Eleven times before, these two historic franchises have faced each other in the Fall Classic, and in the 12th edition of a Yankees-Dodgers World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers emerged victorious, earning their eighth world championship. The Dodgers beat the Yankees four games to one in a very dominant World Series. This cross-continental rivalry has been feuding since 1941– when the Yankees won their first of what would be five consecutive World Series victories against the Dodgers in the next 12 years.

Dodgers star– and reigning unanimous National League MVP– Shohei Ohtani, was searching for his first World Series win in his first appearance. In contrast, Aaron Judge, the first Yankees captain since Derek Jeter, looked for his first title; however, both players performed shockingly poorly compared to their stats in the regular season. Ohtani was the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to have a 50-50 season (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases). Ohtani led the team in hits, home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, and batting average, hitting .310. In the World Series, Ohtani batted 2-19 (.105) with five strikeouts – he only got two hits out of nineteen at-bats that didn’t end in a walk or hit-by-pitch.

Minus the stolen bases, Judge had one of the best offensive seasons of the year for the Yankees. He hit 58 home runs, leading the league, and finished with a .322 average, coming third in the MLB. Judge led the league in OPS, slugging percent, and on-base percent, showing how he is worth the 40 million dollars the Yankees pay him a year. But, Judge completely flopped for his team in the World Series, finishing 4-18 (.222) with seven strikeouts.

On the other side, Dodgers first baseman and All-Star, Freddie Freeman, had one of the best performances of his career. He broke the record for most consecutive World Series games with a home run, six, spanning from the 2018 series against the Boston Red Sox to game four of the 2024 World Series. In game one, Freeman sent a walk-off grand slam over the right field fence to give the Dodgers a 6-3 win, and a 1-0 series lead. Game one was the third consecutive game one that went into extra innings, with the home team taking two of those three contests. In game two, Freeman smashed a solo shot, pushing the Dodgers to a narrow 4-2 win. The pitching staff of the Dodgers was lights out the whole series. In game two, Yoshinobu Yamamoto went 6.1 innings, giving up only one hit and one earned run, a homer by Yankee All Star Juan Soto, who was aiming for his second Fall Classic title. Game three ended in another 4-2 win for the Dodgers, giving them a 3-0 lead. Freeman started things off in the first inning with yet another home run, and after an RBI single by Mookie Betts. Walker Buehler went five innings, with no runs. The saying that defense wins championships – in this case showcased by strong pitching – proved itself during this series. In game four, the Yankee bats were hot. Freeman, once again, got things started with a two run homer in the first inning, making history. 2nd year shortstop Anthony Volpe added four runs to the scoreboard after hitting the second grand slam of the series. The Yankees added on 6 more runs after that, breathing new life into the hopes of Yankees fans. Those hopes, however, were short-lived.

Game five was by far the most entertaining of the series. A Judge home run, followed back to back by one from Jazz Chisholm Jr, gave the Yankees an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. An RBI single and a home run from slugger Giancarlo Stanton increased the lead to five by the 3rd inning. The Yankees looked to be back in the fight for the championship. After the Stanton homer, ESPN predicted the Yankees to have a 94.6% chance of winning the game. However, due to three errors by the Yankees in the fifth, the Dodgers tied it up, in what was the most significant inning of the series. Stanton added another RBI to bring the Yankees the lead once more, but it was a two-spot in the eighth for the Dodgers to seal the victory. Walker Buehler was put in to close the game, striking out the last two Yankees to win the Dodgers first World Series since 2020, and first full season World Series since 1988. “Even though the Dodgers won in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, that felt like a partial championship.  Winning this year, after a full season, and against the Dodgers’ longest rivals, the Yankees is as sweet a victory as it could be,” Christian Dozois said, history teacher and Dodgers fan .

Capping off a great regular season, the Dodgers finished on top. Freddie Freeman deservingly won World Series MVP, a heartfelt ending to the year after all the personal struggles he faced. The Yankee super team will have to wait at least another year for their shot, having not won since 2009. The series broke records in international viewership, especially in Japan. Ohtani and Yamamoto both play for the Japanese National team, and adding a World Series victory to a World Baseball Classic title is great for both them and the sport of baseball as a whole.