We’re two rounds into this captivating postseason, with dreams dashed, legacies smashed and a bunch of did-he-really-do-that?!?! home runs bashed. Along the way, we’ve seen 32 potential World Series matchups disappear, like Marty McFly’s fading family photo in “Back to the Future.” Turns out that a Philadelphia Phillies/Baltimore Orioles rematch just wasn’t our density this time around.
We’ll say it again: Every matchup is fascinating in its own way, and plenty of unusual pairings — say, Minnesota Twins–Atlanta Braves from 1991 or St. Louis Cardinals–Texas Rangers 20 years later — have made indelible marks in history. But now that we’re down to just four possibilities, let’s see what remains from our rankings from the start of this wacky month, and how things look now.
Previous ranking: 16
Past matchups: Cleveland won in 1920
It’s not quite a first-time matchup, but it’s safe to say that nobody alive remembers the last one in 1920. The World Series was best-of-nine then, Bill Wambsganss turned an unassisted triple play, and spitballs were still legal — at least for Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski, who went 3-0 with three complete games for Cleveland.
A modern clash would be more of a bullpen battle; both teams removed their starters from shutouts during their division series clinchers, the Guardians after two innings, the Dodgers after five, and neither team pushed a starter beyond 5 1/3 innings in any of the games.
Not that bullpen games are bad — overpowering short relievers deserve love, too — but they force us to recalibrate our concepts of pitching greatness. Among position players, however, this series would have several no-doubt greats, including Cleveland’s heartbeat, José Ramírez, and a few one-name Dodgers — Shohei, Mookie and Freddie — who combine to make roughly $20 million more (in average annual salary) than Cleveland’s entire roster.
Previous ranking: 7
Past matchups: never
The last time Francisco Lindor came to bat in the World Series, in Cleveland in 2016, he had a chance to be Bill Mazeroski. Bottom of the ninth inning, Game 7, tie score. Home run wins the World Series. Every kid’s dream. Lindor could have spoiled the Chicago Cubs’ fairy tale. Instead, he flied out, and the Cubs soon took the crown.
The Indians are the Guardians now, and Lindor is a Met. Their World Series reunion would be an inescapable subplot of this matchup, but the bigger draw would be the yearning of the fans.
Every other pairing would feature a team with a championship in this century. This one pits a club that’s waited 38 years against another that has gone twice as long. The Mets last won the World Series in 1986, with two losses since then (2000, 2015). Cleveland last reigned in 1948, with four defeats since (1954, 1995, 1997, 2016).
Brayan Rocchio turns a double play over Francisco Lindor in a game between the Mets and Guardians in May. (David Richard / USA Today)
Five franchises have never won a title, but they’ve all gone home for the winter: Colorado, Milwaukee, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Of the other 25, Cleveland has the longest drought by more than three decades, at 76 years.
A Mets victory would be cathartic for their fans, too. But Cleveland has already helped soothe the pain of the Cubs’ faithful. The Guardians would rather stay out of the Mets’ forever highlights.
Previous ranking: 6
Past matchups: Yankees won in 2000
Look, we understand. It would be terribly selfish of New York City to keep the World Series all to itself. But it’s not like any other region is in position to pull this off. The party-planning committee isn’t meeting in Chicago anytime soon. The Dodgers always show up, but the other team in the L.A. area, the Los Angeles Angels, have the longest playoff drought in the majors. The Washington Nationals have struggled for half a decade in the Beltway, and the Oakland A’s, alas, have bolted the Bay Area.
So it’s up to New York to host intra-city autumn madness, something we don’t often see anymore. And this would be a treat. The high-energy Mets are finding out that they’re made for the spotlight, where the Yankees always live. Two engaging superstars — Francisco Lindor and Aaron Judge — chase their first championship. Two others, Pete Alonso and Juan Soto, get a chance for a final flourish before free agency.
The storylines would be endless. The hype would be, too. You might hate New York — hey, it’s not for everyone — but if you look away from this World Series, you’d be missing out on a whole lot of fun.
1) Yankees vs. Dodgers
Previous ranking: 1
Past matchups: Yankees won in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1977, 1978; Dodgers won in 1955, 1963, 1981
Once upon a time, the MVPs regularly met in October. In the first 50 seasons of the modern award, from 1931 through 1980, the National and American League MVPs faced off in the World Series 24 times. It happened again in 1988 when the winners did big things in the opener: Jose Canseco hit a grand slam for the A’s, and Kirk Gibson made the impossible happen at the end.
We’ve had wild-card teams in the postseason since 1995. And guess what has nearly disappeared since then: those World Series matchups between MVPs. It’s only happened once in the past 29 seasons, when Buster Posey’s San Francisco Giants swept Miguel Cabrera’s Detroit Tigers in 2012.
Let’s assume that Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani win the Most Valuable Player awards next month. And let’s take another crazy guess that Judge and Ohtani wind up in Cooperstown someday.
How cool would it be for future Hall of Famers to make their World Series debuts against each other, both after an MVP regular season? In other words: all-time greats, after all-time great seasons, sharing their World Series debuts. It’s pretty special, and nearly unprecedented.
It’s happened only once before, in 1980, when Mike Schmidt’s Phillies beat George Brett’s Kansas City Royals in six games. The last game of that World Series scored a 40.0 rating, the highest in World Series history.
Nothing on television scores a rating like that anymore, at least without a concert in the middle and a Lombardi trophy at the end. And diehard fans shouldn’t care about ratings anyway; we will watch no matter who plays. But it’s always good for the health of the sport when a lot of people pay attention.
Judge vs. Ohtani would do that. They’re the best sluggers in the world, one with the skill to play center field, the other with elite speed on the bases and, just maybe, a chance to pitch in relief. The Dodgers drew the most fans in the majors. The Yankees drew the most fans in the American League.
Yes, they pay a lot for their rosters, far 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 revive the best October rivalry with the biggest stars we’ve got.
(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani sliding into home against the Yankees: Luke Hales / Getty Images)