The stage for the 2024 World Series is set with the New York Yankees slated to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in what promises to be a star-studded clash between two of the MLB’s most talented teams. The Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS in a tense five game series with the help of Juan Soto’s tenth-inning home run in game five, while the Dodgers took care of the New York Mets with a convincing 10-5 win in game six of the NLCS. Who will win it all in the World Series? Campus Correspondents Gavin Friedman and Trevor Coughlin give their predictions in this edition of Point/Counterpoint.
Gavin
There are plenty of stars on both sides of this matchup, but I’ll take the Yankees to win their first World Series since 2009.
Their offense has been productive during the postseason, especially with the emergence of Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, who as a trio have been devastating opposing pitchers. All three of them have come through with great plays this postseason, including home runs from Judge and Stanton. In game three of the ALCS, Judge’s home run took the lead in the eighth inning and Soto’s three run shot took the lead in game five.
New York has gotten solid contributions in other parts of the lineup as well with Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Volpe all posting a batting average over .295 in the playoffs. Additionally, the Yankees should have an advantage in the pitching department, as they have a solid four-starter rotation led by Carlos Rodon and 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole. They also have a strong bullpen that has seen key contributions from several pitchers including Tim Hill, Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle.
Of course, we can’t forget about the Yankees new closer Luke Weaver. He has proven that he can provide the lights-out pitching the Yankees need to end games. Weaver has been dominant on the mound, as he has just three earned runs this postseason. If we exclude his blown save from game three of the ALCS for a moment, he’s allowed just one run in nine innings of play. If New York can get a lead early in the game, it will be difficult for the Dodgers to make a comeback against this Yankee bullpen.
On the other hand, Los Angeles has mostly used a three-starter rotation combined with bullpen games to fill in the gaps this postseason. While this strategy has been effective so far, it could be a matter of time until the bullpen’s workload becomes an issue. The Dodgers’ relievers have had the most work this postseason and they will probably be relied upon heavily in the World Series as well. If the heavy workload catches up to them, the Yankees offense will be able to take advantage, especially at the end of games when it matters most. In what should be a long, tense and exciting series, give me the Yankees in seven.
Trevor
While New York may have their “big three” hitters and Gerrit Cole on the mound, they lack the depth to match the Dodgers, which is why I’m betting on LA to take home the 2024 World Series trophy.
Starting with their aggressive offense, the Dodgers have consistently topped the league all season, finishing with a preseason batting average of .258 and .251 in the postseason, compared to the Yankees’ .237. This success is largely due to key players like Mookie Betts, who boasts a postseason slugging percentage of .659, Tommy Edman with a .341 postseason batting average and LA’s star DH Shohei Ohtani, who hit 57 home runs this season. These three, along with contributions from Enrique Hernández, Max Muncy and Andy Pages make LA the more consistent offensive team.
The Dodgers averaged 6.36 runs per game compared to New York’s 4.77, showing that Soto, Judge and Stanton alone cannot carry the Yankees to outscore the Dodgers. If the Dodgers can use their versatile offense to get past Cole in game one, then they should easily be able to cakewalk game two as the Yanks have Carlos Rodon pitching in the second. This may be a risky decision considering how well LA has done against left-handed pitchers this season, with batting averages ranging from .269 and 66 home runs, the most in the league.
Moving on from their intimidating offense, the Dodgers bullpen looks very promising as well. Even though the Yankees have shown more promising statistics pitching wise, the Dodgers are a competing factor with their big three Blake Trienen, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty, all with a total of 30 strikeouts and averages ranging from .226 to .254 this postseason.
While Flaherty may not be seen as the favorite in game one, he has proven how lethal he can be on the mound when at his best by pitching a no-hitter against the Mets for seven innings and eight strikeouts during game one. In addition, we have Yamamoto as the superior man on the mound for game two against Rodon, as he had previously played the Yanks in a no-hitter for seven innings back in June. And with the help of Trienen with 11 strikeouts postseason, these three pitchers have proved to be hot on their journey through the playoffs, proving a great opposition to the Yanks “flashy” hitters. Overall, with a 2-1 record in the 2024 season and showing incredible depth in both areas in the field will help the Los Angeles Dodgers take back the trophy they won four years ago.
Great article to prepare baseball fans for the 2024 World Series.
A few notes:
– Shohei Ohtani hit 54 home runs in 2024, not 57
– No-hitters are not the same as pitching seven hitless innings (at least in my books)
– Would Flaherty and Yamamoto be considered bullpen arms if they are primarily starters (this question can be reconsidered if Dave Roberts brings them in to protect a lead at any point during the World Series)
– One further question that should be considered is how Juan Soto will do against the 2024 Dodgers (he sat out the series with an injury during the regular season)