He Fall Classicthe time of year when the leaves fall, the pumpkins emerge, there are tricks and treats, and the sports fan in America focuses his attention on baseball, the most indigenous and oldest of all the professional disciplines in the United States, will face the Yankees and the Dodgers, eternal enemies, for the first time since 1981. The MLB final will have the dream outcome: the great historical rivalry (it is the most repeated series for the ring, 11 timeswith eight wins for the Yankees), two teams with the best players in the championship, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtaniand the confrontation between two ways of life, that of the two coasts of the United States, in a duel that polarizes because it puts the two largest cities of the country face to face, New York and Los Angeles, and the two teams with the most fans.
The addition is that the Dodgersin California since 1958, were born in Brooklyn in 1884. For the oldest baseball fans in the Big Apple, perhaps the most romantic, It’s the real New York team, the originals. Then the Yankees arrived. And the Giants, also precursors, do not reside there anymore either. They went to San Francisco, where they continue to play. Activists will gladly remember that it was the Dodgers, the team from the populous neighborhood where ordinary people in NY live, the professional franchise where a black man played for the first time: Jackie Robinson.
Ohtani, Judge, Soto
The MLB, happy with such a suggestive tie for millions of fans, rubs its hands with a confrontation that measures the franchise with the most titles, the Yankees (27), a symbol of greatness in the United States and an emblem of the capital of the world (the logo of the crossed N and Y has been assimilated by the city as if it were its own) in front of the Dodgers (7 titles), a sports giant on the Pacific coast along with the NBA Lakers, models in the last decade in sports (It will be his fourth appearance in the World Series in eight yearswith a title, 2020) and with the Japanese phenomenon Ohtani in their ranks.
As Babe Ruth in his day but 100 years later, the Japanese is a unicorn in today’s baseball, a two-way player: pitcher and hitter. The Dodgerswho have taken great care of him due to his shoulder problems, only use him with the bat and his season of 54&51 (54 home runs and 51 stolen bases) will remain forever because no one did it before.
Soto celebrates the ‘homerun’ that gave the Yankees a place in the World Series.
And Fall Classic, which could end in the seventh game on November 1, with Ohtani (and with his compatriot Yamamotoalso in the Dodgers) would illuminate the tie (with a 2-3-2 format and start in LA) under normal conditions. But on the other side of the trench, for the ‘Bronx Bombers’‘, appear Aaron Judge y Juan Sototwo players on the runway towards the legend. Judge He reached 300 home runs before anyone else in his career. He did not need even 1,000 games (955, 132 less than Ralph Kinner, myth of the Mets, who had the record). It is one of his great records. However, the playoffs were always his cross. The time has come to make amends. As happens to Ohtani, Judge debuts in a World Series.
He Dominican Sotomeanwhile, has become the key to the resurrection of the Yankees after a weak start to the season. The one who was the youngest player to debut in the MLB (19 years and 207 days), who will be a free agent this summer (and can sign for $500 million), He already made the Nationals champion in 2019. Before going on the market, it has vindicated itself with a fantastic campaign, one more. A His home run decided the final of the Yankees-Guardians American Conference. It will be a punchers’ duel. For the first time in the history of the World Series, which has been played in this format since 1903, two players with at least 50 home runs this season, Ohtani (54) and Judge (58), will be rivals.
The Yankees’ last title, in 2009.
Emergencies
Los Yankees are eager to win the ring. It’s been 15 years since his last success. The franchise with the most titles (also the most popular), which is valued by Forbes at 7.1 billion dollars and has 47 players in the Hall of Fame (some of the myths of this sport such as Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra o Jeter), is in the third worst drought in its history. The first was after its foundation in 1901. It wasn’t champion until 1923 with Ruthwhich arrived after the transfer from Boston, and the influence of the new stadium in the Bronx, where he moved to build his empire. Until then the Yankees lived on borrowed time. The second was 18 years old (1978-1996) and the third is the current one, with the last title in 2009, in the era Throw. For a franchise accustomed to success, which made winning a habit, the title is almost a necessity.
A panoramic view of Dodger Stadium, with capacity for 55,000 spectators
The impact of the coliseum
For the Dodgerswho got off the Mets in the National League final preventing a New York derby in the World Series, winning has to do with pride because the affront with the Yankees is historic. Nobody beat them more. The rivalry dates back to the 40s of the last century when they still lived in New York and emerged in the most mundane neighborhood of the city while other rivals, the Giantsthey languished. The Yankees, dominant at that time, They won the first five World Series where they met (1941, 47, 49, 52 and 53) before in ’55, the Dodgers ended the curse on the call Subway rivalry.
This final is what people wanted, what we all wanted
Two World Series posters from the 1940s
It was after moving to Los Angeleswhich broke the hearts of baseball fans in Brooklyn, when the Dodgers, who will honor the late legend Fernando during the series Valenzuela (key in the ’81 ring) they began to add championships. His success story begins with his transfer (titles in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988 y 2020) and the impact of Dodger Stadiumwhere the series starts today with the cheapest entry at $1,007. It is a sanctuary, the largest baseball field in the United States (55,000 spectators) and the third oldest (1962) after Femway Park (from 1912, where the Boston Red Sox plays) and Wrigley Field (from 1916, owned by Chicago Cubs). This is precisely what the 2024 World Series exudes: tradition, talent and rivalry. It’s time to toast to old times.
The two teams with the most victories in the regular season meet (98, Dodgers, y 94, Yankees)curious case. In the playoffs they did not give any room for surprise. “This final is what people wanted, what we all wanted,” he said. Mookie Bettssecond baseman for the Dodgers. Baseball had this dream.
