2024 World Series
The 2024 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2024 season. The 120th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League champion New York Yankees and the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the Yankees' first World Series appearance since 2009 and the Dodgers' first World Series appearance since 2020. It was the 12th time in the Dodgers–Yankees rivalry that the teams met in the World Series, and the first instance since 1981. The series began on October25 and ended on October30 with the Dodgers defeating the Yankees in five games. Freddie Freeman was named the MVP of the series, tying a World Series record with 12 runs batted in and hitting home runs in the first four games of the series, including Game 1 when he hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
The Yankees and Dodgers entered the 2024 MLB postseason as the top seeds in their respective leagues. The Dodgers had home-field advantage in the series due to their better regular season win-loss record. Superstar players Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani had also made their World Series debuts this Series. Coming into the series, the two teams had played 66 World Series games against each other all-time, the most for any two teams by far, with the Yankees having a 37–29 record over the Dodgers. The Yankees had a 6-1 World Series title edge during the Brooklyn Dodgers/Subway Series era, with the two teams tying 2-2 following the Dodgers' relocation to Los Angeles, making the overall record 8-3.
In the 2024 World Series, Freeman's Game 1 walk-off grand slam built momentum for the Dodgers to take a 3-0 series lead, following two subsequent low-scoring wins. This winning streak was halted after the Yankees won Game 4, making the series 3-1. In Game 5, the Yankees quickly took a 5-0 lead heading into the 5th inning. However, Game 5 is most remembered for a series of Yankee errors and misplays that enabled the Dodgers to overcome the 5-run deficit and tie the game in the same inning. The Dodgers would eventually retake the lead and clinch the title, ending the series at 4-1 and setting the record for most runs to come from behind in a World Series-clinching game.
It was the Dodgers' eighth World Series title in franchise history following 2020. For the Yankees, it was their 14th World Series loss in franchise history, putting them in a two-way tie for most World Series losses with the Dodgers. In terms of their rivalry, the Dodgers won the series over the Yankees for the fourth time, the record standing at 4-8 following this series, holding a 3-2 edge since their relocation to Los Angeles. The Dodgers would make the World Series again the following year, winning in seven games against the Toronto Blue Jays and becoming the first back-to-back champions since the 2000 Yankees.
Background
This series marked the twelfth World Series meeting between the Dodgers and Yankees and the first since 1981. This was the ninth meeting between teams from New York City and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship. This previously happened in four World Series, three NBA Finals and the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. This was also the eighth New York–California matchup in the World Series.Additionally, this World Series was contested between the two eventual winners of the most valuable player awards in their respective leagues: Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers. This was the first World Series since 2012 to feature the two league MVPs from that season. Judge won the American League MVP Award in 2022, while Ohtani won two AL MVP awards unanimously with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2023. During the 2024 regular season, Judge hit 58 home runs while Ohtani hit 54 during his 50–50 season, meaning that this is the first time in Major League Baseball history that two batters who hit 50 home runs in the same regular season are playing against each other in the World Series. Because of the renewal of the rivalry between the two storied franchises, the low ratings of the previous World Series, and the World Series debuts of both Ohtani and Judge, many regarded the matchup as a "dream" World Series in the lead-up to the event.
The Dodgers won a three-game series against the Yankees in June in New York, winning the first two games before dropping the finale, though Juan Soto did not appear in the series.
This was the first World Series to feature the teams with the best record in each league since the 2020 World Series. This was just the fifth time in the Wild Card era where both teams with the best record in each league faced each other in the World Series.
New York Yankees
After missing the postseason in 2023, the New York Yankees traded for star outfielder Juan Soto to help bolster their lineup. The Soto and Aaron Judge led Yankees offense finished the American League first in runs and led MLB in home runs. Judge arguably had the finest season of his career, posting a 10.8 wins above replacement and a.701 slugging percentage in 704 plate appearances. Soto, in what turned out to be his lone season with the Yankees, rebounded after middling year and a half in San Diego, returning to superstar form by posting a 7.9 wins above replacement himself and hitting a career-high 41 home runs. Joining Soto and Judge as All-Stars was relief pitcher Clay Holmes. The Yankees' closer role initially belonged to Holmes, but after recording an MLB-leading 11 blown saves, he lost the position. Luke Weaver took over the role in September and retained it throughout their postseason run. After not appearing in a game until June19 due a spring training injury, reigning AL Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole headed a deep rotation of starters including Carlos Rodón, rookie Luis Gil, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, and Clarke Schmidt. At the trade deadline, the team added Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Mark Leiter Jr.The New York Yankees qualified for the postseason as the American League East division winner and the league's first seed. In the American League Division Series, they defeated the Kansas City Royals in four games. In the American League Championship Series, they defeated the Cleveland Guardians in five games to win their 41st pennant in franchise history and return to the World Series for the first time since their championship season in 2009, putting an end to their 15-year World Series appearance drought. Giancarlo Stanton won the ALCS MVP award with four home runs and seven RBIs.
This World Series marked the debut of Aaron Judge, Stanton, and Gleyber Torres, while Gerrit Cole, Juan Soto, and Anthony Rizzo returned to the World Series for the second time in their careers. Rizzo and Soto were seeking second career World Series championship, having won with the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals, respectively, while Cole was seeking his first championship after the Houston Astros lost in 2019. Aaron Boone, in his seventh season as a manager for the Yankees, was seeking his first World Series win as a manager. The Yankees were looking to win their league-leading 28th World Series championship title.
Los Angeles Dodgers
After back-to-back upset losses to division rivals in the postseason in 2022 and 2023, the Dodgers looked to reshape their roster. In the off-season, they signed superstar two-way player Shohei Ohtani to a record $700million, 10 year contract. Other big additions were signing outfielder Teoscar Hernández and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and trading for starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow. During the regular season, the Dodgers had more rough patches compared to previous years due to various pitching injuries, a two-month hand injury to Mookie Betts, and a three-month abdominal injury to Max Muncy, failing to win 100 games for the first time in a full season since 2018. However, they still achieved the best win-loss record in the majors that year and won the National League West. They qualified for the postseason for the 12th consecutive season, dating back to 2013, the third-longest streak in MLB history.Although Ohtani could not pitch in 2024 due to elbow surgery, he was tremendously successful as a batter and baserunner. Playing at designated hitter, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to break the 50 home runs, 50 stolen bases barrier in a single season. He also surpassed Shawn Green's Dodgers single-season home run record with 54 home runs. At the All-Star Game, the Dodgers sent six players—Ohtani, Betts, Hernández, Glasnow, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith. At the trade deadline, the Dodgers added starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, set-up reliever Michael Kopech, and utility player Tommy Edman; Edman would win the NLCS MVP Award after recording 11 runs batted in in the series.
In the National League Division Series, the Dodgers faced a 2–1 deficit to their division rival San Diego Padres before rallying to take the series in five games. In the National League Championship Series, they defeated the New York Mets in six games to win their 25th pennant in franchise history and return to the World Series for the first time since their championship season in 2020, and the fourth time in eight years. The Dodgers were just the second team in MLB history to face the two New York baseball teams in a single postseason, following the 1999 Braves. The Dodgers were looking to win their eighth World Series title.
For the Dodgers, 2024 marked the World Series debuts of Ohtani, Yamamoto, T. Hernández, and Edman. Freddie Freeman and Will Smith made their second World Series appearances. Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, and Walker Buehler made their third World Series appearances. Freeman, Smith, Muncy, and Buehler were seeking their second World Series championships, with the former having won with the Braves in 2021 and the latter two having won with the Dodgers in 2020, while Betts was seeking his third World Series championship and the second with the Dodgers, having won with the Red Sox in 2018 and with the Dodgers in 2020. Dave Roberts, in his ninth year as a manager for the Dodgers, was seeking his second World Series championship as a manager, and third overall.
The Dodgers also announced plans to use the World Series games at Dodger Stadium to pay tribute to former pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who died shortly before the 2024 World Series and who was vital to the team's 1981 championship season.