Like all iconic, indelible plays, the home run seemed to erase everything that came before it. The fastball on the first pitch changed the fate of the game and ensured the crowd’s eudaimonia, and the moment it landed in the right field seats, Game 1 of the 2024 World Series became the Freddie Freeman Game. This was the play that defined the evening. This was the moment people will remember.

Which is of course only fair. This was the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. It was a two-out, second-of-10, hands down. Freeman joined only Kirk Gibson (1988) and Joe Carter (1993) in hitting a walk-off home run when trailing in the World Series. Those games will be remembered decades later for those names alone, and this one will rightly be too. But that almost feels like a shame.

Because there was so much more to this game that was worth remembering. This series could have easily collapsed under the weight of its own hype: New York vs. Los Angeles, Heavyweight vs. Heavyweight, Yankees vs. Dodgers, Aaron Judge vs. Shohei Ohtani. But this first game delivered in every way possible. Much of the discussion surrounding this series has focused on the history, the money, the cultural influence. And here was something that undermined and overwrote all of that at the same time. It was a baseball game so damn good it was impossible for the discussion to focus on anything else. The highlight will be the final swing, that walk-off by Dodgers first baseman Freeman, a game-winning hit made all the more dramatic by a badly sprained ankle that had bothered the 2020 National League MVP for weeks. But there was much more than just that headline.

“We all love baseball, we enjoy the game, we’re all fans of it,” Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty said. “It was just an incredible game from both sides.”

APSTEIN: Freddie Freeman’s persistence to play through injuries is paying off

These clubs have played in the World Series more than any other couple in history. Their matchup has been discussed and dissected more than ever in recent years. But this first game delivered something no one could have even dreamed of.

There were fantastic catches and cringe-inducing mistakes. There was a signature postseason home run from Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, which is to say, a towering, breathtaking mammoth of a moonshot. (The exit velocity was 116.6 mph—harder than any ball hit in the World Series since Statcast started recording in 2015.) There was an eighth-inning comeback that only set up a tenth-inning comeback . There was crucial fan interference with two outs in the top of the ninth. (A fan reached over the outfield wall to pick what would otherwise likely have been a hit by Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres, who was assigned second base, though he ultimately stayed there.) There was one absolutely beautiful, but ultimately useless sacrifice bunt. . There were somehow multiple examples of intentional walks for a likely Hall of Fame No. 2 hitter to get to a likely Hall of Fame No. 3 hitter. And then of course there was the winning, never happened before, can you believe it grand slam.

SELBE: World Series Game 1 Takeaways: Freddie Freeman Writes Hollywood Sequel

“To see a game like that,” says Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech, “I have no words for it. That was incredible.”

He did more than just watch a match like this. Kopech pitched in, coming in in the top of the ninth, with the game tied, for his first career World Series appearance. (The righty got two quick outs before allowing the hard contact that resulted in the interference call.) Still, that was the effect of this play. It felt like everyone was just along for the ride. Even the people involved.

“There was some good pitching, some defense, good at-bats, the crowd was into it from the first pitch,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It was an old-fashioned baseball game.”

VERDUCCI: Nestor Cortes must deal with the loss after Aaron Boone’s questionable Game 1 Move

This wasn’t exactly a traditional pitchers’ duel. But it was as close as it gets in modern postseason baseball. Flaherty had a scoreless outing in the sixth and finally faltered on the home run to Stanton, finishing his night with six strikeouts, five hits and one walk. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole pitched in the seventh and expertly weaved his way through a fearsome Dodgers lineup. (The fact that both starters pitched into the sixth inning was somewhat remarkable; that didn’t happen once in the ALCS or NLCS in October.) This was one of the many key factors that made this game memorable. The starting pitchers felt like central characters. They ultimately didn’t serve as the biggest stars. But they were on stage long enough to shape the drama and set the stakes.

That gave way an hour later to an ending that the players will not soon forget. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team stay on the field for 20 minutes after the last game just to watch it and absorb it with the fans,” said Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen, who called the game played out. for LA, walking off the mound believing he blew it, but was saved by his teammates. “That was the most incredible baseball moment I’ve ever seen.”

The sentiment was echoed by players up and down the squad, as well as Roberts, who has been involved in more than his share of memorable plays: That was the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever seen. It was an honor for Freeman, of course, but it was also an honor for every piece that came before him. The final moment could not have brought so much joy if the match that ended had not been so exciting.