This is a big deal World Series
This one comes with tons of history and star power.
Much will be made of this World Series between two titans of baseball, the Yankees and Dodgers. A lot of the digital ink being spilled and to be spilled will be about the payrolls of the two franchises - and make no mistake, though the Mets (who were defeated by the Dodgers in the NLCS) outspent them both, none of the other 27 teams are anywhere near these three in spending. But that isn’t the final proof of an imbalanced league that you might think it is.
The Dodgers and Yankees are in the top five in spending every year. This will be the Yankees’ first World Series since 2009, 15 years ago. The Dodgers went to three out of four World Series from 2018-2020 but hadn’t been for 30 years, since 1988, before that. Spending money does not guarantee World Series appearances or titles. Of course, I’m not arguing that baseball is fine and healthy without full revenue sharing and a salary floor. Having a big payroll does make a team more likely to reach the playoffs - The Dodgers have been to twelve straight post-seasons while the Yankees are eight for their last ten - but the World Series itself isn’t a good argument for it.
Two storied franchises
All that said, this World Series is very interesting for a variety of other reasons. Among them is the fact that these are two of the oldest franchises in MLB with storied histories and a rivalry that was lessened when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles but never vanished. This will be the twelfth World Series matchup between these two teams. In a league where some teams still don’t have one World Series appearance against any opponent, having twelve just between these two teams is simply incredible.
There will be a lot of history to discuss as these two teams match up, some of the most romanticized moments and famous players of all time played for these two teams and, in many cases, against the other in a World Series. Many fans are irritated that the two behemoths are matching up again, but anyone who tunes into these games or the discussions around them will be treated to an elective course on baseball history unlike anything they’re likely to get anywhere else.
In many ways, that’s a good thing. It can be very cool to find out about all of the amazing feats of the diamond in the past century. Baseball, more than any sport, is built on its own history. But that might not always be a good thing.
Many people spend a lot of time wondering why the NFL has passed MLB in popularity and what can be done about it. But while new superstars show up on the NFL stage every decade on one team or another to completely upend all the record books, many of baseball’s most impressive records have stood for decades. Before Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa broke Roger Maris’ home run record in 1998, it had stood for 37 years after Maris set it in 61. It’s now been 23 years since Barry Bonds re-broke their record in 2001. The most home runs hit by anyone in the meantime is Aaron Judge’s 62 in 2022 - unless you count Sosa hitting 64 also in 2001. No one else has cracked 60.
Other hallowed MLB records like Rickey Henderson’s stolen bases, Cy Young’s pitcher wins, and, despite the cries that everyone strikes out now, even Nolan Ryan’s career strikeout record seem unlikely to ever be approached again, much less outstripped. Sure, it’s cool to hear or read about the amazing feats of these various players, but it also would be nice to get to witness some. We in Kansas City are blessed to see Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce do things that have never been seen before every week on the football field, but no fans of any team get to see that in baseball. Sure, Royals fans got to see Mike Moustakas and then Jorge Soler break the team home run records, and then saw Salvador Perez tie Soler’s record a couple of years later, but that’s only of interest to Royals fans, not to the league as a whole like it is when Mahomes sets some new ridiculous passing record.
This World Series does feature a game-breaking player or two
Some of you will have noted that the above sentiments are a bit oversimplified. Bobby Witt Jr., for example, did something this year that had never been done before: He became the only shortstop in history with two seasons of 30 or more home runs and 30 or more stolen bases. If that isn’t impressive enough stop and think for a moment that if it weren’t for Soler and Salvy, Bobby would have challenged the Royals’ home run record each of the past two years while also stealing a whole bunch of bases and playing an elite shortstop defense.
That’s a really cool stat, but the World Series also features two players doing things no one has ever seen before. There’s Aaron Judge who, other than Bonds, has put up two of the most valuable seasons in this century over the past three years. And then there’s Shohei Ohtani, who became the first player ever to hit more than 50 home runs and steal more than 50 bases in the same season. And that’s setting aside Ohtani’s ability to pitch, which we haven’t seen this year because of his injury.
These guys are doing things no one has seen before, but to really grasp their greatness, you have to look past the most popular stats or combine stats. That makes it harder to comprehend for the average fan. Judge didn’t lead the league in batting average*, he did lead all of baseball in home runs but he hit “only” 58, which doesn’t cross the barrier into the impressive-to-casual-observers 60s. Ohtani likewise didn’t lead his league in batting average. He led the NL in home runs, but 54 doesn’t get the heart racing any more than 58. And while 59 steals is an insane number in the modern MLB it doesn’t come close to the record for an MLB season. There are MULTIPLE players with multiple seasons with more than 100 stolen bases.
*Of course, we all know Bobby Witt Jr. led all of baseball in batting average. But his .332 average pales in comparison to the numbers that were required to lead leagues in past seasons, making it hard to be impressed by it, as well.
Still, anyone who considers themselves a fan of the sport should be able to recognize the greatness of these two players. And, for the less statistically inclined, we have this marquee matchup: it’s the first time the two presumptive MVPs have squared off against each other in the World Series since 2012 when Miguel Cabrera’s Tigers faced off against Buster Posey’s San Francisco Giants.
One thing that separates this contest from that one is the quality of the teams around those MVPs. In 2012, the Tigers and Giants were both division winners, but both won the fewest games of a division winner in their respective leagues. This year, the Yankees won the most games in the AL and the Dodgers won the most games in either league. That makes this the first World Series played between first seeds following a 162-game season* since 2013 when the Red Sox defeated the Cardinals.
*The Dodgers and Astros each won the most games in their respective leagues in 2020.
Some people will tell you this is a bad matchup because of the salaries in play, but that ignores the reality that as frustrating as salary issues in MLB are, these two teams are full of immensely talented players. Ultimately, this is a great matchup. That should be a good thing for baseball. Considering the Yankees and Dodgers play in the two largest media markets in baseball, it will likely be one of the most-watched World Series in recent memory, too. Seeing the current two best players face off against each other should additionally draw the attention of fans without other rooting interests.
It might not be enough to draw casual fans - the MLB playoffs competing against the biggest media monolith in the world, the NFL, is always going to make things difficult. Baseball being so regional and being so resistant to superstars taking over a game can make even studs like Judge and Ohtani anonymous to people who don’t follow the sport in ways that Patrick Mahomes and LeBron James will never be. But if you’re a fan of baseball - and if you’re reading this I expect you are - this World Series features the two best players on the two best teams. What more could you ask for?