The 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees has a chance to be absolutely epic. Not only is it a matchup of the sport's two most historic and important franchises, but it features the superstar faceoff of all World Series superstar faceoffs: Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge.
To just put that showdown in perspective: Only two other World Series featured 9-WAR position players on opposing teams -- the 1909 World Series with Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb and the 1946 World Series with Stan Musial and Ted Williams.
Then we get the nostalgia factor. The Dodgers and Yankees are meeting for the 12th time in World Series history, the most common World Series matchup. Maybe they're not exactly rivals the way they were back in the 1940s and '50s, when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn and faced the Yankees seven times in the World Series between 1941 and 1956, or even between 1977 and 1981, when they met three times in five years. But these are the biggest brands in the sport, featuring the two biggest names in the sport.
On top of that: Both teams led their leagues in wins, a rare World Series between the actual two best teams in this era of expanded playoffs. So, yes, hype this one up. Call it epic and feel no shame in doing so.
With that in mind, let's rank the 25 World Series matchups since 2000 to see where Yankees-Dodgers fits in. This ranking is based on hype, the quality of the teams and their star power heading into the World Series. It's not a ranking of the quality of the World Series itself, although we're going to include a grade on that for each matchup. Let's get to it.
