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Dodgers vs. Yankees, Ohtani vs. Judge: Classic World Series awaits

Vaseline October 21, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers, stripped of their jerseys, waded ankle-deep in a pool of beer and champagne in the clubhouse Sunday night, drunk with emotion and trying to explain what this meant to them.

They just defeated the New York Mets 10-5 and won the National League pennant at Dodger Stadium, but this title was nothing more than a warm-up.

Now comes the moment that Major League Baseball, their TV partners, their corporate advertisers and millions of baseball fans have been clamoring for for the past 43 years.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will play each other in the World Series for the first time since 1981.

Hollywood vs. Broadway.

Rodeo Drive versus Fifth Avenue.

Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge.

Mookie Betts vs. Juan Soto.

Freddie Freeman vs. Giancarlo Stanton.

The rich versus the rich.

Two of the most iconic franchises in sports, who had the best records in their respective leagues this season, playing for baseball’s ultimate prize.

“As a baseball fan,” said Dodgers infielder Max Muncy, “how can you not be excited about this? You’re talking about two of the biggest franchises. The biggest stars in sports. We have Shohei, Freddie and Mookie. On the other side you have Aaron Judge, Giancarlo, Juan Soto, Gerrit Cole.

“The game’s biggest stars on the absolute biggest stage.

“So how can you not be excited about this? This is the World Series.”

This is Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird.

This is Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier.

This is Jack Nicklaus versus Arnold Palmer.

This is Coke versus Pepsi.

“It’s what the people wanted,” Betts said. “What we all wanted.”

The very idea of Judge and Ohtani standing on the same stage together, the two MVP favorites fighting for the same ultimate team prize, could cause an international meltdown from all the hype.

“I can’t even imagine how excited the entire Japanese country is right now,” said Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman, the National League championship series MVP with 11 RBI, tying a postseason franchise record. “If they weren’t fans of baseball before, then even more so. Everyone wants to see these two teams play on the biggest stages. It’s a World Series full of superstars.”

Judge, who led the American League with 58 home runs, and Ohtani who led the National League with 54 home runs, will be the first World Series matchup between home run leaders since the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle and the Dodgers’ Duke Snider met in 1956 met. .

It will be the first time Ohtani and Judge have ever played in a World Series.

“I really feel like we’ve finally arrived, I’ve finally arrived at this stage,” Ohtani said. “The goal was to get this far. I also imagined that I would get this far with the contract I signed (10 years, $700 million). Just being able to play on this kind of stage with the team effort and everything. The matches were very tough, but I’m just happy that we’re at this stage now.”

Dodgers center Kevin Kiermaier, who will retire after the season, struggled with emotions as he tried to describe what this means to him. He was part of the Tampa Bay Rays team that lost to the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series. It was the COVID World Series, played at a neutral site in Arlington, Texas, with limited seating for fans.

When the Dodgers won that World Series, they handed out masks instead of champagne bottles. There was no parade in downtown Los Angeles, or anywhere else, during the pandemic.

Now there will be a parade for the ages in New York or Los Angeles, with the Yankees hoping to celebrate their first championship since 2009 and the Dodgers their first in a full season since ’88.

“This is great for baseball,” Kiermaier said. “Two iconic organizations, two eternal powerhouses, teams that are always in the middle. It doesn’t get better than this.

“I play baseball, but I am a fan of baseball. The amount of talent that will be on the field in the coming weeks will be must-see TV.

“It should be a great series. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.”

The World Series begins Friday night (8 p.m. ET, FS1) at Dodger Stadium, and as they see each other and exchange pleasantries, they will share a deep appreciation for knowing what it took to get there.

The two teams carry a heavy burden with enormous expectations and pressure to win the World Series.

No one cares that the Yankees have been to the playoffs 25 times since 1995, or that they haven’t had a losing season since 1992.

No one cares that the Dodgers have been to the playoffs 12 straight years and won four pennants.

All that matters is whether they win a World Series trophy at the end of the year.

It’s World Series or bust every year.

It’s life in New York and LA

“There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations,” said Muncy, who set a postseason record by making 12 consecutive starts, “especially this year when you talk about some of the names we have. It was definitely tough.”

The Dodgers, who had been eliminated from the playoffs in the first round the past two years, knew another first-round exit could have dire consequences. There were people whose jobs were at stake.

“We’ve changed the way we’re doing it this year,” Muncy said. “This year it was very player-driven. In recent years we have been waiting a bit for the organization to tell us what we were going to do. They tried to do certain things. They wanted to increase the intensity.

“This year, all the players who have been here said, ‘Hey, no. This is what we’re doing. We’re changing things up. This is what we want to do.'”

So instead of letting their first-round bye become a hindrance because of the five days off, they took the opportunity to hang out and bond together, and ask their families for understanding.

“Everyone is worried about five days off,” Muncy said. “We said, ‘This is a reward.’ So we wanted to treat it as a reward. We had a lot of fun. The most important thing we all did was we were here as a group, seven or eight hours a day, hanging out, getting closer, having fun, eating good food , talking about what we wanted to do.

“So instead of five days at home, we spent five days here on the field, and that brought us all together.”

It was similar to the rallying cry they had in Atlanta in mid-September when they were told starter Tyler Glasnow was out for the season. The players openly wondered if this ended their World Series hopes. Manager Dave Roberts told them to stop feeling sorry for themselves, and if he believed in them, they should believe in each other.

“We talked about a starting rotation that should have All-Stars and Hall of Famers, and that just didn’t happen,” Muncy said. “When you talk about your ace being done this year, it was a kick in the gut. You could tell everyone was down. It was like, ‘Oh man, not again.’

“Then we had a meeting and it was, ‘Guys, look around. We still have Hall of Famers in this room. We have guys getting paid a lot of money in this room. We can still do this.’

“Well, now look at us.”

Most of the credit goes to Roberts, said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. He kept the team together when it seemed like everything was spiraling out of control with all the devastating injuries, requiring the use of a franchise-record 40 pitchers.

“This is as determined a group as any I’ve dealt with,” Friedman said. “The professionalism. The way they prepare. The way they complete it. It’s a very special group.

“Besides the talent, which is evident, the passion to win was something that was so evident throughout the year with the adversity we faced.”

Roberts, who saw his team score an NLCS record 46 runs, shouted to the sellout crowd of 52,674 as he collected the National League trophy: “I’ve never believed in a group of guys more than I believe in these guys . The most important thing is that they believe in each other.”

Now here they are, about to play the biggest series of their lives, reviving memories of the ’81 World Series with Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Goose Gossage, Fernando Valenzuela, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey and Tommy Lasorda.

“The whole world was hoping for his possible duel, this showdown,” Roberts said. “I think it’s going to be great.”

Not just for the Dodgers.

Not just for the Yankees.

But all baseball.

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