With the MLB World Series beginning Friday at 8pm EST let’s take a look at how both the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers got to where they are now. 

For the American League Champion, New York Yankees, they started with the best record in the American League with a record of 94-68. They were led to the top spot from the power of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge along with the late addition of Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

For the National League Champion,  Los Angeles Dodgers, they started with the best record in the National League with a record of 98-64. They were led to the top spot with the offensive prowess of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. 

The Yankees this postseason had an easier route to the World Series than many teams as they got the Wild Card round bye, then in the ALDS they took on the Kansas City Royals, in the regular season the Royals struggled to defeat the Yankees finishing the regular season with a 2-5 record against. In the ALDS the Yankees only needed four games to win the series as the series ended 3-1.  

For the Dodgers they also had the Wild Card round bye, so they waited for the winner of the Padres-Braves series. The Padres ended up winning the Wild Card making it a battle of the National League West to move on to the NLCS. Despite playing 13 games in the regular season the Dodgers won the regular season with a record of 8-5. Looking at the NLDS the Padres gave the Dodgers a scare taking the series to five games with the Dodgers ultimately taking game five. 

For the ALCS it was a battle of the #1 and #2 seed as the #1 Yankees took on the #2 Cleveland Guardians. With both teams getting the first round bye it was going to be an interesting matchup, the Guardians struggled to put away the Detroit Tigers going to five games which gave the Yankees an extra day of rest with their quick series win. Looking back at the regular season the Yankees won the season against them as the Yankees only lost 2 of their 6 games. In the ALCS the Yankees were able to defeat the Guardians with a series win of 4-1 only needing 5 games to move on to the World Series.

For the NLCS it was National League favorite the Los Angeles Dodgers taking on the New York Mets. The Mets shocked baseball to even make the Wild Card and they were able to take down the NL Central winner the Milwalkee Brewers in 3 games. Then the Mets took on the Philadelphia Phillies who were the #2 seed in the NL and won the first round bye. The Mets won the series 3-1. Now the Dodgers and Mets were set to play for a chance in the World Series. The Dodgers won the season series in the regular season against the Mets with a win of 4-2. Many Dodgers fans felt confident going into the NLCS when they knew that they were taking on the Mets, however the Mets did have some fight against the Dodgers taking the Dodgers to 6 games before eventually being eliminated. 

Looking at the World Series this is the twelfth time the Yankees and Dodgers have met in the World Series. For the Dodgers they have some players with experience in the fall classic from the likeness of Mookie Betts who played in the World Series for both the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and the Dodgers when they last made it in 2020, alongside Mookie Betts the Dodgers have Enrique Hernández who was part of the Championship team in 2020 as well. Freddie Freeman the Dodgers first baseman was also apart of the World Series in 2021 when he was in the Atlanta Braves organization. The Yankees however do not have as much experience in the World Series, however the players they do have played big roles on their team when they did win. The Yankees experienced World Series players include Gerrit Cole was was dominant when the Houston Astros went on a run to win the World Series in 2017 and then again played in 2019 against the Washington Nationals, alongside Cole the Yankees have World Series champion Anthony Rizzo who helped lead the Cubs back from a large deficit in against the now Cleveland Guardians, the Yankees also have MLB sensation Juan Soto who made a huge name for himself in the 2019 World Series where he essentially won the World Series for the Washington Nationals. Looking into the World Series matchups however the Yankees and Dodgers most recent meeting not including the meeting in 2024 is 1981 where the Dodgers won in 6 games. However in the 2024 Regular season the Yankees and Dodgers met up 3 times with the Dodgers winning the series 2-1. Many people are excited and don’t believe the mid season matchup means anything however as the Yankees were missing the talents of Juan Soto. I believe it will be a tough series for both teams, however I do think the Dodgers will win the World Series in 7 games.