By Owen Lingerfelt

The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in a loaded World Series in October, with the Dodgers having home-field advantage. Both teams had strong squads on both sides of the ball and dominated the regular season and the postseason leading into the Series. The Dodgers dominated the Series, resulting in their eighth championship as a franchise. 

Michael Chambers (‘26), an avid Yankees fan and varsity baseball player, was asked about his thoughts on the Series before it began. He said, “I knew the Dodgers had more weapons to overpower the Series, but as a biased fan I felt confident that we would win the Series and Game 1, especially with our ace on the mound.”

The first game of the World Series is always crucial, as it gives the teams momentum heading into the rest of the Series. In this year’s first Series game, on October 25, the first run came in the bottom of the 5th inning, with a triple from first baseman Freddie Freeman that led to a sacrifice fly for the Dodgers. The Yankees quickly answered with a two-run home run by outfielder Giancarlo Stanton in the top of the 6th. In the bottom of the 8th, the Dodgers tied the game with a sacrifice fly from outfielder Mookie Betts, letting pitcher Shohei Ohtani score the tying run. The game went into extra innings, and the Yankees scored one run in the top of the 10th, which gave them a Game 1 win on the road if they got three outs in the 10th. The Dodgers were down to their last out when Freeman swung at the first pitch and hit a walk-off grand slam home run to end the game. This marked the start of Freeman’s legendary World Series at the plate and concluded one of the most exciting baseball games I have watched in a long time.

Freddie Freeman’s grand slam home run in Game 1. Photo credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill.

In Game 2, the Dodgers were looking to command the Series with a 2-0 lead, and the Yankees looked to keep the Series intact before coming back to New York. Centerfielder Tommy Edman struck first in the 2nd inning with a solo home run to give LA a 1-0 lead early. However, outfielder Juan Soto, a newly acquired Yankee star, hit a solo home run with two outs in the top of the 3rd to tie the game at 1-1. In the same inning, the Dodgers hit two of their own to go up three. The game then quieted down, with strong defense on both sides. However, Dodger star and former MVP Ohtani injured his shoulder attempting to steal second base in the 7th inning. He would end up playing the rest of the Series but got surgery right after it was over. The Yankees rallied a run in the 9th and loaded the bases, but it wasn’t enough to get the win. The Yankees were down 0-2 in the Series coming to New York for a three-game stand. 

In Game 3, Freeman picked up right where he left off in Games 1 and 2, as he homered in the 1st inning, marking a home run in every game in this Series so far and giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the Bronx. The Dodgers tacked on another in the 3rd, giving them a commanding lead in the third game. With a 4-0 lead heading into the 9th inning, the Yankees looked like they were going to be down 0-3 in the Series. The Yankees hit a two-run shot to right field to make the game 4-2, but it was not enough to win the game, and the Dodgers needed one more win to clinch the 2024 World Series. 

The Yankees were in a must-win situation to keep their World Series hopes alive in Game 4. But the Dodgers looked to shut the hopes of all Yankee fans and sweep them, as Freeman notched another two-run shot in the 1st inning, showing why he was the clear choice for Series MVP. The Yankees tried to battle back as they scored one in the 2nd and loaded the bases in the 3rd. The Yankees finally showed hope in the Series, as shortstop Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam to give the Yankees a three-run lead. The Dodgers got two back in the 5th with a solo home run by catcher Will Smith and an RBI single by none other than Freeman. The Yankees added another run in the 6th to go up 6-4, hoping for their first win of the Series. The Yankees then showed the dominance that they had before this Series, as they got a five-run 8th inning to end up winning the game 11-4. 

Both teams put up their best pitchers—Gerrit Cole for the Yankees and Jack Flaherty for the Dodgers—in what seems like a must-win situation for everyone in Game 5. Aaron Judge, the Yankees center fielder and MLB home run leader of the regular season, with 58, had had a very disappointing Series at that point, with six strikeouts in the first two games alone. He broke his drought in Game 5 and hit a two-run homer in the 1st inning. The next batter, third baseman Jazz Chisholm, Jr., hit a solo home run to give the Yankees plenty of motivation and an early three-run lead. They ended up going up 5-0 in the 3rd inning, with no sign of stopping. However, the Yankees defense gave up five unearned runs in a row, with many errors, including a dropped catch by Judge, to tie the game at 5 in the 5th inning. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Yankees grabbed one run and gave them a 6-5 lead. In the top of the 8th, the Dodgers grabbed two runs to get a 7-6 lead. The Dodgers held on through the 9th, when Walker Buehler threw the final pitch of the Series, and became World Series champions. 

After the Series, Dodgers fan Harrison Baxter (‘25) said, “The Dodgers spent a lot of money to get their squad, but they did it the right way. The team treated each other like family rather than a professional team, which led to their dominant success this year.” When asked about the Dodgers’ future, he said, “They need to secure the guys that just won them the World Series before looking at free agents. Other than that, I hope they try and get Juan Soto.” Unfortunately for Baxter, Soto announced on Dec. 12 that he was leaving the Yankees and had signed with the New York Mets for “a record-breaking $765 million, 15-year contract.“

Featured image credit: Getty Images/Deadline.