LOS ANGELES — Starting Friday, baseball’s most historic rivalry will come to life.
It’s a matchup that first took place in 1941, when the Dodgers still played in Brooklyn and Joe DiMaggio starred for the Yankees, but even though these teams have faced off 10 more times since, it hasn’t happened in 43 years.
So while this rivalry is historic, it’s also new. In 1981, the last time the Yankees and Dodgers played in the World Series, none of their current players were born, nor were many of their coaches. In that sense, the likes of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts are working with a blank slate.
There will be nods to history, of course. Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax and Reggie Jackson all played in Yankees-Dodgers World Series over the years. But the focus should be on the here and now as two of this century’s dominant franchises — the biggest spenders in the biggest markets — fight for their respective legacies.
“Two pillar franchises in the sport, obviously, with a lot of history, going back a long, long time. These two teams have met up a lot in the fall classic. Amazing that it’s been 43 years,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “It’s certainly special, especially with having a few days to allow it to sink in and getting ready. I think this is something that will garner a lot of interest all over the country, all over the world, probably more so than usual. I think everyone can identify with Dodgers, can identify with Yankees, and just what that means worldwide. Excited to be a part of it.
“But for us now, that’s all it is. We’re getting ready for an opponent with a chance to win a world title, and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”
To that end, will Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman guide the Dodgers to their first full-season World Series since 1988? Or will Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole cement themselves as all-time Yankees by bringing home New York’s first title since 2009?
“That’s why I came back here — I wanted to win,” said Judge. “Ever since I got drafted here, all they talked about was how the all-star games don’t matter, MVPs don’t matter. You look around our stadium, that’s the one thing they’ve got hanging up, World Series banners. That’s how you get defined when you wear pinstripes, how much you won, how much winning you did. Definitely that’s been at the top of my list since 2013, to win a World Series and bring it back to the city.”
One way or another, this series has a chance to be every bit as memorable as the Yankees-Dodgers matchups that established this rivalry in the first place.
Regular season record: Dodgers 2, Yankees 1
These teams played back in June with the Dodgers taking two of three at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge homered three times for the Yankees and, not to be outdone, Teoscar Hernandez matched him with three homers of his own. Since then, though, both rosters have changed considerably.
What’s working for the Yankees: The Yankees are rolling. Not only are their superstars producing, but they’re also getting meaningful contributions from players who were huge question marks as recently as a couple of weeks ago — the likes of Anthony Rizzo and Mark Leiter Jr.
What’s most remarkable about the Yankees is, of course, the middle of their order. All season, Soto and Judge have been performing at historic levels. Judge hit 58 home runs with the best OPS+ of any 21st-century hitter not named Barry Bonds. As Soto showed with his decisive Game 5 home run, he’s in complete control of every at-bat.
“Just such an ability to seize the moment,” said Boone. “It shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
Nor should another monster post-season from Stanton, who has rediscovered his peak form on the cusp of his 35th birthday. He was named ALCS MVP after hitting four homers against the Guardians, and his career post-season numbers are historic: 16 home runs and 35 RBI in 36 career playoff games.
Add in under-the-radar production from Rizzo, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Volpe and you’re talking about nightmare stuff for opposing pitchers.
“We’re enjoying every bit of this,” Stanton said. “It’s just so much fun.”
Not to be overlooked, the Yankees’ rotation is also in a good place right now. Because the Yankees won the ALCS in five games, Cole and Carlos Rodon line up to start four of the seven World Series games and the New York bullpen has finally gotten some rest after a couple of weeks of intense usage.
This is what a legitimate World Series threat looks like. Now they have seven games to make it count.
What’s working for the Dodgers: The admirable depth assembled by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his staff continues to pay big dividends. Having survived an array of pitching injuries that would have submarined most, if not every other big-league club, manager Dave Roberts has leveraged his staff brilliantly through the post-season, even amid some inconsistencies from Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler. They’ve won two of their three bullpen games in the playoffs, including the NLCS Game 6 clincher versus the Mets, while also keeping their back-end arms available for close and late situations.
At the same time, a no-soft-spot batting order has overcome cold spells for Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Will Smith along with Freddie Freeman’s ankle injury to remain steadily productive, as evidenced by Tommy Edman’s NLCS MVP honours. Max Muncy could easily have bagged that prize, too, while Ohtani, Betts, Hernandez and Smith all provided key swings, underlining how difficult it is to shut down the entire lineup.
“Our lineup controls the strike zone,” said Roberts. “We can slug and the ability to create stress, traffic by way of a walk, we do that as well. When you get that one-through-nine, it gets daunting, and it’s hard for a starter to go three times through the lineup. And then in a longer series, you’re starting to see the same guys again. So all that stuff starts to benefit and become an advantage for the offence. That’s overall our approach and trying to scare pitchers out of the strike zone.”
Potential Achilles heel for the Yankees: Let’s be clear. The Yankees don’t get this far without their bullpen, and they have some legitimate swing-and-miss relievers to call on late in games. This group is good enough to win it all.
At the same time, relievers get exposed this time of year. There were hints of that in the ALCS, when Clay Holmes, Luke Weaver and Jake Cousins each allowed multiple runs. In October, that vulnerability connects to fatigue, and five days off between series will certainly help the Yankees reset.
“They’re our dogs,” Rizzo said during the ALCS. “They’ve been worked a lot, but they’re mentally prepared for this.”
But rest aside, familiarity is another important variable. The more Yankees hitters saw the likes of Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase in the ALCS, the more familiar they got. In the World Series, that same logic applies for the Dodgers’ elite hitters.
Maybe Tim Hill retires Shohei Ohtani the first time he sees him. But what if Ohtani’s seeing him for the third time in a week? Or what happens when Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez are seeing Weaver for the third time? The longer the series goes, the more these matchups tilt toward the hitters.
Potential Achilles heel for the Dodgers: As good as the heart of the Padres and Mets lineups are, the legion of doom trio of Soto, Judge and Stanton is a challenge unlike any the Dodgers have navigated thus far. The Guardians wore down their leverage arms trying to contain them and Roberts will need to be mindful of how hard he rides Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips and Blake Treinen, among others, especially with more bullpen games looming. Given that, Flaherty, Yamamoto and Buehler need to not only be good, but get reasonably deep, lest they overexpose their relievers.
And while Flaherty will pitch Game 1 with extra rest, he’ll start a Game 5, if necessary, on normal rest, something he did during a Game 5 beating from the Mets, in part Roberts said, because “we don’t have an alternative.”
As Roberts noted after that Game 5 loss to the Mets, he stuck with a shaky Flaherty to get a few extra outs since, “you have to remain steadfast in how you use your pitchers because ultimately, it’s about winning four games in a seven-game series. When you’re careless, then it will show itself at some point, certainly in a long series.” That will be all the more true versus the Yankees.
It’ll all come down to … which team puts its bullpen in the best position to survive the coming attrition. Both lineups can bang and should put immense pressure on both starters. The rotation that absorbs more innings and leaves fewer outs for the relievers to cover, should in theory help make closing games out easier. In the ALCS, seven different Cleveland relievers appeared at least three times in the five-game series and the Yankees eventually caught up to them. For New York, four relievers made at least three appearances, including Tim Hill pitching in all five contests. The Dodgers, meanwhile, used four relievers three times in the six games against the Mets. Both teams will likely be loathe to let one of their starters see the top of the opposing lineup more than twice, and this is one spot where the game within the game will take place.