The field is officially set for the 120th Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series after an entertaining postseason. The seven-game series will feature the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, marking the 12th time the two powerhouses have faced off in the fall classic, with the Yankees winning eight of the 11 matchups so far.
The Yankees head to their first World Series since 2009, where they defeated the Phillies in six games to win their 27th ring. Since then, it has been a constant postseason failure.
The most notorious Yankees postseason loss in recent memory was when Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve walked it off in game six of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) in 2019, the closest the Yankees have been to clinching the American League Pennant in recent memory. They ended that streak and capped off their ALCS win on Oct. 19 with a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
Yankees superstar left fielder Juan Soto rocketed a three-run home run in the 10th inning that would ultimately bring the team to victory after five hard-fought games. It also highlighted a series where veteran designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton set a precedent. The 2017 National League MVP hit just .222 going 4-18, but all four hits were home runs, all of which came during game-changing moments.
With the Yankees’ success so far, who else could they lean on for more aid if they want to bring the championship back to New York?
It’s been quite clear that Aaron Judge, the American League MVP favorite, has struggled throughout the playoffs. If the Yankees want to win, they need that high level of production that he’s provided for the last several years. Judge is batting .161 with two home runs and six runs driven in, with one of the home runs coming in game four, where he tied the game in the eighth inning with a two-run home run. The Yankees need Judge to truly prove he can perform in the playoffs when it matters most. Against the Dodgers, a series with three or more home runs would be considered successful.
New York was two games away from hosting the first “Subway Series” in 24 years. The term is coined for the matchup that features both New York baseball teams.
According to the history books though, this is the original New York matchup. From 1883 to 1957, the once Brooklyn Dodgers were located in Brooklyn until 1957 when both the Dodgers and New York Giants moved to Los Angeles, leaving the Yankees as the lone New York team.
In 1962, the Mets were established in Queens, combining the Dodgers’ blue and the Giants’ orange as a part of their new history and brand.
“It would’ve been awesome for the World Series to have been a ‘Subway Series’ matchup,” said St. John’s University sport management freshman Michael Masterpole.
“Regardless of the outcome, there would’ve been a lot more buzz in the city, more than usual. It benefits my college experience since I can watch with my friends who are both Mets and Yankees fans, all while being in the city.”
The Dodgers find their way back to the World Series after winning it in 2020, this time with a brand new roster. They spent $1.21 billion in the offseason, bringing in generational star Shohei Ohtani and Japanese superstar pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, along with many others.
The Dodgers advanced to the World Series in six games, beating the New York Mets and scoring 46 total runs through the series. Former St. Louis Cardinals utility man Tommy Edman batted .407, driving in 11 runs and matching the Dodgers club record set by Corey Seager back in 2020 for most runs batted in during a single series. The same question can be posed to the Dodgers as well; which player faces the most pressure in providing for the Dodgers during this championship matchup?
The Yankees’ offense has been dominant so far, boasting the 5th best batting average at .237, along with the second-most home runs in the postseason. The Dodgers’ pitching needs to be at its best if they want to get past the caliber of hitting the Yankees have produced in the postseason.
It’s not just all the pitching that needs to perform; their ace Yamamoto needs to continue establishing the success that he did against both the Mets and the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers aren’t paying the 26-year-old pitcher $325 million for nothing, they need his high strikeout rate to continue, as Yamamoto struck out 105 batters through 90 innings in the regular season, per MLB.com. If Yamamoto can give the Dodgers at least two successful starts through the series, it’ll be tough not to crown the city of Los Angeles the World Series champs.
Game one of the series kicks off this Friday at 8:08 pm via Fox and FS1. Gerrit Cole and Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty will go head to head at Dodger Stadium in what’s being regarded as the introduction to one of the best World Series matchups in the last decade.
