Yankees-Dodgers World Series a monster matchup with plenty of subplots

For all the times when a scrappy, small-market team comes out of nowhere for a wild October run that captivates the sport, there is this: Goliath vs.Goliath. East vs.

West. Yankees vs.Dodgers. The two iconic franchises will renew acquaintances in the World Series beginning Friday at Dodger Stadium in a matchup flush with the game’s biggest stars and plenty of rich storylines. “The stars will be out, the eyeballs will be watching and hopefully we can deliver on a great series,” manager Aaron Boone said Monday, a day after the Dodgers finished off the Mets in the ALCS to lock up their place in the Fall Classic. This will mark the 12th World Series meeting between the Yankees and Dodgers — seven of which came when the latter was playing in Brooklyn — with the Yankees holding the 8-3 advantage.

But this year’s edition, the first since 1981, will make some history. Not including the shortened 2020 season, this is also only the second time this century that the top seed from each league has met in the World Series. Here’s a look at the top storylines: A dream matchup for Major League Baseball pits some of the sport’s biggest stars against each other: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole versus Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Of course, there are plenty of supporting actors and ensembles that helped each team get here.But six of the game’s top 10 players will be sharing the field in this World Series. Judge and Ohtani are likely to be MVPs in their respective leagues after a season in which Judge led the AL with 58 home runs and Ohtani led the NL with 54.

They are responsible for the two biggest free-agent deals in MLB history (Ohtani 10 years for $700 million and Judge nine years for $360 million), though Soto will have something to say about that this offseason. Like Soto, both Betts and Freeman (who is playing through a sprained ankle that has limited him and kept him out of three playoff games) are former MVPs and Wor...