The Dodgers and Yankees are poised for a stellar World Series in decades

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Even 8-year-old Charlie Freeman is excited about one Dodgers-Yankees World Series.

“He's at Universal (Studios) with some of his friends right now, but he goes, 'Dad, I can't wait for the World Series to start tomorrow,'” Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman said in the final workout of Friday's opener. “He's on YouTube and watching all the Yankees-Dodgers videos. So you're starting to get an indication of how big it can be.”

This will be the 12th Dodgers-Yankees matchup And the first in 43 years. The rivalry dates back to 1941, when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn and Joe DiMaggio's Yankees were seeking their fifth title in six years.

“You can be the best player. You can do whatever you want,” Yankees star Juan Soto said, “but at the end of the day, people remember you because you won a World Series.”

Broadway vs. Hollywood has produced star-studded series in decades, if not more. The league championship series had the highest US TV ratings since 2017, and the Dodgers' viewership from Japan has declined due to interest in Shohei Ohtani.

“You could easily make an argument that globally, the Yankees and Dodgers are the most followed, the most supported, the most visible,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said.

This statistic marks the first World Series to feature five MVPs: the Dodgers' Ohtani, Freeman and Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Giancarlo Stanton. There hasn't been a Fall Classic with four since 1971.

Ohtani and Judge mark the first series to feature both since San Francisco's Buster Posey and Detroit's Miguel Cabrera in 2012, a potential MVP this year. This will be the first series with Judge (58) as a pair of 50-home run hitters. Ohtani (54).

In the expanded playoff era, this is the fifth World Series involving the teams with the best records in each league since the wild card era began in 1995.

“I'm sure I'm going to feel how special it is,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.

Players practiced in 85-degree weather as the sun highlighted the sky blue, yellow, light orange and sea foam green seats at Dodger Stadium. Freeman, slowed by a bad ankle, insisted he would be in the lineup for the opener.

While the Dodgers seek their eighth title and second in five years, the Yankees are in the World Series for the first time since winning No. 27 in 2009.

“This is where the real fun begins,” Judge said.

Judge understood that a title was necessary for membership among the Yankees' greats.

“When you've got a few rings on your fingers they definitely have a different glow to them walking around here,” he said. “I think that's the biggest thing, you can see they're battle-tested. They have been through the grind. They've been through ups and downs and they've come out on top.”

Aaron Boone, Dave Roberts Rekindle Their Own Decades-Old Feud

Roberts and Yankees manager Aaron Boone have faced each other since April 3, 1992, when Roberts' UCLA Bruins defeated Boone's Southern California Trojans' 11-1 at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium.

“As we all know here, you are a Trojan for life. You've been a Bruin for four years,” Boone joked.

Speaking about Boone's shot, Roberts said: “Wow! That hurts” and “Absolutely disagree, 100 percent.”

Boone sent Roberts a Yankees emoji when the charter flight landed in New York on Wednesday.

“There was another emoji I thought about sending him with a finger, but I didn't,” Roberts said. “I just returned a smile emoji.”

Jack Flaherty is back in the World Series — this time to pitch

Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty, who started the opener against the Yankees' Gerrit Cole, was high school teammates with Max Fried and Lucas Giolito at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. Three years ago, Flaherty was with Giolito for World Series Game 6 at Houston's Minute Maid Park to watch Fried's victory that ended the Atlanta Braves' World Series title.

“It's a funny feeling to watch, because you're excited for one of your best friends and you're incredibly happy for him, at the same moment you're a competitor and you want to be in that situation, you want to be on the field,” Flaherty said.

Flaherty is 1-2 with a 7.04 ERA in three postseason starts this year. Cole is 1-1 with a 3.31 ERA in three starts.

Like Roberts, Cole attended UCLA. The pitcher's college roots align more with the Dodgers manager than his own.

“Harron and I don't always agree on everything,” he said.

Hal Steinbrenner recalls the 1977 Yankees-Dodgers World Series showdown

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner was 7 years old in 1977 when the Yankees won their first title under his father, George. In the Bronx, Reggie Jackson hit three homers on three straight swings to clinch the title with a Game 6 win over the New York Dodgers.

“I'd say my two most vivid memories are Reggie's third home run, and of course the final popup that was caught by (Mike) Torrez, and the pandemonium that happened,” he recalled this week. “Had a great day!”