It’s the final showdown of the Major League Baseball season, and as the leaves change color, the World Series this year will turn familiar shades of Dodger Blue and Yankee pinstripes. For the 12th time — with their first meeting happening in 1941 — the Yankees and Dodgers face off in the World Series. Their most recent World Series meeting in 1981 will carry a particularly special significance this year, with Friday’s Game 1 coming just days after the death of Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela, who was the rookie star of that 1981 championship team at the height of “Fernandomania.”
As much as the tale of the tape in this series could be about the names and logos on the front of the uniforms, this year’s matchup is about the first-timers in this storied baseball rivalry. Shohei Ohtani is in the World Series for the first time in his first season with the Dodgers, and Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are also making their first appearances with the Yankees.
Both clubs have been off for nearly a week, so the pitching staffs are lined up for the two teams that finished with the best records in their respective leagues in the regular season. In Game 1, Gerrit Cole (1-0, 3.31 ERA, 16.1 IP, 12 K, 6 BB in 2024 postseason) takes the ball for the Yankees against Jack Flaherty (1-2, 7.04 ERA, 15.1 IP, 8 K, 7 BB) for the Dodgers.
Time: 8:08 p.m. ET
Location: Dodger Stadium | Los Angeles
TV Channel: Fox
Streaming: Fox Sports App, Fubo
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Brad Paisley, a big Dodgers fan, performs the national anthem with electric guitar and flyover, and we’re close to getting started at Dodger Stadium.
More than a few Dodgers fans started chanting “Fernando” during that moment of silence.
Throwing out the first pitch: 1988 World Series champion Orel Hershiser.
Catching the first pitch: 1981 World Series MVP Steve Yeager.
In honor of the late Fernando Valenzuela, who was teammates with both Hershiser and Yeager, the ball is being placed on the mound, where Valenzuela’s No. 34 is painted. Now, a moment of silence in honor of Valenzuela, with fans encouraged to look to the heavens like the pitcher’s signature pitching motion.
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