Words cannot express how much I love October as a sports fan. It’s amazing to me how the NFL can reach mid-season, the

NHL and NBA start their seasons, and we have playoffs in America’s past-time.

There’s no debate that October baseball is the perfect opening to fall, with a cool breeze as the leaves change, and Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani blasting baseballs into the stratosphere. Even as a Red Sox fan, I am beyond excited for this series. Two goliaths clashing in the spectacle of the year.

Let’s start with some reasons why this year is special:

Both teams are in the top 20% in payroll, Dodgers at 5 and Yankees at 2. Both teams combined have spent over $550 million on their player salaries alone. Both teams were the 1 seed in their leagues respectively. The last time two one-seeds met in the World Series was in 2013 when the Red Sox and Cardinals went 97-65. So it’s fair to say that excluding the 2018 Red Sox-Dodgers World Series, I’ve been waiting 11 years for some truly great championship baseball.

We’ve seen 16 different clubs in this series from 2010 onward, with 10 different winners. The most consistent were the San Francisco Giants who won three titles between 2010 and 2014. But enough with the past, let’s focus on the here and now. 

New York Yankees

The Yankees’ path to the World Series was quite dainty, to say the least, facing the two most inexperienced teams of the bunch. The Kansas City Royals, for example, have not made the playoffs since their World Series victory in 2015. The Cleveland Guardians have the third youngest roster in the MLB with an average player age of 26.6 years, with the youngest team Detroit, only averaging .4 less.

But enough about their opponents, let’s focus on the team itself. Aaron Judge is by far the greatest position player in the American League, there’s no doubt about that. The fact that the man has averaged 52 Home Runs in the past three years is a statement in itself. I mean, the guy missed nearly 60 games in 2023 and STILL hit 37 Home Runs. And trust me I get that baseball isn’t a one-man sport, but it’s hard to lose with a guy like Aaron Judge in your lineup.

I could honestly go on and on about the talent on this roster, but if I did this article would be longer than The Constitution. So, let’s focus on the team’s stats. Their pitching was immaculate as they finished in the top ten in almost all statistics including ERA and OBA. In the regular season, the Yankees had these offensive statistics: .247 AVG/ .333 OBP/ .429 SLG. For anyone wondering SLG or slugging percentage is calculated by this equation (Singles + Doubles x 2 + Triples x 3 + Home Runs x 4)/ Total At-Bats. 

And while these slashes wouldn’t necessarily be good for one player, the Yankees are in the top 10 for all three and the Top 5 in both OBP and SLG at 3 and 4 respectively. But there is one team that the Yankees lag behind in all three…

The Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have been a powerhouse in the MLB since 2017, most prominently making 3 World Series in 4 years from 2017-2020. 2017 was surprisingly their first World Series appearance of the new millennium. Their previous one was in 1988

when they triumphed over the Oakland Athletics who as of this year are no longer in existence.

But anyways let’s focus on this year’s squad. The Dodgers have also only faced two Postseason opponents, but these two are no joke. The Dodgers first faced the San Diego Padres who led the league in Batting Average this year and are 6 and 7 for OBP and SLG. And then they proceeded to face the New York Mets. Not only are the Mets the No. 1 team in Payroll this year (the only team above the Yankees), but they also faced and beat opponents such as the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies. We’re talking about a Murderers Row of a playoff bracket.

Let’s have a look at the numbers. They finished the regular season with these offensive statistics: .258 AVG/ .335 OBP/ .446 SLG. The Dodgers are No. 4 in AVG, No. 2 in OBP, and No. 1 in SLG. All three of these placements were higher than the Yankees. 

Most importantly, we can’t forget pitching. The Dodgers were missing three key starting pitchers for a good chunk of this year, Walker Buehler (2 months), Dustin May (All Season), and Shohei Ohtani (All Season). All three of which are or were Cy Young Award caliber at some point in their career. But even while facing adversity they managed to place above average in most pitching stats on the year.

Predictions

After taking all of this into consideration, it is safe to say that it’s anyone’s series. But I don’t play safe, so here’s what I think. 

I’m predicting the Dodgers in six games, for two reasons. 

Reason 1: The Boys in Blue are hungry. 

Remember when I said the Dodgers made 3 World Series in four years? Well, they only won one of them. And that year, in particular, happened to be the 60-game shortened season during the COVID-19 pandemic. With only that title under their belt, they are ready to show the world that it wasn’t just a fluke.

Reason 2: Experience

The Los Angeles Dodgers live and breathe success, especially in high-stakes scenarios such as this. The Dodgers have made the playoffs every year since 2012 when they went 86-76 and barely missed out on a wildcard spot, so it’s safe to say that they’ve been here once or twice. Not to mention the fact that they have countless MVPs on their roster including, but not limited to, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani. I just don’t see a world in which the Dodgers don’t finish the job.

I hope that you can take this information I have presented you with and use it to prove your Yankee fan friends and family wrong this year. I need you to help balance out the force and save us all from the Evil Empire.