning eight of those. But we haven’t witnessed this once-frequent World Series pairing in more than 40 years. These teams last met in the 1981 Fall Classic when L.A. triumphed in six games.
2. Proud franchises hungry for more
As their many previous World Series meetings would suggest, the Yankees and Dodgers both are at or near the top of baseball when it comes to having a winning tradition. For both, success is an expectation, whether that’s coming from fans, media or within the front office or clubhouse. And that means not just making the playoffs or making a deep run — but actually winning it all. But despite liberal spending, aggressive maneuvering, and near-annual trips to the postseason, neither team has done that nearly as often as it would like in recent years. One will do so in 2024 … but which one?
3. No. 1 seed vs. No. 1 seed
Since anything is possible in the MLB playoffs, the sport’s top seeds don’t often meet up in the World Series. A showdown between the teams with the best record in each league has happened just 13 times in the Divisional Era (since 1969). A Yankees-Dodgers matchup is the first Fall Classic between each league’s No. 1 seed since the shortened 2020 season. That year, the Dodgers defeated the Rays in six games. The last full-season Fall Classic to feature the two top seeds came in 2013 when the Red Sox beat the Cardinals in six.
4. MVP vs. MVP
It won’t be official until a few weeks after the World Series, but this matchup will likely include the Most Valuable Player in each league: Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. We always want to see how the game’s best players perform on the biggest stage, and that is what we get with a Yankees-Dodgers World Series. An MVP vs. MVP faceoff was a regular occurrence in October before the Divisional Era, but it has happened only once in the past 35 years. That came in 2012 when Buster Posey’s Giants swept Miguel Cabrera’s Tigers. The most recent league MVP to win a World Series title in the same season was Mookie Betts with the 2018 Red Sox. Betts, of course, is now Ohtani’s Dodgers teammate.
5. Doing the Monster Mash
If you enjoy watching baseballs get hit very hard and very far, this is the series for you. And while there are several players on these teams capable of putting a hurting on a pitch, this primarily comes down to four big names: Ohtani on the Dodgers; Judge and postseason heroes Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton on the Yankees. Those four ranked all ranked in the top four this season in barrel rate and home runs hit 110 mph or harder. They all ranked in the top five in hard-hit rate and the top 13 in average bat speed. Bottom line: When any of these guys is at the plate in the World Series, that’s not the time to grab a snack or take a bathroom break.
