Everything you need to know ahead of the Yankees-Dodgers World Series | Baseball News

EXPLAINER

Major storylines during Major League Baseball's World Series showdown between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 2024 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers is a colossal clash between the sport's two most historic and important baseball franchises.

The highly anticipated series also features some serious individual star power: Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani takes on Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge in a dream matchup.

The 120th edition of the best-of-seven classic starts on Friday in Los Angeles.

Star power

Featuring Ohtani and Judge, two of the game's most popular players, this will be the first time since 1956 that the home run leaders of the National League (NL) and American League will face each other in the World Series.

Both are the most valuable player prospects in their respective leagues. That season, Ohtani became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, while Judge hit .322 with 144 RBIs and 58 home runs.

Rivalry renewed

The Yankees and Dodgers will meet in the World Series for the first time since 1981 and the 12th time overall, five more meetings than any other matchup in championship round history.

Los Angeles won the last meeting between the two teams – but New York has a record of 8-3.

Yankees set their sights on their 28th title

When it comes to World Series titles, the Yankees are in a class of their own. For the first time since winning in 2009, the Yankees are in the Finals and seeking a record-tying 28th World Series championship.

A year after missing the MLB postseason for the first time since 2016, the Yankees made a splash by trading for San Diego Padres standout Juan Soto, and the outfielder has helped rejuvenate the lineup .

Dominant Dodgers

The Dodgers had the best record this year and extended one of the most dominant regular season runs in MLB history by securing their 11th NL West Division title in 12 seasons.

But over that span, the Dodgers' postseasons have been marked more by disappointment than lasting memories, and they will now look to capitalize on their chance to claim their eighth World Series title, their second place in five years.

Record prices

The excitement of the Yankees-Dodgers meeting on baseball's biggest stage has fans eager to open their wallets, and live event ticket resale platform StubHub said it is on track to be the company's best-selling World Series in the to become history.

Ticket sales already surpassed last year's final sales for the World Series matchup between Texas and Arizona and are four times higher than sales for the 2022 championship between Houston and Philadelphia.