Major League Baseball could not have asked for a better matchup for the World Series (no, it was not rigged).
The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers face off in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1981. But this is just the cherry on top of what has been an almost flawless postseason that MLB has dreamed of having. The lone downside: The games are long again due to many more bullpen moves and more commercial times.
But as for the on-field product, many baseball fans have felt that the postseason has been watered down in recent years. MLB added a fifth wild card team in 2012, and then it went to a 12-team postseason permanently in 2022 (the COVID season in 2020 had 16).
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Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman, Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Giancarlo Stanton, Yoshinobu Yamamoto set to the backdrop of Dodgers Stadium (IMAGN/Getty Images)
That risked slightly-above-average teams making the big dance, but this year, those six-seeds looked like anything but. In fact, this is actually the first year in the newest format that a six-seed will not be in the World Series.
MLB may want to consider the format of the Wild Card Series as 14 of the 16 have finished in two games. Of course, those two featured the New York Mets. But this year’s Mets, the NL’s No. 6 seed, were simply, dare we say, amazin’.
In Game 3 of their wild card series, they trailed 2-0 in the top of the ninth with one out. Then, Pete Alonso gave them the lead with a three-run home run. It was the first home run in MLB history that gave a trailing team the lead in the ninth inning of a win-or-go-home game.
Pete Alonso of the New York Mets celebrates after hitting a home run in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during Game 3 of the Wild Card Series at American Family Field on October 3, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
That got the Mets an NL East battle in the division series, and they took down the Philadelphia Phillies in four games after Francisco Lindor’s grand slam in the final game of the series. The Mets even gave the Dodgers a run for their money in the NLCS, ultimately losing to them in six games. So, yet another six-seed proved they belonged, and it just so happened to be a New York team – a major win for MLB.
On the other side was yet another magical sixth-seed in the Detroit Tigers. A team that once had a 0.2% chance of making the postseason not only swept the Houston Astros, which had made seven straight ALCS, in the wild card round, but they, too, were just one win away from facing the Yankees in the championship series.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tyler Holton celebrates after defeating the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Comerica Park. (David Reginek-Imagn Images)
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Back to the National League, the Dodgers had to get past their own division rival in the San Diego Padres to make it to the NLCS, and they were even one loss away from heading home early. On top of that, Shohei Ohtani is, quite literally, almost hitting 1.000 with runners on base this series, while Mookie Betts has seemed to erase recent postseason druthers.
And as for the Yankees, their big three in Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton have all delivered some of the most clutch moments in recent Yankees memory, all while reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole will be getting the ball in Game 1.
The postseason has been must-watch, and this matchup just tops it all off.
It’s the 12th time these two teams will meet in the Fall Classic, extending their own record from the original Subway Series days when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. And it will also be their first since 1981. But this one has a very good chance of being the best.
This Fall Classic features two of the best talents the game has ever seen in Ohtani and Judge, both of whom will win their respective MVPs. It will be the first World Series that will feature both MVPs since 2012.
Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a two-run home run with Shohei Ohtani in the sixth inning during Game 4 of the NLCS at Citi Field on October 17, 2024, in New York City. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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Some other names to note are Betts, Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, Freddie Freeman and the two highest-paid pitchers ever in Cole and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. There is a realistic chance that this World Series features at least seven Hall of Famers – the record is 13 from the 1932 Fall Classic – and who knows what young talent can burst in the next few years.
Combining each team’s championship series roster, they feature a grand total of 64 All-Star nods; that doesn’t include 10-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw, who’s missed the majority of the season with injuries (34 Yankees, 30 Dodgers) and will likely be left off the World Series roster.
If the first three rounds of the postseason were all must-watch, there is simply no adjective to describe this superstar-filled World Series.
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