Although the 2024 World Series is not officially over, the Los Angeles Dodgers slammed the door shut in Game 3 for all intents and purposes, silencing the New York Yankees once again en route to a 4-2 win and a 3-0 series lead. . Sure, there’s still technically a chance for New York to erase the pain of 2004 and become the first team in baseball history to come back from a 3-0 lead in the World Series. But after the way the first three games have gone — and the way Aaron Judge is swinging the bat now — the rest seems like a mere formality.
Which means it’s time to shift our focus to distributing some devices. The race for World Series MVP was sapped of most of its suspense the moment Freddie Freeman’s grand slam landed in the stands to end Game 1; Hitting one of the game’s most popular homers alone would have been enough to take home the award, but Freeman has continued to mash it up ever since, going deep in Games 2 and 3 to boot his way to a 1.635 OPS for the Series. But as great as he was, Freeman isn’t the only reason the Dodgers clinched their first full-season title since 1988. It’s time some of his teammates got some love, too.
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Hernandez pitched one of the biggest swings of Game 2, launching an opposite-field homer off Carlos Rodon to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. He hit .333 for the series, one of three Dodgers (along with Freeman and Mookie Betts) who drove in multiple runs through the first three games. He also brought a little defense to the party, throwing out Giancarlo Stanton from home plate in Game 3 to keep the Yankees off the plate. With Shohei Ohtani ill and Pitts struggling a bit, Hernandez was the perfect counterpart to Freeman at the top of the Los Angeles standings.
What a postseason it’s been for Edman, who was an afterthought when the Dodgers acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals but became indispensable in October. After earning NLCS Most Valuable Player honors, Edman continued his World Series career, slashing .364/.417/.818 with a homer, two doubles and a stolen base. His single in the bottom of the 10th helped set the stage for Freeman’s heroics. He put the Dodgers on the board with a solo homer early in Game 2 and flashed some great leather to help eliminate a potential rally in Game 3. The Dodgers lineup was feeling pretty top-heavy entering these playoffs, and Edman was a lifesaver.
While Hernandez and Edman would be worthwhile picks, no one other than Freeman’s Dodger has shined as brightly in this Series as Yamamoto, who was simply sensational through 6.1 innings of one-hit ball in Game 2. Considering how the ninth inning of That game, Los Angeles didn’t really have much margin for error. But Yamamoto was a stud, and he looked exactly like the ace the Dodgers were hoping to get when they handed him $325 million last winter ($25 million more than the Yankees were willing to offer, I might add). Yamamoto’s rookie season in the United States has been a bit of a stalemate. Due to injury, but when the beleaguered Dodgers needed him, he delivered a big performance.
