For the second time in five seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers are champions. The Dodgers took down the Yankees in five games to win their eighth title and their first in a full season since 1988. Here’s a look at how exactly the Dodgers got here to win the 2024 World Series.
A Stacked Roster
Before we get into hard numbers, let’s go over the roster construction.
Los Angeles’ World Series roster was constructed heavily by ways of trades and free agents. Yes, there are homegrown players. But, five of the players on their World Series roster (Walker Buehler, Ben Casparius, Landon Knack, Gavin Lux, Will Smith) met that criteria.
The Dodgers‘ trio of Freddie Freeman (FA), Mookie Betts (Trade), and Shohei Ohtani (FA) were all added within a four-year period of one another. And, all three were key contributors.
Ohtani hit .105/.227/.158 in the Fall Classic, and he was largely uneffective after his shoulder injury. However, his presence still was a problem for the Yankees. Betts drove in four and World Series MVP tag-teamed with Teoscar Hernandez to hit five home runs and drive in 16. It was quite the show and quite the redemption arc for Freeman, who languished in the NLCS with an ankle injury.
Pitching-wise, Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave the Dodgers exactly what they hoped he would delivery when he signed last winter. Walker Buehler, who had trouble with command in the regular season, delivered his best in the World Series. Buehler struck out seven over six scoreless innings, including the last one in Game 5.
Discipline and Execution
The Dodgers made every team — the Padres, Mets, and Yankees — work this October. Los Angeles walked 19 times in the World Series, next to 34 strikeouts. The Yankees, meanwhile, walked 27 times but struck out 44.
Yankees hitters were routinely fooled by Dodgers pitchers. It didn’t matter Yankees hitters were ahead in the count (279) more than the Dodgers (200). New York found itself on the wrong end of chasing too much, in poor situations. The Yankees chased and whiffed 51 times, compared to 48 from the Dodgers.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, were the beneficiaries of poor execution on the part of the Yankees’ pitchers at the right time.
The other tenant that stood out in the series was execution. Look, this will be a point talked about for years regarding the series. Per the New York Post, the Dodgers’ front office believed their team was better defensively and from a fundamentals standpoint. The Yankees, on the other hand, were perceived as an extremely poor team in both regards.
New York came in with a peculiar defensive setup. Juan Soto, a below-average runner in the outfield, was in right field. The Yanks moved him to right, for the simple reason that it’s easier to play than left at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge, a 6’7”, 285-pound outfielder, was their center fielder. Judge should be in a corner.
Neither had a great series defensively. Balls got by Judge and there was that play in Game 5. Soto, meanwhile, didn’t track down a foul ball in Game 2 that likely could have been caught by a quicker outfielder.
The Anthony Rizzo–Gerrit Cole snafu at first base in Game 5 didn’t help the Yankees in that debate. Nor did the aforementioned Judge catch miscue, or Anthony Volpe‘s errant throw in that game, either.
It’s not to say the Dodgers wouldn’t have won the series had that collapse not occured. The odds were still stacked against the Yankees. Los Angeles took a 3-0 lead and had the wind at their backs.
Still, the Yankees’ execution paled in comparison to what the Dodgers did.
Shutting Down Judge
The Yankees had many threats in their lineup but arguably no greater one than Aaron Judge. Judge didn’t have a great World Series, despite a .836 OPS in the Fall Classic.
Judge strikeout seven times in the World Series, all of which came between Games 1-3, all won by the Dodgers. However, there were some interesting notes about how the Dodgers were able to beat Judge. But before that, let’s took at the pitch sequencing of each one:
- 1st Strikeout: Low Fastball (Called), Low Knuckle Curve (Whiff, Chase), Low Knuckle Curve (Ball), Middle Slider (Whiff) – Flaherty in Game 1
- 2nd Strikeout: High Fastball (Whiff), Low Knuckle-Curve (Whiff, Chase), High Fastball (Foul), Low Knuckle-Curve (Ball), Low Knuckle-Curve (Whiff, Chase) – Flaherty in Game 1
- 3rd Strikeout: Low Fastball (Ball), Low Slider (Ball), Low Knuckle-Curve (Whiff, Chase), High Fastball (Foul), Low Knuckle-Curve (Ball), Away Fastball (Whiff) – Flaherty in Game 1
- 4th Strikeout: High Fastball (Ball), Low Curveball (Foul), Away Fastball (Ball), Low Slider (Whiff, Chase), Low Curveball (Ball), Low Slider (Foul), Low Slider (Whiff, Chase) – Yamamoto in Game 2
- 5th Strikeout: Away Fastball (Ball), Away Cutter (Ball), Low Fastball (Called Strikeout), Low Curveball (Foul, Chase), Inside Splitter (Whiff, Chase) – Yamamoto in Game 2
- 6th Strikeout: Away Sweeper (Whiff, Chase), Away Sinker (Called Strike), Sweeper (Ball), Away Sweeper (Whiff, Chase) – Treinen in Game 2
- 7th Strikeout: Middle Fastball (Whiff), Away Sweeper (Ball), Low Knuckle-Curve (Ball), High Fastball (Foul), Low Knuckle-Curve (Ball), Away Cutter (Whiff, Chase) – Buehler in Game 3
First, almost every at-bat started with a fastball. From that point, Dodgers pitchers looked to change the eye angle and speed on Judge, which can not only throw off timing but can also be effective at getting hitters to whiff under the breaking ball when mixed with the fastball.
The other notable point taken was simply execution. The Dodgers only threw two pitches among the ones listed above in the middle part of the plate and both were whiffed at. When pitchers are constantly working up high and down low, sometimes that’ll happen.
But, more importantly, the Dodgers didn’t make many mistakes. Buehler, Flaherty, and company avoided hanging breaking balls and missed fastballs.
Can the Dodgers Repeat in 2025?
Absolutely.
Granted, the Dodgers will have pitching questions. Walker Buehler is a free agent. Tyler Glasnow‘s elbow problems may remain a concern, as the Dodgers ace missed all of October thanks to another injury. Clayton Kershaw, who also missed October, will need surgery to repair a torn meniscus and a ruptured plantar plate in his big left toe.
Los Angeles may get back Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May back in 2025, both of whom would be welcome additions. Plus, Shohei Ohtani would be on track to return to the mound next season in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
But, even with their pitching questions, all of their big bats, including NLCS hero Tommy Edman, are set to return. The Dodgers won’t be going anywhere.