The Major League Baseball season has reached its final stage, with the World Series starting on Friday. The highly anticipated series will feature two of the most storied franchises in all sports when the New York Yankees face the Los Angeles Dodgers for the championship title. The East Coast—West Coast tilt will have the top seeds from the American League and National League squaring off in a best-of-seven series to determine the best baseball team.

A star-studded cast of characters will continue the rivalry that started with the 1941 World Series between the Dodgers and the Yankees. It was a subway series that year when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees were cross-town rivals. This year’s World Series fell a few games shy of another Subway series when the New York Mets were eliminated by the Dodgers in six games to win the NL pennant. It will be a record twelfth time the two teams will meet in the World Series.

Playing in the early years for the Yankees were the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and Al Downing. This year’s Yankee lineup features a parade of All-Stars, including Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, and Anthony Rizzo. The Yankees finished the regular season 94-68, first in the AL.

The Dodgers’ Hall of Fame pedigree players included Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, Pee Wee Reese, Tommy Lasorda, Don Newcombe, and Joe Campanella. Today’s stars include Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Will Smith. The Dodgers finished the regular season 98-64, first in the NL.  

The New York Yankees have a record 27 World Series titles, with the last coming in 2009. The Dodgers have seven, and their previous title is coming in 2020. Aaron Judge of the Yankees is the home run leader in baseball with 58 homers in 2024, followed by Ohtani of the Dodgers in second with 54. Game time on Friday for Game One is 8:00 PM ET.

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