Braves fans have had plenty of fuel to hate-watch the MLB playoffs following their exit in the Wild Card round.
The Phillies and Mets were easy to root against as both rivalries have grown in recent seasons. Philadelphia and New York losing doesn’t make it any easier, though, because the World Series features two clubs that most Braves fans also despise.
The 2024 Fall Classic is set, a star-studded showdown between the Dodgers and Yankees. New York put the Guardians on ice following Juan Soto’s home run in extra innings of Game 5 of the ALCS over the weekend, while Los Angeles topped the Mets in Game 6 of the NLCS.
It’s a dream for Major League Baseball and the TV networks. Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Gerrit Cole vs. Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts; Yankee Pinstripes vs. Dodger Blue. But for Braves fans, it’s a nightmare, a decision between the lesser of two evils.
Both teams have benefitted from the fact that there is no hard cap in Major League Baseball, essentially giving Los Angeles and New York an unlimited payroll and the ability to build superteams. The Yankees and Braves have also met four times in the World Series, with the good guys winning in 1957 and losing in 1958, 1996, and 1999. Meanwhile, the Dodgers and Braves are old NL West rivals, a rivalry that has been renewed over the last decade or so because the two teams have met so often in October, with each team winning a World Series after beating the other in the NLCS.
There really isn’t a good option for fans of the Braves who have watched the team closely over the years, but I will say I think all baseball fans are winners here. Two titans of the sport littered with superstars meeting in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1981, despite this being the 11th time the Yankees and Dodgers have played against each other in the World Series, the most of any two teams.
Purely as a fan of the game, this one is going to be fun.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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