Original subtitles

[Freeman] As a player, I understood the magnitude of this series.

[announcer] First baseman, number 5,

Freddie Freeman.

[Joe Davis] Here we go from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Welcome to the 2024 World Series.

[Freeman] You just can't predict this sport.

[crowd cheering]

This is so hard to do.

There's Hall of Famers that have never even won a championship.

[Roberts] There's only one champion every year.

And to go for something that is not guaranteed

even if you give it everything you've got,

it takes grit, it takes toughness.

[Davis] It's baseball's two most legendary franchises.

The two best teams in baseball in what feels like a gift

of a Fall Classic.

[Judge] For years, as a kid, watching the Yankees

playing the World Series, that excitement, the emotion is something,

you know, definitely special.

[announcer] Number 99, Aaron Judge.

If you would have told me when I was five years old,

I'd be in a World Series with the Yankees, be the captain of the Yankees,

I probably never would have believed it.

[announcer] Shortstop, number 11, Anthony Volpe.

Your whole life, everything you do is to win a World Series,

but I didn't realize how bad I really did want it,

until you get there, until you can taste it.

[crowd cheering]

Baseball is what I know and in my blood.

This is what I've poured my life into.

I'm very blessed to be able to go play for it all

with these guys, on this stage.

[crowd cheering]

[Edman] We're playing a Dodgers-Yankees World Series,

the two best teams in baseball.

That was the whole focus of the baseball world,

and I get to be a part of it.

[chattering]

[Harris] There's a lot of people in baseball who have kind of been waiting

for a matchup with this much excitement and hype and buildup to it.

[chattering]

- Okay. - You know?

- Glad to represent. [laughs] - [laughing]

[Nelson] You got two of the most iconic brands in all of sport.

The two best offenses left.

It's so good for baseball. I'm so happy.

[Nelson] Everything that you can possibly ask for in a World Series, you have here.

Merry Baseball Christmas. That's what it feels like.

It's gonna be the 12th time these two teams have met in the history of baseball.

The most of any two teams in the sport.

[chattering]

[reporter speaking Japanese]

[Harris] These are two franchises whose histories...

It's kind of remarkable how intertwined they've been.

Going all the way back to when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn.

[commentator] Joe DiMaggio singles to left,

as the Yankees take the lead...

[Harris] Their inability then to succeed in October

always revolving around their inability to beat the Yankees.

[commentator] And here comes Robinson, trying to steal home.

He's safe, says the ump.

[Harris] The Dodgers finally got over that hump and beat them.

And even though they're now on different coasts,

those matchups have been probably one of the more memorable moments in history.

[commentator] Reggie Jackson has seen two pitches,

and he's hit 'em both in the seats.

[crowd cheering]

Oh, what a blow!

How this man has responded to pressure!

[Harris] Even though they haven't played in four decades now,

getting this matchup resurfaces a lot of that history.

[commentator] The Dodgers are the 1981 champions of baseball.

[pundit] These are the two teams that have the most star power

in MLB history.

You think of some of the greatest moments throughout baseball,

they were either Yankees or Dodgers.

[Vin Scully] Ninth inning, Oakland 4, Dodgers 3.

And look who's coming up, Kirk Gibson, with two bad legs.

The tying run is at second base.

High fly ball into right field. She is gone!

The impossible has happened.

[cheering]

[pundit] And going into this matchup, you have two of the biggest players

in not only baseball right now but all of sports

in Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.

[commentator] Sends one high and deep to center field. He got it!

[pundit] Aaron Judge's 2024 season

is statistically the greatest right-handed hitting season of all time.

[commentator] A grand slam!

He really inspires the people around him

and makes them better, and that's exactly what...

a captain of a team should be.

I would definitely go to war every day for that guy.

[commentator 1] Oof. Deep left center, Judge leaping.

- [commentator 1] He made the catch! - [commentator 2] No way.

[commentator 1] Oh, Aaron Judge! He does it all!

And there's the double play!

[pundit] The only player that rivals Aaron Judge is Shohei Ohtani,

who is one of the best ever.

[Davis] There's a towering drive. Ohtani's broken through!

It is gone!

[Davis] Shohei Ohtani came to the Dodgers in offseason this year.

He was a hitter and a pitcher.

[crowd cheers]

As good a pitcher as there was in baseball. He gets hurt last season.

[Davis] He comes to LA, and now he's just doing the hitting thing.

What could this look like?

[Davis] There's a drive! It's a bullet!

Is there any doubt?

[reporter] Other than the obvious, what do you admire about Shohei?

Other than the obvious? [chuckles]

I feel like everything's obvious there.

Hits for average, hits for power, the speed.

You know, doing what he did this year with the 50 stolen bases.

It got talked about a lot, but I don't think it got talked about enough.

[commentator] There goes Ohtani. And number 40 for Shohei.

[Davis] He just went on this rampage through September.

You started to say, "Whoa! He could get 50-50."

[Davis] He's one swing away from history.

- [crowd cheering] - Gone!

One-of-a-kind player! One-of-a-kind season!

Shohei Ohtani!

The first player in the history of this sport

to have 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.

[González] Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge,

they're both going to win the MVP this season.

But if those two players didn't exist,

there'd be just as much hype between Juan Soto and Mookie Betts.

You have Gerrit Cole.

And you have Giancarlo Stanton.

You have Freddie Freeman.

This is a series of stars.

It's going to be fascinating to see how star players extract their best

when it's demanded of them in this stage.

[Chelsea] Okay, everybody's ready? No.

[child] Max, please!

- Max. - Okay, Max. You gotta go first.

- Let's go. - [Chelsea] You look like Daddy.

You guys both look like Daddy. Well 'cause you just got haircuts too?

- [child] Yeah. - [Boyer] Oh, we're looking good.

- You guys look so handsome. - [Chelsea] Ooh!

I'm a little nervous,

but it's, like, fun little butterflies, I feel like.

Freddie's hurt, so he's been trying to battle through injuries.

He left this morning and he's been there all day.

I think a lot of people think they just show up right before the game

and then that's it,

but there's, like, a huge process just to be able to practice before he plays.

[cameraperson] Freddie, how you feeling today?

- Pretty good. - [cameraperson chuckles]

You want the truth?

[crowd cheering]

[crowd cheering]

[Davis] What a pick by Jake Cronenworth.

A wide throw and a tag from Arráez to get a stumbling Freddie Freeman.

You hold your breath until he gets to his feet.

The day the Dodgers clinched the division, he rolls his right ankle

in what looked like a pretty concerning injury.

There was a lot of concern

because he is such a valuable part in the Dodgers' lineup.

[Davis] Freddie Freeman not even gonna test it, limping off of the field.

[Freeman] Super painful at the beginning.

It was like a grapefruit on the side of my ankle.

[Roberts] I was like, "We're not gonna have our first baseman for the postseason.

Are you kidding me?"

[Freeman] It's a six-week injury on the IL.

I had eight days before the playoffs.

But, uh, if you know me, I'll do anything to try and get on the field.

[reporter] What's the status on Freddie?

You know what? I-I... I don't know.

His ankle was really bothering him.

[Edman] He was limited in the playoffs and definitely wasn't moving around great.

[crowd cheering]

I'd always be okay at the start of game,

but by the third or fourth inning, I couldn't even hardly walk after that.

[John Smoltz] You gotta put on the brakes with an ankle like that, that's not fun.

[Freeman] I wasn't playing very good.

[Davis] It's another curve and a grounder to first. Backhand Freeman.

Throws the ball into left center field.

[reporter] Dave, I wanted to ask what you're seeing out of Freddie.

[Roberts] I'm gonna have a conversation with him tomorrow,

but I do think that his swing is not right.

And I'm certain it's the ankle.

[Davis] You could make a fair argument, he's so diminished right now,

they're a better team waiting for him to get ready.

[Davis] Towards the end of the postseason,

it got so bad that he didn't play the last couple games.

And so there's question of if he's going to be available for the World Series.

And even if he is, what's this gonna look like?

[Freeman] I was putting myself out there.

I am not a hundred percent, and if I fail on the biggest stage in the world,

no one's gonna care about my ankle.

But I wanted to do it to give us the best chance to win.

[radio host] The two managers in this World Series, Dave Roberts, Aaron Boone,

the narrative is which one of these managers

needs to win this World Series more to save their job?

[Harris] In the regular season,

the Dodgers have been about as good as, maybe, anybody

over the last 12 years here.

When you get to the postseason, things get a little different.

[González] The Dodgers have had three consecutive Division Series exits,

losing to teams that they were better than during the regular season.

[Roberts] With the Dodgers, there's always gonna be that expectation of pressure.

Either win a World Series championship

or you failed and you're not doing a good job.

Aaron's the only one in baseball that can really relate.

[radio host] And in New York, certainly they think Aaron Boone

needs to do something since taking over as manager in 2018.

This Yankees season starts with last Yankees season,

which was the disappointment of them not making the playoffs.

[Cashman] Yeah, our 2023 season was a really difficult year.

We lacked offense.

It was Aaron Judge providing most of it.

- You know what I mean? - Yes.

How about you finish with Aaron so we can get Juan in there?

- No. - Yes.

- Juan wants to take pictures. - No, I don't.

- Juan loves pictures. - Thank you so much.

- That's fucked up. [chuckles] - [all chuckle]

Go take one with Aaron.

The two of you together.

[Hoch] One of the biggest moves they made was the trade for Juan Soto in November.

[Cashman] We just needed to produce more runs,

and no one could solve that better than bringing in Juan Soto

to pair with Aaron Judge.

[crowd cheering]

[Boone] Knowing what's at stake, putting him back-to-back in a lineup with Aaron

- was such a game changer for us. - [crowd cheering]

[Hoch] Hey, if you don't make that trade for Soto,

I don't know if this team has what it takes to get to the finish line.

[Chelsea] That's a special T-shirt, huh?

So cute.

Are you excited to watch Daddy tonight?

I wore a jersey, like, the first game of the last series that we won,

- so I'm hoping... [laughs] - We're wearing it again.

I really don't wear jerseys that often,

but... [sighs] ...I'm trying to do the same thing.

[child babbles]

- Bye, babe. [laughs] - Okay.

[Freeman] I met Chelsea in the spring training of 2011.

I was 21. She was 19.

All the success, all the failure,

she's experienced every single thing with me.

[Boyer] All right, you ready? Freeman van's out.

[Chelsea chuckles]

Let's get this thing going. [sighs]

[relative] I can't believe it's the World Series.

I know.

[Freeman] Family is everything to me,

so I'm very blessed to have Chelsea, and what kind of mom she is,

the wife she is,

where I can focus on baseball.

[Chelsea] Yeah, it's pretty crazy to see, like,

how rock-bottom we were, like, just a few months ago, and then now.

Um, to be going to the World Series is... it's pretty surreal.

[news anchor] Dodgers star Freddie Freeman revealed today

that his three-year-old son Maximus is suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome,

a rare neurological disorder.

[Harris] Freddie Freeman's son, Max, contracted a neurological condition

that left him paralyzed.

[reporter] Freddie Freeman was scratched from the lineup today.

He is headed back to LA.

And Freddie Freeman left the team.

[Freeman] I've lost my mom to cancer, uh, when I was ten years old.

Which is awful.

But when you see your son who's fighting for his own life at three years old,

you just don't think that's gonna ever happen, and then it happens.

And you're like, "Whoa."

He woke up Monday morning, uh, with a limp.

And by Monday night, he couldn't walk anymore. Um...

They immediately got him to the hospital's emergency room,

and within two and a half hours, he had a ventilator in.

[exhales sharply]

[sighs, voice breaking] Seeing one of your kids...

on a ventilator just fighting...

[cries, sniffles]

[sighs]

[Nelson] One and one on Biggio

as he continues to hold down the fort at first

with Freddie Freeman away from the team.

[reporter] So Dave Roberts said that he's not going to be

with the team in Oakland, and we'll see him

when he's ready to get back to the team, guys.

He spent the next week and a half in the hospital

as they tried to figure out what was wrong and then treat it as fast as they could

so he could get home.

The team rallied around him as well.

They were wearing "MaxStrong" T-shirts.

The storyline here tonight starts with Max Freeman.

[reporter 2] Dodger players and fans prayed for little Max.

[reporter 3] He was at his son's hospital bedside...

[reporter 4] Freeman and his wife Chelsea took 30-hour shifts

until an almost-miraculous breakthrough.

[reporter 5] Freeman and his wife Chelsea made a joint Instagram post

stating that Maximus was taken off his ventilator

after showing significant improvement in the past 48 hours. Meantime...

[Freeman] Max is looking like he's gonna have a 100% recovery.

He's still not walking normal, but he's doing so much better.

It's still gonna take a few more months, but we're on the road.

I would not have come back this year if he had stayed sick.

[stadium announcer] First baseman, number 5, Freddie Freeman!

[crowd chanting] Freddie! Freddie!

[Freeman] Uh, that first game I came back,

I could hear the-the crowd started getting louder and louder.

It's... It's hard to put into words

what the Dodgers fans have meant to us and our family.

[chanting continues] Freddie! Freddie!

Made it really hard to hit it in that first at bat.

But that's a good thing. I was okay with that.

It's like one of the most pleasant strikeouts

I've ever had in my big-league career.

[crowd chanting] Freddie! Freddie!

[Chelsea] Oh, my gosh. Look at this, you guys.

- [relative] Ooh. - [Chelsea] So cute.

[relative] Great. Wow.

[Chelsea] Should we get a photo in front of this?

[relative 2] Smile.

- One, two, three... - [camera shutter clicks]

Oh, yeah, that's cute. Picture. Shall we try one?

[relative 3] Hello.

Oh, that's good timing. [laughs]

How are you? Hi, how are you?

[Chelsea] Freddie's dad's just an incredible man.

Like, I've never seen a father and son closer than they are.

So after his mom passed away, he was only ten.

His dad, on his lunch break, would go to his high school

and just throw him an extra bucket of balls for batting practice.

To this day, if Freddie doesn't think his swing's right,

he'll call his dad and be like, "What am I doing wrong?"

Their bond is just, like, so special.

[Nelson] Welcome to the World Series. It doesn't get better than this.

Dodger Stadium. Blue heaven on earth.

[fans chanting] Let's go, Dodgers! Let's go, Dodgers!

[Nelson] We've been dreaming of Game One of the World Series

for a long time, and we're about to see it.

[Davis] Now, the Yankees have ended the pennant drought.

In the World Series for the first time in 15 years.

Dodgers with their fourth trip to the World Series

in eight seasons, looking for their first World Series win

in a full season since 1988.

We got a perfect night for Game One.

The 120th World Series. The 12th between these baseball powers.

[Ohtani, in Japanese] Being at the World Series,

I felt like I had finally made it.

I'd been waiting forever for this moment.

I strongly felt that.

[Brad Paisley singing "The Star-Spangled Banner"]

Here we go.

This place is packed to the gills. 56,000 people here

at Dodger Stadium. They are very loud.

This is the loudest place I've ever been in my life.

[Monday] Now we get down to baseball.

[Davis] And it all begins with a kid from up the road.

Jack Flaherty starts Game One.

[Flaherty] To be able to take the mound and start Game One at home, my hometown...

against the Yankees of-of all teams, you know, it's just...

It's about as big as it gets.

I wanna ride that wave and ride that adrenaline.

It's so electric,

and you can feel the fans behind you.

[Davis] The Yankees coming to bat.

Torres climbs in, and off we go.

Pulls it to third, and a hot shot caught by Muncy.

[Flaherty] Getting the first out was huge just to start it.

It's about executing. Go out, put up a zero and let's start this thing off.

[stadium announcer] Right fielder, number 22, Juan Soto.

[Davis] This is the guy that changed everything for the Yankees.

And it's the least surprising thing ever that he's been a perfect fit in New York

and that he's once again owned the postseason.

And he's got a four-pitch walk.

First base runner for the Yankees is Juan Soto.

[Flaherty] If we've got to walk Soto

we're gonna get through that first inning 0-0, it's okay.

If you start worrying about mistakes or, you know, what could possibly go wrong,

I think that you're in the wrong mindset.

[Davis] Here he is, Aaron Judge. Larger than life.

Playing in his first World Series.

[Roberts] Aaron, he's a special athlete.

This is the AL MVP.

[stadium announcer] Center fielder, number 99, Aaron Judge.

[Roberts] You've got to pitch him very carefully.

Let's go, baby. Let's go.

Come on, J. Flaherty. Let's go, baby.

Let's go.

[Davis] Fifty-eight home runs, 144 driven in for Judge this year.

He swings and misses as the bottom falls out of that curve.

[Roberts] With Judge, we have to just give him different looks,

mix spin with it, prod him a little bit...

[whistles]

...and hopefully try to just feed off of his aggressiveness.

[Davis] Swing and a miss. He got him with a slider.

[Waldman] Boy, he missed that by a foot.

[Davis] Jazz Chisholm.

- Bounces one right side. - Look, look.

Jack Flaherty puts up a zero in the first.

[Sterling] Now to the bottom of the first, here is Ohtani.

[Davis] If Cole and the Yankee starters pitch the way they're capable of,

this becomes the biggest single advantage in this series.

[Roberts] What makes Gerrit tough is he has three or four pitches.

In baseball, there's probably five or six bona fide aces, and he's one of them.

[Smoltz] He's off to a big-time challenge facing this guy.

The challenge is you're not really sure what the opposition's gonna do

and you know that they're lethal when they do swing,

so you gotta give every pitch a chance by fully committing to it

and so be it if the ball gets hit.

[Davis] Shohei Ohtani.

Swings at the first pitch, sends a fly ball to center field.

Judge is backing up and he just misses homering on the first pitch

of his World Series career.

[Wells] Gerrit, he's ready to roll.

We didn't want them to beat us with one swing.

But still being aggressive to their weaknesses

was kind of what we were going after.

[Davis] From one MVP to another here in Mookie Betts.

[Smoltz] He's one of the top five in the game,

and he gets to bat behind the greatest player in the game.

That makes the Dodgers special.

[Sterling] The pitch to Betts.

Swung on and hit in the air to left field and deep.

Verdugo back, at the wall, makes the catch!

[both exclaim indistinctly]

[Sterling] I think honesty compels me to say

that Gerrit Cole is not fooling anybody.

Anyone get scared there, too?

[stadium announcer] Number 5, Freddie Freeman.

Come on, Freddie!

[Davis] Freddie Freeman's back in the lineup for the Dodgers,

battling that ankle injury.

[Freeman] Going into Game One, I hadn't run in seven days

because I was trying to calm the ankle down as much as I possibly could.

I didn't wanna flare it up.

[Smoltz] What he's battling through,

you need your legs, your feet, you hit from the ground up.

He's still good enough to hit with his upper body,

but he loses the power and the bat speed on the pitches inside.

[Davis] Breaking pitch is punched by the bag and down the left field line

for Freddie Freeman, gonna test that ankle right away.

He'll cruise into second and think about three

as Verdugo can't play it cleanly.

Freeman's into third.

A base hit turns into three.

You just never bet against Freddie Freeman.

[Waldman] And he's a little hobbled. He didn't look too hobbled to me.

[Roberts] I'm like, "Stop. Stop. Stop at second base."

You don't even know if he's gonna be in the lineup.

Then he slashes a ball, legs out a triple.

But that's just who he is.

[Freeman] As I was running, I was like, "I actually feel all right."

As I slid into third and got up,

I wasn't falling over, I wasn't in shooting pain.

I was hoping he'd just make it to second.

Okay, we need to score, though.

[Davis] The Dodgers have a runner at third with two away

for Teoscar Hernández.

[Sterling] Here's the 0-1.

Swung on. Lined to short.

- Suzyn, I think it is our duty to say... - [Waldman laughs]

...the Yankees are really lucky they got out without a run.

[Waldman] Good grief.

Statistically, we've never had a World Series matchup with two teams this good.

And I would think, for a pitcher, this is extra hard work.

[Smoltz] I mean, you gotta basically approach every hitter

like a ninth-inning batter.

[Nelson] The 1-2 pitch.

Got him swinging!

Real good stuff from Jack Flaherty.

Now can the Dodgers offense break through against Gerrit Cole?

[Sterling] Here is Ohtani.

[Davis] Swings and misses!

That man right there. That's the man.

[Davis] Both starters in this Game One pitchers' duel up to the challenge.

These are the games that we've been dreaming of as kids

and the intensity and the importance of the game,

it gets a little enhanced.

[Nelson] The Dodgers 6-0 this postseason when Kiké Hernández has a hit.

He's searching for one right now.

[Davis] A strike on Kiké Hernández.

[Hernández] It's very easy to see yourself failing in the postseason

and the anxiety, the self-doubt, all these things start creeping in your mind.

[Davis] Quickly ahead of Kiké Hernández, 0 and 2.

[Hernández] Whenever those thoughts creep in,

I just visualize myself having success over and over again, and it's almost like

you get to the field the next day, and you've already seen the day happen.

So nothing overwhelms you and no moment gets too big.

And I don't know if it's because I'm Puerto Rican.

I don't know what it is, but I'm glad that it does.

[Nelson] Hernández swings and shoots it to right field.

That is slicing away from Soto, who's on the run, he reaches out...

Can't get it! It gets by him! It's on the warning track!

[Davis] Extra bases for Kiké Hernández.

Headed for third with the second Dodger triple of this ball game.

[crowd cheers]

[Roberts] Juan took a bad angle, and it should've been a double.

And that was huge for Kiké to come out of the box hard and get to third base.

[Freeman] It seemed like every time we needed a big hit,

Kiké seemed to get it.

Big plays. He was doing everything.

I think that's why every team wants Kiké Hernández,

because he shows up when you need him the most.

[Davis] Runner at third, one away. Will Smith at the plate.

So, he got me with some fast balls earlier at my first to bat.

[crowd chants] Let's go, Dodgers!

You know, I know he's probably gonna go to spin, try to get me to swing and miss.

So I'm just looking for something that's started kind of up

and make something happen, not try to do too much.

[Davis] The 1-1, Will Smith.

Lifts it to right field.

Soto's over, he makes the catch.

Here comes Hernández, here comes Soto's throw!

Bang-bang, but he's in safe!

[cheering]

And the Dodgers have broken through in the fifth.

Will Smith, so reliable through the years, gets the job done,

scoring Kiké Hernández.

Dodgers have the game's first run.

[Davis] Gerrit Cole, Jack Flaherty, both magnificent here in Game One.

[Nelson] Heart of the order due up for New York. Soto, Judge and Stanton.

[Flaherty] They got three guys there in a row, at least in Game One

between Soto, Judge and Stanton and what they can do

in terms of the damage that they can do.

[umpire] Strike.

[Flaherty] I mean, that's a tough trio to go through.

[Smoltz] Flaherty's done an unbelievable job.

Well, right now he is on point

and not showing anything worthy of taking him out of the game.

[Davis] Soto with a base hit to center field to open the sixth.

On a two-strike pitch, waits on it to land and bangs it through the middle

to lead off this inning.

- You're good, you're good. - Come on, come on, come on!

[Flaherty] It's like, "Okay, it's not a home run."

Scratch that, move on to the next pitch.

You gotta move on really quickly.

[stadium announcer] Center fielder, number 99, Aaron Judge.

[Monday] This is not where you wanna be.

Runners on base with Judge and then Stanton.

[Davis] Now Judge hitting with a man at first.

He's struck out both times in this game.

[Smoltz] You get a little out of kilter sometimes,

and you start trying to make things happen.

[Flaherty] I don't have to step up any more

or try to do anything more than what I've done.

As you look at the course of that game, it's 1-0,

so at what point do I have to do anything more?

I'm pitching well. I just need to continue to go pitch by pitch.

Keep going until Doc says that's it.

[Nelson] Judge is down swinging!

Whoo!

[Nelson] Jack Flaherty sits him down for the third time tonight.

[Monday] What a big out.

[Davis] Now it's Stanton.

So many times in this postseason, Stanton has been the man for these Yankees.

Tying run at first. Go-ahead run at the plate.

[Sterling] Golfs one.

Into the air to deep left.

That ball is high. It is far. It is gone!

Oh, did he hit that one!

It is a Stantonian home run!

Giancarlo. Non si può stopparlo!

[Davis] As long as you've got the bat in your hands,

you can write your story,

and Stanton continues to write one of a spectacular October for the Yankees.

All right, Big G, let's go. Take it home, baby. Let's go!

[Flaherty] "Shit." That's the thought going through my head.

[Nelson] Stanton's sixth home run of the postseason.

He has homered in four straight games and gives the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

[Smoltz] It's the only mistake,

the only mistake that Jack Flaherty has made.

He pitched a perfect game up until that swing.

And that... that's it. Here comes Doc.

[Nelson] Is this gonna be all for Jack?

[Flaherty] You know, when he comes out,

he makes the decision before he even gets there.

I wasn't really thinking about it a whole lot, but I wasn't gonna fight it.

I'm frustrated because you wanna leave the game ahead.

It was tough to come out of there,

being down 2-1, knowing that I'd made one mistake.

You know, you learn from failure.

Failure comes in every way, shape or form, but the story goes on.

[Nelson] Nice ovation here for the hometown kid.

This is moneymaking time. The late innings. Bottom of the 8th.

2-1 ball game.

[stadium announcer] Number 17, Shohei Ohtani.

[Davis] Ohtani in his first World Series game.

A whole career of missing out on the postseason.

[Ohtani, in Japanese] Ever since I was a kid,

I dreamt of playing in an important situation,

to play in important games.

The excitement I was feeling

was unlike anything I've ever felt.

[Nelson] Here's the pitch.

Lifts this ball to right center field.

Soto on the run to the track. It's off the top of the wall.

Ohtani's headed for second. Soto's throw not in time.

The ball gets away. Ohtani takes third!

It's a double, but then he takes third

as the throw kicks away coming into the infield.

So, the tying run on third with only one out in the eighth.

[Roberts] They scout us, we scout them.

And we're doing all that scouting before series.

And we just felt that they didn't finish some plays.

[Ohtani, in Japanese] We were aware of those small mistakes

since the regular season.

So we were told to focus on taking the extra bases.

[Davis] Mookie Betts will come to the plate

against a new pitcher for the Yankees.

Who's coming in?

[Davis] And he's going to his closer.

Here comes Luke Weaver. Game One of the World Series, a thriller.

Late-season makeover of this bullpen.

Weaver goes into the closer's role, and he's been awesome.

Tying run here in Game One 90 feet away.

[Brianna] Come on, honey.

[Nelson] On Weaver's 1-2 pitch.

Betts swings and sends one to center field.

Judge going back. He reaches up and makes the catch.

But that's gonna get the job done. Here comes Ohtani.

Yeah, baby!

We'll take it!

[Nelson] Sacrifice fly Mookie Betts and Game One is tied!

- [teammate] Mookie! - [teammates cheering]

[Nelson] Game One has been reset officially.

[Monday] This is fun. It's agonizing but, boy, is it fun.

There are 28 teams spread around this country of ours

wishing they were here in play.

[Nelson] The man now on the mound for the Dodgers, Michael Kopech.

So the lineup will turn over for the Yankees.

[Davis] And up comes Gleyber Torres. Here's his 2-1.

Lifts the fly ball, left center field.

It is gone!

[teammate] Let's go!

[Nelson] Gleyber Torres, go-ahead home run.

[Monday] The game's on the line, and we're in the ninth inning.

That was a bad pitch.

[umpire 1] Time!

[Sterling] Uh, wait a minute. What? Torres stopped at second.

I didn't see the ball come on the field. Did you?

[umpire 2] What you got?

- [umpire 3] You got fan interference? - Yes. Yeah.

Please.

[Nelson] The umpires are gonna take another look at this,

and you can understand why.

[umpire 2] This is a crew chief review of a potential home run.

The guy leaned over. He wasn't all the way over.

[Nelson] They'll review it. It's close.

If it goes well, they'll replay operations, and, shoot,

depending on this review, he may be awarded the home run.

[Monday] This is a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth,

Game One of the World Series.

"It was definitely lacking drama." Said nobody ever.

Let's see what the umpires say.

The call on the field has been confirmed.

There was spectator interference. The runner is placed at second base.

Oof.

[Smoltz] They're gonna call that fan interference.

[Davis] So instead of a home run, they'll place Torres at second.

[Monday] You have first base open.

You have the left-handed hitting Juan Soto is due up.

Aaron Judge has not handled the breaking balls well.

- He's 1 for 4 with three strikeouts. - [Nelson chuckles]

[Monday] What's the option?

[Nelson groans] Now which poison do you want?

[umpire, in Spanish] 4 balls Soto.

Go to first.

[Nelson] Juan Soto has just been told by Carlos Torres, the home plate umpire,

"They're intentionally walking me in front of Aaron Judge."

[Monday] Yes, there's two outs.

But this is a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth, Game One of the World Series.

[Roberts] You gotta mind Soto.

That was the guy that you gotta just manage him.

If you walk him, you walk him.

We just felt that Judge and Stanton could slug you.

But if you pitch 'em right, you can keep 'em at bay.

[Davis] Dave Roberts will make the change and go Treinen against Judge.

[Roberts] Blake Treinen, who was an absolute beast in the postseason,

he throws a Wiffle ball.

You know, the ball sinks, it cuts. You just don't know where it's going.

[Nelson] Stress level's off the charts in Game One of the World Series.

[Treinen] Anytime you get a chance to be in the big game,

you count it as a blessing.

And having the opportunity to face one of the greats in the game,

as Aaron is, you know, this is what you play for.

These are the moments that you kinda dream of having.

[Davis] 1-2, comes home. It is a fastball.

And it's popped up.

[Nelson] Blake Treinen comes out of the pen and handles the AL MVP

and keeps the game tied at two.

The Dodgers will have a chance to walk it off.

Tied in the bottom of the ninth inning.

These two teams standing toe-to-toe in the center of the ring.

[Davis] Luke Weaver against Teoscar Hernández.

A shot to right center field but Soto's there.

And here's Muncy.

[Nelson] He swings and he lifts it high in the air.

Cabrera calling for it.

[Davis] Two up and two down for Weaver in this ninth. And it's Kiké Hernández.

Fifteen postseason home runs in his career.

A crack bat flare. Shallow left field. Verdugo coming on with a diving grab!

Alex Verdugo continues to sparkle defensively.

And Game One of the World Series needs extra innings to decide it.

[stadium announcer] Number 13, Jazz Chisholm Jr.

[Smoltz] They say, extra innings is free baseball.

I think our hearts beg to differ.

It seems costly for our health.

[Davis] One away. Tie game. Tenth inning. Jazz Chisholm's up.

[Monday] Obviously you wanna keep everybody off base,

but especially this guy too 'cause he can run.

[Roberts] Jazz is dangerous because there's some power in there,

there's some foot speed in there.

He's just somebody that could get a big hit if they needed.

[Davis] A 1-0 pitch.

Chisholm pulls it. Bullet into right field for a base hit.

[Smoltz] Cut off quickly by Mookie Betts, and that holds Chisholm on first base.

[players cheering]

[Smoltz] And here's the issue now for Blake Treinen,

trying to hold a guy who can run.

Because getting on second base would be huge for the Yankees.

[Davis] Chisholm's got great speed.

Anthony Rizzo at the plate.

There he goes. Throw-down from Smith.

Not in time, and Jazz Chisholm has stolen second.

[Edman] He's aggressive, you know. He's, uh... He gives 100% every time

and wants to put the pressure on the defense,

so you just gotta be ready for that.

[Nelson] Pressure will be on the middle infielders

to keep Jazz close to second.

Stealing third's not out of the question either.

Hey! [whistles] Hey!

[Nelson] They're gonna intentionally walk Rizzo and bring Volpe to the plate.

[Davis] So, first and second.

Twenty-three-year-old shortstop.

He's been at his best so far in his first October.

He was born and raised in Manhattan and then New Jersey.

From a long line of Yankees fans.

Like a million other kids, he wanted to be the next Derek Jeter.

Well, he's the one in a million

who's grown up to become the shortstop for the Yankees.

Tied at two in the tenth.

Great speed at second. Go-ahead run.

Treinen will take a peek. There goes Chisholm!

No throw from Will Smith.

A big 90 feet for Jazz Chisholm.

How do you like that?

And now it changes completely.

Now, the Dodgers bring the infield in.

He might bunt on his own, okay. We're still going on the ground, okay?

He might do it on his own.

Stay open-minded.

Anything on the ground we're going.

[Edman] As an infielder, you're thinking,

"All right. I gotta get this out at home."

[commentator] Treinen looking for a K. His 2-2.

[Volpe] Any sinker that he throws down on his own squeeze,

that's his pitch, that's what he wants to do,

and pitching to strike out, so,

I just wanna see the ball out and I just wanna put the ball in play.

[Davis] Ground ball! Diving stop, Edman can't get it out of his glove,

and the Yankees take the lead!

Oh, my God.

[Nelson] And that is how New York goes back in front.

[team cheering]

[Davis] Three to two, Yankees in the tenth.

[Nelson] Game One of the World Series hanging in the balance.

[announcer] Leading off the bottom of the tenth inning for the Dodgers,

catcher number 16, Will Smith.

[Nelson] The objective here for the bottom of the order,

"Get somebody on base so you can hand this game to Shohei Ohtani."

Pitch.

Poked to right.

Soto. One gone in the tenth.

[announcer] Number nine, Gavin Lux.

[Nelson] Dodgers trailing three to two.

A Game One World Series classic.

Bases empty, one out.

Only two more outs left for the Dodgers.

[Roberts] I was very worried. Just holding my breath.

[Davis] Ball one.

[Roberts] We needed to get some traction with our offense.

[Davis] The Dodgers desperate to get a man aboard,

to get Ohtani to the plate here.

The last thing you want to do here is bring Ohtani, man.

That guy's a unicorn, man.

[Davis] Ball two.

[Nelson] Ball three.

On the 3-1 pitch, Lux.

Looks at ball four upstairs.

Tying run aboard.

[Freeman] We just wanted one guy on

because that meant Shohei was gonna come up.

So when we got things rolling,

the energy in our dugout started to intensify very fast.

[Sterling] So, unless there's a double play,

Ohtani is gonna come up.

Who do we have warming up over there?

Tim Hill and Nestor.

I'm Nestor, a hundred-percent.

I like Nestor after Ohtani,

and if you don't get him out, then...

I like him with Betts and also Freeman, but pitch him up.

[Davis] And now the Dodgers will take just about any outcome

other than a double play.

Tommy Edman comes up.

[Edman] I was thinking, "Just don't ground into a double play."

We had the tying run on first,

and then we had Shohei coming up after that.

[Nelson] Edman swings. It's on the ground.

[Edman] I hit a ground ball, and I'm like,

"Oh, crap. I really hope this isn't a double play."

[Nelson] It squeaks underneath the glove of Cabrera at second!

Lux made a wide turn.

He stumbled rounding second, but he slides back in safely.

[Edman] Fortunately, I hit the spot,

and I hit it hard enough where I was able to get out of the second baseman's reach.

And you know, I was able to keep the inning going.

I thought that was a double play off the bat.

I thought it was, too.

[Nelson] It'll be first and second for Shohei Ohtani.

[Monday] And here comes the pitching change.

[Nelson] Aaron Boone coming to the mound to bring in lefty Cortes.

The Yankees put Nestor Cortes on the World Series roster

for this matchup to face Shohei Ohtani.

[Davis] Nestor Cortes who's not pitched in a month.

How about this for a soft landing?

Go in there and face Shohei Ohtani

with the World Series Game One on the line.

What theater here in Los Angeles.

[Flaherty] I was just like,

"Sho's coming up. He's gonna hit a home run."

Whenever he got up there, especially at that point, with runners on, it was like,

"He's gonna do something spectacular."

[Davis] What an opportunity this is for Shohei Ohtani

and for baseball fans all over the world.

His first trip to the postseason.

His first trip to the World Series.

And in the tenth inning of Game One, he's got a chance to be the hero.

[Nelson] First and second.

One out. Bottom of the tenth.

Game One of the World Series. The pitch.

[Davis] Verdugo runs over and...

makes the grab!

Did he hold on?

He did!

A catch that may go down in World Series lore!

Yeah, he caught it. Out.

[Boone] Time, right here.

Third base, third base, third base. [whistles]

You're at second, Tommy.

[Davis] He goes out of play so the runners will get 90 feet,

but they get Ohtani on one pitch.

What a play, huh?

He's a dog.

[Nelson] The Dodgers down to their last out.

[fans chanting] Mookie, Mookie, Mookie!

[Davis] You know, with all the talk about Shohei Ohtani,

we now have Mookie Betts coming to the plate.

- Yeah, we want to put Betts on. - Yeah. Yes.

We should. We should. We should walk him.

A hundred percent walk here.

- Oh, yeah. We're going to walk him. - Yeah, yeah.

Go with Freeman. Up. Up.

[whistles]

[whistles]

[Freeman] Shohei had just watched his at-bats against Nestor,

and his iPad was next to it, so I was like,

"You know what? I'm gonna look at how he pitches Shohei."

And so I came up with a plan.

[Davis] And the bases will be loaded here

for Freddie Freeman with the Dodgers down 3-2

and down to their last out in Game One.

[Freeman] Well, I don't want to swing on a cutter or a slider away.

I'm gonna look in and heater it.

It was just a little chess game that happened in my head

as I was going up there.

[fans chanting] Lets go, Dodgers!

Lets go, Dodgers!

[Nelson] All you can do is smile, Mo,

because this ball game has left us without words.

Sellout crowd standing but barely breathing.

Wow.

[Davis] Now, the kind of at-bat

that every kid that plays baseball dreams of one day having.

You tell yourself, "Right now, I'm bottom of the tenth. Bases loaded.

World Series. One-run game.

Dodgers-Yankees."

Reality for Freddie Freeman right here.

[fans chanting] Freddie, Freddie, Freddie!

[Davis] Cortes delivers.

[Davis] Freeman hits the ball to right field!

[crowd cheering]

[Davis] She is gone!

[cheering continues]

[Davis] Gibby, meet Freddie!

Game One of the World Series!

[Freeman] I had two older brothers, growing up.

We'd play Wiffle ball, backyard baseball all day long, every single day.

[relative] Come on, Freddie!

As a kid, you'd say, "Bottom of the ninth,

tied ball game, World Series."

It's always the biggest scenario, and then I was in that scenario.

[Nelson] It was a question of,

if Freddie Freeman would even be ready to play.

[Freeman] But to come through...

Yeah, that's stuff you just dream about, really.

[Nelson] Freddie Freeman channeling his inner Kirk Gibson!

A walk-off grand slam!

[Davis] A no-doubt grand slam that they'll talk about for ages.

[crowd cheering]

[Freeman] When I was ten years old,

baseball became an outlet to my father and I.

It made my dad and I focus on this

and not... I'd just lost my mom, he'd just lost his wife.

We would go to the field for a couple hours every single day,

and he would just throw me batting practice.

And I would take ground balls, he'd hit me fly balls.

So baseball means everything to me.

- [reporter] You ran over to your dad... - Yeah.

- ...after hitting that home run. - Oh, yeah.

- [reporter] What did you say to him? - Oh, I was just screaming in his face.

I'm sorry, Dad.

[chuckles] Uh, yeah.

He's been there since I was a little boy.

Throwing batting practice to me every day.

So, this isn't my moment. That's my dad's moment.

- [exclaims] - [teammates cheering, laughing]

[reporter 2] Aaron, you opted to intentionally walk Mookie

to get to Freddie there, the bases loaded in that situation.

Ultimately, did you deliberate a lot over that decision?

- [Boone] No. - Why did you go with that?

No, I didn't deliberate long.

[reporter 2] And Nestor had not pitched since September 18th.

Why did you like him in that tenth inning?

Um... [clears throat]

He's been throwing the ball really well the last few weeks as he's gotten ready,

so I felt convicted with Nestor in that spot.

That pitch to Freeman... [inhales sharply]

...wish I could've, you know, thrown it a little higher.

The bullpen battled. Well, we scrapped some runs across

and, um... just tried to seal the deal for them, and I couldn't.

[Judge] You know, as tough as this one is

you can't sit here and mope, you can't sit here and complain.

You can't should coulda woulda... it's...

You know, it's time to go to work.

That's all you can do.

[reporters speaking indistinctly]

What does it mean for you to be the first person ever

to hit a walk-off grand slam in a World Series?

- [Freeman] Oh, really? - [reporter] First one.

That's pretty cool.

Baby, do you know what just happened?

Did you see Daddy hit a home run?

[chuckles] It was so cool.

[relative] Your daddy deserves it more than anyone.

[exclaiming]

[Roberts] What about him, like, with the bat looking like a champion?

[laughing] Right? That was awesome!

That was so fucking awesome.

[Chelsea] The best thing ever.

[all laughing, clamoring]

What about your daddy?

Oh, my gosh! So good!

- Oh, my gosh! - [screams]

- Screaming. That was so good. - I know, right?

Oh, my gosh.

[Chelsea kisses] How great was that? [chuckles]

Yeah, it's special.

[cheers, laughs]

- [Freeman] Good night. - See you tomorrow.

[Chelsea] Yeah! [laughs]

[Freeman] I know. I've got to do it all again.

[Chelsea laughs]

And she's like, "How are we gonna do this for six more days?"

I'm like, "I don't know."

We're not gonna do this for six more days.

- We're gonna win. - Yeah, hopefully three more.

[Freeman] The hard thing of our sport is, like, you can't really soak it in.

[Chelsea] Ooh.

- Can you believe it? - No, I can't.

[Freeman] The next day, I'm facing Carlos Rodón,

throwing 97-mile-an-hour bullets from the left side,

so I'm already starting to plan for him.

'Cause everyone's just talking about that moment

and, like, it's not really a moment if we lose the series.

So I was like, "Now we've gotta really win this thing."