Yankees-Dodgers World Series a monster matchup with plenty of subplots

For all the times when a scrappy, small-market team comes out of nowhere for a wild October run that captivates the sport, there is this: 

Goliath vs. Goliath. 

East vs. West. 

Yankees vs. Dodgers. 

The two iconic franchises will renew acquaintances in the World Series beginning Friday at Dodger Stadium in a matchup flush with the game’s biggest stars and plenty of rich storylines. 

“The stars will be out, the eyeballs will be watching and hopefully we can deliver on a great series,” manager Aaron Boone said Monday, a day after the Dodgers finished off the Mets in the ALCS to lock up their place in the Fall Classic. 

This will mark the 12th World Series meeting between the Yankees and Dodgers — seven of which came when the latter was playing in Brooklyn — with the Yankees holding the 8-3 advantage. But this year’s edition, the first since 1981, will make some history. 

Not including the shortened 2020 season, this is also only the second time this century that the top seed from each league has met in the World Series. 

Here’s a look at the top storylines: 

Star-studded affair 

A dream matchup for Major League Baseball pits some of the sport’s biggest stars against each other: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole versus Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. 

Of course, there are plenty of supporting actors and ensembles that helped each team get here.

But six of the game’s top 10 players will be sharing the field in this World Series. 

Judge and Ohtani are likely to be MVPs in their respective leagues after a season in which Judge led the AL with 58 home runs and Ohtani led the NL with 54.

They are responsible for the two biggest free-agent deals in MLB history (Ohtani 10 years for $700 million and Judge nine years for $360 million), though Soto will have something to say about that this offseason. 

Like Soto, both Betts and Freeman (who is playing through a sprained ankle that has limited him and kept him out of three playoff games) are former MVPs and World Series champions while Cole is the reigning AL Cy Young. 

The Yankees were missing both Soto (forearm inflammation) and Cole (elbow nerve irritation) when the teams met this June in The Bronx — the Dodgers took two of three — but they will get a chance to star on the biggest stage beginning this weekend. 

October history 

The most frequent World Series matchup is Yankees vs. Dodgers, but it has been 43 years since they last met for a championship. 

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Before this year, the league’s two most popular franchises had last dueled three times in a span of five years from 1977-1981, a rivalry that featured characters like Reggie Jackson, Tommy Lasorda, Billy Martin and Fernando Valenzuela. 

“In some ways, I’ve always had that sense being here that there’s that underlying craving for that,” Boone said of a Yankees-Dodgers World Series showdown. 

Dodger pitchers that could have been Yankees 

Last offseason, after landing Soto in a blockbuster trade, the Yankees turned their full attention to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese ace that would have completed a dream 1-2 punch of acquisitions.

Instead, he signed with the Dodgers on a 12-year, $325 million contract. 

Then at the trade deadline this year, the Yankees tried to land right-hander Jack Flaherty from the Tigers, but a deal fell apart when they had concerns about his physical (a back issue), so he ended up getting dealt to the Dodgers. 

Yamamoto and Flaherty are now the Dodgers’ top two starters this postseason (for an injury-riddled rotation). 

Managers under pressure 

During their playing days, Boone and Dave Roberts were central postseason figures in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

Now they are managers who entered the season under serious scrutiny after their teams had not played up to their potential in recent years.

But they both have their clubs clicking at the right time. 

A homecoming for the ALCS MVP 

Giancarlo Stanton grew up going to Dodger Stadium and now will head back there in the midst of another monster playoff run.

The Yankees’ veteran DH, who hails from the outskirts of Los Angeles, has crushed five home runs with a 1.179 OPS through nine games this month. 

Judge vs. Dodger Stadium 

The last time Judge played in Los Angeles, the unpadded footing of the right field wall ruined his 2023 season as he ran into it making a catch and tore a ligament in his big right toe.

The Dodgers have since added protection to the base of the wall that had been exposed concrete.