MLB's Dream Series

Major League Baseball has finally gotten the World Series it has long wanted.  The Yankees and the Dodgers.  Two marquee franchises, East Coast vs. West Coast, the two biggest markets, the two biggest fanbases (and the two teams every other fanbase loves to hate), the two winningest teams in their respective leagues renewing a World Series rivalry for the first time in 43 years.  This World Series has everything a baseball fan could ask for and then some!  (If you don't believe me that this is what MLB wants, just check out the ratings for the playoffs so far.  The Yankees and Dodgers making deep postseason runs is good for baseball.  This year is proof of that.)

I haven't even talked about the star power yet.  Judge and Ohtani, the two biggest names in the sport.  One of them is guaranteed to win his first World Series ring.  They both hit 50 home runs this season.  They're both likely going to be named MVP next month.  And they won't be the only MVPs on the field!  There will be five on the field in Game 1 between both teams--Judge, Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Giancarlo Stanton.  That doesn't even include Clayton Kershaw, who's injured and won't pitch in the series.  The current World Series record is four MVPs in one game.

For people of a certain age, a Yankees-Dodgers World Series was a rite of autumn.  Whether it was taking the subway from Brooklyn to the Bronx or flying cross country, it's the classic World Series rivalry.  So many iconic World Series moments took place between the Yankees and Dodgers.  They played each other 11 times in 41 years!  But it's been 43 years since the last time.  That's two generations!  Far too long.

Derek Jeter lamented the fact that he never got to play in a Yankees-Dodgers World Series.  And it's not like both franchises haven't been good since 1981.  The Yankees have won five titles and been to seven World Series since then, while the Dodgers have been to four World Series and won two.  The fates just never aligned for them to meet again in the Fall Classic until now.

This year felt like a make-it-or-break-it season for both teams, too.  The Yankees went 82-80 last year and made a huge trade with the Padres to get Juan Soto, who's a free agent after this season.  After last season's disaster and knowing they might have Soto and Judge together for one season, to say the pressure was on to end the Yankees' 15-year pennant drought would be an understatement.  If not, Aaron Boone was as good as gone.

The Dodgers made their own offseason splash.  They signed Ohtani to the largest free agent contract in MLB history.  They also won the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes.  And, for all their regular season success over the past decade, the only World Series they've won in that span comes with an asterisk since it was during the 2020 COVID season.  More significantly, they were coming off back-to-back Division Series upsets against division rivals.  So, yes, the pressure was most definitely on in Los Angeles, as well.

They've both had their moments this year, too.  The Yankees looked unbeatable in April and May, then were God awful for six weeks in the summer before getting their groove back in mid-August.  Down the stretch and in the playoffs, everybody has been healthy (for the most part) and they've looked like that dominant team from April and May again.  And they were certainly the best team in the American League.

As for the Dodgers, I don't really know how they've done it.  They have like 15 starting pitchers, yet somehow all of them are hurt.  They don't even have enough for a postseason rotation!  And they were staring at another Division Series exit after falling behind the Padres 2-1.  Then the Dodgers' offense cranked it into another gear.  They set a record with 43 runs against the Mets in the NLCS.  All of that offensive fire power was on full display.

When these two met at Yankee Stadium in early June, the Dodgers won two out of three.  It was actually the first home series the Yankees lost all season.  There's a huge caveat about that series, though.  Juan Soto didn't play in any of the three games.  The Yankees had Trent Grisham batting fifth in the Sunday night game!  So, that wasn't anything close to the same lineup the Dodgers will be facing in the World Series.  Frankly, that Dodgers team back in June was far different, too.

Most of the pre-series talk has been about the lineups.  And rightfully so!  Why wouldn't it be when you're got guys like Ohtani, Betts and Freeman on one side and Judge, Soto and Stanton on the other?  There's also Tesocar Hernandez, who's unleashed his inner superstar and Kike Hernandez, who turns into a different player in October.  Meanwhile, the Yankees have had Gleyber Torres getting on base like it's nobody's business and Alex Verdugo coming up with big hits.  So, yeah, there should be plenty of hitting.

Both teams also love their bullpens.  Both teams have relied heavily on their bullpens through the first two rounds of the playoffs.  I'd even say some relievers have been overused.  More significantly, I'd say some relievers have been overexposed.  That's a dangerous proposition when you're talking about these two lineups.  We also already know the Dodgers are planning on having at least one bullpen game.  It worked in Game 4 against the Padres.  It didn't in Game 2 against the Mets.

Which puts a tremendous premium on actual starting pitching.  You know both managers will have a quick hook.  At the first sign of trouble, the starter's out of there.  Even if there isn't trouble and Ohtani or Soto's coming up, we're gonna see a lefty reliever.  Unless the starter is rolling.  It's up to Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil, Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler to make the decision whether to leave him in an easy one.

Ultimately, I think the Dodgers' lack of starting pitching depth is one big advantage that the Yankees need to exploit.  The Yankees have the best starting pitcher in the series in Cole, and will undoubtedly get more innings from their four starters than the Dodgers will from their three.  The more innings they get from their starters, the better off they are.  Which is true for both teams.  Because as much as they like their bullpens, you don't want to be relying on the bullpen to get 15 outs or more in every game.  Especially with these two offenses.

Starting pitching is advantage Yankees.  The bullpen is probably a slight edge to the Dodgers, especially if they get Alex Vesia and Brusdar Garterol back.  As for the lineups, how can you possibly compare them?  Seriously, in a position-by-position breakdown, how do you decide between Mookie Betts and Juan Soto, the two best right fielders in the game?  And Ohtani might be the only DH that you'd take over Stanton right now.

Top to bottom, the Dodgers' lineup is just a tiny bit stronger.  Their NLCS effort is proof of that.  From 1-9, they don't have a weakness.  The Yankees, meanwhile, have been getting most of their production from their big four (Soto, Stanton, Judge and Torres).  Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells, in particular, have had their struggles.  They need one of those guys at the bottom of the order to break out and relieve some of the burden on their big boppers.

We have the two teams with the most wins in their respective leagues.  They're the two best teams in baseball.  I don't think anyone expects this to be a short series.  It's Dodgers-Yankees, why wouldn't it be a classic?  As for who wins, I have no idea.  Either way, I see it going back to LA.  My heart says Yankees in six.  My head says Dodgers in seven.