Baseball season is over, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the 2024 World Series Champions. It’s their eighth franchise title and second in the past five seasons. They won the World Series in five games thanks to a blowup fifth inning for the Yankees in Game 5 and stellar performances from Blake Treinen and Walker Buehler down the stretch. Talent wise, the Yankees are a great team. They simply didn’t do the little things right, and the Dodgers did. Fundamentals win games, and the Yankees learned that the hard way. This MLB postseason had a lot of fun storylines and cool moments in each round, so I’m going to rank the top 10 moments of the 2024 MLB playoffs. Fair warning, most of them are home runs.
10. Walker Buehler’s World Series Game 5 appearance
I’m a Dodgers fan, so this one may be a little bit of a homer pick. But I think the unbiased fan would admit that it was pretty cool that Buehler came out to pitch the final inning and slam the door, clinching the World Series for the Dodgers. After being sidelined for two years due to his second Tommy John surgery, Buehler wasn’t the same guy in the regular season. But none of that mattered, because Buehler had two scoreless performances in the postseason and closed out the World Series on one day of rest, solidifying his legacy as one of the best big-game pitchers of the generation.
9. Kerry Carpenter’s ALDS Game 2 home run
Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians was a pitcher’s duel. Tarik Skubal, who’s about to win the Cy Young, threw seven scoreless innings for Detroit. A hodgepodge of arms for Cleveland kept it 0-0. That is until their best pitcher, closer Emmanuel Clase, came in. Clase finished the season with 47 saves (the most in baseball) and only 2 home runs allowed the entire season. He’s as dominant as they come. And yet, it was Clase who allowed a three-run homer to Carpenter in Game 2, evening the series at 1-1.
8. Shohei Ohtani’s NLDS Game 1 home run
The Dodgers found themselves down early to the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series (NLDS). Jurickson Profar had an RBI groundout followed by a two-run bomb from Manny Machado. To Dodger fans, it felt like L.A. was headed toward another early exit from the postseason. But Ohtani came up in the second inning, smacked a home run to right field before flinging his bat and yelling an emphatic “LET’S GO!” to tie the ballgame for the Dodgers. The world’s best player hitting a homer in the first playoff game of his career – that’s pretty cool.
7. Phillies’ NLDS Game 2 walk-off
The Phillies had high hopes for this postseason, and I predicted they would win the World Series. Though they were first-round exits, Game 2 of the NLDS was awesome. After losing Game 1 in heartbreaking fashion as the bullpen blew it, they needed to bounce back. And in a back-and-forth game, outfielder Nick Castellanos delivered the big knock in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in Trea Turner and even the series at one.
6. Francisco Lindor’s NLDS Game 4 grand slam
Jose Quintana did his job to a tee in Game 4 of the NLDS against Philadelphia. He threw five innings of two-hit ball with one run given up, unearned though. The Mets’ offense just needed a breakthrough. Francisco Lindor supplied it. With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Lindor laced a ball to left center field and over the wall, putting New York up 4-1, a lead they held to punch their ticket to the National League Championship Series (NLCS).
5. Lane Thomas’ ALDS Game 5 grand slam
Heading into Game 5 of the ALDS, I was confident that my prediction would be right and the Tigers would beat the Guardians to face the Yankees in the ALCS. Skubal was throwing for Detroit and he looked invincible up to that point. The Guardians threw a bunch of guys, and though their bullpen was the best in baseball this year, I trusted Skubal more. But with one out and the bases juiced, Cleveland outfielder Lane Thomas took Skubal’s first-pitch fastball 396 feet over the wall in left center to put the Guardians up 5-1. They went on to win that game 7-3.
4. Jhonkensy Noel’s game-tying home run, David Fry’s walk-off in ALCS Game 3
The Guardians were in the worst position possible. They lost the first two games of the ALCS in New York and were one out away from going down 3-0 in the series. Cleveland pinch-hit rookie outfielder Jhonkensy Noel for Daniel Schneemann. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Noel, nicknamed “Big Christmas,” smashed a Luke Weaver changeup over the left field wall, tying the game. David Fry went on to smoke a two-run homer in the bottom of the tenth off Clay Holmes to walk it off, sending Cleveland fans in a frenzy.
3. Pete Alonso’s season-saving home run in Game 3 of the Wild Card
The best-of-three series between the Mets and Brewers was tied at one apiece. It was the top of the ninth and Milwaukee was up 2-0 with Devin Williams pitching, one of the best relievers in the game. Lindor walked to start the inning. Mark Vientos struck out swinging. Brandon Nimmo singled. The Mets were two outs away from elimination. Then came Pete Alonso, also known as the “Polar Bear.” In what had been a disappointing series for him thus far, none of it mattered. Williams threw a changeup that caught too much of the plate, and Alonso went with the pitch, driving the ball to the opposite field and over the right field fence to put New York up 3-2. They scored one more that inning and won the game, sending Milwaukee home packing.
2. Juan Soto’s Game 5 homer to clinch a World Series berth
Game 5 of the ALCS was a nailbiter up until the very end. Both starters in the game, Tanner Bibee for Cleveland and Carlos Rodón for New York, pitched solidly and allowed two runs before being taken out. From that point on, both bullpens shut it down to keep it 2-2 heading into extra innings. But in the top of the 10th, star outfielder Juan Soto may have had the best at-bat of the 2024 season. Hunter Gaddis was pitching, and he’d been one of the best relievers in the sport this season. The count was 1-2, but Soto continued to foul pitches off and nod his head at Gaddis, essentially telling him he could do it all day. Soto was waiting for Gaddis to make a mistake with his fastball, and that he did. Gaddis delivered a 95-mph fastball to the top of the zone and Soto drove it to center field, over Lane Thomas and the wall to put New York up 5-2, a lead they wouldn’t squander. Soto punched New York’s ticket to the World Series.
1. Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam to win Game 1 of the World Series
This is the no-brainer of all no-brainers. This was the greatest sports moment of my life. I’ll never forget where I was when I watched this – in an Airbnb in Joshua Tree, watching on a laptop with my buddy Aaron since the TV at the house was broken. The Dodgers were down 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning. Will Smith flew out, Gavin Lux walked and Tommy Edman singled. Aaron Boone, the Yankees manager, went to the bullpen to replace Jake Cousins with Nestor Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in over a month due to a strained left flexor tendon. Boone wanted the lefty-lefty matchup against Ohtani. Cortes got Ohtani to fly out to Alex Verdugo, who made a spectacular play on the ball as he fell into the stands. Since he went out of play, each runner advanced 90 feet, moving to second and third. Boone decided to intentionally walk Mookie Betts to get another lefty-lefty matchup against first baseman Freddie Freeman; Freeman took it personally. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Cortes threw a low-and-in fastball that Freeman didn’t miss. He sent it into the right field pavilion, etching his name in baseball history as the only player ever to hit a walk-off grand slam to win a World Series game.
Luke Mallery