Yankees-Dodgers World Series, a duel with many subplots

For all those times when a scrappy little team comes out of nowhere for a wild October run that captivates the sport, here’s what:

Goliath against Goliath.

East versus West.

Yankees vs. Dodgers.

The two legendary franchises will renew their acquaintances in the World Series starting Friday at Dodger Stadium in a duel featuring the game’s biggest stars and plenty of exciting storylines.

“The stars will be out, the eyeballs will be watching and hopefully we can have a great series,” manager Aaron Boone said Monday, a day after the Dodgers beat the Mets in the ALCS to earn their spot in the Fall Classic secure.

This will be the 12th World Series meeting between the Yankees and Dodgers – seven of which came when the latter played in Brooklyn – with the Yankees leading 8-3. But this year’s edition, the first since 1981, will make history.

Excluding the shortened 2020 season, it will also be only the second time this century that the top seeds from both leagues will meet in the World Series.

Here’s a look at the main storylines:

Star-studded affair

A Major League Baseball dream match pits some of the sport’s biggest stars against each other: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole against Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

Of course, there are plenty of supporting casts and ensembles that have helped each team get here.

But six of the game’s top 10 players will share the field in this World Series.

Judge and Ohtani should be MVPs in their respective leagues after a season in which Judge led the AL with 58 home runs and Ohtani led the NL with 54.

They are responsible for the two largest free agent deals in MLB history (Ohtani, 10 years for $700 million and Judge, nine years for $360 million), although Soto will have something to say about that this offseason.

Like Soto, both Betts and Freeman (who is dealing with an ankle sprain that has limited him and kept him out of three playoff games) are former MVPs and World Series champions, while Cole is the reigning AL Cy Young.

The Yankees were missing both Soto (forearm inflammation) and Cole (elbow nerve irritation) when the teams met in the Bronx this June – the Dodgers took two of three – but starting this weekend they will get their chance at the biggest one to play stage.

October story

The most common matchup in the World Series is the Yankees vs. Dodgers game, but it has been 43 years since they last met for a championship.

Follow the Post’s coverage of the Yankees in the postseason:

Prior to this year, it was the last time the league’s two most popular franchises had dueled three times in five years (1977–1981), a rivalry that featured characters such as Reggie Jackson, Tommy Lasorda, Billy Martin and Fernando Valenzuela.

“In some ways, I always felt like there was an underlying desire here,” Boone said of the Yankees-Dodgers World Series showdown.

Dodger pitcher who could have been the Yankees

Last offseason, after the Yankees acquired Soto in a blockbuster trade, they turned their full attention to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese standout who would have made a dream one-two punch of acquisitions.

Instead, he signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers.

Then at the trade deadline that year, the Yankees tried to sign right-hander Jack Flaherty from the Tigers, but a deal fell through because they had concerns about his physical condition (a previous problem), so he was ultimately dealt to the Dodgers.

Yamamoto and Flaherty are now the Dodgers’ top two starters this postseason (for an injury-depleted rotation).

Managers under pressure

During their playing days, Boone and Dave Roberts were central figures in the postseason rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox.

Now they are managers who were under serious scrutiny at the start of the season after their teams failed to live up to their potential in recent years.

But for both of them it works at exactly the right time.

A homecoming for the ALCS MVP

Giancarlo Stanton grew up at Dodger Stadium and will now return there in the midst of another monster playoff run.

The Yankees’ veteran DH, a native of suburban Los Angeles, has hit five homers with a 1.179 OPS in nine games this month.

Judge vs. Dodger Stadium

The last time Judge played in Los Angeles, the unpadded right field wall ruined his 2023 season when he hit it during a catch and tore a ligament in his right big toe.

Since then, the Dodgers have added additional protection to the base of the wall, which was made of exposed concrete.