You’re probably here because you're trying to figure out exactly when the magic happened—or maybe you're just settling a bet. Honestly, the timing of the World Series 2024 was one of those "blink and you missed it" stretches because of how dominant the winner was. It wasn't just a series; it was a collision of the two biggest gravitational forces in baseball.
The World Series 2024 kicked off on Friday, October 25, and wrapped up faster than many expected on Wednesday, October 30.
If you were looking for a grueling seven-game marathon, you didn't get it. Instead, we got five games of pure, unadulterated chaos between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. It had been 43 years since these two iconic franchises met in the Fall Classic. Basically, an entire generation of baseball fans grew up never seeing a Dodgers-Yankees World Series until this past October.
When Was the World Series 2024 Played?
The schedule was tight. MLB doesn't like to mess around once the weather starts turning cold in the Bronx. Here is how the actual dates shook out:
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 25 (Los Angeles)
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 26 (Los Angeles)
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 28 (New York)
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 29 (New York)
- Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 30 (New York)
The Dodgers won the series 4-1. That’s why there was no Halloween baseball in 2024. If the Yankees had pushed it further, we would have seen Game 6 on Friday, Nov. 1, and a potential Game 7 on Saturday, Nov. 2. But the Dodgers had other plans.
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The Game 1 "Where Were You" Moment
Kinda impossible to talk about the timing without mentioning the very first night. Friday, October 25. That was the night Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
It was a movie script. Freeman was hobbling around on a bad ankle that made him look like he was walking on Legos. Then, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, he turned on a Nestor Cortes heater and sent it into the orbit of the San Bernardino Mountains. That one swing basically set the tone for the rest of the week.
Why the 2024 Schedule Felt Different
Usually, the World Series feels like it drags on through the mud of November. Not this time. Because the Dodgers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the pressure was suffocating by Monday night.
The Yankees managed to claw back a bit of dignity in Game 4 with an 11-4 blowout on Tuesday, Oct. 29. For a second there, people thought, "Hey, maybe they can actually do this." Volpe hit a grand slam, the stadium was rocking, and it felt like the series might actually head back to Los Angeles.
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Then came Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The Meltdown of Game 5
This was the clincher. If you're wondering about the most important date of the World Series 2024, it’s the 30th. The Yankees were up 5-0. Gerrit Cole was cruising. It looked like a lock for Game 6.
Then the fifth inning happened. It was a comedy of errors—literally. A dropped fly ball, a missed cover at first base, a series of defensive hiccups that let the Dodgers tie the game without recording a single earned run. The Dodgers eventually won 7-6. Walker Buehler, normally a starter, came out of the bullpen to close it out.
The Ohtani Factor and Global Viewership
The timing of these games was meticulously planned to capture the Japanese market, and man, did it work.
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Because Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were involved, the games were starting in the morning hours in Tokyo. We’re talking about an average of 12.1 million viewers in Japan alone. To put that in perspective, more people were watching MLB in Japan than in many major U.S. markets combined.
- Game 1 Peak: 23.5 million viewers (Global)
- Game 5 Clincher: 33.6 million viewers (Global)
It was the most-watched World Series since 2017. People like to say baseball is dying, but the numbers from late October 2024 suggest otherwise. The 18-34 demographic actually saw a 101% increase in viewership compared to the previous year. You read that right. It doubled.
Actionable Takeaways for Baseball Fans
If you're looking back at the World Series 2024 to prep for the upcoming season or just to archive the memories, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Home Field Matters (Until it Doesn't): The Dodgers started at home and protected it. The Yankees had the home-field advantage for the deciding Game 5 and literally dropped the ball.
- Health is Everything: Freddie Freeman’s MVP performance was a miracle of modern sports medicine. If you're tracking players for 2025, look at their "rest days" in September.
- The "Superteam" Blueprint: The Dodgers proved that spending big works if you spend on the right guys. Ohtani didn't even have to pitch to be the most influential person on the field.
The 2024 Fall Classic will be remembered as the year the Dodgers finally got their "full season" ring (unlike the 2020 short-season title that critics love to bring up). It was fast, it was loud, and it ended just before the calendar turned to November.
If you want to relive the highlights, MLB's official YouTube channel still has the "Condensed Game" versions for all five matchups. They’re worth a watch, especially that disastrous fifth inning of Game 5. It’s a masterclass in how a championship can slip through your fingers in roughly fifteen minutes.