Mind-blowing stats and facts about the historic Yanks-Dodgers World Series

The 2024 World Series matchup is set and it's especially star-studded this year. We've been so fortunate to witness the individual careers of Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole, Freddie Freeman, Giancarlo Stanton and many more, and now we get to see them come together on the sport's biggest stage.

Here are 10 reasons why this World Series will be historic.

1. MVPs are everywhere
Along with Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Judge and Stanton, there are five players who have won MVP in their careers who will take the field in the Fall Classic. If all five appear, it would be the most former MVPs to play in a World Series, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The nine previous Fall Classics featured four former MVPs, not even since 1971 with Boog Powell, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson and Roberto Clemente. Our count of five doesn't even include Clayton Kershaw, who won't appear in this series but is certainly a part of Dodgers history.

2. Expect lots of slugs
A lot of energy will be displayed. Judge hit 58 home runs this season and Ohtani hit 54. It would be the first World Series between two players who each hit at least 50 home runs in the regular season that year.

3. Like, a lot of slugs
That home run total was enough for each to lead his league. It was the sixth World Series home run leader in each league and the first since 1956, along with Mickey Mantle and Duke Snyder. The other five were in 1937 (Joe DiMaggio and Mel Ott), 1936 (Lou Gehrig and Ott), 1928 (Babe Ruth and Jim Bottomley) and 1921 (Ruth and George Kelly), according to Elias.

4. A trio of elite hitters
And we can never forget about Soto. He also ranks third in MLB among eligible players in WRC+ this year, behind Judge (218) and Ohtani (181) at 180. This will be the first series in post-season history to feature the top three qualified players in WRC+ from that season. In other words, it will be the first time that three top all-around offensive performers will share a field in the postseason.

5. Data agree
The trio also led the majors in barrels this year: Judge had 105, Ohtani had 103 and Soto had 91. This will be the first season series since Statcast began tracking it in 2015 that the barrel will feature each of the top three from that regular season. Another way to measure how much raw power will be on display in one place.

6. Elite exit velocity
Of course, Stanton also hits the ball very hard. Over the past four seasons, including the playoffs, the most 110+ mph home runs among three players are Jazz (89), Ohtani (82) and Stanton (70). No other player has more than 65 in that span. If we break it down to 115+ mph home runs, the leaders are Ohtani (24), Stanton (23) and Judge (11).

7. Feeling bad for baseball
If we look at this season, including the playoffs, the most 110+ mph home runs in baseball are Ohtani (29), Judge (28), Stanton (23) and Soto (17). Baseball, be warned.

8. The best rare matchups in every league
It's not just former MVP skills on display in this series; We have the expected MVPs for this season in Judge and Ohtani. Although they won't be announced until after the World Series, it seems likely that this will become the seventh World Series in the divisional era (since 1969) to feature that year's MVPs. The last time this happened was in 2012, with Buster Posey and Miguel Cabrera. Before that, it was 1988 (Jose Canseco, Kirk Gibson), 1980 (George Brett, Mike Schmidt), 1976 (Joe Morgan, Thurman Munson), 1975 (Fred Lynn, Morgan) and 1970 (Boog Powell, Johnny Bench).

9. An MVP double dip?
And if Judge or Ohtani wins the World Series MVP? Only five players have won the World Series MVP in addition to the regular-season MVP in the same year. That hasn't happened since Mike Schmidt in 1980. Before that, it was Willie Stargell in 1979 (he also won NLCS MVP that year), Reggie Jackson in 1973, Frank Robinson in 1966 and Sandy Koufax in 1963.

10. Hall clock
With all this talent on the field, it's not hard to imagine how many future Hall of Famers we'll see in this World Series With Soto, Judge, Stanton, Cole, Ohtani, Bates and Freeman, it's fair to say there are at least seven players on strong Hall of Fame tracks. And that doesn't even count Kershaw, as mentioned above, who won't be appearing. The last World Series with seven or more Hall of Famers was in 1996 with nine: Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Fred McGriff, John Schmoltz, Wade Boggs, Derek Jeter, Tim Raines and Mariano Rivera. And who knows what other players on either team might one day end up on the same track, especially with a 2024 championship under their belts.