The 2024 Major League Baseball postseason has been one for the ages.
The 120th edition of the Fall Classic is a matchup between two storied franchises, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This is far from the first time these teams have won their respective leagues, this will be the 41st World Series appearance for the Yankees and the 26th for the Dodgers. This will also be the 12th time the two teams have played each other in the World Series. With the Yankees winning eight of the previous 11 matchups. Both these teams were the best in their respective leagues, with the Yankees winning 94 games in the American League and the Dodgers 98 in the National League — both teams secured first-round byes.
The Yankees, led by the trio of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton dealt with the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians on their way to the finals. Only having lost two games throughout the postseason.
Judge, Soto and Stanton combined for nine home runs over the five-game series against the Guardians, nearly doubling the output of their opponent’s entire roster.
The Yankees overwhelmed their opponents often, running up the score early and letting their relief pitchers suffocate the Guardians batters.
The Bronx Bombers are eyeing their record-setting 28th title and first since 2009.
Their opponent is a formidable enemy, if there ever was one, in the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers did the seemingly impossible this past offseason by adding one of the greatest players of our time, Shohei Ohtani, to an already loaded lineup.
Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Will Smith are just some of the names that the Dodgers offense has to offer.
While the Yankees put up an impressive 5.8 runs scored per game in the American League Championship Series, the Dodgers set a National League Championship Series record by scoring 46 runs over six games. Averaging 7.6 runs scored against the New York Mets.
The Dodgers are impressive top to bottom. Five players on Los Angeles had a batting average better than .300 in the NLCS and four players with at least two home runs. Led by Tommy Edman with 11 runs batted in over the six games and a .407 batting average.
The key difference between the two teams is their pitching ability; while the Yankees have a former Cy Young award winner in Gerrit Cole while the Dodger pitching core is running thin.
Walker Buehler is the only starting pitcher for the Dodgers who had an earned run average below four, having only pitched four innings in his one start in the NLCS. The question must be asked whether the Dodger’s pitching staff can hold up against a power-hitting team like the Yankees.
The Dodgers series against the Padres shows the cracks that can be exploited in their starting pitching. Every starting pitcher has an ERA north of 4.50 in the five-game series.
This postseason has been incredible with upsets such as the Detroit Tigers beating the Houston Astros in the first round, as well as the miracle Mets making their unexpected run to the NLCS. I expect this action will continue in the final series of the 2024 season with the Dodgers beating the Yankees in six games.
While the Yankees have had better pitching throughout this postseason; it is undeniable that they have had easier opponents in the Royals and Guardians. These teams were still able to put up respectable efforts despite being outclassed in the matchups, I think the Dodgers will expose this light schedule in the finals.
The Dodgers, led by their $700 million superstar, Ohtani, will simply overwhelm the Yankees. My bold prediction for the series is that the Dodgers will continue their scorched earth campaign and score over 40 runs in the series.
If the previous series have been any indication, this Fall Classic will be one that will be discussed for generations regardless of the outcome. Whether it’s the Dodgers’ eighth or the Yankees 28th, legacies will be solidified, the Commissioner’s Trophy will be hoisted and the players celebrated.
