For the 12th time in history and the fifth time since one of the teams moved across the country, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees are set to clash in the World Series. Despite the fact that these are quite possibly the two most popular baseball teams in MLB, they’re also the two teams with the largest legion of people rooting against them as well. With that in mind, it’s totally understandable to imagine that a lot of people may be disenchanted with seeing two massive clubs facing off with each other on the grandest stage of them all.
With that being said, if you can put your disdain for these franchises aside, then you could have a chance to enjoy what is shaping up to be one of the more exciting Fall Classics that we’ve seen in a while. Now granted, market size alone isn’t going to be a guarantee of entertainment for us neutrals or success for the teams involved. If that was the case, then the Minnesota Twins-Atlanta Braves matchup from the 1991 World Series and the Cincinnati Reds-Boston Red Sox clash from 1975 still wouldn’t both be considered the gold standard for World Series.
Still, this looks like we’ve got a great show ahead of us. The most obvious factor to look at is the fact that we’ve got the face of MLB playing in this thing. That’s right, Shohei Ohtani is playing in the World Series for the first time ever. We got a taste of seeing Ohtani on a grand scale back in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which ended with Ohtani and Mike Trout engaging in a battle that will be remembered for as long as the WBC continues to exist. The Ohtani Effect will now be felt in the World Series, which is going to have a ton of eyes on it not just here in the United States but in Japan as well. Ohtani’s fans in Japan have been keeping a close eye on the superstar’s path through the Postseason and the number of fans watching in Japan will only go up now that he’s four wins away from winning his first career World Series title.
That’s not to mention the other stars involved with the Dodgers as well. Mookie Betts is here and has already proven himself to be a big-time performer when the lights are their brightest. He currently has a streak of hitting a home run in both of the World Series-clinching games that he’s played in (Game 5 in 2018 and Game 6 in 2020) and wouldn’t it be something if that turned into a streak here in 2024? Freddie Freeman has also proven himself as a big-time player in big games but he’s currently battling injuries and will be a huge question mark in the World Series. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty have been exciting to watch on the mound during this postseason and it will be very entertaining to see how they stack up with the Bronx Bombers in this series. Plus, we can’t forget about the biggest star of them all: Tommy Edman.
Meanwhile over on the other side, the Yankees have shown that they aren’t wary or afraid of any pitching staff that is in their way. While Aaron Judge is the clear star of the show here and has definitely made an impact on this Postseason run for New York, it’s been Giancarlo Stanton who has truly been delivering for the Yankees so far in the Postseason. He’ll be entering the World Series with five Postseason homers so far and a fantastic 220 wRC+ in October. Despite having a completely pedestrian regular season for his standards, Stanton has come up huge in October and is a major reason why the Yankees have made it this far.
Guys like star hurler Gerrit Cole, the unique Nestor Cortes (who should be returning just in time for the World Series) and young dynamo Luis Gil are going to be fun to watch on the mound as well. Jazz Chisholm Jr. getting to play in the World Series is going to be great to see as well. With that being said, I’d imagine that the main man that fans will be looking forward to seeing as far as the Yankees are concerned is Juan Soto. For someone who’s only 25 years old, Soto is becoming something of a commonplace figure in big games. He already has a World Series ring on his finger and is likely going to receive a contract offer in the offseason that will land somewhere with the range of “unfathomable” and “astronomical” — a.k.a., Shohei Ohtani territory. He’ll also be entering this series riding high after his huge homer in Game 5 of the ALCS helped push New York into their first World Series appearance since 2009.
While being a hater and rooting for “the comet” would surely be enticing for a lot of fans, I’m really and truly encouraging y’all to just sit back and enjy this one for what it is. The Dodgers are arguably one of the most well-run organizations in not just baseball but all of professional sports and they absolutely deserve to be in this position. The Yankees have historically been the measuring stick for all baseball teams aspiring to be great and honestly, it was only a matter of time before they eventually figured it out and got themselves another Pennant and a ticket to the World Series. It may not be a new or unique World Series matchup but it is absolutely one that’s worth watching.
It’s also very low risk for you as a neutral fan — if the series does end up stinking and being a lopsided coronation for either one of these teams then you as a fan can make fun of whoever takes the loss. If it ends up being great, then it’ll be a series that could end up being mentioned in the same conversation as 1991 and 1975. Either way, this is a series that is totally worth tuning in to if you’re a baseball fans. The big name franchises are here, the stars are out and the entertainment factor has the potential to be sky high. The 2024 World Series should be a very good one and no matter how you slice it, it’ll be good for baseball to see these two titans take each other to the limit.
