2024 World Series
Updated: Wikipedia source
The 2024 World Series (branded as the 2024 World Series presented by Capital One) was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2024 season. The 120th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the Yankees' first World Series appearance since 2009 and the Dodgers' first World Series appearance since 2020. It was the 12th time in the Dodgers–Yankees rivalry that the teams met in the World Series, and the first instance since 1981. The series began on October 25 and ended on October 30 with the Dodgers defeating the Yankees in five games. Freddie Freeman was named the MVP of the series, tying a World Series record with 12 runs batted in (RBIs) and hitting home runs in the first four games of the series, including Game 1 when he hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. The Yankees and Dodgers entered the 2024 MLB postseason as the top seeds in their respective leagues. The Dodgers had home-field advantage in the series due to their better regular season win-loss record. Superstar players Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani had also made their World Series debuts this Series. Coming into the series, the two teams had played 66 World Series games against each other all-time, the most for any two teams by far, with the Yankees having a 37–29 record over the Dodgers. The Yankees had a 6-1 World Series title edge during the Brooklyn Dodgers/Subway Series era, with the two teams tying 2-2 following the Dodgers' relocation to Los Angeles, making the overall record 8-3. In the 2024 World Series, Freeman's Game 1 walk-off grand slam built momentum for the Dodgers to take a 3-0 series lead, following two subsequent low-scoring wins. This winning streak was halted after the Yankees won Game 4, making the series 3-1. In Game 5, the Yankees quickly took a 5-0 lead heading into the 5th inning. However, Game 5 is most remembered for a series of Yankee errors and misplays that enabled the Dodgers to overcome the 5-run deficit and tie the game in the same inning. The Dodgers would eventually retake the lead and clinch the title, ending the series at 4-1 and setting the record for most runs to come from behind in a World Series-clinching game. It was the Dodgers' eighth World Series title in franchise history following 2020. For the Yankees, it was their 14th World Series loss in franchise history, putting them in a two-way tie for most World Series losses with the Dodgers. In terms of their rivalry, the Dodgers won the series over the Yankees for the fourth time, the record standing at 4-8 following this series, holding a 3-2 edge since their relocation to Los Angeles. The Dodgers would make the World Series again the following year, winning in seven games against the Toronto Blue Jays and becoming the first back-to-back champions since the 2000 Yankees.