Loaded lineups, stars galore, and blue-chip organizations that have been the class of Major League Baseball for the last century. This is the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, meeting each other in the World Series for the 12th time ever.
This is the first time in a full season (non-COVID) since 2013 that the top seed in both the American League and National League have made the Fall Classic.
Just three wins separated these two teams in the regular season and there is not much more in between the two heading into Game 1 on Friday night at Dodgers Stadium.
Who has the edge? We go position by position to break things down.
Catcher: Will Smith (LAD) over Austin Wells (LAD)
Neither catcher has had a very inspiring postseason, but Smith has been on this stage before and hit a key two-run home run in the clinching Game 6 of the NLCS to lift the Dodgers. He’s batting .158 this postseason, but he has six RBI in 11 games.
Wells, who certainly has the power to make a difference, is batting just .091 with a .348 OPS this postseason.
1st Base: Freddie Freeman (LAD) over Anthony Rizzo (NYY)
Freeman is on one good ankle, but he stated matter-of-factly that he would be in the lineup for Game 1 despite his injury getting in the way. Manager Dave Roberts said so himself following Los Angeles’ Game 5 NLCS loss to the Mets, prompting him to get the day off in Game 6. He was 6-for-17 to start the postseason but went 1-for-15 in his final three outings at the NLCS.
He has had time to rest and get that ankle in better shape, which gives the former MVP the edge over Anthony Rizzo, who overcame injuries to his fingers to get into New York’s ALCS roster. He was effective, going 6-for-14, and this downtime will help his hand even further.
Freeman, though, is one of the best offensive first basemen of this generation — a tall reputation to out-perform.
2nd base: Enrique Hernandez (LAD) over Gleyber Torres (NYY)
If this was simply based on regular-season stats, Torres would have the edge, but Enrique Hernandez has been on this stage before and finds a way time and time again to perform in the playoffs.
Despite a .654 OPS this year, Hernandez is batting .303 with an .863 OPS, two home runs, and six RBI this postseason. This is nothing new for the veteran, who is batting more than 40 points higher in 81 career playoff games than his career regular-season batting average.
He’s fared well against Yankees pitching, too, batting .368 against Gerrit Cole while going 3-for-6 with three home runs against Carlos Rodon.
3rd base: Max Muncy (LAD) over Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY)
Chisholm provided the Yankees with an enormous spark upon his arrival after the trade deadline, but he has been quiet in the postseason with a .147 average, one home run, and one RBI.
Muncy, meanwhile, set a single-season MLB postseason record by reaching base safely in 12 consecutive plate appearances during the NLCS against the Mets. In 11 playoff games this October, he has a 1.014 OPS, fueled by a .468 on-base percentage.
Shortstop: Tommy Edman (LAD) over Anthony Volpe (NYY)
Volpe has the edge defensively, but Edman was a major reason why the Dodgers were able to last the Mets in the NLCS while Freeman ailed. In six games against New York, Edman recorded 11 RBI and batted .407.
Left Field: Teoscar Hernandez (LAD) over Alex Verdugo (NYY)
Hernandez had a miserable NLCS, going 2-for-22 against the Mets. But this is a bat that hit 32 home runs during the regular season and — while he does not have the same glove as Verdugo — carries a much larger threat than the Yankees’ left fielder, who has just three RBI in nine postseason games.
Center Field: Aaron Judge (NYY) over Andy Pages (LAD)
This can be filed as a no-brainer. Judge is going to be the American League’s 2024 MVP after hitting 58 home runs and driving in 144 runs, but he has struggled in the postseason, which is nothing new for the Yankees’ captain. Still, it takes just one swing from this mighty bat to turn the entire Series on its head.
Right Field: Juan Soto (NYY) over Mookie Betts (LAD)
Betts would be the pick over 95% of the right fielders in baseball, but he is going up against one of the finest all-around hitters the game has seen in decades.
Coming off a career-high 41 home runs, Soto’s first year with the Yankees got that much better when he hit the ALCS-clinching three-run home run in the ninth inning of Game 5 to eliminate the Cleveland Guardians. The soon-to-be 26-year-old has three home runs and eight RBI in nine playoff games this year.
Betts has struggled in considerable portions of this postseason but has come on strong as of late, including a four-hit, four-RBI Game 4 of the NLCS.
DH: Shohei Ohtani (LAD) over Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)
Stanton has become one of the greatest postseason Yankees ever, winning ALCS MVP honors with four home runs and seven RBI in five games. He has 16 home runs in 36 games — only Babe Ruth had that sort of postseason production, which says everything you need to know about how prolific Stanton has been in the playoffs.
But there is no talent in Major League Baseball, at this time, that one can take over Ohtani. The Dodger superstar who is on pace to be considered one of the greatest ballplayers ever to walk this earth, is coming off the first 50/50 season in MLB history. He has been as advertised with men on base, recording three home runs and 10 RBI this October.
Starting rotation: Yankees over Dodgers
A healthy Dodgers rotation would likely get the edge here, but they are running on duct tape and super glue. Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are the only healthy, reliable starters that they have — and they have been inconsistent this postseason, too.
Meanwhile, the Yankees will roll with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil while Nestor Cortes waits in the wings as a versatile bullpen option for now.
This will be the difference-maker in the series. If the Yankees’ rotation can outpitch Los Angeles’ schemes, they push this series to six or seven games.
Bullpen: Dodgers over Yankees
Luke Weaver has been shaky as the Yankees’ closer as of late, struggling to close out the Guardians at times. The Dodgers present a completely different challenge for a bullpen that has stayed afloat with a 2.56 ERA this postseason.
The Dodgers’ bullpen has worked nearly 20 more innings than New York’s, yet they still boast a 3.16 ERA despite Roberts being forced to throw relievers exclusively in Games 2 and 5 of the NLCS.
Los Angeles closer Blake Treinen has been superb, allowing one run on seven hits with 11 strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work in the postseason.
