Dodgers vs Yankees Preview + What Does the Series Mean for Baseball

Edition #182

THE DODGERS HAVE MADE IT TO THE WORLD SERIES. WE’RE GONNA SEE DODGERS VS YANKEES!!

Baseball is a historic sport. It’s called America’s pastime for a reason. I don’t believe that a person living in the US has never played baseball or a version of it before. Same with basketball.

In the historic sport, 2 teams have been considered with incredibly big markets. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. The Yankees have 27 championships, while the Dodgers only have 7. The Dodgers, though, have been making noise in recent years, and spending a lot of money.

Two incredibly historic teams, going at each other. What better matchup can you get? Find out more, only here on Sports Square.

Dodgers vs Yankees

The Dodgers have been in the MLB since 1883. They’ve been in Los Angeles since 1958 and were in Brooklyn before that.

On the other hand, the Yankees have been in the MLB since 1903, and have been here forever.

It doesn't matter about which franchise is older though, because the Yankees have made way more history than the Dodgers. With 27 World Series titles, 40 AL pennants, and 21 AL East division titles, this Yankees team is a crazy winning franchise.

The Dodgers have been amazing this millennium, but can’t translate it to World Series wins. They only have one this millennium and are competing for another one this year. With 7 World Series titles, 24 NL pennants, and 22 NL West titles, the Dodgers are making progress in beating the Yankees in everything but those World Series ones. It's the same with the Yankees, but they’re even worse without a World Series appearance since 2009.

The Yankees and the Dodgers have a lot of history playing each other in the World Series, as they’ve played each other 11 times. Just in the World Series! Check the series outcomes below.

If we’re looking at all-time, the Yankees lead 48-40, making it pretty competitive. The Yankees and Dodgers are 11-11 against each other in the regular season.

Enough with the data and stats. What does this series mean for baseball?

Like I said at the start, the Dodgers and Yankees are 2 historic teams. Right now, both of these teams have one of the highest payrolls in the league and are known for having one of the highest payrolls. Before we get to history, just think about the matchups right now.

Shohei Ohtani vs Aaron Judge (the MVP battle)

Mookie Betts vs Juan Soto

Freddie Freeman vs Giancarlo Stanton:

At the start of the year, this was just a dream. In fact, at the start of every year, it’s a dream that the Dodgers and Yankees play each other. Everyone born after 1981 has yearned for a World Series like this. Well, it happened

Let's take a look at the history.

HISTORY:

The history all starts in 1903. The Yankees were called the Highlanders because they played in Hilltop Park. Imagine the Yankees as the secondary team of New York. Well, actually, they were the tertiary team! During this time, the Brooklyn Dodgers (Los Angeles Dodgers) and New York Giants (San Francisco Giants) were all located in the New York area. Meanwhile, the Yankees were coming from Baltimore. Doesn't matter where they were coming from though. They faced the Giants in the World Series. That was called the Subway series. This term was used again when the Dodgers played the Yankees.

1941 was the first time the Dodgers played the Yankees. It was in the World Series as well. The Yankees were leading 2-1, and Joe DiMaggio hit the Yankees towards a game 4 win. They use the momentum to take game 5 as well, beginning the amazing rivalry.

The Dodgers wanted revenge for the loss in the World Series. 6 years later, they were able to force a game seven after Al Gionfriddo robbed Joe DiMaggio of a 3-run bomb. Unfortunately, the Dodgers weren't able to win. These types of defensive plays were found again in the 1952 World Series, but not by the Dodgers. After the 1953 loss, it became 5 straight World Series appearances against the Yankees with a loss. This was also the year Vin Scully became the youngest ever broadcaster to broadcast the World Series (because of racial issues). During the period of 1947-1953, “wait 'til next year” became the Dodgers rally cry.

The losses? That was until 1955, when the Dodgers were finally able to beat the Yankees in 7 games. This is the year became the new “slogan” for the Dodgers.

It wasn't the Dodgers anymore. The Yankees were looking for revenge this time and got it. Don Larsen for the Yankees, made some history by pitching a perfect game in the playoffs. Including that game, there are only 2 other no-hitters ever pitched in the playoffs. This would be the last Subway Series including the Dodgers or Giants vs the Yankees.

7 years later, the Dodgers faced an aging Yankees team with 32-year-old Mickey Mantle and 29-year-old Roger Maris faced off against a young Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully explained it in the perfect way. He basically said that this championship was the biggest of those four because "the ultimate was not only beating the Yankees but sweeping them in four”.

The Yankees played the Dodgers once again in 1977, and with Reggie Jackson putting on his October show for the Yankees, they were able to get the series in 6. Believe it or not, these two teams both played each other in the World Series the next year (what was the 75th World Series), and even though rookie pitcher Bob Welch helped win the first two games for the Dodgers, the Yankees took 4 straight, finishing Tommy Lasorda’s team AGAIN.

1981 was the final year the Dodgers and Yankees played each other in the postseason (until this year) and the final time any New York team played a Los Angeles team in a championship game until the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. The Dodgers won this World Series after a lot of controversy (I’m not explaining all that here. Instead, you can search it up) and it became 1 of the 2 decades the Yankees never won a World Series (in the Bronx).

With this World Series matchup, the viewership is going to go absolutely crazy. Shohei Ohtani vs Aaron Judge and Dodgers vs Yankees games have always been wild (as you read above), and that's what baseball needs. Kids these days need to know what a real World Series matchup is like.

These two teams have produced SO MANY great players such as…

YANKEES:

Babe Ruth

Mickey Mantle

Lou Gehrig

Derek Jeter

Joe DiMaggio

Yogi Berra

Mariano Rivera

Whitey Ford

Bill Dickey

Andy Pettitte

DODGERS:

Sandy Koufax

Jackie Robinson

Clayton Kershaw

Duke Snider

Don Drysdale

Shawn Green

Steve Garvey

Fernando Valenzuela

Orel Hershiser

Shohei Ohtani

My prediction is Dodgers in 7. Here's why. This is going to be a hard series for both teams. The only problem I would say for the Yankees is their bullpen. With a team like the Dodgers who can swing back at any time, a strong bullpen is key.

Keys for a Dodgers win:

If Tommy Edman continues mashing, Teoscar Hernandez and Will Smith get their hits, and if all the Dodgers stay patient at the plate, they should easily be able to win it.

Keys for a Yankees win:

They need to hit Yamamoto and Flaherty and force Dave Roberts to make decisions. The Dodgers bullpen isn't the worst, but it's not very good either. They also need to make sure Shohei Ohtani doesn't get active. The Mets kept him in check, which was why the series got competitive.

Thanks for reading this post. Hope to see you next time. Make sure to subscribe!