The 2024 Major League Baseball postseason has been filled with high-stakes games, intense rivalries and fiery matchups that have kept audiences tuned in until the last matchup. That matchup was one for the ages, as the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in the 2024 World Series, fighting for the title of World Champion.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were expected to blow away any and all competition during their 2024 regular season campaign. The franchise signed huge off-season free-agent Shohei Ohtani, who has continued to change the game with his talents. Among the Ohtani signing, the Dodgers also picked up 26-year-old Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and Santa Clarita native Tyler Glasnow. These signings only solidified the Dodgers’ push towards a World Series Championship title, one they have not won since the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Despite these significant off-season pickups, the Los Angeles Dodgers were plagued with injuries, including losing several high-leverage pitchers that would only bolster their postseason roster. The biggest heart-wrenching injury came to MVP-caliber first baseman, Freddie Freeman, who suffered a sprained ankle during the final homestand of the season. With the question of Freeman’s availability in the air, the Dodgers entered the postseason seemingly hanging on by a thread.
The New York Yankees once again boasted an impressive record as they easily clinched a playoff spot in the American League. With superstar names like former MVP Aaron Judge, 2023 Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole and newly-acquired outfielder Juan Soto, the Yankees looked to make a strong push towards the title of World Champion, a title they have not held since 2009.
MVP front-runner candidates Judge and Ohtani would be facing off during the World Series for the very first time. Moorpark College baseball alumni and California Lutheran University student Jacob Hart spoke about these two players and their record-breaking seasons.
“The Aaron Judge versus Shohei Ohtani matchup is very easy to market and plays a big role in having more fans watch,” Hart said. “When you think of the two best players in baseball, Judge and Ohtani are 1a and 1b. They do so much for the game outside of the diamond that I think this matchup was a great one.”
As both the Yankees and Dodgers pushed through the postseason, the dream matchup was looking to become a reality. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, two of the most successful and storied franchises in the MLB, were set to face off in the 2024 World Series. These two franchises have met in the Fall Classic 12 times throughout MLB history the last being in 1981. The Yankees have come out on top beating the LA team eight of those 12 times.
Hart further spoke about how the electric matchup between the two franchises would benefit MLB.
“Dodgers and Yankees are so beneficial for MLB on so many fronts including the marketing side of things, the actual play of the game and the potential of gaining new fans because of how much these games are talked about,” Hart spoke. “You could not ask for two better teams as they were both the [number] one seeds and have shown they are the two best teams in baseball.”
Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts spoke in a press conference about the caliber of talent in the 2024 World Series and how these two franchises are sure to draw an audience.
“I’m a baseball fan first,” said Roberts. “And when you’re talking about the two biggest media markets in the world, and you’re talking about the best and brightest stars in baseball on the same field, on the biggest of stages, what baseball fan, what sports fan, wouldn’t want to lock into this Series?”
Just as Roberts said, the matchup was sure to be electric. On Oct. 25, the Dodgers and Yankees met up at Dodger Stadium to play game one of the World Series. Whichever team emerged victorious in this game would surely build off the momentum. The team to win game one of a best-of-seven world series went on to win the pennant 79% of the time. With Yankees ace Gerrit Cole taking the mound for New York and LA native pitcher Jack Flaherty up for the Dodgers, the 2024 World Series was underway.
The game remained close, a toast to both teams’ well-rounded pitching, offense and defense. However, the story could not have been written better, as Freddie Freeman came up to bat in the bottom of the tenth inning with the bases loaded. Freeman only took one pitch to send the baseball into the right field pavilion and recorded the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. The momentum only continued for Los Angeles.
The Dodgers took games one, two and three, establishing a daunting 3-0 record over the Yankees. Facing elimination, the Yankees had to do whatever it took to just win one game. Game 4 took place on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in New York at Yankee Stadium, where the Yankees exploded for a whopping 11 runs to avoid being swept by the Dodgers. Game 5 would take place at Yankee Stadium as the New York team looked to stay alive while the Los Angeles team looked to clinch.
It seemed as though the Dodgers would be heading back to LA for game six as they trailed the Yankees 0-5 in the top of the fifth inning. However, the Dodgers, known for their grit and determination, capitalized on back-to-back-to-back errors performed by the Yankees and tied the game up at five after a disastrous fifth inning for New York.
The lead fluctuated throughout the night following the wild fifth inning, but former MVP Mookie Betts hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning that would make the score 7-6, in favor of LA. The Dodgers, who had seemingly run out of pitchers due to the short outing by starter Flaherty, turned to Walker Buehler to record the final three outs.
Just as he had done throughout the postseason, Buehler did his job and slammed the door on the final three Yankee hitters, striking out Alex Verdugo to record the final out and his first career save. With a final score of 6-7, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the 2024 World Series Champions and the title was coming back to LA after just four years.
Back in Los Angeles, a parade took place on Friday, Nov. 1, to celebrate the Dodgers bringing the title back home. An expected 225,000 fans turned out to the streets of Los Angeles as the team paraded through downtown LA. A World Series Parade for LA was long overdue, as no parade was able to take place in 2020 due to the pandemic. Los Angeles decked out in Dodger blue to celebrate the accomplishments.
The 2024 MLB season has ended, with Los Angeles emerging triumphantly. As the world of baseball turns the page and focuses on the offseason, the Dodgers will do the same while continuing to celebrate the determination, bonds and grit that earned them their title. The sky’s the limit for the 2025 season as the Dodgers will look to return to the World Series stage with all other teams looking for a title of their own.
