The final countdown to the most anticipated World Series showdown in decades was under way on Friday as the Los Angeles Dodgers prepared to face the New York Yankees in what promises to be a baseball blockbuster for the ages.
The star-studded collision between baseball’s arguably most iconic franchises is the 12th World Series between the historical rivals and comes some 43 years after their last Fall Classic showdown in 1981.
All eyes will be on the Dodgers’ Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, the record-breaking phenomenon regarded as the best all-round player since the legendary Babe Ruth.
Ohtani is part of an array of talent who will take the field at Dodger Stadium at 5:08pm (0008 GMT Saturday) for game one of the best-of-seven series.
As well as Ohtani, the Dodgers boast former MVPs such as Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, while the Yankees have home run king Aaron Judge and a big-hitting line-up that includes Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto.
“Dodgers-Yankees, two pillar franchises in the sport, with a lot of history, going back a long, long time,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday as he put the finishing touches to his team’s preparations. “It’s certainly special.”
– Galaxy of stars –
The galaxy of stars on the field is likely to be matched by a constellation of A-listers watching from the stands.
Hollywood stars such as Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks have frequently been spotted at Dodger Stadium while the Yankees boast supporters such as actor Denzel Washington and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z.
“The stars will be out, the eyeballs will be watching, and hopefully we can deliver a great series,” Boone said.
It all adds up to the kind of must-watch sporting event that will delight Major League Baseball’s executives, who have reported sharp double-digit television ratings increases during the postseason.
So far, average television viewing figures have jumped 18% from last year’s average of 2.82 million per game to 3.33 million.
While this year’s World Series is unlikely to match the record average of viewers for a Fall Classic — 44.3 million tuned in for each game of the 1978 series — it is likely to obliterate the record-low 9.08 million who watched last year’s series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
– ‘Unbelievable’ numbers –
The presence of Dodgers ace Ohtani has also opened up a new international frontier, with Major League Baseball revealing that a record 12.9 million Japanese viewers tuned in for the Dodgers’ recent National League Division Series decider against the San Diego Padres — roughly 10% of Japan’s entire population.
“Ohtani has really, really driven interest in the game internationally,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said this week.
Accordingly, World Series tickets have become the hottest commodity in sport since the Dodgers confirmed their place in the championship finale with victory over the New York Mets on Sunday.
According to ticket aggregator TicketIQ, games in Los Angeles are averaging around $3,100 on secondary markets; games in New York come in at an eye-watering average of $4,875.
The top-seeded Dodgers will have home advantage through the series, and will look to starting pitcher Jack Flaherty to get them off the mark in Friday’s opener.
The Los Angeles-born Flaherty, who was traded to the team he supported as a boy earlier this year, is relishing his moment in the spotlight.
“When you add in all the players and just how deep this series is with talent and the guys and the names that are out there, it’s as star-studded as it gets,” Flaherty said.
The Yankees will start Gerrit Cole on the mound as they aim to spoil the Dodgers’ party before the series heads back to New York for game three next Monday.
But the undisputed spotlight will be on Ohtani, who joined the Dodgers from the Los Angeles Angels last December after inking a 10-year $700 million contract — the richest deal of its kind in North American professional sport.
Ohtani will be making his World Series debut after failing to reach the postseason once in six frustrating seasons with the Angels.
“I’m very excited,” Ohtani told reporters on Thursday. “I have been watching the World Series every year, watching it with a sense of disappointment because I couldn’t play in one. But this year I’m able to participate in one, and I’m very much looking forward to it.”
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