All of New York, it would seem, is unified on a single goal this week to wish an all-Big Apple World Series on a sports-crazed nation.
In a town with multiple teams in every major sport, perhaps there can be a common goal among the New York masses: wish success on your cross-town foe, then humiliate them on baseball’s biggest stage.
Come together to tear each other apart. Eyes on the same prize. Magical.
Except there is a small corner of the city where that hope might not be completely shared. At MLB’s corporate office, the narratives surrounding a Yankees-Mets World Series sure sound delicious.
Two crazed fan bases on opposing sides. Two free-spending franchises who would draw eyes nationally to see not only who wins but who has to scurry away as the loser. Ratings would be larger than, say, a Texas Rangers-Arizona Diamondbacks matchup.
Except there is another matchup that also can bring a large audience. A Dodgers-Yankees series would be another clash of vocal fan bases from massive TV markets. It would be Aaron Judge vs. Shohei Ohtani and a chance to see what superpower wins and which one disappears into the sea.
A duel of No. 1 seeds can also put a pause to the chatter that the current playoff structure is flawed in some kind of reverse-gravity hourglass where bottom playoff seeds magically rise to the top amid a 12-team postseason.
That Rangers-Diamondbacks World Series from a year ago? That was a No. 5 seed getting past a No. 6 seed. In 2022, the Philadelphia Phillies made the World Series as a No. 6 seed. Those were the first two seasons of the current 12-team playoff structure.
A Mets World Series berth in 2024 would make it three No. 6 seeds playing for the title in three seasons. Is it even a random occurrence at that point?
It would be overdramatic to say the current playoff system is counting on a Dodgers-Yankees World Series, but it might at least save us from reading 2025 postseason preview stories about which No. 6 seed will be playing for the title and why.
The theories as to why lower seeds are making it to the World Series vary, but the general consensus is that the top two teams from each league have typically wrapped up their playoff spot days before the regular season ends. That gives them a chance to step off the gas in a well-deserved respite after a long six-month season, not counting spring training.
Then comes a bye into the division series and five days without games. That’s an eternity in the everyday mentality of the sport.
Meanwhile, lower seeds have been scratching and clawing until the end of the schedule before already experiencing the joy of a playoff series victory, all while their opponents have been playing simulated games or having over-glorified batting practice sessions.
And yet, maybe the rise of the No. 6 seeds is a good thing. Heck, maybe a seventh team in each league should be added.
The Dodgers have realized that their sense of urgency could have been better in recent years. They won a baseball-best 111 games in 2022, then were thumped by the San Diego Padres in the division series to see their season come to an end.
In advance of playing the Padres in a playoff series again this season, the Dodgers had more of an edge about them. Their workouts in preparation for the NLDS were diligent; they traveled to San Diego together and even held a team watch party for at least one wild-card game.
The Dodgers advanced this time in an energetic five-game series. A pitching staff that was supposed to be in shambles closed the series on a 24-inning scoreless streak.
“We have a lot to prove,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before his team even played their first postseason game. “A lot of people have certainly doubted us, and so I think our guys have kind of embraced that. And I like the edge. I like that hunter mentality from us.”
A Mets-Yankees World Series would be just fine for the overall product as higher seeds continue to figure out ways to maintain their intensity.
Yet, maybe for that product to continue in its current form or expand to add another layer of drama, perhaps a Dodgers-Yankees World Series is needed. Otherwise, somebody gets the bright idea that the current playoff schedule needs to be tweaked.
