World Series preview: Dodgers-Yankees slated to face off in clash of MLB's top teams

The Los Angeles Dodgers are slated to face off against the New York Yankees in the World Series this year, marking yet another showdown between the two iconic MLB franchises. 

In what will be another showdown in the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry, the teams will add to their own storied history of competition that has seen them go head-to-head in the Fall Classic a record 12 times. 

How did they get here?

Each team advanced to October baseball by fending off stiff competition within their divisions, as the Dodgers successfully outlasted the pesky San Diego Padres and the Yankees pulled away from the up-and-coming Baltimore Orioles. 

While the Dodgers' grip on first place in the NL West never really slipped throughout the season, the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks both crept dangerously close to stealing the division from the Boys in Blue, who have won 11 of the last 12 division titles. They finished the year with a league-leading 98 wins, which is somehow their lowest total since 2018 (excluding the shortened-2020 season). 

Despite this, their journey to this point has been far from easy this season. Every single Dodgers starting pitcher found themself on the injured list at one time or another, with the likes of Dustin May, River Ryan, Gavin Stone, Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow all being forced to miss the playoffs with various ailments. 

Though Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts was often busy with the ongoing obstacle course of figuring out who could pitch and when, he never really had to worry about the offense, who thrived with two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani leading the way. He put together one of the best seasons the game has ever seen, becoming the first ever member of the 50 home run and 50 stolen base club, fueling what will surely be his third MVP season, and first since signing his record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract with Los Angeles. 

With the added fire power joining a team that already had two former-MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers finished top five in nearly every major statistical category including home runs, on-base percentage, batting average and runs scored. 

Joining them in the upper ranks of those same categories were the Yankees, who finished with an American League best record of 94-68 and earned their first World Series berth since 2009.

Team captain and perennial slugger Aaron Judge  put together what will surely be another award-winning season, driving in a personal-best and league-leading 144 RBIs while slugging 58 home runs, which also led all of MLB. 

A glaring difference between this season and those in the past was the addition of star outfielder Juan Soto, who complemented Judge in a fashion that no Yankee player has been able to do thus far in his career. He added 41 homers and 109 RBIs of his own as the Bronx Bombers claimed their third AL East title in five years. 

Yankee pitching has been strong all season long, and despite losing ace Gerrit Cole to an elbow injury for several months, they were able to keep opposing hitters to a measly .235 batting average. The emergence of Luis Gil, who at one point looked to be a finalist for the Cy Young Award, and Carlos Rodon's return to form after posting a ghastly 6.85 ERA last season, both carried the team the slog of the summer months.

A fierce season-long back-and-forth with the Orioles ended up in the Yankees favor, with all the pieces seeming to fall into place just as playoff baseball began to approach. Cole's return from the injured list and trade deadline addition Jazz Chisholm's flashy arrival played major roles in their success in recent months and the playoffs thus far. 

Postseason to this point

The two teams took fairly different routes to get to the World Series, as New York seemingly cruised past their opponents, earning a 3-1 series win in the ALDS over the Kansas City Royals and a 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS. 

Key moments from players like Alex Verdugo and Gleyber Torres keyed their series win over Kansas City, paired with a dominant Game 4 performance from Cole who went seven nearly perfect innings to lock the Yankees into the next round of play.

They've received timely hits throughout October, led by Giancarlo Stanton's five home runs and 11 RBIs in their nine games thus far, which earned him the ALCS MVP in a series that was more competitive than what it looks like on paper. 

An unlikely face emerged as a lights out option for the Yankees in the playoffs as well, with Luke Weaver's bullpen brilliance coming in the form of four saves — three of which required more than three outs to secure. In 10 1/3 innings he struck out 12 batters, allowing just three runs in that span. 

On the other hand, the Dodgers fought themselves out of hole that once again saw them on the brink of an early exit from postseason play. They were down 2-1 in the NLDS against their bitter rival in the Padres, but an incredible pitching performance saw them shutout their opponents in the final two games, completely turning the tide in a series that seemed like it was inevitably going in San Diego's favor. 

The NLCS  showdown, which slated the Dodgers against the other New York team in the Mets, was a high-scoring affair that was as back-and-forth as any playoff series has been in recent years. 

Each game was separated by at least four runs, with both teams putting up double digits at least twice. Despite the noted difference in scoring on a game-to-game basis, the Dodgers were able to take the series in six games. 

A slew of impressive offensive performances, highlighted by great performances from Ohtani, Betts, Kiké Hernández and essentially every other player in the lineup, leads them into the World Series as the highest-scoring playoff team thus far. On top of that, Max Muncy set a postseason record by getting on base in 12 straight plate appearances, showcasing how every facet of the Dodgers lineup played a part in their success.

A brief history of the Dodgers-Yankees rivalry

For as long as professional baseball has been around, the Dodgers and the Yankees have been fierce rivals, and this year's matchup will surely continue to add to the lengthy lore surrounding the duo. 

It'll be the 12th time that they've met in the World Series, with history playing largely in New York's favor with eight wins to Los Angeles' three. The last time the pair met in October was 1981, however, when the Dodgers took the series 4-2. 

Though their paths have often crossed when the games matter the most, their history began more than a century ago, when the then-Brooklyn Bridegrooms joined MLB in 1890 followed soon after by the Yankees in 1903. 

Even with the Dodgers' departure for Los Angeles in 1958, the rivalry continued as each team represented major factions of fans on each United States coast, and even without a regularly scheduled annual meeting for decades the competitive nature remained. 

A history of games that features baseball legends like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax and many more will soon have a new chapter and names like Judge, Betts, Ohtani and Cole added to its lengthy lore.

What to expect

A highly-anticipated regular season matchup — in what many rightfully predicted as the World Series preview — saw plenty of fireworks and if they bear any indication for what baseball fans are to expect, will make for as exciting of a matchup as any in recent memory. 

The Dodgers took the series 2-1, outscoring the Bombers 17-9, thanks in large part to an incredible series from outfielder Teoscar Hernández who slugged five extra base hits and drove in nine runs. 

Though two of the games were separated by multiple runs, the Saturday evening game sandwiched in between proved to be a classic, with all three runs scoring in an electric 11th inning after 10 runs of scoreless baseball. 

Similar season trajectories and equally powerful rosters make for a showdown where any prediction could be correct. It all begins on Friday evening at Dodger Stadium. After two games in California the series moves to the Bronx for three games before bouncing back across the U.S. to Los Angeles, if necessary.