Category: Baseball

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

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“Like every great story, it all starts with a thrilling first act.”

That’s how Ron Howard helped set up Game 1 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers in a special video that aired on FOX on Friday night.

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And who would know better than Howard, the famous director, producer, screenwriter and actor who has been helping tell epic tales since he was less than 10 years old?

The video actually starts with a dramatic, deep voice talking about how both teams are on the precipice of greatness — before there is a twist. Howard interrupts, calling “cut” and declaring that the hype video “isn’t working.”

[Related: Full coverage of the World Series]

The director then explains what makes this series so great, starting with “larger-than-life heroes,” as exciting clips play of Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge in action.

He then talks about the history behind two of MLB’s most-storied franchises, before moving on.

“But what really keeps you hooked, is the drama,” Howard says. “It’s the action, the kind that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”

And of course, Howard points out, fans always have to expect the unexpected on the way to a “triumphant ending.”

Watch the full video below, and click here for live updates of all the action.

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Video Details

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

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LOS ANGELES — Aaron Judge paused for a moment as he considered a question this week. The Yankees slugger, whose 2022 MVP season was sandwiched in between two from Shohei Ohtani, was asked this week what he admires about his award-winning counterpart “other than the obvious.”

A smile began to form across his face. 

“Other than the obvious?” Judge repeated with a chuckle before continuing. “I feel like everything’s obvious. He hits for average. He hits for power. The speed, doing what he did this year with the 50 stolen bases, it got talked about a lot, but I don’t think it got talked about enough. He’s an impressive athlete, the best player in the game, and what an ambassador for the sport.”

Ohtani said Thursday, a day before he faces off in a star-studded World Series against the man who paid him the compliment, that he was honored by Judge’s words. 

Most years, no one could question Judge’s proclamation. Because most years, no one in the sport could hit a baseball more than 450 feet while spinning a wicked sweeper and firing triple-digit heat off the mound, the way Ohtani can when he’s functioning at full capacity. 

This year, though, with that latter ability removed from the equation, the title of “best player in the game” is at least up for debate. Unable to pitch, Ohtani still offered a compelling case by delivering MLB’s first ever 50/50 season, finishing his first year with the Dodgers with 54 homers and 59 steals. He led all players in runs scored and total bases in a career year offensively and will soon become the first full-time DH to win MVP. 

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series]

“He stays through the zone for such a long time,” Judge said. “Even when you think you got him, you don’t got him.” 

Judge, meanwhile, outpaced Ohtani in every slash line category and led all qualified players in homers, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, walks and WAR, among a number of statistics. He finished just four home runs shy of the AL-record mark that he set two seasons ago. 

As staggering as his .701 slugging percentage was, Judge’s career-high .322 batting average was just as noteworthy to Ohtani. 

“Although I’m not as tall as him, I can relate to the fact that being a taller, bigger player, your strike zone’s going to be naturally bigger,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “For him to post a high batting average, he has to be very efficient with what he does, so I’m very impressed at how he’s been able to do both — hit for average and hit for power.”

In doing so, Judge has built a strong case as the best player in the sport this season, even if that’s a title he has already ceded to Ohtani, who will finish the year strictly as a DH. (Despite the progress Ohtani has made in his throwing program this year, manager Dave Roberts confirmed Thursday that there’s “no possibility” he pitches in this Fall Classic.) 

With the two stars now in different leagues, though, it’s a distinction that doesn’t need to be made. They both made a run at a triple crown, and they’re both the runaway favorites to win MVP in their respective leagues, which is one of the many facets that sets this star-studded World Series apart. 

“We had our battles throughout the regular season over the years when he was with the Angels,” Judge said. “It was kind of back and forth, seeing him hit homers over my head and having some good series. But getting a chance to be on the biggest stage in the biggest moments, I think that’s going to be pretty cool to watch.” 

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Juan Soto, already a four-time All-Star and World Series champion, turned 26 years old Friday and could make upward of $600 million in a couple of months. Mookie Betts is an eight-time All-Star and former MVP capable of playing either middle infield spot in addition to right field, where he won six Gold Gloves and is back playing after starting the year at shortstop. Freddie Freeman is an MVP, too, a year removed from leading the majors in doubles. Gerrit Cole, last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, will take the mound Friday at the same venue where his teammate and fellow Southern California native Giancarlo Stanton, another former MVP, was named the 2022 All-Star Game MVP.

If Freeman is able to suit up, as he intends to do on his hobbled ankle Friday at Dodger Stadium, it will mark the first time ever that five MVPs appear in a World Series. It could have been six had a toe injury not sidelined Clayton Kershaw for the season. 

And yet, in this juggernaut championship matchup, the likes of which the sport has never seen, none of those talents are even the most highly-regarded superstars on their respective teams. 

Because this World Series — in addition to featuring the two top seeds in each league, from the two most populous cities in the country, in the first Fall Classic between the Dodgers and Yankees in 43 years — will feature Judge and Ohtani, baseball’s two premier talents on the sport’s pinnacle in a premier matchup that will draw the attention of millions, whether they love or hate the teams they’re watching. 

You’d have to go back to Duke Snider’s Dodgers and Mickey Mantle’s Yankees, back in 1956 when the former team was still in Brooklyn, to find the last time a World Series was played with the home run leader from each league. 

“You’re talking about two of the classic franchises, two teams that have the sport’s biggest stars,” Max Muncy said. “On our team, you’ve got Shohei, Freddie, Mookie. On their team, you’ve got Aaron Judge, Giancarlo, Juan Soto. You’re talking about the absolute biggest stars in the game, and now they’re going to be playing on the biggest stage? As a fan, how special is this, man?”

It’s been 12 years since the presumptive MVPs from each league battled in a World Series, when Buster Posey faced Miguel Cabrera in 2012. That year, both AL wild-card teams had more wins than Cabrera’s Detroit Tigers, while Posey’s San Francisco Giants had the fewest wins of the three NL division winners. 

That won’t be the case when Ohtani’s Dodgers and Judge’s Yankees, the two best teams in the sport this season, meet in the World Series for the first time since 1981. They’re not exact replicas of each other, especially considering the status of the Dodgers’ ravaged starting rotation, but their strategies for offensive success are similar. They homered more than any team in their respective leagues. They also chased less and walked more than any other teams in the majors.  

And they were carried by the most prolific offensive forces in the game. 

“Obviously, I’ve gotten to see Aaron now for seven years, got to know him well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.  “Just the reverence I have for the person, excited that he’s going to get to go be on this stage. Of course, I know playing against Shohei what an amazing talent he is, and obviously going to the Dodgers this year and having the kind of season he’s put out there, I think it’s great for the sport, great for baseball.”

The Dodgers designated hitter has dominated the sport since coming all the way back from his first Tommy John surgery. He hit 46 homers and went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in an MVP 2021 season. Judge followed by passing Roger Maris for an AL-best 62 home runs in an MVP 2022 season. Ohtani answered back last year, still thriving on the mound while enjoying a career year at the plate to earn his second MVP. 

But despite all the success, Ohtani had never been to the playoffs before this year. And Judge, for all that power and production, had never gotten the Yankees to the World Series. He also, to this point, hasn’t replicated his usual offensive output when the calendar flips to October. 

Both have a chance to write new chapters in their prolific careers, the way the Yankees captain imagined when he decided to stay in pinstripes and the way Ohtani envisioned when he joined the Dodgers on a record deal this offseason, a year after winning the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan. 

“He’s such a great ambassador for this game,” Judge said. “He plays the game the right way. You see him hustling around the diamond, I think that sets such a great example for our youth and all the kids that are going to be watching this series. So, definitely looking forward to this.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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LOS ANGELES — When Juan Soto takes the field before first pitches in the Bronx, he sprints to his position in right field and gets the crowd going. As spectacular an entertainer as he is a disciplined hitter, he raises his arms and implores the home fans sitting directly behind him to bring animated energy. Sometimes he interacts with the crowd by signing baseballs. And after his first ever roll call from the bleacher creatures, he responded by taking a full bow for them. Most days, though, he puts his arms over his head and makes the shape of a heart when he hears his name being chanted.

It’s all love for Soto and the Yankees as they get ready to take on the Dodgers in the World Series. 

“I feel like it’s them. They make it really easy for me,” Soto said Thursday, when asked why he’s fit in so well with the Yankees. “They really welcomed me, really nice, and how they treat me and how they make me feel when I stepped in that clubhouse in spring training. They really make it easy for me. I think they are the big part of this, that’s why I feel really comfortable with where I’m at and how happy I am right now.”

Friday’s Game 1 also happens to be Soto’s 26th birthday, and there’s no other way he’d rather celebrate than by getting a win and a leg up over Los Angeles. Winning is what Soto cherishes to his core, and it will be at the top of his list of priorities when he’s exploring free agency this offseason, too.

In Soto’s best-case scenario, he helps the Yankees win the Fall Classic with more clutch at-bats like the one he had in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series in Cleveland, and he hits the market with his stock peaking. We know he turned down a reported $440 million in 2022 from the Nationals, the team that signed him out of the Dominican Republic and later won a World Series with him, not long before he was traded to the Padres. Entering this season, it was widely believed Soto could command a contract worth at least $500 million. Then he posted career highs in bWAR (8.8) and OPS+ (178) for a full season. 

Don’t be surprised if Soto’s overall contract value surpasses $600 million this winter. 

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series]

“I would say Scott [Boras] has been doing a really good job to not make it hard for me,” Soto said. “He’s been taking all the bullets and everything. I’m just focusing on playing baseball right now. That’s what I’ve been doing since day one, just focusing on baseball, and anything that comes up with [free agency], I just let him [handle] it.”

All of which begs the question, what’s the Yankees’ best-case scenario? Of course, they want to win the World Series with Soto in the only season he’s certain to be in pinstripes. But that would hardly make their negotiations with him this winter any simpler. In fact, if he’s wearing a second World Series ring as he tours ballparks and meets with team owners in the offseason, that will only add more zeroes to his asking price. 

One of those team owners is expected to be Mets billionaire Steve Cohen, who has significant money coming off the books this winter and has shown he will go after a coveted free agent if he really wants to. Since winning is what matters most to Soto, the Mets just showed the world that they could block out the noise, put their heads down, and compete all the way to the playoffs — their enchanted season finally finishing in the NLCS against the Dodgers, just two wins shy of reaching the Fall Classic despite no one expecting them to even sniff October baseball. The trifecta of Cohen, top baseball executive David Stearns and promising first-year manager Carlos Mendoza should make Queens an attractive borough for impending free agents, including Soto. 

The left-handed slugger is expected to field several offers this offseason, with big spenders such as the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants, and maybe even the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Cardinals all potentially in play as landing spots. But in the end, it could very well come down to a two-team bidding war in New York, and that should unnerve Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. If Cohen really wants to go after Soto, it’s hard to envision the Yankees beating his offer. Really, the Yankees cannot let it get down to that if they’re resolute on keeping Soto in the Bronx.

The Yankees will have to make an extremely competitive offer to keep Soto long term. This isn’t the time to play games, cross their fingers and hope Soto will stay, just because they traded for him last winter and have experienced a majestic season together. Soto has won before, and he’s been elite everywhere he’s played. Moreover, he reminded all 30 teams this postseason how quickly he can change the game with one at-bat, one swing, and send his team to the World Series. Several owners figure to be willing to bet the house on such a generational superstar and join the Soto sweepstakes this offseason. 

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When considering that he’s arguably the second-best young free agent in the history of the sport — behind only Álex Rodríguez — it’s fair to wonder, other than the obvious, what separates Soto from the rest of his peers. It starts with a dedication to his craft that even stands out to fellow generational talent Aaron Judge.

“I think it might have been early May, we were in Minnesota, I think he may have had a couple bad games,” Judge explained. “I saw him in the cage, he showed up early doing work with [Yankees assistant hitting coach] Pat Roessler. And I was talking to him like, ‘Hey, what are you working on? What are you doing?’ And he was like, ‘Ah, I just don’t feel right. This doesn’t feel right. This doesn’t feel right.’ And also, I’m looking up at the scoreboard, and he’s hitting .320, 15 homers. I’m like, ‘I think you’re doing alright.’ 

“So, it’s impressive to see, even a guy like him, he looks like he’s got it all figured out, he continues to put in the work, put in the dedication year in and year out. He’s one of the best players in the game, a superstar, and he continues to want to improve and continue to do better.” 

Soto’s iconic 10th inning at-bat in Game 5 of the ALCS in Cleveland had me wondering if he’s the most confident player at the plate in baseball right now, particularly as someone who can deliver in those high-pressure situations — so, I asked Aaron Boone. 

The Yankees manager paused for 10 full seconds before answering whether Soto is the most confident player he’s ever managed, or currently playing in the game. He appeared to search for the best way to answer “yes” without disparaging his other great, potentially Cooperstown-bound sluggers.

“I mean, I don’t know,” Boone chuckled. “I think we have a number of those players that are pretty confident in what they can do. He’s one of the greats that I’ve ever managed, but I’m managing a few of those guys. One of the things that’s certainly been enjoyable for me is getting to know Juan, the person and who he is. And to see his at-bat quality all year. 

“I go back to the first spring training game where there were a lot of eyes on that, and it’s like you became very aware very early that, I’ve described it as, his at-bats are like wars, battles. It’s not too often that you see the crowd feed off of ball one, strike one [like] with Juan, because he creates this theatrical battle between him and the pitcher as much as anyone I’ve ever seen.”

It’s hard to believe there’s a manager out there who would want anyone other than Soto at the plate right now when the game — the season — is on the line. For one, Soto’s elite plate discipline puts him on another playing field. He hardly ever makes mistakes, and when he does, he adjusts his swing decisions within the same at-bat. Although 26 years young, he enters every high-leverage situation believing in his heart of hearts that he’s the best player on the diamond. Soto’s unrelenting temperament gives him the chance to wait for the pitch he knows he can hit. The bigger the moment, the higher the stakes, the more likely he is to seize his golden opportunity. 

All of this has built Soto’s mythology and made him a monumental figure in the history of baseball, already. Just keep in mind that even though he has clearly relished playing for the Yankees and batting in front of Judge, especially now that they’re four wins away from winning the whole damn thing, that doesn’t make his free agency a foregone conclusion. Other front offices are salivating at the thought of adding Soto to their rosters, and if there’s a wide enough gap between those proposals and what the Yankees are offering, Soto’s time in the Bronx could be over next week. 

Unlike his interactions with the fan base on a nightly basis, the decision of where to sign a long-term contract and spend the next decade or more of his career won’t just be about love. 

Oftentimes, the determination to win can be a business. 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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