Five key figures in the 2024 World Series

The World Series concluded last week, with the Los Angeles Dodgers trumping the New York Yankees in a gentleman's sweep. These are the five players who played the biggest roles in that outcome.

5. Aaron Judge

The likely American League Most Valuable Player was the centerpiece of the Yankees' lineup all season long. He hit 58 home runs and drove in 144 runs, batting .322 with a 1.159 OPS.

But all players go through slumps, and Judge had a big one at the worst possible time. In the World Series, he batted just .222 with three RBIs, and all three came after the Yankees had fallen three games behind.  

Through the first four games, Judge batted .184 and stranded eight runners, three of them in scoring position. Then in Game 5, Judge provided possibly the decisive moment of the series, dropping a routine fly ball that opened the door to the Dodgers’ five-run game-tying rally.

For the series as a whole, Judge’s performance added up to a championship Win Probability Added of -0.95. It wasn’t the Yanks’ worst, but coming from the team’s superstar, it condemned New York to the five-game defeat they eventually suffered.

4. Any Hernandez of your choosing

Between Teoscar and Kike, the Dodgers found a pair of first-rate clutch weapons.

In Game  2, Teoscar’s third inning two-run home run of Carlos Rodón broke up a 1-1 tie and gave L,A. a lead it did not relinquish. Statistically, it was the decisive hit of the game, pivoting the eventual outcome by 22 percent. And in Game 5, Teoscar’s double off the enter field wall capped LA’s five-run rally, driving in the two trying runs. As in Game 2, that hit proved to be the statistical turning point, improving the Dodgers’ odds of  victory by 24  percent.

Kike had two big Game 3 hits, with his second—a sixth-inning single—scoring Gavin Lux. For the series, Teoscar batted a team-best .350, while Kike hit .278.

3. Anthony Volpe  

The Yankees' shortstop was New York’s hero in defeat. His .250 average was only so-so, but it included that massive Game 4 grand slam that breathed life into Yankee Stadium, however fleetingly.

In Game 5, Volpe had two more hits, scoring New York’s third run. He tied for the team lead in RBIs with five. He wasn't the team's best hitter during the series—Juan Soto's .522 OBP was as dominant as it looks on paper—though he had the most timely hits of anyone on the roster.

Even if the lasting memory of Volpe from the 2024 World Series is his fifth inning error in Game 5 that helped begin the team's death spiral, the shortstop should be commended for his otherwise strong play on the game's biggest stage.

2. Walker Buehler

In a series that included Gerrit Cole and an entire phalanx of relievers, who knew that Walker Buehler would outshine them all?

Coming off an injury-plagued regular season that ended with a 1-6 record and 5.38 ERA, Buehler was cast as a fill-in Game 3 starter for Dodger manager Dave Roberts. He was more than that. In five innings, he allowed just two hits, no runs, and struck out five as LA built its insurmountable 3-0 series advantage.

Then, just as it appeared  that the Dodgers had run short of arms to protect their 7-6 lead in the ninth inning of Game 5,  Buehler made his first relief appearance since 2018, striking out the final two hitters to lock up the trophy.

For the series, Buehler’s 11.32 percent Championship Win Probability Added was the highest among all 25 pitchers used in the series.

1. Freddie Freeman

Given his home runs in each of the first four games, Freeman was a Captain Obvious level MVP selection. The biggest hit of the series, arguably, was his Game 1, 10th inning grand slam that turned a 3-2 Yankee lead into a 6-3 Dodger walk-off victory.

For New York, it was all downhill from there, and Freeman did not let up. His Game 2 blast padded LA’s lead to 4-1, and his first inning Game 3 home run gave the Dodgers a lead they never relinquished.

For the series, Freeman hit .300 with four homers and a dozen RBIs, seven more than any player on either team. His final Championship Win Probability Added reached 28.97 percent, more than half the entire Dodgers team total in that category.

More From Call To The Pen: