Building All-World Series Team for Yankees vs. Dodgers: Picking the best player at each position

For a record 12th time in baseball history and the first time since 1981, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will face off in the World Series. It’s the first time the teams with the best record in each league will meet in the Fall Classic since the Dodgers and Rays in 2020, or the Cardinals and Red Sox in 2013 if you prefer full 162-game seasons.

The presumptive MVPs — Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani — will meet in the World Series for the first time since Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey in 2012, and it’s also the first time ever two 50-homer hitters will face off in the World Series. Judge led baseball with 58 home runs during the regular season and Ohtani wasn’t too far behind him with 54. A star-studded World Series, this will be.

“On our team, you’re talking about Shohei, Freddie, Mookie,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said after their NLCS Game 6 win over the Mets (via the Los Angeles Times). “On their team, you’ve got Aaron Judge, Giancarlo, Juan Soto. You are talking about the absolute biggest stars in the game and now they are going to be playing on the biggest stage. As a fan, how special is this?”

The Dodgers went 98-64 during the regular season and will have home-field advantage over the 94-68 Yankees. The World Series begins this Friday, Oct. 25, at Dodger Stadium. As always, the World Series has a 2-3-2 format, so it’ll be two games at Dodger Stadium, three games at Yankee Stadium, then the final two games at Dodger Stadium (Games 5-7 if necessary, of course).

How do the Dodgers and Yankees match up? Let’s build an All-World Series team using Dodgers and Yankees players at each position. Our picks are based on who the players are right now, heading into the 2024 World Series, and not necessarily by their career accomplishments. Track record matters some, sure, but the here and now is more important. Come with me, won’t you?

Catcher: Will Smith, Dodgers

It has been a rough October for catchers. Collectively, catchers have hit .183/.256/.288 this postseason, and Smith has been both terrible (.158/.289/.316) and much better than Yankees backstop Austin Wells (.091/.167/.182). Wells rates as one of the best pitch-framers in baseball and Smith as one of the worst, which counts for something. Maybe it should be enough to overcome the offense when neither catcher is hitting. In the end, I’ll hitch my wagon to Smith because Wells has struck out in 41.7% of his postseason plate appearances and has simply looked overmatched.

First base: Anthony Rizzo, Yankees

What will the Dodgers get out of Freddie Freeman? He is nursing a sprained right ankle and has not been himself this postseason, hitting .219/.242/.219 with suspect defense. Freeman did not start Game 4 of the NLDS with the Dodgers facing elimination or Game 6 of the NLCS when the Dodgers had a chance to win the pennant. He must be really hurting to miss those games. Max Muncy was at first base for the Game 6 win over the Mets, so maybe we should consider him the first baseman for the purposes of this exercise? That said, Freeman has started eight of the team’s 11 postseason games, and I think we can safely assume he’s the guy the Dodgers want out there. Rizzo had a poor regular season around injuries and he’s currently playing with two broken fingers, though he did go 6 for 14 (.429) with a double after rejoining the roster for the ALCS. Right now, neither Freeman nor Rizzo is anywhere close to the players they were at their peak. They’re both diminished, Freeman significantly moreso, so Rizzo is the pick at first base. Healthy Freeman would be an easy choice.

Second base: Gleyber Torres, Yankees

Gavin Lux leads the Dodgers with seven starts at second base this postseason, though Enrique Hernández and Chris Taylor each started two games there in the NLCS. I guess Lux is technically the starter? It’s more like a revolving door though. No matter who you consider the Dodgers’ second baseman, Torres is the pick here. He turned his season around at the All-Star break and has been excellent since moving into the leadoff spot in mid-August, and he’s having a terrific postseason: .297/.400/.432 with more walks (seven) than strikeouts (five). Torres has reached base to start eight of New York’s nine postseason games. He’s played steady defense as well, which wasn’t always the case during the regular season.

Shortstop: Anthony Volpe, Yankees

Toss up here. Tommy Edman drove in 11 runs in six games against the Mets and was named NLCS MVP, but Volpe has had a great postseason as well, slashing .310/.459/.345 with more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six). Volpe has reached base 17 times in nine postseason games; Edman 15 times in 11 postseason games. Their OPSes are almost identical: .811 OPS for Edman and .804 OPS for Volpe. Volpe is the superior defender as well. It’s possible Miguel Rojas will return from his torn adductor in the World Series, and if the Dodgers put a hobbled Rojas at shortstop, then the pick here is clearly Volpe. Edman had a great NLCS but Volpe’s been the better player over the entire postseason. I’m not going to argue much if you think this should be Edman though. 

Third base: Max Muncy, Dodgers

We’re assuming Freeman will play first base most of the time in the World Series and thus Muncy will be the most-of-the-time third baseman. He’s had a great October, including reaching base in a postseason record 12 consecutive plate appearances at one point. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has had the opposite of Muncy’s postseason. He’s been awful, with a .147/.216/.265 batting line and a strikeout rate approaching 30%. Chisholm is also a neophyte at the hot corner and his inexperience occasionally shows up. Muncy is not a splendid defender by any means, but he knows the position. If it’s not Muncy at third, the Dodgers will have Enrique Hernández there, and I’d take him over Chisholm right now as well.

Left field: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers

It feels like Alex Verdugo has performed better than his .194/.286/.258 postseason line, mostly because he’s gotten several timely hits, but the majority of his at-bats are empty. Hernández had a sneaky awful NLCS, going 0 for 18 with nine strikeouts in Games 1-5 before picking up two hits in Game 6. Verdugo is the superior defender. We’re going with Hernández here though because he had a far better regular season and can change the game with one swing in a way Verdugo just can’t.

Center field: Aaron Judge, Yankees

Judge has not had a good postseason (.161/.317/.387 with two homers) but he is still AARON JUDGE, and a threat to flip the game every time he steps to the plate. Emmanuel Clase learned this the hard way in Game 3 of the ALCS. Judge has also played a very good center field in the postseason, so much so that I wonder if he was holding back during the regular season to avoid an injury after tearing a ligament in his toe running into the Dodger Stadium wall last summer. The Dodgers have had a revolving door in center field this postseason. Andy Pages has started four games out there, Enrique Hernández and Tommy Edman three each, and Chris Taylor one. No matter who they put there, Judge is our pick.

Right field: Juan Soto, Yankees

It takes a special talent to be the pick over Mookie Betts at anything, and Soto is that special a talent. They’ve both had incredible postseasons. Soto a bit better, but they’ve both been top of the line performers this October:

Betts is the superior baserunner and defender, though he is no longer the lockdown right fielder he was at his peak. (He weirdly had some trouble reading balls hit to his left in Citi Field.) I think this comes down to this: if I could have my pick of any player to take an at-bat with my season on the line, I’m taking Soto. His excellence this postseason was almost flying under the radar before his ALCS-winning home run in Game 5. No wrong answer here. I’d happily take Mookie on my team any day. I just prefer Soto ever so slightly.

Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani

Objectively, ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton has had a better postseason. Stanton’s hitting .294/.385/.794 with five home runs this October, continuing his career-long postseason dominance. Ohtani has been very good too though, hitting .286/.434/.500 with three home runs, and he’s an incredible 8 for 13 (.615) with six walks and four strikeouts with men on base. I think that, moving forward, it’s reasonable to believe Ohtani and October Stanton will be comparable hitters, and Shohei’s enormous edge running the bases makes him the call here. During the regular season, this is no contest, but Stanton has been so good yet again in the postseason that it forces you to at least pause a bit and say hmmm.

Now that we’ve picked our nine starters, let’s build a lineup, shall we? Here is our combined Dodgers-Yankees All-World Series lineup:

1. DH Shohei Ohtani
2. CF Aaron Judge
3. RF Juan Soto
4. LF Teoscar Hernández
5. 3B Max Muncy
6. 2B Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Anthony Rizzo
8. C Will Smith
9. SS Anthony Volpe

Maybe we should cheat and put Betts at shortstop, where he started 61 games this year. Healthy Freeman would also make that lineup much more imposing. Still, that 1-2-3 is as good as any in baseball history. Arguably the three greatest hitters walking the planet, those guys are.

Bench: Dodgers

This is the Dodgers almost by default because they actually use their bench. Andy Pages and Chris Taylor have each started multiple games this postseason and Kevin Kiermaier regularly comes in for defense in the late innings. The Yankees started Jon Berti and Oswaldo Cabrera at first base out of necessity in the ALDS, and both were relegated to pinch-running duty once Anthony Rizzo returned in the ALCS. Jasson Domínguez has only pinch-run. Trent Grisham was on both the ALDS and ALCS rosters, but has yet to get into a game. This is the Dodgers.

Rotation: Yankees

The Dodgers have gone with a bullpen game three times this postseason (NLDS Game 4, NLCS Games 2 and 6) not because they want to, because they have to. They have seven starting pitchers on the injured list (Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone) and no viable fourth starter this postseason. The two World Series rotations line up like so:

Neither team has announced their full World Series rotation, so it possible those rotation orders will change, but those are the starting pitchers we’ll see. Cole is the best starter on either team and the argument can be made Rodón is the second best given how well he pitched after the All-Star break and in the ALCS. Gil is going to get Rookie of the Year votes. 

Buehler has not been the same guy since returning from his second Tommy John surgery earlier this year and Flaherty on normal rest is less than stellar. Yamamoto has never started a game on normal rest and has been limited to 80-ish pitches since returning from his shoulder injury late in the regular season. I think the rotation advantage clearly goes to the Yankees. That doesn’t mean they’ll win the World Series — there’s more to life than starting pitching — but on paper, give me New York’s starting four over the Dodgers’ starting three-and-a-half.

Bullpen: Dodgers

New York’s bullpen has outperformed the Dodgers’ bullpen this postseason. Lower ERA (2.56 vs. 3.16), higher strikeout rate (23.5% vs. 21.6%), much higher ground ball rate (54.4% vs. 28.5%), lower home run rate (0.70 per nine innings vs. 0.95), similar win probability added (plus-0.92 vs. plus-0.96) despite significantly fewer innings (38 2/3 vs. 57). The workload is not something I hold against the Dodgers’ relief crew though. They’ve been asked to do a lot this postseason and have answered the bell. 

Bullpen roles are more fluid than ever, but this is more or less the way these two teams line up their top relievers:

Holmes and Phillips both started 2024 as their team’s closer, but were demoted out of that role after struggling some during the summer. They are both being used in the game’s highest-leverage situation this postseason. Phillips has pitched as early as the fifth inning and as late as the seventh this October. Holmes has entered games in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth innings. These are the guys each manager wants on the mound against the other team’s top hitters.

The wild-cards are injured lefties Nestor Cortes (flexor strain) and Alex Vesia (intercostal strain). There’s a chance both could be on the World Series roster. Vesia is the Dodgers’ high leverage lefty and Cortes is a starter by trade, but he has bullpen experience and a high left-on-left strikeout rate. If they make the roster, Vesia will see a lot of Juan Soto and Cortes will see a lot of Shohei Ohtani. With or without Cortes and Vesia, I prefer the Dodgers’ relief crew a bit more because Holmes has been a bit shaky of late, and the Yankees don’t have anyone like Kopech who can come in and throw 101 mph by world class hitters.

Manager: Push

Both Aaron Boone and Dave Roberts have had terrific postseasons. Roberts has expertly navigated multiple bullpen games and Boone is doing his best job yet with the Yankees. Both men have had their jobs called for countless times over the years, been called puppets for the front office, and every insult you could fathom. Force me to pick one and I guess you have to give Roberts the edge because he’s managed his team to the World Series previously (and won it), though I don’t see a whole lot of daylight between him and Boone. They’re both beloved by their players and they both make second-guessable moves every so often. I’m not sure how we’re supposed to feel strongly about one over the other when we’re not privy to everything that goes on behind the scenes. 

The Yankees came out ahead in five of the nine position player spots and also the rotation, while the Dodgers have the edge on the back-end of the bullpen. What does that tell us? That these two clubs are pretty evenly matched. Both have star power, both have a solid supporting cast, and both have rabid fan bases that travel well. Should be a classic, tightly contested World Series.