Both the Yankees and Dodgers had outstanding seasons reaching the Fall Classic, but only one MLB team claimed the title of world champion.
We have finally reached the point where the MLB offseason has arrived. These last two teams made a memorable World Series until the last out of the series.
New York Yankees: Close But Not Good Enough
After failing miserably to make the playoffs last year, the New York Yankees had finally reached the Fall Classic in 2024. It had been 15 years since New York last made an appearance in the World Series. Their last World Series win came against the Philadelphia Phillies back in 2009 which would ultimately be the core four’s last title together. Unfortunately, New York ended up losing this year’s World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in just five games. But there are things to be proud of this team for accomplishing. One of them is reaching the World Series. The other reason is making the MLB postseason in the first place. There are factors for how New York became this good of a team for the entire season.
One of those factors is OF Juan Soto. He has been the storyline for the Yankees for the most part of the season. The story all began last offseason when the Yankees acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres. This year, Soto had a monster year in possibly his only season in pinstripes. He slashed .288/.419/.569 along with 41 homers and 109 RBIs in 157 games. Soto will now test free agency, which is the biggest storyline for this year’s offseason. Teams such as the New York Mets and Yankees among other others are expected to engage with him this offseason. It’s going to be interesting to see which team Soto lands with and for what price.
Then there is OF Aaron Judge. Indeed, it was slow start for him, but as he started to pick up the pace he became nearly impossible to get out. Pitchers started to fear Judge and ultimately started to intentionally walk him often. Judge’s resurgence reminds us why he’s the best power hitter in the game. His numbers say it all. In his ninth season in pinstripes, he slashed .322/.458/.701 along with 58 homers and 144 RBIs. Where would the team be without the presence of both players? If it wasn’t for Judge and Soto the team would be nowhere near the playoffs. It just goes to show how spoiled Yankee fans can be.
It would be interesting to see what trajectory the Yankees choose to go this offseason. They have a lot of questions that need to be answered as they look to improve the team. One of these questions include whether they going to spend it all on Juan Soto or are they going to move on from him and figure out a backup plan. We will find out those as the Winter Meetings hit in December.
Los Angeles Dodgers: The Drought Is Finally Over
After two disappointing years that resulted in early playoff exits, the Los Angeles Dodgers have finally won it all again. It has been 36 years already that LA last won a World Series championship in a MLB full season. That World Series win came against the Oakland Athletics. This is not including 2020 because it was a shortened season due to the COVID pandemic that took place at the time. There are a lot of things to be proud about for this Dodgers team this year in the making. One of them was earlier mentioned: winning it all. The second reason is similar in ending their World Series drought. But there are storylines for why the Dodgers have become a tough team to beat this year.
To begin with, DH Shohei Ohtani has been the biggest reason why Los Angeles has won it all this season. After signing the reigning MVP to a monster contract, he has been on full display for the team this year. In his first year at Dodger Stadium, he became the first player to hit at least 50 homers and steat 50 bases. The 30-year-old totaled 54 homers, 59 steals, 134 runs scored, and 130 RBI while slashing .310/.390/.646 across 731 plate appearances. Though you also have to recognize contributors that helped lead the way. Players like OF Mookie Betts, 1B Freddie Freeman, and OF Teoscar Hernandez all played a role in how the team made it this far.
While the team had no issues scoring, starting pitching was a problem. Their starting pitching fell in the middle of the pack with a 4.23 ERA that ranked 19th in baseball. Part of this problem was due to injuries. LA saw some of their starters fall down due to injuries. Starting pitchers such as Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all missed some time away from the team. SP Bobby Miller, who was expected to be a major piece of the rotation, struggled with an ERA of 8.52 in over 13 starts. Then you have SP Walker Buehler. He didn’t have a great season, either, due to him struggling while coming back from Tommy John surgery. He posted a 5.38 ERA across 75 1/3 innings.
As MLB free agency gets underway, LA looks to attract more stars as they prepare to defend their title for the upcoming season. They will need to improve the rotation while solidifying the bottom of the lineup.
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