The Dodgers and Yankees entered the 2024 MLB postseason as the top seeds in their respective leagues. The Dodgers had home-field advantage in the series due to their better regular season win-loss record. It was the 12th time in the Dodgers–Yankees rivalry that the teams have met in the World Series, but only the first instance since 1981. Coming into the series, the two teams had played 66 World Series games against each other all-time, in which the Yankees had a 37–29 record along with an 8–3 World Series record.[5][6] The 66 head-to-head World Series games was the most between any two teams by far, with the second most being 43 games between the Yankees and the Brooklyn/San Francisco Giants.[7] The teams had previously faced each other at least once per decade from the 1940s through the 1980s. The Yankees held a 6–1 edge in the World Series rivalry during the Brooklyn Dodgers/Subway Series era, and the teams were 2–2 following the Dodgers' relocation to Los Angeles. In their 2024 World Series meeting, the Dodgers took a 3–0 series lead before losing Game 4 in New York. They would win their eighth World Series title the next day, coming back from a 5–0 deficit, a record for most runs to come from behind in a World Series-clinching game.[8]
This series marked the twelfth World Series meeting between the Dodgers and Yankees and the first since 1981.[9] It was also the thirteenth meeting between teams from New York City and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship. This previously happened in four World Series (1963, 1977, 1978, 1981), three NBA Finals (1970, 1972, and 1973) and the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals.[10] Following the 2024 World Series, LA teams held a five to four advantage over New York City teams in terms of championship matchups between the two cities.
Additionally, this World Series was contested between the two eventual winners of the most valuable player (MVP) awards in their respective leagues: Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers.[11] This was the first World Series since 2012 (when Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants faced Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers) to feature the two league MVPs from that season. Judge won the American League (AL) MVP Award in 2022, while Ohtani won two AL MVP awards unanimously with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2023. During the 2024 regular season, Judge hit 58 home runs while Ohtani hit 54 during his 50–50 season, meaning that this is the first time in Major League Baseball history that two batters who hit 50 home runs in the same regular season are playing against each other in the World Series.[12] Because of the renewal of the rivalry between the two storied franchises, and the World Series debuts of both Ohtani and Judge, many regarded the matchup as a "dream" World Series in the lead-up to the event.[13][14][15]
The Dodgers won a three-game series against the Yankees in June in New York, winning the first two games before dropping the finale, though Juan Soto did not appear in the series.[16]
This was the first World Series to feature the teams with the best record in each league since the 2020 World Series. This was just the fifth time in the Wild Card era (1995–present) where both teams with the best record in each league faced each other in the World Series.[17]
Shohei Ohtani became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.
After back-to-back upset losses to division rivals in the postseason in 2022 and 2023, the Dodgers looked to reshape their roster. In the off-season, they signed superstar two-way player Shohei Ohtani to a record $700million, 10 year contract.[18] Other big additions were signing outfielder Teoscar Hernández and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (from Japan through the posting system) and trading for starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow. During the regular season, the Dodgers were not quite as dominant as previous years due to various pitching injuries, a two-month hand injury to Mookie Betts, and a three-month abdominal injury to Max Muncy, failing to win 100 games for the first time in a full season since 2018. However, they still achieved the best win-loss record in the majors that year and won the National League West. They qualified for the postseason for the 12th consecutive season, dating back to 2013, the third-longest streak in MLB history.[19]
Although Ohtani could not pitch in 2024 due to elbow surgery, he was tremendously successful as a batter and baserunner. Playing at designated hitter, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to break the 50 home runs, 50 stolen bases barrier in a single season. He also surpassed Shawn Green's Dodgers single-season home run record with 54 home runs. At the All-Star Game, the Dodgers sent six players—Ohtani, Betts, Hernández, Glasnow, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith.[20] At the trade deadline, the Dodgers added starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, set-up reliever Michael Kopech, and utility player Tommy Edman;[21] Edman won the NLCS MVP Award after recording 11 runs batted in (RBIs) in the series.[22]
In the National League Division Series, the Dodgers faced a 2–1 deficit to their division rivalSan Diego Padres before rallying to take the series in five games. In the National League Championship Series, they defeated the New York Mets in six games to win their 25th pennant in franchise history and return to the World Series for the first time since their championship season in 2020, and the fourth time in eight years (2017–2018, 2020, and 2024).[23][24] The Dodgers were just the second team in MLB history to face the two New York baseball teams in a single postseason, following the 1999 Braves. The Dodgers were looking to win their eighth World Series title.[25]
For the Dodgers, 2024 marked the World Series debuts of Ohtani, Yamamoto, T. Hernández, and Edman. Freddie Freeman and Will Smith made their second World Series appearances. Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, and Walker Buehler made their third World Series appearances. Freeman, Smith, Muncy, and Buehler were seeking their second World Series championships, with the former having won with the Braves in 2021 and the latter two having won with the Dodgers in 2020, while Betts was seeking his third World Series championship and the second with the Dodgers, having won with the Red Sox in 2018 and with the Dodgers in 2020. Dave Roberts, in his ninth year as a manager for the Dodgers, was seeking his second World Series championship as a manager, and third overall.[26]
The Dodgers also announced plans to use the World Series games at Dodger Stadium to pay tribute to former pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who died shortly before the 2024 World Series and who was vital to the team's 1981 championship season.[27][28]
Giancarlo Stanton won the ALCS MVP award with four home runs and seven RBIs. This World Series marked the debut of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gleyber Torres, while Gerrit Cole, Juan Soto, and Anthony Rizzo returned to the World Series for the second time in their careers. Rizzo and Soto were seeking second career World Series championship, having won with the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals, respectively, while Cole was seeking his first championship after the Houston Astros lost in 2019.[35]Aaron Boone, in his seventh season as a manager for the Yankees, was seeking his first World Series win as a manager.[36] The Yankees were looking to win their league-leading 28th World Series championship title.[37]
Summary
Los Angeles won the series, 4–1.
Game
Date
Score
Location
Time
Attendance
1
October 25
New York Yankees – 3, Los Angeles Dodgers – 6 (10)
The two starters, Flaherty and Cole, kept the game scoreless through the first four innings. After Enrique Hernández hit a triple in the bottom of the fifth inning, he scored the game's first run via a sacrifice fly by Will Smith. In the top of the sixth, Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run home run after a Juan Soto walk, giving the Yankees a 2–1 lead and knocking Flaherty out of the game. Cole was removed from the game after giving up a leadoff single to Teoscar Hernández in the seventh. In the bottom of the eighth, Shohei Ohtani hit a ball off the top of the outfield wall and reached second base, but Juan Soto's throw got away from second baseman Gleyber Torres, and Ohtani advanced to third base. The next batter, Mookie Betts, hit a sacrifice fly to score Ohtani and tie the game.[46]
In the top of the ninth, Michael Kopech was sent in by Roberts to close out the ninth inning. He got the first two batters he faced to ground out but then gave up a hit to Torres that was caught at the wall by a fan. Instead of a home run, he was awarded second base on a fan interference call, and the game remained tied at 2–2. After a review, the call was upheld. After intentionally walking Juan Soto, Kopech was removed from the game and replaced by Blake Treinen, who got Aaron Judge to pop out, ending the inning. Yankees closer Luke Weaver pitched a perfect inning in the bottom of the ninth, sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Treinen gave up a one-out single to Jazz Chisholm Jr. who then stole second base. Anthony Rizzo was intentionally walked, and Chisholm Jr. stole third. The next batter, Anthony Volpe, hit an RBI force-out that was bobbled by Tommy Edman, allowing Chisholm Jr. to score the go-ahead run, giving the Yankees a 3–2 lead.[46]
With the Yankees leading by a run, reliever Jake Cousins was sent in to pitch the last three outs. He got Smith to fly out, then walked Gavin Lux. Edman followed with an infield single to put runners on first and second with one out. Cousins was then removed from the game and replaced with Nestor Cortés Jr., who hadn't pitched since September 18. Cortés Jr. first faced Ohtani, who hit a ball into foul territory that was caught by a leaping Alex Verdugo, who toppled into the front row of the stands. Because Verdugo went out of play with the ball, the runners were awarded one base, advancing them to second and third. With the Dodgers down to their final out, the Yankees intentionally walked Betts, thus loading the bases and bringing Freddie Freeman to the plate. On the first pitch, Freeman hit a walk-offgrand slam over the right field wall, winning Game 1 for Los Angeles. This is the third consecutive World Series Game 1 to be decided in extra innings, after it previously occurred in 2022 and 2023.[47]
Freeman's homer was the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history as well as the third Series walk-off homer of any kind for a team that was trailing, following Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993 and Kirk Gibson's Game 1-winning home run for the Dodgers in 1988.[48] In particular, Freeman's home run was widely compared to Gibson's off the Athletics' Dennis Eckersley, as both players were playing through injuries at the time and the Dodgers were down by a run and down to their last out in Game 1 of the World Series.[49]Fox broadcaster Joe Davis' call of "...she is gone!" echoed that of legendary Dodgers and then-NBC broadcaster Vin Scully for the Gibson homer, and Davis also added, "Gibby, meet Freddie!" Both Gibson's and Freeman's home runs were to right field at Dodger Stadium in almost the same spot and both came at 8:37 PM Pacific Time. Game 1 has been widely referred to as one of the greatest World Series games of all time.[50][51][52]
Game 2
Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up only one hit through six innings in his World Series debut.
October 26, 2024 5:15pm (PDT) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California 77 °F (25 °C), Partly Cloudy
In the bottom of the second inning, Tommy Edman hit a solo home run off Rodón as the Dodgers took a 1–0 lead. Juan Soto hit a solo home run off Yamamoto in the top of the third inning to tie the game. In the bottom of the inning, Mookie Betts hit a single followed by a Teoscar Hernández two-run home run and a solo home run by Freddie Freeman to give the Dodgers a 4–1 lead. Yamamoto allowed only one hit in 6+1⁄3 innings in his start. In the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, Shohei Ohtani had a left shoulder subluxation when he slid in his steal attempt at second base, as he was caught stealing to end the seventh inning; he lay at second base in pain until his trainer tended him to leave the field.[56] With the Dodgers leading by three runs, Blake Treinen was sent in to close out the game in the top of the ninth. He gave up a leadoff single to Soto, who advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Aaron Judge struck out, Giancarlo Stanton hit a ground ball that bounced off the third base bag and into the outfield, scoring Soto. The Yankees then loaded the bases with an Anthony Rizzo hit-by-pitch and Jazz Chisholm Jr. single, but Volpe struck out for the second out. After the Volpe at-bat, Treinen was replaced with Alex Vesia, who got pinch-hitter Jose Trevino to fly out on the first pitch, ending the game and giving Los Angeles a 2–0 series lead.[57]
In the top of the first inning, after Shohei Ohtani's leadoff walk, Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run, tying a record by homering in his fifth straight World Series game going back to the 2021 World Series, where he appeared as a member of the Atlanta Braves.[63] In the top of the third inning, Tommy Edman led off with a walk, advanced on a groundout and then scored on a single by Mookie Betts. The Dodgers threatened again in the fourth with runners at first and third and no outs, but the rally was thwarted when Gavin Lux was tagged out on a close play at home on an attempted squeeze bunt by Edman. In the bottom half of the inning, Giancarlo Stanton doubled and tried to score on Anthony Volpe's single, but he was also cut down at the plate via an accurate throw by left fielder Teoscar Hernandez to keep the Yankees off the board.
The Dodgers added another run in the sixth inning when Gavin Lux was hit by a Jake Cousins pitch, stole second base, and scored on a single by Enrique Hernández. The Yankees left five runners on base over the next three innings before Alex Verdugo followed an Anthony Rizzo single with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to cut the Los Angeles lead in half at 4–2. However, the next batter, Gleyber Torres, grounded out to end the game and give the Dodgers a 3–0 series lead. Buehler pitched five scoreless innings in the game for the Dodgers to receive the win.[58]
Game 4
Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam and stole two bases in Game 4, the first time in World Series history the feat was accomplished.[64]
In the top of the first inning, Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run, breaking the record he had tied in the previous game with the sixth consecutive World Series game he had homered in.[68] In the bottom of the first inning, Gleyber Torres flied out to right fielder Mookie Betts in foul territory for the first out of the inning. As he leapt to make the catch against the wall, Betts was accosted by two Yankees fans who attempted to strip the ball from his glove. The fans were ejected from the stadium and banned from the rest of the series.[69] The Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the second inning after Anthony Volpe drew a walk, Austin Wells hit a double, and Alex Verdugo hit an RBI groundout. In the bottom of the third inning, Volpe hit a two-out grand slam off of Daniel Hudson to give the Yankees a 5–2 lead. Will Smith hit a home run for the Dodgers in the fifth inning to cut the lead to two runs. Later that inning, Tommy Edman scored when Freeman beat out a fielder's choice to first base after the Dodgers won a review challenge on what had originally been called an inning-ending double play. Wells hit a solo home run for the Yankees in the sixth inning to increase the lead to two. The Yankees scored five more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning off Dodger reliever Brett Honeywell Jr. on an RBI fielder's choice by Verdugo, a three-run home run by Gleyber Torres, and an RBI single by Aaron Judge, extending the lead to 11–4. Tim Mayza closed out Game 4[70] to make the Yankees the first team since the Cincinnati Reds in 1970 to force a fifth game and avoid being swept after having lost the first three games in a World Series.[71]
Game 5
Game 5's winning pitcher Blake Treinen (pictured with the Washington Nationals) pitched 2+1⁄3 innings of relief, the most innings he had pitched in a game since 2018.[72]
After being limited by Flaherty in Game 1, the Yankees' offense started very quickly in Game 5, scoring the first runs for the first time in the series. In the bottom of the first inning, Juan Soto drew a walk, which was followed by a first-pitch two-run home run by Aaron Judge and a solo home run by Jazz Chisholm Jr. to give the Yankees an early 3–0 advantage. In the bottom of the second, Anthony Volpe hit a double and scored on an RBI single by Alex Verdugo, extending the Yankees' lead to 4–0, and chasing Flaherty from the game after just four outs. Giancarlo Stanton led off the third inning with a first-pitch solo home run off Ryan Brasier, pushing the Yankees' lead to 5–0.[76] Through four innings, Cole held the Dodgers hitless and allowed just two walks.
In the fifth, the Yankees committed a series of errors and defensive mistakes that allowed the Dodgers to tie the score. After a leadoff single by Kiké Hernandez, Judge committed his first error of the season, dropping a routine fly ball off the bat of Tommy Edman that put runners on first and second. Anthony Volpe then committed a throwing error while trying to throw out Hernandez at third on Will Smith's ground ball, which loaded the bases with no outs. Cole responded by striking out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani, but a slow ground ball from Mookie Betts resulted in an RBI infield single when first baseman Anthony Rizzo did not charge the bag after fielding the ball and Cole did not cover first base; had this play been made, the inning would have ended with no runs scored. With the Dodgers' deficit now 5–1 and the bases still loaded, Freddie Freeman then hit a two-run single and Teoscar Hernández a two-run double, tying the game at 5–all, with all five runs unearned.
The Yankees continued to put traffic on, forcing the Dodgers to burn through relievers. In the bottom of the fifth, Alex Vesia escaped a two-out bases-loaded jam to keep the game tied at 5–5. In the bottom of the sixth, Brusdar Graterol allowed the first two Yankees to reach on walks, with the lead runner Soto scoring two batters later on a Stanton sacrifice fly to give the Yankees the lead again at 6–5. Blake Treinen, the Dodgers' closer, entered to record the final out of the sixth and retire the side in the seventh. On the other side, Cole remained in for the Yankees for another 1+2⁄3 innings to help the Yankees reach the eighth inning with the lead.
In the top of the eighth, the Yankees sent in reliever Tommy Kahnle, who had not allowed an earned run in eight postseason games. Hernandez once again led off with a single, Edman followed with a broken-bat infield single, and Will Smith followed with a four-pitch walk. With the bases loaded, Kahnle was relieved by Luke Weaver, pitching in his third straight game. Weaver allowed a Gavin Lux sacrifice fly that scored Hernández, tying the game at 6–6, which moved Edman to third. Shohei Ohtani next reached on a catcher's interference, once again loading the bases. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Betts hit a sacrifice fly to score Edman, giving the Dodgers a 7–6 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Treinen allowed a one-out double to Judge and a walk, but induced a flyout to Stanton and struck out Rizzo to complete 2+1⁄3 scoreless innings of relief in his longest outing of the season. With the Dodgers still maintaining a one-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, and with very few remaining bullpen options available, Dave Roberts called on Game 3 starter Walker Buehler to close out the game and season. Buehler, on one day's rest, pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo for the final two outs and clinching the title for Los Angeles.[77]
With the win, the Dodgers won their eighth World Series championship in franchise history,[76] tying their longtime rivals the San Francisco Giants for the second-most among National League clubs and the fifth-most overall. The Dodgers joined their 2020 team, the 2018 Red Sox, the 2016 Cubs, the 2013 Red Sox, the 2009 Yankees, the 2007 Red Sox, and the 1998 Yankees as teams to win a World Series after having the best regular-season record in MLB in the wild card era.[78] The Dodgers also set the record for most runs to come from behind from in a clinching game.[79] The World Series MVP Award went to Freeman, the first player to homer in the first four games and hit a walk-off grand slam in the World Series. His 12 RBIs tied the World Series record set in 1960 by Bobby Richardson.[80][81] Freeman became the 12th player to win regular season MVP and World Series MVP in a career, having previously won a regular season MVP in 2020.[82]
MLB International provided television coverage outside of the United States, using feeds remotely produced by MLB Network. Dave Flemming (play-by-play) and Ryan Spilborghs (color commentator) were the English-language commentators. Univision aired Game 1 in Spanish for its first World Series telecast, after its sister network UniMás carried both the ALDS and ALCS in their entirety.[84]
Fox announced that the World Series delivered a combined average domestic viewership (on Fox, Fox Deportes, and streaming) of 15.8 million, a 67% increase from the previous year. The figures included a 53 share in Los Angeles, a 41 share in New York, and a 41 share in San Diego.[86]
Through the first two games, Japan averaged about 15 million viewers per game, exceeding the United States.[87] Interest was driven by Ohtani, who won his first World Series in his first MLB playoff appearance after six playoff-less seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.[88] Japanese ratings fell during Games 3-5, but the World Series still drew an average of 12.9 million Japanese viewers.[86]
The U.S. viewership numbers in the game-by-game table below do not include Fox Deportes.
The flagship radio stations for both teams also produced local broadcasts of each game. In Los Angeles, KLAC and KTNQ broadcast in English and Spanish respectively, while in New York, WFAN (in English) and WADO (in Spanish) aired the games. The series marked the last broadcasts for longtime Yankees radio play-by-play announcer John Sterling of WFAN, as he had announced his retirement in April 2024.[96][97]
Sponsorship
The 2024 World Series was sponsored by Capital One, as part of a five-year, reported $125 million deal that included advertising in the stadium and commercials during Fox's telecasts of the games.[98]
Series overview and aftermath
With the win, the Dodgers broke a tie with the Cardinals (1926, 1942) to become the only visiting franchise to clinch three World Series championships (1955, 1981, 2024) on the Yankees' home field. They also joined the Houston Astros in beating the Yankees in four postseasons.[99] As they also defeated the New York Mets in the 2024 NLDS, the Dodgers became the first team in history to eliminate two teams from the same city in one postseason.
On January 10, 2025, MLB announced that the punishment for the two Yankees fans ejected for their Game 4 interference—Austin Capobianco and John "Peter" Hansen—had been increased to a permanent ban from every Major League Baseball facility and stadium.[104]
Dodgers
In the hours after the Game 5 win, there were isolated incidents in Los Angeles, such as fans spray-painting graffiti on an occupied Metro bus and then lighting it on fire, and others looting a Nike store in Downtown Los Angeles.[105]Los Angeles Police called a tactical alert.[106] A fan sustained a serious injury to his hand lighting a firework.[107]
In December 2024, Freeman’s walk-off grand slam ball would sell for $1.56 million, the third-highest price of any baseball at the time of the sale, behind only Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 home run ball from September and Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from 1998.[112]
Yankees
Despite losing in five games, the Yankees had more hits, more home runs, more stolen bases, and more walks over the course of the series. On the pitching side, they allowed far fewer base runners and held a lower ERA than the Dodgers. New York even outscored Los Angeles through nine innings throughout the five games. This mainly due to the fact that game 4 was a lopsided win for the Yankees as Dodgers decided to go with a bullpen game, effectively conceding the game.[113] The Yankees, however, played poor defense throughout the series, which was highlighted by the five-run fifth inning in Game 5 that saw New York not convert three routine plays into outs.[114] Yankees' ace and Game 5 starter Gerrit Cole lamented on the inning, calling it "as bad as it gets [defensively]".[115] Longtime New York baseball sportswriter Bill Madden would call the Yankees 2024 World Series loss one of the worst in franchise history, while fellow New York sportswriter Joel Sherman referred to the series as a dark cloud over the Aaron Boone and Aaron Judge era, who fell to 1-7 to non-AL Central teams in the postseason since 2017.[116][117] In the lead-up to the series, Dodgers' scouts told their players to put the ball in play and make the Yankees execute (this in reference to New York's sloppy defense throughout the season).[118]
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