The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are set to begin what should be an excellent 2024 World Series. It’s an epic matchup featuring some of the sport’s biggest superstars and two marquee franchises.
Who will take home The Commissioner’s Trophy in what is sure to be a very memorable Fall Classic?
Matt Clapp and Jessica Kleinschmidt of Comeback Media discuss the upcoming World Series.
Clapp: The World Series is finally here, and in a dream matchup for Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball, and, well, the world (and especially Japan). There’s so much star power, two juggernauts in terms of both brand recognition and talent on the field, and countless storylines. What are you most excited for, Jessica?
Kleinschmidt: Great question with many answers. I can’t WAIT for this series, and it all starts with the powerhouse matchup. The clash of both MVPs colliding between Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge looks to create a show at the plate.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts approaches his pitching usage: both starters and the bullpen. He was able to craft together some really impressive bullpen games during the Division and Championship series. It will be interesting to see if that success continues during the Fall Classic.
For the Yankees, I want to see if Giancarlo Stanton’s October remains hot. He’s always a feared hitter, but after earning the ALCS MVP, he proved he’s white-hot in the month of October.
Clapp: Yeah, it really starts with the star power for me. Ohtani, Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Stanton, Freddie Freeman, Gerrit Cole… it goes on and on. Even some of the role players are former All-Stars (take an Anthony Rizzo, for example). 20 years from now, baseball fans will look back on this series in awe of the names on each team. It’s hard to get a more compelling matchup than this.
Kleinschmidt: And when it comes to power and clutch moments, it’s Kiké Hernández who alone could make you want to fork up the money to pay for these very expensive tickets. He’s hit 15 home runs in 81 postseason games. Back in July, when he returned to the Dodgers via trade, the first thing Roberts mentioned was that Hernandez was built for the playoffs. He’s shown that in those high-leverage situations. Grab. Your. Popcorn.
Clapp: Yeah, while the stars will lead the storylines for good reason, it’s very possible that a role player or two will play a crucial part in this series and Hernández is a great example of a player that could do that.
Who do you think is another possible surprising hero in the series?
Kleinschmidt: I’m going to go Austin Wells, but from an offensive perspective. The Yankees clearly have better starters, so from a game-planning perspective, he’s going to shine, but why not have a walk-off or clutch scenario? Sign me up.
Clapp: That’s a good one.
I’ll go with Walker Buehler. The right-hander has battled injuries and ineffectiveness over the last three years, but he was excellent against the New York Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS. The two-time All-Star threw four scoreless innings and recorded 18 swings-and-misses, his highest total in a game since 2021. The Yankees crush four-seam fastballs, but Buehler had excellent breaking stuff working vs the Mets, generating 12 of the 18 whiffs from his sweeper and knuckle curve. The Dodgers will likely try to stick with similar pitch usage from Buehler when he faces the Yankees in Game 3 or 4.
Kleinschmidt: Oh yes, I like that one! I like the idea of a Dodgers starter pulling through.
Clapp: And related to pitching, I thought you made a great point about Dave Roberts and how he’ll approach the Dodgers’ pitching usage. While so much focus is on the star bats, it could very well be the pitching — and preventing those star bats from going off — that decides this series.
Who do you think is the key pitcher for each team in this series?
Kleinschmidt: Key pitcher for the Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The last couple of outings have been outstanding. In the NLCS Game 4 win over the Mets, Yamamoto gave up six hits in 9 1/3 innings, while striking out eight and inducing some groundballs.
Since coming off the injured list in September, he might still be on a low-key pitch limit, and it goes without saying this is a tough lineup to face. If he can stay strong through the rotation, that could be a key difference in the entirety of that staff.
The good news? The bullpen is strong should Roberts dip into it. The bad news, with the bullpen being strong and if Roberts dips into it, that’s less availability for another bullpen game. Roberts isn’t above sending pitchers out for one inning, though.
Key pitcher for the Yankees: The bullpen.
Yes, the bullpen is 5-1 with a 2.56 ERA since the end of the regular season, but we saw what the team did (or didn’t do) when it came to protecting the lead against the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Guardians.
Tim Hill was released by the White Sox in June after a 5.87 ERA, and he lowered that to 2.05 in the regular season and 1.93 in the postseason.
Luke Weaver has also had quite the turnaround. Being seemingly unknown as a middle reliever, and now, being one of the guys in those high-leverage situations you can depend on.
Clapp: For me, it starts with Game 1, literally and figuratively.
The Yankees winning this series likely features Gerrit Cole being very good. And he’s gotten it done on the big stage plenty, with a 2.98 ERA in 20 postseason starts over 120 2/3 innings pitched. They need him to pitch like that in this series.
And for the Dodgers, getting as many effective innings as they can out of the starting rotation will also keep their bullpen fresher. Jack Flaherty was great in Game 1 of the NLCS (7 scoreless innings) and awful in Game 5 of the NLCS (3 IP, 8 ER). If he can be much more like he was in that first NLCS outing, it would be huge for the Dodgers, especially to begin the series.
A big thing with the Game 1 starters in a seven-game series is that they’re very likely to start two games, and potentially pitch in as many as three games (even if it’s a brief outing out of the bullpen in a Game 7). So, Cole and Flaherty could play a pivotal role in deciding the outcome of this series.
Alright, Jess. Who do you think wins the World Series and in how many games?
Kleinschmidt: I think we’ll be blessed with a seven-game series, because we deserve it, but the edge will go to the Yankees because of their starting pitching. It just remains the big elephant in the room with all the injuries the Dodgers faced in that rotation. As impressive as the bullpen usage has been, things happen and you run out of weapons.
Between the starters and the bats of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Juan Soto – the Yankees win it all. Yankees in Game 7.
Clapp: I think this series is a near toss-up, but I’ll go Dodgers in 6. Ultimately, I trust their depth more.
How about the World Series MVP?
Kleinschmidt: Juan Soto, and the Yankees better extend him.
Clapp: I’ll go Shohei Ohtani, and I predict that he’ll take advantage of the short porch at Yankee Stadium at least once.
