"It's Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago" – Ex-Yankees coach jokes Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge World Series has MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in party mode
Shohei Ohtani's Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge's New York Yankees will meet in the World Series. The huge clash between the teams is great not only from a purely sporting point of view but also from a commercial one for MLB, as one former New York Yankees coach pointed out.
On Monday's episode of "The Mayor's Office with Sean Casey," Casey, who was the Yankees' hitting coach in 2023, and MLB analyst Rich Ciancimino talked about the upcoming matchup.
Casey jokingly remarked how the mouthwatering World Series clash would be cause for celebration for MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred.
"Rob Manfred and MLB, are they partying right now? ... The dream matchup for Major League Baseball is the Dodgers-Yankees. You got the two stars of the game, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, and you got them locking horns for all the marbles in the two biggest markets in baseball (USA and Japan), it's going to be incredible." Casey said [5:15]
Casey then went on to compare the Dodgers-Yankees matchup to the iconic boxing bout in the "Rocky" movie series.
"There's so much star power, I love how it lines up, I love the Betts-Soto comp, I love Ohtani-Judge. There's so many great players on these teams, so much star power. ... This is Rocky-Drago. I can't wait." Casey added [5:50]
Shohei Ohtani-Aaron Judge clash in World Series makes MLB history
The World Series clash between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees is set to begin on Friday, October 25. In just reaching the showpiece event, superstars Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge have already made history.
The 2024 World Series will be the first time in big league history that two players with 50 or more home runs in the regular season will take each other for baseball's biggest prize. Aaron Judge finished the season with 58 home runs while Shohei Ohtani ended with 54.
Along with his career-high 54 home runs, Ohtani also stole 59 bases to create the 50-50 club in MLB. Meanwhile, Judge's 58 homers are the second-highest total of his career after his AL record-setting 62 home runs in 2022.