For all the times a scrappy little team comes out of nowhere for a wild October run that captivates the sport, there’s this:

Goliath vs. Goliath.

East versus West.

Yankees vs. Dodgers.

The two iconic franchises will renew their acquaintance starting Friday in the World Series at Dodger Stadium in a match that will feature the game’s biggest stars and plenty of rich storylines.

“The stars will come out, the eyes will be watching and hopefully we can put on a great run,” manager Aaron Boone said Monday, a day after the Dodgers finished off the Mets in the ALCS to secure their spot in the Fall Classic. .

This marks the 12th World Series meeting between the Yankees and Dodgers – seven of which occurred when the latter played in Brooklyn – with the Yankees holding an 8-3 lead. But this year’s edition, the first since 1981, will make history.

Aside from the shortened 2020 season, this is also only the second time this century that the best players from each league have met in the World Series.

Here’s a look at the major storylines:

Star-studded affair

A dream matchup for Major League Baseball pits some of the sport’s biggest stars against each other: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole against Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

Of course, there are plenty of supporting actors and ensembles who helped each team get here.

But six of the game’s top 10 players will share the court in this World Series.

Judge and Ohtani will likely be MVPs in their respective leagues after a season in which Judge led the AL with 58 home runs and Ohtani led the NL with 54.

They are responsible for the two largest free-agent deals in MLB history (Ohtani 10 years for $700 million and Judge nine years for $360 million), although Soto will have a say in that this season.

Like Soto, both Betts and Freeman (who is playing through a sprained ankle that has limited him and kept him out of three playoff games) are former MVPs and World Series champions, while Cole is the reigning AL Cy Young.

The Yankees were missing both Soto (forearm inflammation) and Cole (elbow nerve irritation) when the teams met in The Bronx in June — the Dodgers won two of three — but they’ll get a chance to play at the the biggest stage to shine.

History of October

The most common game in the World Series is Yankees vs. Dodgers, but it has been 43 years since they last met for a championship.

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Before this year, the league’s two most popular franchises had last dueled three times in a five-year span, from 1977 to 1981, a rivalry that featured the likes of Reggie Jackson, Tommy Lasorda, Billy Martin and Fernando Valenzuela.

“In some ways I’ve always felt here that there’s an underlying desire for that,” Boone said of a Yankees-Dodgers World Series showdown.

Dodger pitchers who could have been Yankees

Last season, after landing Soto in a blockbuster trade, the Yankees turned their full attention to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese ace who would have completed a dream of 1-2 acquisitions.

Instead, he signed a 12-year contract worth $325 million with the Dodgers.

Then at the trade deadline this year, the Yankees tried to acquire right-hander Jack Flaherty from the Tigers, but a deal fell through when they became concerned about his physical condition (an issue), so he was ultimately dealt to the Dodgers.

Yamamoto and Flaherty are now the Dodgers’ two best starters this postseason (for an injury-riddled rotation).

Managers under pressure

During their playing days, Boone and Dave Roberts were central postseason figures in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

Now they are managers who have entered the season under serious scrutiny after their teams failed to fulfill their potential in recent years.

But they both make their clubs click at the right time.

A homecoming for the ALCS MVP

Giancarlo Stanton grew up in Dodger Stadium and is now returning there in the midst of another monstrous playoff run.

The Yankees’ veteran DH, a native of suburban Los Angeles, has crushed five home runs in nine games this month with an OPS of 1.179.

Judge vs. Dodger Stadium

The last time Judge played in Los Angeles, Judge’s exposed foot off the right field wall ruined his 2023 season when he ran into it on a fly ball and tore a ligament in his right big toe.

The Dodgers have since added protection to the base of the wall, which consisted of exposed concrete.