The MLB season has come to an end with a thrilling series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, ending in a five-game dismantling by the Dodgers.
This is the Dodgers eighth World Series title, tying them with the San Francisco Giants for the fifth most championships all time.
The five-game series was never particularly close aside from games four and five where the Yankees were able to string early rallies into leads. Late rallies in games two and three kept the score respectable but ultimately amounted to little.
When the Dodgers won game three in Yankee Stadium to take a 3-0 series lead, the writing was on the wall for the Yankees.
Only one team has ever come back from down three to nothing in a seven-game series and that was the 2004 Boston Red Sox who made their comeback against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
Freddie Freeman was the hero for the Dodgers. With a single swing of his bat in the bottom of the tenth inning, he sent Dodger Stadium into a frenzy with a walk-off grand slam in the first game of the series.
From there he continued to simply mash baseballs. He became the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in the first four games of the World Series along with setting the record for most consecutive World Series games with a home run at six. This streak was an extension of his two-homer performance in his World Series win with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
While the scores seemed close there was a stark difference between these two teams in their batting ability.
The Yankees’ best batters nearly didn’t show up, with soon-to-be two-time MVP Aaron Judge batting .222 with only one home run in the series. The Dodgers lineup had five players bat better than .275.
The Yankees were only able to muster one performance from their superstar right fielder Juan Soto, who batted .313 with seven walks.
While the series was not exactly competitive there has still been a lot of controversy stemming from the short battle. One of the key conversation topics is whether or not the Yankees coach, Aaron Boone, should be fired.
Game one concluded with Nestor Cortes, a starting pitcher who had not pitched in over a month, coming into the game in the bottom of the tenth to face the front of the Dodgers lineup.
After getting Shohei Ohtani to pop out to left field, Boone opted to intentionally walk Mookie Betts, who at this point had never recorded a hit against Cortes, to face Freeman. Freeman rewarded this overmanaging by the Bronx Bombers and laced the first pitch he saw to deep right field.
After the Series conclusion, Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly spoke ill of the Yankees on a podcast, stating, “It was a mismatch from the get-go.” This led to many Yankees fan’s outrage.
Heading into the offseason the Yankees are the team with a lot more questions than answers. Juan Soto is a free agent and has said that he would listen to offers from any team. If he leaves, where does this team go? The pitching is mediocre and their bats are hot and cold. Can an injury-prone Aaron Judge really carry this team to the promise land by himself?
Regardless, don’t expect this to be the last time these two teams collide. This may just be the first part of an epic battle between the two baseball juggernauts.
