Why it could be a lifetime before there's another World Series like this

Let's play a little game.

When was the last time the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees played each other in the World Series?

1981.

When was the last time the home run kings of the American League and National League played each other in the World Series?

1956.

Have two opponents ever met in the World Series with at least 50 home runs?

No.

How many times have AL MVP and NL MVP met in the World Series since 1988?

Once.

And how many times this century has the best team in the AL played the best team in the NL in the World Series?

Twice – and one of them in the season shortened by the pandemic.

When the first pitch for the 2024 Fall Classic is thrown in Los Angeles, all of the above factors will come together.

The clash between the Dodgers and Yankees, the game's signature cross-country rivalry, will be the teams' first World Series showdown in more than 40 years. It is also the first battle between the AL and NL home run leaders since Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider, the first championship duel between the AL and NL's best teams in the 12-team postseason era, and a showcase for the two most exciting players in the game Game: Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, who have already won three MVPs together and are each the favorites to win again this year.

It's rare enough to see any of the above storylines in baseball's final round of the playoffs. And with the expanded postseason, there's a chance that matchups like this will happen even less frequently and further apart. But this World Series has it all.

“I think the world wanted to see this,” Dodgers star Mookie Betts told reporters after the National League Championship Series. “It will be fun. It’s good for baseball.”

Of all the historic outliers at play in this Los Angeles-New York rematch, perhaps none is more exciting than the prospect of Ohtani and Judge trading haymakers.

Forget the playoffs – despite winning two MVPs, Rookie of the Year and hitting And As a pitcher, Ohtani never played for a team that finished with a record above .500 until he was traded to the Dodgers. With a loaded roster around him, Ohtani had a historic season, becoming the first 50-50 player in league history with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. He set career highs in home runs, RBIs, batting average and WAR.

“He hits for average, he hits with power and he hits fast,” Judge said at a news conference Tuesday. “What he did this year with the 50 stolen bases, there was a lot of talk about it, but I don’t think it was talked about enough. He is an impressive, impressive athlete, the best player in the game and what an ambassador for this sport.”

The Yankees slugger is no slouch. After hitting 62 home runs two seasons ago, Judge hit 58 this year and posted career marks in batting average, slugging, OPS and WAR.

“I’m excited that (Judge) will be on this stage,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said at a news conference Tuesday. “Of course, playing against Shohei, knowing what an incredible talent he is, and of course going to the Dodgers this year and having the type of season he had there, I think that's great for the sport , great for baseball and visually.” Forward to the fight for everything.”

This series is still somehow more than just a battle between two titans or two legendary franchises. It's also a chance for MLB to showcase several stars in the spotlight.

There's Betts, a former MVP who has already won two World Series.

There's Juan Soto, a four-time All-Star and former champion in his first season with the Yanks, who is only 25 years old and is inexplicably still looking for his long-term home.

There's 34-year-old Giancarlo Stanton, a former NL MVP looking to cement his legacy in New York. (Oh, and he once hit a home run literally out of Dodger Stadium.)

A year ago, MLB's unpredictable playoff format produced two Cinderellas in the World Series, the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, a matchup between two wild-card teams that ended in five games. It was fun in its own way to watch two underdogs make their way to the Fall Classic, but the baggage of seeing two big-market, big-spending teams with loud fan bases as the last teams standing shouldn't detract from what's unique about this world Series is.

“You're talking about the game's biggest stars, and they're going to play on the biggest stage,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy told reporters after the NLCS. “How special is that for a fan, man? This is incredible.”