Credit: The Score
Who Brings Home the 2024 World Series Pennant? (My Prediction)
Published: Thursday, October 24, 2024
by Matthew Nazario
The time has come for the annual fall classic, the World Series! A postseason filled to the brim with memorable moments, playoff heroes (for some fans, playoff villains), triumphs and heartbreaks, all of which have led up to this. The stage is set: the New York Yankees will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers for the right to call themselves the 2024 World Series Champions.
Not only with two of the most storied franchises in baseball, but we may be witnessing a rare MVP vs. MVP World Series matchup between Aaron Judge (AL) and Shohei Ohtani (NL) depending on how voting goes. East versus West, the Boogie Down Bronx versus the City of Angels, and quite possibly the most intriguing World Series matchup in the history of the sport. Both teams began the season with aspirations of championship glory, and now both are only four wins away from reaching the promised land.
American League Champions: New York Yankees
For the first time since 2009, the Yankees make their much-anticipated return to the fall classic. Since their 2009 World Series title, it has been a bit of tough sledding for the Bronx Bombers. They managed 10 playoff appearances, including three visits to the American League Championship Series, with no World Series titles to show for it. They were simply never able to make the extra play, move, run, or leap towards another World Series run and secure the mythical title 28. In a place like New York especially, anything short of championship glory is almost always considered a failure.
The Yankees punched their ticket to the World Series with a 4-1 series win against the Cleveland Guardians. To the credit of the Cleveland Guardians, however, the 4-1 series defeat was not indicative of how competitive they were in most of these games. However, the Guardians’ season-long run scoring issues were amplified by the Yankees’ offensive firepower, as their league-best bullpen were completely overwhelmed by the Bronx Bombers.
After missing the playoffs during their 2023 campaign, the Yankees made a huge splash over the winter by acquiring outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. If his regular season .288 average, 41 home runs, 109 RBI and .989 OPS, which helped the Yankees win 94 games, was not enough of an indicator already, Soto proved to everyone this postseason that he is worth every penny he is paid wherever he ends up signing in the offseason.
Soto has bat .333 with three home runs in the 2024 postseason so far, providing excellent defense in right field as well as incredibly timely hitting, including his game winning three-run homer to defeat the Guardians 5-2 in their series finale. Soto has been nothing short of electrifying, and has Yankee fans everywhere doing the Soto Shuffle in their living rooms.
Much to the delight of Yankee fans, Giancarlo Stanton proved how valuable of an asset he can be to the team when he is in on a roll. Since acquiring Stanton in 2017, his time in the Bronx has been incredibly mixed. Filled with injuries, hitting slumps and coming off arguably his worst season in the Majors last year, many Yankee fans seemed to be fed up with him.
In an incredible turn of events, Stanton has wiped off the grime that was his last few seasons with a dominant 2024 post season, displaying the traits many Yankee fans hoped to see from him when he was traded all those years ago. The 2024 ALCS MVP had seven RBIs including four home runs against the Guardians, including a two-run homer in the series to clinch game five.
Somewhat of a similar theme can be applied to Gleyber Torres, who took the plentiful amounts of criticism he received from the Yankee faithful and turned it into some incredible play batting from the leadoff spot. He has been setting the tone early and often, along with Soto, in many games for the Yankees this postseason.
The Yankees path through the American League Playoffs has largely been without the normally explosive hitting of superstar Aaron Judge. He still has shining moments, with two home runs including a two-run homer that sent Yankee Stadium into a frenzy in game two. However, it feels as though Judge truly has not reached his full potential in the postseason just yet.
He has bat .161 with and struck out 13 times in the nine playoff games the Yankees have competed in so far. His 58 homerun, MVP level season has not totally translated to post season dominance, at least so far, which creates an interesting point of interest heading into the fall classic. If Aaron Judge can break through even further and bring the explosiveness we are so used to seeing from him, fans are certainly in for an offensive spectacle from the Bronx Bombers.
It is equally as impressive for the Yankees as it is terrifying for the Dodgers that Judge has not truly found rhythm in the playoffs so far. The Yankees only scored an average of 4.8 runs per game and have made it all the way to the World Series. While it may not be the dominant offensive march through October many had hoped from them, it is still something to be incredibly proud of, considering the quality of their opponent’s pitching staff in the Royals and Guardians.
Even more so, the fact that their bullpen that had its fair share of questions heading into October was able to, aside from a few hiccups, hold down the fort and give the offense opportunities to win.
National League Champions: Los Angeles Dodgers
With 12 consecutive visits to the postseason, including three National League Pennants and one World Series championship in 2020, the Dodgers are back under the bright lights of the fall classic once again. Los Angeles put an end to the Mets fairytale season in six games during the NLCS, outscoring the Mets 50-26 runs with their juggernaut of an offensive unit.
The signings of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernandez over the winter rounded out what was the most complete roster in the majors in 2024. Los Angeles marched their way through the MLB Playoffs but not without its challenges, as they were pushed by the Padres to a game five and the Mets placed the Dodgers in quite a few bases loaded scares throughout their series. However, it is truly a testament to how complete the Dodgers are as a team.
The much-anticipated playoff debut of potential NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, similarly to Aaron Judge, has not quite been at the levels many expected. In all fairness, he drew 11 walks, with 10 timely RBIs and three home runs, but he also has also struck out 17 times.
While Mookie Betts (with four home runs in his own right) and Shohei Ohtani eventually found their stride in the series against the Mets, the power bats of both Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández went almost radio silent, with Hernandez being hitless in the NLCS prior to the clinching game six. While this may sound like a sign of weakness in what is supposed to be a stacked top of the order, thankfully the bottom of the order has been able to deliver in great amounts.
Quite often in the playoffs of any sport, we see certain players step up in important situations when their team is in dire need of help. These playoff legends make their way into the hearts of fans everywhere because of their heroics. In the case of the Dodgers, their overwhelming amount of team depth and postseason heroes was on full display during this postseason, in particular their NLCS versus the Mets.
Acquired at the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals, centerfielder Tommy Edman won the hearts of Dodgers everywhere with his performance in the NLCS; he has been batting .341 this postseason and hit the first of two dagger home runs for Los Angeles to help seal their trip to the World Series.
Longtime Dodgers staples Kike Hernández, who continued to build on his reputation as “Playoff Kike”, as well as slugger Max Muncy have both helped to pick up the slack left behind by the top of the order. Even rookie Andy Pages has begun to breakout in the last few games of the NLCS, including a two-homer performance in their loss in game five, which is certainly a positive to build on in a series where they will need all the help they can get.
Los Angeles has overwhelmed their opposition with their incredible amounts of depth all season, and their playoff journey so far has been no different. The bullpen had its ups and downs against both the Padres and Mets but were able to find their own brand of postseason magic in the NLCS finale. A complete bullpen pitched game, sealed by veteran Blake Treinen in the ninth, was a much-needed confidence boost in preparation to face the always-dangerous New York Yankees.
Similarly to the Yankees, it feels as though we have only scratched the surface of what the Dodgers can do on offense, which is incredibly exciting considering how explosive they have been despite struggles in the order.
Who brings home the World Series Pennant? / My Prediction
Historically, both teams are no strangers to the spotlight and national attention; two large market teams filled to the brim with championship glory and a catalog of hall of famers large enough to have its own encyclopedia. In recent times though, the Dodgers and Yankees seem to be historic franchises who continuously fall short of their ultimate endgame of a championship, watching the rest of the league splurge on riches that were once theirs.
Despite the many post-season meltdowns and shortcomings in Dave Roberts’ time managing Los Angeles, they have been a consistent staple of the MLB postseason for over a decade now, and did win their seventh World Series back in 2020. While a title within the last few years is always great for fanbase morale and the city, it still feels as though it is not enough.
As I had mentioned previously, the Dodgers, with 12 straight playoff appearances only had three NL pennants and just one World Series to show for it. This matchup with the Yankees represents so much more than just title number eight for Los Angeles; it represents an opportunity to truly solidify their dynasty and place a vice grip on the rest of the league. Especially with their new posterchild of international baseball in Shohei Ohtani, a championship can officially reestablish the Dodgers on top of baseball’s food chain.
As for the Yankees, it has been 15 years since their last trip to the World Series and they need to absolutely make this trip count. The American League from here on out will only continue to improve, and with many powerhouses such as the Orioles and Astros being bounced from the playoffs early, it provided the Yankees an opportunity of a lifetime to not have to encounter any ghosts of the past on their way to the fall classic.
This is a series that is not only for their 28th title, but for a city that has not experienced much, if any championship glory over the last decade or so. Prior to the New York Liberty’s recently won 2024 WNBA Championship (huge shoutout to them), the city of New York has not experienced a major sport championship ever since the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012. A long road of trash cans and Astros, playoff losses to divisional rivals such as the Rays and Red Sox, and contention windows seemingly passing them by have all led up to this.
A Yankees win would not only bring the Bronx its 28th World Series pennant, but also prestige back to a franchise that has been the punchline of playoff jokes for the better part of a decade. Perhaps a win could even be the start of a Yankee dynasty depending on where Juan Soto will sign over the offseason.
One thing is for certain; this clash of baseball titans will be an iconic matchup when all has concluded. Fans know that all it takes is a swing and a drive to change the course of baseball history. Simply put, the team that has the best ability to make the extra clutch hit or catch will be your winner.
For whatever reason, I have this strange, gut feeling that this team will be the New York Yankees. Any time I have doubted the Yankees during their 2024 campaign, they have continued to prove me wrong, which is something I am willing to own up to. While I cannot imagine this series goes less than six games, when all is said and done, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” will be blaring from the speakers of Yankee fans everywhere, as the Bronx Bombers win their 28th World Series.
My Prediction: New York Yankees win in seven games.
Matthew Nazario can be reached at matthew.nazario@student.shu.edu.Posted in: sports,