Does anything beat Yankees-Dodgers? Ranking the best World Series matchups since 2000

The 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees has a chance to be absolutely epic. Not only is it a matchup of the sport’s two most historic and important franchises, but it features the superstar faceoff of all World Series superstar faceoffs: Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge.

To just put that showdown in perspective: Only two other World Series featured 9-WAR position players on opposing teams — the 1909 World Series with Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb and the 1946 World Series with Stan Musial and Ted Williams.

Then we get the nostalgia factor. The Dodgers and Yankees are meeting for the 12th time in World Series history, the most common World Series matchup. Maybe they’re not exactly rivals the way they were back in the 1940s and ’50s, when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn and faced the Yankees seven times in the World Series between 1941 and 1956, or even between 1977 and 1981, when they met three times in five years. But these are the biggest brands in the sport, featuring the two biggest names in the sport.

On top of that: Both teams led their leagues in wins, a rare World Series between the actual two best teams in this era of expanded playoffs. So, yes, hype this one up. Call it epic and feel no shame in doing so.

With that in mind, let’s rank the 25 World Series matchups since 2000 to see where Yankees-Dodgers fits in. This ranking is based on hype, the quality of the teams and their star power heading into the World Series. It’s not a ranking of the quality of the World Series itself, although we’re going to include a grade on that for each matchup. Let’s get to it.

The Yankees were back in the World Series for the sixth time in eight years while the Marlins had rebuilt after their fire sale following their World Series title in 1997. Trust me when I say: Nobody wanted the Yankees in the World Series yet again. And the Marlins were merely a 91-win wild-card team. Most notably, however, both teams had spoiled the ultimate World Series by knocking off the Cubs and Red Sox — before either team had overcome its curse — in Game 7s in the LCS.

Actual World Series: C. The Marlins won Game 4 in 12 innings, when Yankees manager Joe Torre inexplicably failed to use reliever Mariano Rivera, and then 23-year-old Josh Beckett tossed a five-hit shutout in Game 6.

In an all-wild-card series, the No. 5-seeded Rangers had won 90 games and the No. 6-seeded Diamondbacks won only 84, making this the lowest combined win total in World Series history (for full seasons). The Rangers were going for their first World Series title, so there was that, and there were some fun hitters — Corey Seager, the red-hot Adolis Garcia (who had just driven in 15 runs in the ALCS) and Corbin Carroll — but it was a soft matchup on paper.

Actual World Series: D-. The series turned on Seager’s tying two-run homer off Paul Sewald in the bottom of the ninth of Game 1, which Garcia then won with a home run in the 11th. There wasn’t a single lead change after that and three of those games were blowouts.

This was the Cardinals team that got hot in September and clinched a wild-card spot on the final day of the season when the Braves blew a lead in the ninth inning and lost in extra innings. St. Louis certainly had star power with the likes of Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday but had won a World Series fairly recently (2006) while the Rangers had just been there the year before.

Actual World Series: A. The first two games were one-run games, including the Rangers pulling out a victory with two runs in the ninth. In Game 3, Pujols blasted a record-tying three home runs. Game 6 was the David Freese Game — perhaps the single most exciting baseball game ever played. Game 7 was a bit of an anticlimactic 6-2 Cardinals win.

The second-lowest combined win total in World Series history featured two wild-card teams who won fewer than 90 games. The Royals were at least a good story — in the playoffs for the first time since winning the World Series in 1985 — and had gone 8-0 in the AL playoffs, including an epic win over the A’s in the wild-card game. The Giants, however, had just won the World Series in 2010 and 2012 and this team didn’t seem nearly as good as those two.

Actual World Series: B-. Five of the games were blowouts, but it did at least go seven. It’ll be remembered for Madison Bumgarner’s historic performance: a shutout in Game 5 (the last complete game shutout in World Series history) and then five scoreless innings of relief in Game 7, getting Salvador Perez to pop out with the tying run on third to end it.

The Red Sox were only three years removed from breaking the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, so although they were still a star-laden team with David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and scrappy rookie Dustin Pedroia, they were no longer as interesting. The Rockies were a fun story, winning 14 of their final 15 games, including beating the Padres in a tiebreaker, just to win a wild-card spot. Then they went 7-0 in the NL playoffs and had won 21 of 22 entering the World Series.

Actual World Series: F. A dud. Two of the games were one-run games, but it goes down as one of the least memorable World Series of all time, with a forgettable four-game sweep.

20. 2006: St. Louis Cardinals over Detroit Tigers, 4-1

The Tigers were the story of the season. They had lost 119 games three years before and 91 just the previous year. With rookie starter Justin Verlander winning 17 games, they led the AL Central most of the season — only to lose their final five games and squeak into the playoffs as a wild-card team. The Cardinals won a weak NL Central with only 83 wins — although they at least had Pujols at his absolute peak (.331/.431/.671, 49 home runs). Both teams hadn’t won a World Series in a couple of decades: 1982 for the Cardinals, 1984 for the Tigers. Plus, it did feature two of the original 16 franchises.

Actual World Series: F. The Cardinals won one game in the bottom of the eighth, but it was otherwise a blur of nothing, most characterized by several Tigers fielding miscues by their pitchers. David Eckstein won MVP honors without hitting a home run and driving in only four runs.

The Braves were back in the World Series for the first time since 1999 — they had made 12 playoff appearances in the intervening years without making it to the Fall Classic. Still, this was the weakest of the Atlanta playoff teams of recent vintage, winning only 88 games and missing Ronald Acuña Jr. for the playoffs. The Astros, meanwhile, were back in the World Series for the third time in five years — but the first time since the 2017 sign-stealing scandal had broken in November 2019. Let’s just say not everyone wanted them there.

Actual World Series: D. This was a weird World Series. The Braves ended up going with two bullpen games (who remembers that Dylan Lee and Tucker Davidson started?) after Charlie Morton broke his leg in Game 1. Astros starters kept getting knocked out early (the only starter to go more than five innings for either team was Max Fried in the finale). Four of the games were blowouts.

18. 2012: San Francisco Giants over Detroit Tigers, 4-0

The Giants were back after winning in 2010 while the Tigers were back for the first time since 2006, featuring Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and a strong 1-2 punch in the rotation with Verlander and Max Scherzer. This was also the last World Series with that season’s MVP winners (at least until this year), with Cabrera and Buster Posey.

Actual World Series: D-. A boring sweep. Pablo Sandoval did hit three home runs in Game 1, but there were two shutouts and chilly weather in Detroit made the final two games unbearable.

17. 2013: Boston Red Sox over St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2

This one did feature the two best teams from the regular season (both won 97 games), the last time before this year we had that happen in a full season. It was also a classic original-16 matchup, although we had seen this in 2004 — plus, both teams had won recently (2007 for Boston, 2011 for St. Louis). Both were veteran teams, with Ortiz leading the Red Sox, while the Cardinals featured four .300 hitters, plus Carlos Beltran, who hit .296 and led the team in home runs.

Actual World Series: C+. Ortiz was absolutely locked in, hitting .688/.760/1.188 with two home runs and eight walks. The Cardinals were so scared of him by Game 6 that they intentionally walked him three times — with two of those helping lead to rallies and a 6-1 Red Sox victory in the final game.

This one could be No. 25 — it was during COVID after all, and it was played at a neutral site in a half-empty stadium for social distancing reasons. But it was a great matchup between the teams with the best records in each league, albeit over the shortened 60-game season. You had Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw and Randy Arozarena in the midst of one of the best individual postseasons ever, plus the small-market Rays trying to beat the big-market Dodgers.

Actual World Series: C+. Because teams were allowed an expanded roster of 28 players, it was a parade of relievers — but there were some fun games, including that bonkers ending to Game 4 and then Rays manager Kevin Cash’s controversial decision to remove Blake Snell in Game 6, which backfired in a big way.

15. 2005: Chicago White Sox over Houston Astros, 4-0

Maybe this should rate higher. After all, at the time, the White Sox were trying to break a World Series drought going back to 1917 and the Astros, born in 1962, had never won. But the White Sox drought never had the same nationwide interest as the ones for the Cubs or Red Sox (fair or not) and these weren’t particularly interesting teams. The White Sox were very good — they won 99 games — but lacked star power, with Paul Konerko their biggest name (Frank Thomas was on the team that year but played only 34 games and was injured for the playoffs). The Astros had Yankees transplants Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, but their two longtime stars, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, were at the end of their careers (Bagwell, in his final season, was relegated to DH and pinch-hitting duties).

Actual World Series: C. It’s hard to give a sweep a decent grade, but all four games were exciting, including Scott Podsednik’s walk-off home run in Game 2 (after not hitting a home run all season) and Geoff Blum’s go-ahead home run in the 14th inning to win Game 3.

The Phillies were back in the World Series for the first time since 1993 — and hadn’t won since 1980. They featured a powerful offense with Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell. The Rays were maybe the unlikeliest World Series team ever: In their 10 previous years of existence, they had not only never had a winning season but had lost at least 90 games in each one. They won 97 games that year behind rookie Evan Longoria and power-hitting first baseman Carlos Peña, with speedsters Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton in the outfield.

Actual World Series: D+. Three games were decided by one run, but it was a pretty uneventful World Series. The lasting memory is the cold and rain in Philly that forced the midgame postponement of Game 5, the only time that has happened in World Series history. The game was suspended in the sixth inning and resumed two days later.

13. 2000: New York Yankees over New York Mets, 4-1

A Subway Series — the first since the Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers met in 1956 — was certainly fun for the Big Apple, less fun for the rest of the country (it drew the worst TV ratings at the time). The Yankees were going for a third straight World Series and had officially become the Evil Empire by that point. To make it even worse, they weren’t even that good that season, winning only 87 games. The Mets were back in the World Series for the first time since 1986. There was certainly plenty of star power all around with the likes of Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza.

Actual World Series: C+. It was a tight-fought five-game series with all games decided by two runs or fewer. The turning point was the bottom of the ninth of Game 1, when the Yankees tied it off Armando Benitez and went on to win in 12 innings. Game 2 featured the infamous Clemens-Piazza bat-throwing incident, and the Yankees won the clincher with two runs in the ninth off a tired Al Leiter.

12. 2022: Houston Astros over Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2

I know, the Astros … again. Boo. But this was an absolute powerhouse of a team with 106 wins and stars such as Yordan Alvarez (1.019 OPS) and Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA), plus the old standbys Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman. The Phillies, meanwhile, snuck in as a wild-card team for their first playoff trip since 2011 but were an immensely entertaining team with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber & Co., as well as a rabid fan base cheering them on.

Actual World Series: C. The Phillies won 6-5 in Game 1 on J.T. Realmuto‘s home run in the 10th inning. They took a 2-1 series lead but then their bats died. Astros pitchers tossed a combined no-hitter to even the series and Houston won the final two games 3-2 and 4-1, with Alvarez’s three-run blast in Game 6 the deciding blow.

11. 2015: Kansas City Royals over New York Mets, 4-1

The Royals proved their 2014 World Series appearance was no fluke, winning 95 games with a better team that included trade-deadline additions Ben Zobrist and Johnny Cueto. The Mets won the NL East behind a young, powerful rotation that featured Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom. It was a fun matchup of teams trying to avoid lengthy title droughts — 30 years for the Royals, 29 for the Mets.

Actual World Series: C+. It only went five games, but the Royals won the opener in 14 innings, won Game 5 with a three-run eighth inning and then won the clincher in 12 innings — after Mets manager Terry Collins’ ill-fated decision to leave in Harvey to start the ninth with a 2-0 lead.

10. 2010: San Francisco Giants over Texas Rangers, 4-1

This was a super entertaining showdown at the time. The Giants had yet to win a World Series in San Francisco and featured Tim Lincecum (“The Freak,” for his small stature and overpowering stature) and two rookies named Posey and Bumgarner. The Rangers had never won a championship and featured AL MVP Josh Hamilton and veteran DH Vladimir Guerrero. Both teams had pulled off upsets in the LCS, with the Giants beating the Phillies and the Rangers beating the Yankees.

Actual World Series: D. Meh. The Giants won the opener in a blowout as the Rangers made four errors and then tossed shutouts in Games 2 (behind Matt Cain) and 4 (behind Bumgarner). You can test Giants fans by asking them who won World Series MVP honors that year. Answer: Edgar Renteria (he hit .412 with two home runs and six RBIs).

Remember, this happened before the sign-stealing scandal changed how we view this era of the Astros. They had won 107 games behind the pitching duo of Verlander and Gerrit Cole and four players who mashed 30-plus home runs (which didn’t even include Alvarez, a rookie that year). The Nationals were a wild-card team that had overcome a 19-31 season start to win 93 games and featured a starting pitching trio of Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin (and 20-year-old sensation Juan Soto, who hit 34 home runs).

Actual World Series: B-. It went seven games — the road team would win all seven — although five of the games weren’t close. The best game was the last one: The Nationals went ahead 3-2 in the seventh inning on Anthony Rendon‘s home run and then Howie Kendrick’s go-ahead home run just inside the right-field foul pole.

8. 2002: Anaheim Angels over San Francisco Giants, 4-3

The Angels, who joined the majors in 1961, were making their first World Series appearance, while the Giants, in the Bay Area since 1958, were trying to win their first title since moving from New York. You had Barry Bonds at the height of his unstoppable powers — and trying to erase his own postseason demons — while the Angels had a loaded lineup (Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson), the Rally Monkey and those deafening ThunderStix (let us pray they never return).

Actual World Series: A. Bonds was a beast, hitting .471/.700/1.294 (yes, that’s a 1.994 OPS), but it wasn’t enough. This series featured four one-run games, including a wild 11-10 contest and the classic Game 6, when the Angels rallied late from a 5-0 deficit to win 6-5. Game 7 was a drab 4-1 contest (Bonds went a harmless 1-for-3).

7. 2009: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2

The Yankees had missed the playoffs in 2008 for the first time since 1993, so they went out and signed free agents CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett to add to an already stacked roster that included Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Johnny Damon. Whoa. Yes, they were still the Evil Empire. The Phillies, trying to defend their title, had traded for Cliff Lee and then signed Pedro Martinez in July to bolster their rotation.

Actual World Series: C. It could have been a classic battle, but there were no one-run games and Game 6 — Martinez’s final start of his career — was over early. The crucial contest was Game 4, when the Yankees scored three runs in the ninth off Phillies closer Brad Lidge to win 7-4.

6. 2001: Arizona Diamondbacks over New York Yankees, 4-3

This one presented conflicting emotions. The Yankees were going for an unthinkable fourth straight title, but in the wake of 9/11, there was a “Win it for New York” angle that the Yankees had never encountered. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, had the big, bad duo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, with Schilling, when asked on the eve of the World Series about the Yankees’ mystique and aura, giving one of the great quips in World Series history: “Mystique and Aura? Those are dancers at a nightclub.” The Diamondbacks were not going to be intimidated.

Actual World Series: A+. Four one-run games, including three of the most memorable World Series moments ever: Jeter’s Mr. November home run to win Game 4, Scott Brosius’ walk-off home run to win Game 5 and then Luis Gonzalez’s bloop single to beat the invincible Mariano Rivera in Game 7.

5. 2018: Boston Red Sox over Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1

Two of baseball’s most historic franchises had never met in a World Series, creating the classic showdown with games in Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium. It doesn’t get any better than that. The Red Sox were a 108-win powerhouse — with AL MVP Mookie Betts leading the way, backed up by J.D. Martinez, who hit .330 with 43 home runs that season. Chris Sale and David Price headlined the rotation. The Dodgers actually had a bit of a down year with 92 wins, but they also weren’t lacking in big names, with Manny Machado (a trade deadline acquisition), Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner, with Kershaw and rookie Walker Buehler on the pitching side.

Actual World Series: C-. A letdown. The first two games in Fenway were cold and windy. Game 3 was an 18-inning affair — longest in World Series history — but was more of a slog than a game to remember. Game 4 was the best of the series as the Red Sox rallied with nine runs over the final three innings to win 9-6.

4. 2017: Houston Astros over Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3

This series had it all: dominant teams (both won over 100 games), long World Series title droughts (never for the Astros, 1988 for the Dodgers) and superstars galore (Altuve, Verlander, Carlos Correa, Kershaw, Seager, Bellinger, Yu Darvish). We didn’t know at the time that both franchises were just kicking off 100-win dynasties — let alone what the Astros were doing behind the scenes — but the anticipation level was off the charts for the first matchup of 100-win teams in the World Series since 1970.

Actual World Series: A-. Game 1, with a start-time temperature of 103 degrees at Dodger Stadium, was a Kershaw 11-strikeout gem. The Astros tied Game 2 in the ninth on Marwin Gonzalez’s home run off Kenley Jansen (1.32 ERA that season), both teams scored twice in the 10th, the Astros scored twice in the 11th on George Springer’s home run and held on for a 7-6 win. Game 4 featured a five-run rally in the ninth by the Dodgers to win. Game 5 was completely bananas, with the Astros finally winning 13-12 in 10 innings. Game 7 was a letdown though, as the Astros won a 5-1 snoozer in which they scored five runs off Darvish in the first two innings.

3. 2024: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

As mentioned, what’s not to like? Aside from Ohtani and Judge each playing in their first World Series and trying to put a final stamp on their legacy-defining seasons, we have Juan Soto and Mookie Betts, a suddenly rejuvenated Giancarlo Stanton and a hobbled Freddie Freeman (only raising the drama if he hits well), Gerrit Cole and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Aside from the history between the clubs, we have both clubs needing to rewrite their recent history: The Yankees, back in the World Series for the first time since 2009, and the Dodgers trying to add a more legitimate championship to the one they won in the COVID-shortened season.

Actual World Series: To be determined.

2. 2004: Boston Red Sox over St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0

The Red Sox were coming off their never-done-before comeback from down 3-0 to beat the Yankees in the ALCS — and still had to beat a 105-win Cardinals team that featured Pujols (.331, 46 home runs), Jim Edmonds (.301, 42 home runs) and Scott Rolen (.314, 34 home runs), plus in-season pickup Larry Walker, who had an OPS over 1.000 that year. The Red Sox had their own ridiculous lineup with Ortiz (.301, 41 home runs), Ramirez (.308, 43 home runs) and Damon (.304, 20 home runs) plus a rotation with Schilling and Martinez. It seems inevitable now that Boston was going to win, but that wasn’t the case at the time, so the buildup was intense.

Actual World Series: D. Blah. I mean, Red Sox fans will rightfully call it the best World Series ever, but after a sloppy 11-9 Game 1 played in a drizzle at Fenway (the Red Sox won despite committing four errors), the Cardinals never led again.

The Cubs had not only not won since 1908, but they hadn’t even been in a World Series since 1945. The Guardians, meanwhile, had the second-longest drought of the original 16 teams, without a title since 1948. That was enough right there to build up the anticipation, but this also rates high because it was two good teams — Chicago won 104 games while Cleveland won 94. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant won MVP honors that year and Cleveland was led by 18-game winner Corey Kluber (who would start three times) and young rising stars Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.

Actual World Series: B. The first six games weren’t anything too special, but Game 7 was one of the greatest in World Series history. Cleveland tied it on Rajai Davis’ three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, the Cubs scored twice in the 10th — following a stress-filled rain delay — and escaped with an 8-7, curse-ending win when Cleveland had to bat little-used Michael Martinez with its season on the line.