It’s October, which means it’s time for playoff baseball. This year, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers will compete in the World Series for the twelfth time, which is more World Series matchups than any team in the history of Major League Baseball. Of the eleven previous matchups, the Yankees have triumphed over the Dodgers eight times.
The first-seeded New York Yankees defeated the 5-seed Kansas City Royals and the 2-seed Cleveland Guardians to make the World Series after a .580 record during the regular season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the 4- seed San Diego Padres and the 6-seed New York Mets to advance. The Dodgers held the best record in Major League Baseball with a .605 average.
This World Series is especially exciting as both teams held the best record in their respective leagues. Both teams are stacked with talent. The New York Post projects that Aaron Judge (NYY) and Shohei Ohtani (LAD) will be their leagues’ MVP.
However, both teams have other players that help the teams thrive. On the Dodgers side, Mookie Betts has a .258 record in the postseason with 71 hits in 69 games. The Dodgers also boast Freddie Freeman, who has a .275 postseason record with 58 hits in 57 games.
The Yankees also have a lineup that thrives in the postseason. Juan Soto holds a .278 postseason average with 40 hits in 37 games. Giancarlo Stanton, who had a home run streak of five postseason games this year, bats .269 in the postseason with 35 hits in 36 games. Additionally, Gleyber Torres has been heating up since he moved into the leadoff spot in the Yankees lineup.
Both teams have thrived this year in both the regular season and the postseason. The Yankees and Dodgers have the second and third highest payrolls in the Major Leagues, making a matchup that is thrilling to watch for every baseball fan.
The Gator predicts that the New York Yankees will beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in 7 games to win their MLB-leading 28th World Series title and first World Series title since 2009. The Yankees have thrived in the postseason, with players performing at their highest caliber. Gleyber Torres is batting a whopping .297 this postseason. Unsuspecting players such as Luke Weaver, who has a 2.91 postseason ERA this year, will be integral in carrying the team to victory.
The first pitch of the World Series will be thrown tonight at 8:08 p.m. Don’t miss it.
