The historic Dodgers-Yankees 2024 World Series matchup heads to rare air

Photo credit:
Duke Snider and Mickey Mantle pose together before the start of Game 2 of the 1955 World Series. (Photo via /Getty Images)

No two teams have met in the World Series as often as the Dodgers and the Yankees.

When the series begins Friday night, it will be the 12th World Series matchup between the two giants. The Yankees are up 8-3.

The then-Brooklyn Dodgers first played the Yankees in October 1941. The crosstown rival Yankees won the series 4-1, marking the start of a lopsided series. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers in the first five series between the two teams from 1941 to 1953. In total, the Dodgers and Yankees competed in a total of seven Subway Series before the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles.

The Dodgers' first series win came in 1955, when Gil Hodges scored two runs in a 2-0 win in Game 7. After dominating World Series matchups for 16 years, the rivalry became rarer when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. Between 1963 and 1981 the two teams met four more times, with the series ending 2-2 during this time.

It has now been 43 years since we last saw the Dodgers and Yankees game. The fall edition sets the record for the most championship matchups between two teams in North American sports, matching the Celtics vs. Lakers rivalry.

Beyond the history of these two historic ball clubs, there are numerous examples of unique historical aspects in the 2024 Fall Classic. These teams feature two of the most star-studded lineups we've seen in the World Series in years, with familiar names like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts and Juan Soto, among others, listed on every lineup card.

This is Ohtani and Judge's first World Series, and international interest is arguably at an all-time high. The two standout superstars from the two largest markets in the United States will compete with the ability to change the game in one swing.

Below are some historical anecdotes, some courtesy of the great Sarah Langs.

Historical hits

• This will be the sixth time that the regular season home run leaders from each league will meet in the World Series, and the first since 1956. The previous meetings took place in 1956 (Mickey Mantle vs. Duke Snider), 1937 (Joe DiMaggio vs. Mel Ott) and 1936 (Lou Gehrig vs. Ott), 1928 (Babe Ruth vs. Jim Bottomley) and 1921 (Ruth vs. George Kelly). To put this into historical perspective, we have seen a World Series no-hitter more times than the two home run champions in the last 68 years.
• This is the first time that two players with more than 50 home runs will face each other in a World Series.
• Judge and Ohtani are the clear favorites for the MVP award in their respective leagues. This would be the 26th time each league's MVPs competed against each other. However, since divisional play began in 1969, it has become increasingly rare and has only occurred twice since 1984. The last time two MVPs faced off in the Fall Classic was 2012, when Miguel Cabrera's Tigers fell to Buster Posey's Giants.
• Soto joins Rarified Air in this series. He joins only five other players who have played in a World Series with two different teams before turning 27.

• This series is arguably the most impressive of the MLB Statcast era. The four leaders in barrels per plate appearance are represented: Judge (14.9), Ohtani (14.1), Soto (12.8) and Giancarlo Stanton (12.4) occupy places one to four respectively.
• Judge, Ohtani, Stanton and Judge also rank in the top five in average exit velocity and top 16 in maximum EV this season. Among balls put into play at more than 95 mph this season, Ohtani ranks 1st (288), Soto 3rd (262), Judge 6th (238) and Stanton 99th, but is the only batsman to rank in the top 100 in hard-hit balls with fewer than 300 balls in play in 2024.

• If Soto, Freddie Freeman, or Anthony Rizzo homers, they will be added to the following list of players who have homered in the World Series for multiple teams:

Bill Skowron
Roger Maris
Reggie Jackson
Frank Robinson
Joe Gordon
Reggie Smith
Mitch Moreland
Matt Williams (3 franchises)
Manny Ramirez
Enos Carnage
Eddie Murray
Corey Seager
Rudy York
Mookie Betts
Miguel Cabrera
Matt Holliday
Lenny Dykstra
Kirk Gibson
Kiki Cuyler
Joe Morgan
Jimmy Ripple
Jim Eisenreich
David Freese
Dave Henderson
Darren Daulton