We're two rounds into this captivating postseason, with abandoned dreams, damaged legacies, and plenty of questions like: did he really do it?!?! home runs crushed. Along the way, we saw 32 potential World Series matchups disappear like Marty McFly's family photo from Back to the Future fading. Turns out it will be a Philadelphia Phillies/Baltimore Orioles rematch it just wasn't our density this time.
We'll say it again: Each matchup is fascinating in its own way, and there are plenty of unusual pairings — say: Minnesota Twins-Atlanta Braves from 1991, or St. Patrick's Cardinals. Louis – Texas Rangers 20 years later – left an indelible mark on history. But now that we've narrowed it down to just four choices, let's see what's left of our rankings from the beginning of this crazy month and what everything looks like now.
Previous ranking: 16
Previous matchup: Cleveland won in 1920
It's not quite the first matchup, but it's safe to say that no one alive remembers the last one in 1920. Back then, the World Series was best of nine, Bill Wambsganss made an unassisted triple play, and spitballs were still legal – at least for a member Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski, who was 3-0 after playing three games for Cleveland.
A modern clash would be more like a battle of the bulls; both teams retired their starters from shutouts during the deciding games of their division series, the Guardians after two innings, the Dodgers after five, and neither team moved a starter beyond 5 1/3 innings in either game.
It's not that bullpen games are bad – overwhelming, underdogs deserve love, too – but they force us to recalibrate our concepts of pitching perfection. But the position players in this series would include some undoubtedly great ones, including Cleveland's heartthrob, Jose Ramirez, and several one-name Dodgers – Shohei, Mookie and Freddie – who collectively make about $20 million more (average annual salary) than Cleveland's entire roster .
Previous ranking: 7
Previous fights: never
The last time Franciszek Lindor debuted in the World Series, in Cleveland in 2016 he had a chance to play Bill Mazeroski. End of the ninth round, game 7, draw. A home run wins the World Series. Every child's dream. Lindor could have ruined this Chicago Cubs fairy tale. Instead, he was ejected, and the Cubs soon took the crown.
The Indians are now Rangers and Lindor is a Met. Their reunion in the World Series would be the inevitable subplot of this matchup, but the bigger draw would be the fans' longing.
In any other pair there would be a team with the championship this century. In this case, a club that has waited 38 years faces another that has waited twice as long. The Mets last won the World Series in 1986 and have suffered two losses since then (2000, 2015). Cleveland last reigned in 1948 after four defeats (1954, 1995, 1997, 2016).
Brayan Rocchio struck out Francisco Lindor twice in a May game between the Mets and Guardians. (David Richard / USA Today)
Five franchises never won the title, but all returned home for the winter: Colorado, Milwaukee, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Of the remaining 25, Cleveland has had the longest drought in over three decades, at 76 years.
A Mets victory would be cathartic for their fans, too. But Cleveland has already helped ease the pain for the Cubs faithful. Rangers would prefer to stay away from Mets highlights.
Previous ranking: 6
Previous matchup: Yankees won in 2000
Listen, we understand. It would be terribly selfish of New York to keep the World Series to themselves. But it's not like any other region can do this. The party planning committee will not be meeting in Chicago any time soon. The Dodgers always show up, but the other Los Angeles team that is… The Los Angeles Angels have the longest playoff drought in the major leagues. The Washington Citizens struggled in the Beltway for half a decade, and the Oakland A's, unfortunately, invaded the Bay Area.
So it's New York's job to bring some fall madness to the city, something we don't see very often anymore. And that would be a treat. The high-energy Mets are finding that they are meant to be in the spotlight, where Yankees always live. Two endearing superstars – Francisco Lindor and Judge Aaron – chase their first championship. Two others, Pete Alonso AND Juan Soto Get a chance to finally blossom before free agency.
The plot would be endless. There would be hype too. You may hate New York – hey, it's not for everyone – but if you take your eyes off the World Series, you'll be missing out on a lot of fun.
1) Yankees kontra Dodgers
Previous ranking: 1
Previous matchups: Yankees won in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1977, 1978; The Dodgers won in 1955, 1963, 1981
Once Upon a Time MVP met regularly in October. During the first 50 seasons of the modern award, from 1931 to 1980, the National League and American League MVPs competed against each other in the World Series 24 times. It happened again in 1988, when the winners did great things in the first game: Jose Canseco hit a grand slam for the A's and Kirk Gibson made the impossible possible at the end.
Since 1995, we have had wild card teams in the postseason. And guess what has all but disappeared since then: World Series MVP matchups. It's only happened once in the last 29 seasons. Buster Posey's San Francisco Giants swept Miguel Cabrera's Detroit Tigers in 2012.
Let's say Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani win Most Valuable Player awards next month. Let's make one more wild guess that Judge and Ohtani will end up in Cooperstown one day.
How cool would it be if future Hall of Famers made their World Series debuts against each other, both regular season MVPs? In other words: the greatest of all time, coming off all-time great seasons, sharing their World Series debuts. This is quite unique and almost unprecedented.
This has only happened once before, in 1980, when the Mike Schmidt Phillies defeated George Brett's Kansas City Royals in six games. The final game of this World Series had a rating of 40.0, the highest in World Series history.
Nothing on TV gets ratings like that anymore, at least without a concert in the middle and a Lombardi trophy at the end. And die-hard fans shouldn't worry about ratings anyway; we will watch no matter who plays. But it's always good for the health of the sport when many people pay attention to it.
The judge against Ohtani would do that. They are the best sluggers in the world. One can play center field, the other has incredible speed on the bases and may have a chance to pitch in relief. The Dodgers attracted the most fans in the major leagues. The Yankees attracted the most fans in the American League.
Yes, they pay a lot for their squads, much more than most teams. But the historical echoes would be palpable here, and the teams haven't met in the World Series in 43 years. It's time to resurrect the best October competition with the biggest stars we have.
(Lead photo of Shohei Ohtani driving home against the Yankees: Luke Hales/Getty Images)
