If you're asking about the dates for the Fall Classic, the short answer is that the 2024 World Series has already passed, running from October 25 to October 30, 2024. It was a heavyweight clash that baseball fans had been begging for basically for decades. We finally got the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees in the same stadium with a trophy on the line. Honestly, it felt like the entire sport stood still for those five games.
Most people looking for the schedule now are either trying to settle a bet or looking back at the chaos that unfolded. The series was slated to start on October 25 at Dodger Stadium because LA had the better regular-season record. It was supposed to maybe go until November 2 if we hit a Game 7, but the Dodgers had other plans. They wrapped the whole thing up in five games, clinching the title on Halloween Eve in the Bronx.
When Is 2024 World Series? Breaking Down the Schedule
The 2024 World Series was originally structured with a very specific cadence. MLB usually likes to start these things on a Friday to capture that prime weekend television audience. Game 1 kicked off on Friday, October 25, 2024.
If you look at the timeline of how it actually played out, it was a sprint, not a marathon.
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 25 – Los Angeles (Dodgers won 6-3 in 10 innings)
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 26 – Los Angeles (Dodgers won 4-2)
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 28 – New York (Dodgers won 4-2)
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 29 – New York (Yankees won 11-4)
- Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 30 – New York (Dodgers won 7-6)
You’ll notice there was a travel day on Sunday, October 27. That’s standard. The teams flew across the country after Game 2. Everyone expected the Yankees to fight back harder at home, and while they did explode for 11 runs in Game 4, the Dodgers were just too deep.
That Insane Game 1 Moment
You can't talk about the timing of this series without mentioning the night of October 25. It was the first time in history a World Series game ended on a walk-off grand slam. Freddie Freeman, hobbling on one good leg, hit a moonshot that basically set the tone for the entire week. If the Yankees had won that first game, the whole conversation about "when is the series ending" might have shifted to a November date.
Instead, the Dodgers took that momentum and ran. They won the first three games straight. In baseball, a 3-0 lead is basically a death sentence, though the Yankees tried to make it interesting by blowing the doors off in Game 4 on the 29th.
Why the Timing Mattered for the Fans
There was actually a weird contingency in the MLB schedule that year. Major League Baseball announced that if both the ALCS and NLCS had ended early (by October 19), the World Series would have actually moved up to Tuesday, October 22.
It didn't happen.
The Mets and the Guardians put up enough of a fight to keep the original October 25 start date intact. This matters because it meant the series bled right into the end of October. For fans in New York, it was chilly. For fans in LA, it was perfect baseball weather.
The Drama of Game 5
The final game happened on October 30. It was one of those games where you kind of felt bad for the Yankees fans, even if you weren't rooting for them. The Yankees were up 5-0. They looked like they were going to force the series back to Los Angeles for a Game 6 on November 1. Then, a comedy of errors in the 5th inning—drops, missed bags, mental lapses—allowed the Dodgers to roar back.
By the time Blake Treinen and Walker Buehler shut the door in the 9th, it was nearly midnight on the East Coast. The Dodgers were officially the 2024 World Series champions.
Common Misconceptions About the 2024 Schedule
A lot of people get confused about how the "home field advantage" works. Since the Dodgers won more games in the regular season (98 wins vs. the Yankees' 94), they got the 2-3-2 format advantage. That means they started with two games at home, then played three away, and would have hosted the final two.
Because the series ended in five games, the Dodgers actually celebrated their victory in New York. It’s sort of a bittersweet thing for a team—you win the biggest prize in sports, but you're doing it in a stadium where 49,000 people are silent or booing you.
Also, some people thought the series would start later because of how long the playoffs felt. With the "new" Wild Card format that's been around for a few years, the postseason starts the very first week of October. By the time we get to the World Series, players have been playing high-stakes, every-pitch-matters baseball for nearly a month.
Actionable Takeaways for Baseball Fans
If you're looking back at the 2024 World Series to prep for future seasons, keep these timing and logistics factors in mind:
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- Check the "Move Up" Clause: MLB now builds in flexibility. If the League Championship Series end early, the World Series can shift up by 3-4 days. Always check the official MLB communications in mid-October.
- Home Field is Records-Based: It’s no longer about the All-Star game. The team with the better regular-season record hosts Games 1, 2, 6, and 7.
- The 2-3-2 Format remains King: Unlike the NBA or NHL which use 2-2-1-1-1, MLB sticks to the 2-3-2 travel schedule to minimize cross-country flights during the most intense week of the year.
The 2024 series was a historic flashpoint. Between Shohei Ohtani’s first ring and Freddie Freeman’s legendary performance, those dates in late October 2024 are now etched into the record books. If you missed it, the highlights of Game 1 and the comeback in Game 5 are essentially required reading for any sports fan.