Fantasy matchup in baseball finals – Yankees and Dodgers get America excited

Every sports fan is familiar with these names: The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are well-known outside of baseball. Now, the legendary team represented by Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are meeting in the “World Series”, which brings a lot of hype to the sport.

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Every sport has these matchups that get fans' hearts racing. Because they've always existed, because they have a special story, or simply because the biggest team is involved. The Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers is one of them. Real Madrid vs Barcelona. England vs. Germany. Or on a smaller scale, ZSC Lions versus HC Davos.

One of those dream matchups is between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two teams will now meet in the MLB finals. Game 1 of the World Series will be played in a best-of-seven format and will be played on Saturday night (2:08 a.m. Swiss time). It's as if the Champions League title is played in El Clasico. It was as if England, the homeland of football, were competing with record champions Brazil for the World Cup title.

The Yankees and Dodgers are known beyond their sports. They're two of the biggest names in sports, from two of the biggest cities, but they also can't particularly stand each other. The Yankees are worth $7.1 billion, making them the world's most valuable sports team after the Dallas Cowboys. The Dodgers are a little behind at No. 25 with $4.8 billion in revenue, but they're still No. 2 in baseball.

This duel is full of history and big names

But it’s not just those values ​​that show how special this matchup is. Many of the sport's greatest legends have played for one of the two teams. Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax both wore Dodgers jerseys (when they were still playing in Brooklyn). Players such as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter wore the world-famous New York Yankees jersey on their chests and hats. Yankees) logo.

Jackie Robinson.Image: trapezoid

Babe Ruth.Picture: www.imago-images.de

Due to their long history, the two teams did not use mascots and other things they considered unnecessary. This includes the fact that the jerseys of both teams have never changed. New Yorkers are not allowed to have long hair or beards. The Dodgers and Yankees are baseball through and through – their rivalry is the most exciting in the sport.

Despite being the richest team in the best baseball league in the world, they last met in the 1981 Series Final. At that time, Los Angeles won 4-2. Overall, the Yankees defeated their opponents in eight of eleven World Series appearances. The team from the Bronx has 27 Major League Baseball championships, also a championship record to date, and the Dodgers have 7 championships, ranking sixth.

This legendary duel, which finally ushered in a new version after 43 years, is mainly due to two players: Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.

The biggest stage, the biggest star

The 30-year-old Japanese is arguably the most talented baseball player in history. Ohtani plays both a hitter and a pitcher, meaning he is both a hitter and a pitcher — although he has not pitched this season due to an elbow injury. Due to his insane achievements and records, he is even known to Americans who don't like sports.

Ohtani was traded to the Dodgers from the Los Angeles Angels in December, where he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract. His performances this season have also left a deep impression. He finally qualified for the postseason for the first time in his seventh MLB season. Before the first final, the judge described him as “the best player in our sport”.

Judge himself is a true home run machine. In 2022, at the age of 32, he hit 62 foul balls and became the “real home run king.” Only three players in MLB history have surpassed that number and were later found to have used performance-enhancing substances. Aaron Judge also hit 58 home runs this season – certainly an MLB season high. Followed by Ohtani with 54 points.

Unsurprisingly, both Ohtani and Judge were voted the best players in the conference, adding extra historical weight to the Finals series. Since the playoffs have existed in their current form, the two MVPs have met only once in the World Series. The two hit the most home runs in the league at the same time, which had never happened before. It was also the first time two players with at least 50 home runs met in the Finals. This game is a must-see in every way for baseball fans, but in some ways it's a must-see for sports fans in general.

The Yankees and Dodgers in particular were the best teams in the regular season, and other stars were involved, including New York's Juan Soto, Mookie Betts and Los Angeles' Freddie Freeman. The two main attractions are of course Judge and Ohtani, both of whom want to crown their already great careers.

Expect the hype

So it's no wonder there's huge interest among Americans — and not just baseball fans. Many stars are likely to appear at stadiums in New York and Los Angeles. Baseball officials are secretly hoping for a similar effect to the NBA in the 1980s, when the Lakers' Magic Johnson and the Celtics' Larry Bird took the game to new heights, or maybe Tiger Woods made golf popular.

Game 1 of the World Series will be played Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.Picture: www.imago-images.de

This hope is not entirely unfounded. On the secondary market platform “StubHub”, the average price of a ticket is $1,667. Even stadium parking spaces cost thousands of dollars. StubHub assumes the Yankees and Dodgers will break all World Series sales records.

They all want to see this dream matchup.

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