This is an absolute best case scenario, slam-dunk World Series for the MLB. Not only will the World Series feature two of the biggest markets in North America and two of the most popular teams, but it will also feature arguably the two best players on the planet in Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.

With Game 1 set for Friday in L.A., let’s dive deeper into Ohtani and Judge and pit their individual performances against each other. Who will have more hits? Who will have more home runs? And most importantly, who will add a World Series trophy to their collection?

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Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani has done nothing but impress over his six MLB seasons. He’ll likely go down as one of the best players of all-time and I would argue he’s already the best two-way player who has ever played the game. Even in a season where he couldn’t pitch, Ohtani continued to make history as the first MLB player ever to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.

It was a disservice to baseball fans that Ohtani was stuck in a perpetually dysfunctional Angels organization, so I applaud his decision to take his talents an hour north to a Dodgers franchise that is essentially the Yankees of the west.

Ohtani has continued to impress in his first postseason action. He hit a crucial game-tying three-run homer in Game 1 of the NLDS and he cranked two home runs with eight hits, a .548 on-base percentage and 1.185 OPS in the NLCS.

In 26 career games against the Yankees, Ohtani has a .209 batting average with 19 hits, nine homers, 18 RBIs and 20 runs scored. I don’t think Ohtani will have a problem against New York in the World Series. The Dodgers have been smart about putting Ohtani in the lead-off spot so teams can’t pitch around him with the threats of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez next in the lineup.

World Series prediction: Shohei Ohtani most steals (+150)

Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge had another monster regular season in 2024 as he led the majors in home runs (58), RBI (144), on-base percentage (.458) and OPS (1.159). Things haven’t gone as smoothly in the playoffs, with Judge batting just .161, but he’s also come in clutch with a couple of timely home runs and five RBIs in the ALCS.

Judge has only played 10 career games against the Dodgers, but he’s torched L.A. in the process. Over that span he has batted .389 with 14 hits, eight home runs, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored. Judge usually hits third in the lineup between Juan Soto and either Giancarlo Stanton or Austin Wells, so he’ll have plenty of opportunity in his first World Series as L.A. won’t be able to pitch around him.

Judge is a big-game player and I think he’ll be a lot more noticeable in the World Series.

World Series prediction: Aaron Judge most home runs (+275), most RBIs (+260)

World Series prediction

You can’t argue that the Yankees are the most popular (or divisive) team in baseball and with all due respect to Red Sox fans, the Dodgers are likely No. 2 on that list. Sorry for the pun, but this World Series matchup is a grand slam for Major League Baseball.

L.A. is opening as a short favourite to win the series and they’ll have home field advantage. As good as L.A. is with Ohtani leading the way, I still feel like New York has the deeper lineup. Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto have been lethal and Judge looks like he’s heating up.

The Yankees’ rotation will also have the edge, led by ace Gerrit Cole. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are dealing with injury problems and they’ve had to rely on extra innings from the bullpen to make it this far. That won’t work against New York.

World Series prediction: Yankees (+110)