The two teams who have met in the World Series more than any others will meet again for the 12th time when the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers open play Friday night in Los Angeles.
Although this will be the 12th World Series match-up between the two long-time rivals it will be the first since 1981. The teams met three times in the ‘40s, four times in the ‘50s, once in the ‘60s and twice in the ‘70s.
This series is one Major League Baseball all but begged to happen. The two major markets from each side of the country. The two MVPs in Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
So who’s going to win? Well it says here the Yankees, and here are five reasons why, and be sure to check out Jim Williams’ companion story, “5 reasons the Los Angeles Dodgers will win a second World Series title in 5 years“.
The Big Three:
Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge give the Yankees a threesome that rivals any in baseball, maybe of all time. Stanton, the ALCS MVP, has gotten hot at the right time. He’s 10-for-34 in the postseason, with five of those 10 hits, home runs.
Soto is 11-for-33 with three home runs and a OPS of 1.133. Judge, who will win the regular-season MVP award started to click in the ALCS against Cleveland and will look to continue to hit against Los Angeles.
It’s Yankees/Dodgers:
So of course the Yankees win. The Yanks have won eight of the first 11 World Series matchups between the two. Of course what happened in 1949 won’t matter much today. But Yankees players when they get this far know all about the past successes and want to be a part of it. They know World Championship No. 28 is in their hands.
Freddie Freeman:
Yes, he plays for the Dodgers. And he’s one of the team’s best hitters, especially in the clutch. And he’s not right. Freeman, who was a star for the Atlanta Braves before he became a Dodger, has been battling a bad right ankle. In the postseason against the Padres and the Mets, Freeman is just 7-for-32 (.219) and does not have an extra base hit. Los Angeles needs him and it might not have him.
Gleyber Torres:
If there’s a fourth star on the Yankees, it’s their lead-off hitter and second baseman. Torres, who has only played for the Yankees and will be a free agent after the season, knows every game, every series, could be his last with the team. And he’s been playing like it.
In the postseason against Kansas City and Cleveland he’s 11-for-37 with nine runs scored. He’s also walked seven times (that’s what you want from a lead-off hitter) and has an OPS of .832.
Pitching:
This will undoubtedly be the most important aspect of the series. The Yanks have gotten consistent pitching from their starters, namely Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon right through to closer Luke Weaver. They allowed just 13 runs in their four wins over Cleveland and just eight in their three wins over Kansas City.
Los Angeles’ staff has been boom or bust. The Dodgers have four shutout wins, but allowed 42 runs in the other seven games.
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