Who says money can’t buy happiness?

The World Series, which begins Friday, features the New York Yankees and the league’s most expensive active payroll against the Los Angeles Dodgers and a $340 million (tax-adjusted) roster.

It’s a showdown between MLB’s most high-profile markets and a showcase for the game’s brightest stars. Great for TV executives and gamblers alike.

We analyze the World Series odds, including outright winner, MVP and best player props. Game 1 takes place in Los Angeles.

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World Series Winner Odds

Despite the Yankees winning their two series 3-1 and 4-1, they are still the win-it-all underdogs at +110 on BetMGM.

The Dodgers, who have home field advantage, are at -130. That could be due to the fact that almost every victory for LA in October was a defeat, with an average margin of victory of six runs. Their smallest wins came against the Padres in the NLDS, with a 7-5 victory in Game 1 and a 2-0 series win, in which they beat San Diego by two hits.

But the October Classic is expected to have legs, with the smallest odds predicting a six-game affair: +195 for the under and -190 for a bet over 5.5 games. If one powerhouse defeats another, it pays a large reward of +650.

World Series MVP Odds

If the series goes beyond five games, Mr. October Mr. November, and this year’s list of contenders is as star-studded as ever.

Six league MVPs populate the two rosters, including two-time unanimous AL MVP Shohei Ohtani (his two trophies offset the fact that 2014 winner Clayton Kershaw is inactive for the postseason).

Ohtani is the runaway favorite for the World Series MVP at +220, while Aaron Judge is the next closest at +500. Both are the favorites to win the MVP awards of their respective league season.

It’s tough to bet against Ohtani, who is hitting an astonishing .818 over his last 22 at-bats with runners in scoring position. That’s not .818; that’s 18-for-22 when at least one runner is on second base or better. In October, that number is .667 to go with three home runs and 10 postseason RBIs. Ohtani’s popularity, combined with voters’ tendency to reward splashy moments, means he should lose the award.

But for standout swings, Ohtani’s most interesting challenger isn’t Judge, or Juan Soto (+500) or Mookie Betts (+750). Giancarlo Stanton, a former MVP himself, was the most productive big man this postseason, hitting five home runs in October and four in the ALCS. Two of his postseason bombs gave the Yanks the lead, and one of them tied the game. They all came in the sixth inning or later, and while they count the same, late-game dingers typically outweigh early dingers.

Stanton is +950 to win MVP, but it’s hard to ignore the heat he brings into the series. All it takes is a few World Series swings in the clutch to make the rest of a statistical line white noise.

Props to World Series players

The Dodgers will be at home in Game 1, meaning they will bat second, but Ohtani is still favored to play the first player to homer at +450. He’s hitting leadoff for the Dodgers, which helps, but he’s still comfortably ahead of Juan Soto (+750), who will be the second hitter of the series (Gleyber Torres hits first for New York) and just hit a scored a pennant-clinching home run. Judge has the second best odds at +575, and Stanton again has +950.

But Stanton is the favorite to end the postseason with the most home runs at +200. He has five to Ohtani’s three, and the latter has +450 to overtake him, with Betts the next closest at +475. Judge, who hit 58 home runs in the regular season, is considered a long shot. He has two home runs so far, but is +1200 to lead, thanks to an uninspiring postseason track record at the plate. At an anemic .203 and hitting just .450, Judge has 15 home runs in 239 plate appearances in October. Safe money goes elsewhere.

If offense isn’t your thing, you might be out of luck with series props as Carlos Rodón has a stranglehold on the postseason total strikeout. His 22 K’s are almost double the next contender, and he is -2000 to maintain his lead.

Saves is a closer race, with New York’s Luke Weaver at -225 and LA’s Blake Treinen at +180. Only one save separates the two, but considering that when the Dodgers have won, they’ve won comfortably, oddsmakers see more chances for Weaver in the series.

The coolest name on the prop lists, though, is Tommy Edman, who was picked up by the Dodgers at the deadline and expected to be a solid platoon player for the second half. He enters the World Series having won the NLCS MVP, and is +200 for the postseason stolen base leader. He is also +600 for the postseason RBI leader after entering 11 in the NLCS. His postseason total is at 12, and he cleans up often for the Dodgers, so there are plenty of opportunities.

Mookie Betts is the only player with more RBIs still playing games in October. In a series where both teams feel like favourites, Edman represents the closest thing to an underdog on the betting slip when the series starts on Friday.

(Photo by Shohei Ohtani: Elsa/Getty Images)