CT Sports’ staff predict World Series

The 2024 MLB playoffs started on Oct. 1 as six teams have officially clinched a playoff spot. Here are some of the CT Sports’ staff predictions on who will win the World Series.  

Dan Elson, Contributing Writer

The New York Yankees will beat the Philadelphia Phillies in seven games to win the World Series. 

The Yankees only have one year with superstars Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole all on the same team. The Yankees know they can’t mess it up this year and fans can count on them to play with urgency. 

Soto and Judge are the best two-three punch in baseball. Soto is postseason-proven already and will pose a huge threat to pitchers. Soto, who hit .288 with 41 home runs and drove in 109 runs according to Baseball-Reference, already won a championship with the Washington Nationals in 2019. He hit .277 and belted five home runs in the 2019 postseason. Soto has a career .845 OPS in the playoffs according to StatMuse. 

Judge hit .322 with 58 home runs this season and hasn’t gotten the job done in the playoffs in recent years but this is the postseason where he puts it all together at the plate. Judge produced 144 RBIs this year, is a better hitter now than he was two years ago and his plate discipline gets better by his age. 

There isn’t another really great team in the American League. The Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals are really good teams, but they’re young with very little to no playoff experience, and that matters. The Cleveland Guardians are good but can never get over the hump in the playoffs. 

The Houston Astros aren’t nearly the great team they once were, but still pose a threat to the Yankees because of postseason experience. 

The last two postseason runs from the Phillies, who play with a slow heartbeat, proved they are built for deep playoff runs now. Their lineup is as deep as it gets. The Phillies, who ranked 11th in ERA, according to MLB, have a good one-two punch in the starting rotation in pitchers Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. 

Both teams are really good, but this is the Yankees time to shine and they know it. Their lineup is deep and built for a long postseason run. It’s World Series or bust as usual for the Yankees.

Kyler Gilliam, Contributing Writer

The Los Angeles Dodgers will defeat the Baltimore Orioles in five games to become the 2024 World Series champions.

The Dodgers are led by designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, a three-time winner of the league’s Most Valuable Player award, who is making history as the first player to eclipse 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, according to ESPN. 

Ohtani is coming off an elbow injury that has forced him into a hitting-only role for the Dodgers. He took that role and had his best offensive season to date, hitting career highs in hits, runs, runs batted in, home runs, doubles, stolen bases, batting average and total bases, according to Statmuse.

Ohtani’s game-shattering offensive production, combined with an experienced roster of shortstop Mookie Betts, first baseman Freddie Freeman and outfielder Teoscar Hernández, have the Dodgers ranked in the top five for runs, home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, according to the MLB.

The Orioles are a young team with an explosive bat. They are led by shortstop Gunner Henderson, the former Silver Slugger award winner who is only 23 years old. He is surrounded by other young hitters who have Baltimore in second place in home runs this season, according to MLB.

The average age for an Oriole batter is 26.9, which is the fifth youngest in the entire league, according to baseball reference.

The Orioles inexperience has led to some setbacks throughout the season, leaving them in the wild card. However, with an unpredictable American League, the Orioles can ramp up their bats and bring themselves to the World Series. But, the Orioles’ chase for the Commissioner’s Trophy will be thwarted by the experience and talent of the Dodgers. 

Malachi Keys, Contributing Writer 

The 2024 World Series will be a heavyweight battle between the two biggest names in baseball: the New York Yankees out of the American League and the Los Angeles Dodgers out of the National League. Both teams are formidable in every aspect of the game. However, expect the Dodgers to add their fourth Commissioner’s Trophy to their display case in this seven-game series. 

Favored repeat Most Valuable Players New York Yankee Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodger Shohei Ohtani will go head to head in a matchup for the history books, and will likely shatter all-time World Series viewer ratings. 

While the Yankees have diverse and versatile hitting out of their dugout, namely outfielders Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, I trust the Dodgers pitching staff, bullpen and manager Dave Roberts’ prior World Series experience to make adjustments accordingly. 

Los Angeles also has a plethora of hitters who can get hot at any moment, including Ohtani, arguably the greatest baseball player ever. 

Although New York has a daunting pitching staff, their ace Gerrit Cole has been known to fumble in high-leverage moments. Yankees’ Manager Aaron Boone also has made questionable decisions under pressure. 

At the end of the day, the Dodgers have been on the World Series stage before and have been successful. Experience will be the X factor in this matchup.

Jenny Allen, Contributing Writer 

The AL East champions, the New York Yankees, will face off against and defeat the NL West champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the 2024 World Series. 

This matchup will be a showdown between Yankee star outfielders Aaron Judge and Juan Soto versus Dodgers elites Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández. 

Although Ohtani has had a remarkable season at the plate, Yankees pitchers Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Carlos Rodon have been a force from the mound which will challenge Ohtani and the Dodgers. The Yankees’ bullpen gives the team reassurance, allowing them to take advantage of pitching rotations.  

With a team batting average of .248 and a regular-season record of 94-68 the Yankees have had a dominating season, according to Yahoo Sports. Their ability to produce runs in times of need will be intimidating for the Dodgers. 

Judge currently leads the team in both batting average and runs batted in, as well as the MLB in total home runs, making him not only a team leader but a major threat to opponents, according to MLB. 

This battle will be an extreme test of not only skill but strategy. Both teams will rely on their key players to dominate, but the Yankees versatility and adaptability will give them enough leverage to be the 2024 World Series champions.