MLB World Series 2024: Yankees vs Dodgers baseball schedule, preview & five talking points (2024)

Hollywood versus the Big Apple. East meets West. An Asian superhero takes on an all-American titan. And two high rollers go all-in when only one of them can win.

Does this sound like a plot from a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie?

Welcome to Major League Baseball's 2024 World Series, as the New York Yankees face the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-seven potential epic which begins on Friday evening.

Advertisers will lick their lips at the prospect of a 'Fall Classic' between two 'big-market' teams for only the second time since 2000, while fans of the other 28 clubs may mutter darkly about the predictability of two of MLB's three biggest Opening Day payrolls reaching the World Series, and call for a salary cap to provide competitive balance.

While home advantage appears to matter less than before, now that both leagues use a designated hitter, the Dodgers' superior regular-season record means the series begins in LA, with potentially four games at home.

Here are some stories to follow.

Game 1 (in LA): Friday, 25 October

Game 2 (in LA): Saturday, 26 October

Game 3 (in New York): Monday, 28 October

Game 4 (in New York): Tuesday, 29 October

Game 5* (in New York): Wednesday, 30 October

Game 6* (in LA): Friday, 1 November

Game 7* (in LA): Saturday, 2 November

*if required. Matches start 20:08 Eastern Time (early next morning UK time)

For once, the top-seeded team in each league made it all the way through the play-offs, with the Yankees beating the Kansas City Royals 3-1 and the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 in the American League.

The Dodgers had it a little less easy, overcoming the San Diego Padres 3-2 and the New York Mets 4-2 to take the National League pennant.

A Yankees-Dodgers contest is the most-played World Series match-up, with these teams meeting for the 12th time, although the previous 11 all took place between 1941 and 1981.

And for the first seven of those, it was a cross-city World Series as the 'Bronx Bombers' took on their bitter rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, whose franchise relocated to Los Angeles in 1957 to make it an East/West Coast rivalry.

And while both are often among the franchises that supporters of other teams love to hate, the Yankees and Dodgers can boast probably the widest array of celebrity fans in MLB.

Expect the cameras to linger on the likes of Justin Timberlake or Jay-Z in the expensive seats behind home plate.

To say that Shohei Ohtani has had an eventful first year with the Dodgers would be the greatest of understatements.

Having moved across town after six years with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani signed a 10-year contract worth a record-breaking $700m (£558m), agreeing to defer the majority of his salary to allow the Dodgers to strengthen elsewhere.

Before he had even made his debut, Ohtani caused a social media stir in his native Japan by announcing he had married, sparking weeks of speculation before he revealed his wife's identity.

His long-time interpreter was fired by the Dodgers and arrested in connection with a multi-million-dollar fraud relating to illegal gambling, to which the interpreter has now pleaded guilty.

Back on the field, Ohtani's dog Decoy "threw out" the ceremonial first pitch in a game against the Baltimore Orioles in August, but the hound on the mound was eclipsed in September when his master became the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. The '50-50 baseball', whose ownership is disputed, was sold at auction for $4.4m (£3.39m) earlier this week.

While part of Ohtani's allure comes from his rare status as a 'two-way' player, able to play at the highest level as both a hitter and a pitcher, elbow surgery has meant he has not pitched in 2024, but his batting stats continue to impress.

And in his first appearance in the post-season, the sky is the limit for this undoubted global star.