Will the dream World Series (best-of-seven) between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, two big-market franchises from the East and West coasts, happen this year?
The postseason to determine this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) champion will begin on Oct. 2 (Korea time).
The Yankees won 94 games and the Dodgers won 68 games in the regular season to finish with the best record in the American League (AL) and National League (NL), respectively, and earned the No. 1 seed in the postseason and a direct path to the Division Series (best-of-five).
In the AL, the Yankees will be joined by the No. 2 seed Cleveland Cavaliers (Central Champions), No. 3 seed Houston Astros (West Champions), and the wild-card one-through-three seeds Baltimore Orioles (No. 4 seed), Kansas City Royals (No. 5 seed), and Detroit Tigers (No. 6 seed).
The MLB postseason is a best-of-three series, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds going straight to the divisional series, and the No. 3-6 and No. 4-5 seeds playing a best-of-three wild card series at the home of the higher seed to determine which team will advance to the divisional series.
So Houston-Detroit and Baltimore-Kansas City will kick off fall baseball with wild-card series.
In the NL, only four of the six contenders are locked in: the Dodgers, the No. 2 seed Philadelphia Phillies (East champions), the No. 3 seed Milwaukee Brewers (Central champions), and the No. 4 seed San Diego Padres, who clinched the top wild card spot.
The second and third wild card seeds, the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, who are tied at 88 wins and 72 losses, will face off in a doubleheader on October 1 to determine their postseason fate.
Depending on their results, the fourth wild card spot could also go to the Arizona Diamondbacks (89 wins and 73 losses).
The focus will be on whether the two teams with the best hitters of all time, Aaron Judge (Yankees) and Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers), can make it to the WS.
The fact that these two teams, rivals since the days when they shared New York City, are facing off in the World Series for the first time in the 21st century with superstars is a huge draw in itself.
Judge led the big leagues in home runs this year with 58, while Ohtani became the first player in major league history to pioneer the 50-homer, 50-double mark.
The Yankees and Dodgers have battled in the World Series 11 times, as recently as 1981, with the Yankees popping the champagne eight times and the Dodgers three times.
However, to win the league championship, the Yankees will have to overcome two big mountains – Houston and Philadelphia.
Houston is the fall favorite, having appeared in seven straight league championship series until last year.
Philadelphia, which won its first East Division title in 13 years behind a solid starting rotation and an evenly matched batting order, leads the all-time series against the Dodgers 5-1 this season.
The Wild Card Series will be played over three consecutive days, Oct. 2-4, with the Division Series taking the baton on Oct. 6.
The NL Championship Series (best-of-seven), which pits the winners of the Division Series against each other, will begin on October 14 and the AL Championship Series on October 15.
The World Series, which pits league champions against each other for the final title, opens on October 26th.
CBS Sports has the Dodgers, Phillies, and Yankees as the favorites to win the WS, in that order. ESPN also ranked the Dodgers first, with the Yankees and Philadelphia tied for second. 사설 토토사이트