Touch 'Em All: A World Series Preview & OutKick Staff Makes Their Predictions

Well folks, it's that time of year again. After a grueling 162-game regular season and three playoff rounds full of intensity, stress, and drama, only two teams remain: the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

If you want to go find a bucket to puke in, go ahead, I don’t blame you.

I’m a Red Sox fan, so for obvious reasons I’m not excited about the Yankees being there. As for the Dodgers, I don’t really have anything against them, especially given that Boston beat them for the 2018 World Series (it’s hard to beat a team you own, am I right?). It’s just hard to root for a team that spent over a billion dollars on just four players this past offseason and has a roster chock full of the best players in the game. I’d feel like a bandwagon fan supporting them; they are basically the Yankees of the National League minus all the toxic traits that the Bronx Bombers have (arrogance, victim mentality, over-inflated self-confidence, etc).

But, you can’t please everyone, and with MLB fans, that’s especially true. So, here we are, with a matchup that, despite the unlikeable nature of the teams, should produce some pretty epic moments. Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge trying to out produce each other at the plate? The Dodgers lineup having to face a solid starting pitching rotation? The Yankees facing the most formidable bullpen in the league? This could be an awesome title bout.

With that, let’s dive into the 2024 matchup and find a winner.

Who do you think will win? What are the storylines/matchups that could decide this series? Let me know: john.simmons@outkick.com.

How They Got Here:

Dodgers (98-64 in regular season): Defeated San Diego Padres in NLDS in five games, defeated New York Mets in NLCS in six.

Yankees (94-68 in regular season): Defeated Kansas City Royals in four games in ALDS, defeated Cleveland Guardians in ALCS in five.

Advantage For Each Team

You have to look at each team's lineup in this series and think this one could honestly go either way. After all, a New York lineup with Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Juan Soto is not to be trifled with. But there is a lineup that can match - and exceed - what the Yankees can offer, and that’s the one Los Angeles can roll out.

Even with Freddie Freeman struggling due to injury, any Yankees pitcher is guaranteed to have to deal with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Teoscar Hernandez in the first inning - yikes. The sledding doesn’t get easier after that: Max Muncy, NLCS MVP Tommy Edman, Will Smith, and Chris Taylor lurk behind the three monsters at the top, and all of these guys can hit for power and contact.

However, New York has the one advantage that might limit the damage that lineup can create, and that is found in their starting pitching. New York can roll out four starters - Gerritt Cole, Carols Rodon, Clark Schmidt, and Luis Gil. The Dodgers would have that same pitching depth - if most of their rotation were healthy. But injuries have ravaged Los Angeles’ starters, leaving New York with perhaps the most lopsided advantage in this matchup.

X Factors

Can the Dodgers bullpen make up for their lack of starting pitching for yet another series?

In the NLCS, the Dodgers had to use their bullpen for the entirety of a game - Games 2 and 6 (the first was a loss, the second a win). Fortunately, the Dodgers bullpen was not under a lot of stress outside those two games, as their offense jumped out to significant leads fairly early in the games they won.

And therein lies the potential trap for the Dodgers.

Let's say that New York’s starting pitching staff is able to keep the Dodgers in check, and the Yankees build some early leads in those games. What will the Dodgers bullpen do when they are pitching from behind, or trying to protect a narrow lead? They did just fine in the NLDS in those scenarios, but this is the World Series. How will these players handle it?

If the Dodgers bullpen gets overworked at any point in the series, they don’t have the starting pitching to balance it out. The Dodgers better get out to some fairly big leads - and fast. Otherwise, things could go sideways.

New York Yankees: Is Aaron Judge going to wake up at any point in this series?

Let me be clear: I think Judge is one of the best hitters of the past 10 years, and he is one of only three people I respect who have played for the Yankees (Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter are the others). But he has practically slept-walked through the playoffs up to this point.

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 17:  Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on prior to Game 3 of the ALCS presented by loanDepot between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Thursday, October 17, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

In 31 at-bats during these playoffs, he has two home runs, six RBIs, five total hits, 13 strikeouts, and a .164 batting average. With all due respect, that’s pathetic. Judge cannot afford to be cold at the plate any longer. While the Yankees certainly have the bats to make up for his lack of production (they got this far, didn’t they?), these World Series games could come down to who’s lineup catches fire quickest. If Los Angeles gets hot consistently, the Yankees sans Judge are probably going to be in deep trouble.

OutKick Staff Predictions

Simmons: I think the Dodgers will win in seven games. Yes, the starting pitching is an issue. But right now, I look at that Los Angeles lineup and wonder how any pitching rotation could keep them in check long enough to win four games before they do. Plus, I need the Yankees to lose more than I need air to breathe, because I DO NOT want to deal with obnoxious New York fans if they win a title.

Mike Gunzelman: The New York Yankees will win their 28th World Series in 5 games and it will be absolutely glorious. Call it a mixture of fate as well as talent as the Yankees are simply due to return the trophy to its rightful place in the beautiful Bronx. Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge - that's all you need to know as Gerrit Cole will have 2 wins including the decisive Game 5 at home. Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers will pay for their star player's close ties with his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who was found guilty for illegally betting tens of millions of dollars with a bookie. Even though Ohtani has not been charged and claims to not know anything about it, the world works in mysterious ways sometimes and the Dodgers will fail due to guilt by association.

Ian Miller: The New York Yankees are evil personified. And the most important story of humanity is good defeating evil. The Los Angeles Dodgers have small, but distinct advantages in all phases of this World Series matchup. By performance in 2024, they have the two best starting pitchers in the series. Their bullpen is deeper and somehow more well rested, despite playing more games this postseason, and even without Evan Phillips. Their lineup can match the Yankees star power, with Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, but has more proven contributors after the top two. But most importantly, the Dodgers are good, and good must triumph over evil. Dodgers in six.

There you have it. We've done our analyzing, now it's time to sit back and see what happens. Game 1 is tonight at 8:08 p.m.

LET'S PLAY BALL!