The Fall Classic might really live up its name this year.
If the Yankees vs. the Dodgers in the World Series isn’t a ‘classic’ then no matchup rates that adjective.
First-half success does not necessarily carry over through the rest of the regular season, but a quick observation of the Major League Baseball standings heading into August show that the Yankees and Dodgers — especially the Dodgers — are the best teams in their respective leagues.
While the East Division-leading Yankees were a game or two ahead of Houston and Minnesota in the overall American League standings, the Dodgers were running away from the rest of their National league foes.
It would be an end-of-season award rarity, but the Dodgers might have the NL’s Most Valuable Player, Cody Bellinger, and the Cy Young (pitching) award winner, Hyun-Jin Ryu. Bellinger and last year’s NL MVP, Christian Yelich of Milwaukee, are having the two best offensive years of anyone and are likely to be neck and neck in year-end voting. Bellinger is having a career year (on pace for 55 homers) and has great backup support from Max Muncy and Joc Pederson, both of whom are on target for 30-plus home runs. Ryu, meanwhile, has little competition for the Cy Young honour, thanks to his late-July 11-2 won-lost record and 1.76 earned-run average, the only sub-.2.00 pitcher in the game. Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Walker Beuhler round out an outstanding staff, although Hill is out for a few more weeks.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have eight players with home runs in double figures, and that number does not include slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who will easily reach that level by the time Game No. 162 comes around. Aaron Judge and Stanton, who hit 27 and 36 homers respectively last year, both missed a large chunk of the first half this season due to injuries. To fill the power void when Stanton and Judge were on the shelf, the Yanks — leading the majors in home runs by a wide margin — swung a deal for former Jays’ slugger Edwin Encarnacion.
The 2019 version of Dodgers may be their best team in decades. Their last World Series title came in 1988, 31 years ago, while the most recent Yankees-Dodgers matchup came in 1981. Through the years however, Yankees vs. Dodgers has happened 11 times, the most frequent matchup in MLB history. Come October, the Yankees’ bats vs. the Dodgers’ pitching should provide baseball fans with a World Series that’s… well, let’s call it a classic.
- Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “Greenland is the least densely populated nation in the world, according to 24/7 Wall Street, with only 0.4 people per square mile. In other words, it’s the Marlins Park of countries.”
- Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg, via Twitter, on the Running of the Bulls: “Or as the bulls call it, ‘The Goring of the Drunk Idiots.’”
- Golf Digest’s Ryan Herrington in an Open Championship blog, on Tiger Woods’ enthusiasm on the range prior to the second round following a tournament-killing 78: “He has a resigned ‘Alright, I'm here’ look of a man whose girlfriend signed the couple up for neighbourhood leaf cleaning during a playoff game.”
- Vancouver’s Torben Rolfsen on TSN’s Rolfsen Report: “I couldn’t steal a point off Serena Williams if she was blindfolded.”
- Comedy guy Brad Dickson on Twitter, on Illinois football coach Lovie Smith’s appearance at a Big Ten media day. “His new beard makes Smith look like a cross between the Unabomber and the bassist for ZZ Top.”
- Dickson again, from the same media day event: "(Maryland coach Mike) Locksley becomes about the fifth coach of the day to say he looks for ‘good citizens, good people' to fill his roster. When, in fact, you know most of these coaches would sign an escaped convict who could run a 4.3 40.”
- Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: “Ice Cube’s Big3 basketball league is underway. That’s where old former players try to show a disinterested NBA they’ve still got it. It’s called the Big3 because ‘Has-Beens On Parade’ sounded a bit harsh.”
- Comedy writer Jim Barach: “Charles Barkley says Zion Williamson is ‘out of shape.’ Barkley calling someone out for being fat is like being told you have a drinking problem by David Hasselhoff.”
- From fark.com after NHL star Artemi Panaran criticized Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying it was time for him to resign: “New York Rangers free agent signing Artemi Panarin expected to miss a big chunk of next season due to ...*checks notes*… Polonium-210 poisoning.”
- Headline at TheOnion.com: “Russell Westbrook quietly asks Rockets team doctor if he needs to make free throw to pass physical.”
- Dwight Perry again: “Among the twosomes playing in the LPGA Tour’s Dow Great Lakes Invitational team event: Pajaree Anannarukarn and Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras. The Society of One-Column Headline Writers immediately filed a grievance.”
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