The Brief

It’s time for World Series Dodger baseball! Yes, the Dodgers are back in the Fall Classic and the matchup is a rivalry as old as time itself. East versus West. The Big Apple versus the City of Angels. Subway versus freeway. Chopped cheese versus street tacos. You get the idea…it’s the New York Yankees versus YOUR Los Angeles Dodgers. And Game 1 is tonight, right here in Los Angeles.

If you’re just tuning in to this year’s MLB season and want to familiarize yourself with the competitors and the storylines so you’re in the know when watching with family, friends or fellow Dodger fans at your local watering hole, you’ve come to the right place! This guide will help catch you up on how the Dodgers got here, and what they need to do to win it all.

Who plays in the World Series?

Also known as the Fall Classic, the World Series is a best-of-seven series between the champions of Major League’s Baseball’s two leagues — the American League and the National League. The first team to win four games will be crowned champions of baseball.

Win a bar bet: The MLB’s top prize is called the Commissioner’s Trophy — this circular job in the middle with all the flags.

So, who gets home field advantage? In baseball, it’s decided by the team with the highest winning percentage. This year, that’s the Dodgers. Their 98-64 record was the best in baseball this year, earning them a .605 winning percentage (i.e. they won 60.5% of the games they played). This means that should the series go the full seven games, the Dodgers will get to play four of those games in L.A.

When are the games?

All games will be broadcast on Fox and Fox Deportes. The times here are all for the West Coast, and remember it's the best of seven so the series could be as short as four games if one team sweeps.

• Game 1: Friday, Oct. 25 at 5:08 p.m. at Dodger Stadium
• Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 26 at 5:08 p.m.. at Dodger Stadium
• Game 3: Monday, Oct. 28 at 5:08 p.m. at Yankee Stadium
• Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 5:08 p.m. at Yankee Stadium
• Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 5:08 p.m. at Yankee Stadium
• Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, Nov. 1 at 5:08 p.m. at Dodger Stadium
• Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, Nov. 2 at 5:08 p.m. at Dodger Stadium

How the Dodgers got here and what’s on the line

The Dodgers had the best record in the National League, meaning they skipped the first playoff round. They then beat division rival San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series (NLDS). (That was a revenge series — the Padres bounced them out of the playoffs in 2022.)

The Dodgers then knocked off the upstart New York Mets in six games in the National League Championship Series (NLCS), punching their ticket to the Fall Classic.

Win a bar bet: If the Dodgers win, it will be their eighth World Series title, tying them with the rival San Francisco Giants for fifth most of any team.

Their opponent: The Yankees had the best record in the American League this year. They, too, got a bye in the Wildcard Round before cruising past the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series (ALDS) and then toppling the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

If the Yankees win, it will be their 28th World Series title — the most of any team in baseball — and their first since 2009.

Key storylines

Proving the doubters wrong: The last time the Dodgers missed the playoffs, it was October 2012. President Barack Obama was running for reelection, the iPhone 5 had just been released and Korean rapper Psy was peaking on the pop charts with his viral hit song “Gangnam Style.” The Dodgers have been among the best teams in baseball and have made the playoffs in each of the 12 years since, including four trips to the World Series (counting this year) — but have only one championship to show for it. A win this year would go a long way in proving that the Dodgers are more than just a great regular season team, and that they can win when it matters most.

Winning it for Fernando: Following the death of iconic Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela earlier this week, Los Angeles now has an extra incentive to motivate them -- winning it all in honor of the late legend.

Winning it “for real”: The Dodgers won the World Series in 2020, but it was during a COVID-shortened season. Teams played just 60 games, compared to the usual 162, in empty ballparks. Now, a championship is a championship in our eyes, but that hasn’t stopped sports talking heads and fans of other teams from suggesting that the 2020 title means less because the season was shortened. Winning a World Series in a full season would silence those critics.

Refreshing a rivalry: On the surface, you wouldn’t really call the Dodgers and Yankees “bitter rivals.” The Dodgers’ most-hated rivals are the San Francisco Giants, and the Yankees’ are the Boston Red Sox. But there’s actually a lot of history to this matchup because — like all the new good bagel places in town, the Dodgers are a New York import. They used to be the Brooklyn Dodgers, until moving here in 1957, and they were the Yankees’ crosstown rivals. And this year is the 12th World Series matchup between the Dodgers and Yankees, the most in MLB history. The Yankees do have the historical edge in the matchup, winning eight of the previous 11 World Series matchups between the teams.

Superstars collide: Dodgers’ designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge are arguably the two best players in baseball. Both have won MVP awards (and will likely each win another this year), both are coming off 50+ home run seasons and both are seeking their first World Series. Surprisingly, it’s rare to see this much star power in a World Series — it’s the first time ever that two players who hit 50+ home runs in a season face off in the World Series.

Dodgers players to watch

Shohei Ohtani, designated hitter

The phenom. The $700 million man. The Sho. Shotime. We’ve never seen a baseball player quite like Shohei Ohtani. He is a once-in-a-generation player who can hit, run and even pitch, though that part of his game has been shut down this year as he recovers from elbow surgery he had in 2023 (you’re welcome, New York). He's the Dodgers' designated hitter, meaning he bats in the lineup but does not play a defensive position in the field. This year, he became the first player EVER to record a 50 home run, 50 stolen base season.

If the Dodgers are going to win the World Series, they’re going to need him to replicate his offensive performance from the regular season. That could be complicated by the fact that Ohtani is nursing an injury. He suffered a subluxation (partial dislocation) of his shoulder as he slid into second base during a steal attempt in Game 2, but he is in the starting lineup for Game 3 so it appears he'll try to play through it.

Mookie Betts, right field

Since arriving in L.A. in 2020 from the Boston Red Sox, Markus Lynn “Mookie” Betts has been the heart and soul of the Dodgers lineup. He’s also a generational baseball talent:

Mookie has played outfield most of his career in the big leagues, and has anchored the Dodgers outfield so far in the World Series, but the last two years he’s been called on to play in the infield to help his team fill defensive gaps. He’s the kind of selfless team player you can’t help but root for, and he also brings World Series experience to the team — he won rings in 2018 with the Red Sox and 2020 with the Dodgers. And if that wasn’t enough to make you a fan, get this: he’s made the World Series in both baseball … and bowling. Here he is bowling a perfect 300 game in the 2017 World Series of Bowling:

Freddie Freeman, first base

Together with Shohei and Mookie, Freddie Freeman completes the “Big 3” in the Dodgers lineup.

He missed a couple games due to injury in the NLCS, but has played every game of the World Series so far and has been the biggest offensive contributor. Freeman has homered in each World Series game so far, including a game-winning, walk-off grand slam in Game 1. His homer in Game 4 makes SIX straight World Series games (dating back to his time with the Atlanta Braves when they won it all in 2021) where he's gone yard, which is an MLB record:

Standing 6-foot-5, Freddie’s an imposing figure when he steps up to the plate. But don’t let his towering stature fool you — he's got a million dollar smile and fellow players will tell you he’s one of the nicest guys in the league. Don’t believe me? Here’s Freddie reading nice tweets about himself:

How many people have nice things said about them on X these days? Freddie does.

Tommy Edman, shortstop & center field

Even though he joined the team in the middle of the season after being traded from the St. Louis Cardinals, this dual-threat has been a huge factor in the Dodgers’ postseason success. He’s an excellent defensive player who plays both shortstop and center field, which are considered the “captain” positions of the infield and outfield, respectively. His defining moment came in Game 6 of the Championship Series when he hit a two-run home run to give the Dodgers a 4-1 lead:

Edman also has local roots — he grew up in La Jolla and his mom is from Los Angeles.

Maureen Edman, Tommy Edman's mom, kisses him on the cheek after the Dodgers defeated the New York Mets to advance to the World Series.

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Kiké Hernández, utility

If you’re going to win a World Series, you need a Kiké on your team. Enrique “Kiké” Hernández isn’t a superstar like Mookie Betts or Shohei Ohtani. During the regular season, his stats are nothing to write home about. But during the playoffs? He’s got that dog in him. He's a utility player, meaning he can play pretty much any position on the field. So far this postseason he’s hit a couple of huge home runs for the Dodgers, including this home run in the decisive Game 5 of the Division Series that helped propel his team to the next round of the playoffs:

And this two-run homer in Game 3 of the Championship Series to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead:

Bottom line? Kiké is CLUTCH in October. The Dodgers will need more “Playoff Kiké” in the World Series if they want to win it all.

The entire Dodgers bullpen

You may hear the term “bullpen series” in conversations about Dodgers pitching for the World Series. While the Dodgers’ starters are solid, none of them are expected to pitch particularly deep into games. That means that the responsibility of keeping the powerful Yankees’ bats quiet will likely rest on the shoulders of the Dodgers’ relief pitchers. Expect to see plenty of guys like Ben Casparius, Anthony Banda, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen, who came through clutch for the Dodgers in the conclusive Game 6 of the NLCS:

Yankees players to watch

Aaron Judge, center field

Standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 282 lbs., New York Yankees captain and outfielder Aaron Judge is one of the most imposing figures in baseball. He is a towering human who hits towering home runs — 58 of them during the regular season — and he’s expected to win the American League MVP Award this year. Here he is punishing a poor, defenseless baseball in the ALCS:

Win a bar bet: Judge is from Sacramento and played college baseball at Fresno State.

Juan Soto, right field

Don’t let his youth fool you, this 25-year-old phenom is the real deal. Soto already has a World Series ring, which he won with the Washington Nationals in 2019 at age 21. He was also the hero of the ALCS this year for the Yankees — he smashed a 3-run-homer in the 10th inning of Game 6 to give the Yankees the lead, and ultimately the series-winning victory:

Giancarlo Stanton, designated hitter

The only thing you really need to know about Stanton is that he hits baseballs very, very far. In 2015, while he was with the Miami Marlins, he hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium. Literally:

And when he makes contact, he hits the ball VERY hard. Watch how fast this ball comes off the bat:

For those of you without a radar gun built into your brain, that ball traveled 446 feet and came off the bat at a speed of 117.5 miles per hour, according to the MLB’s metric tracking system Statcast. Look for Dodgers pitchers to try and pitch around Stanton.

Gerrit Cole, starting pitcher

The ace pitcher of the Yankees staff, Gerrit Cole, is expected to start Game 1 of the World Series Friday night. He’s got devastating pitches that can make even the best hitter miss, and the longer he goes the harder he gets to hit:

Luke Weaver, closing pitcher

Sure, he might be wiry, but don’t sleep on Yankees’ closing pitcher Luke Weaver. His job is to come in to the game in the final inning of the game when his team has the lead and literally close the door on a comeback, like he did here against the Royals in the ALDS:

Weaver’s also an, um, interesting cat, shall we say? But hey, his interviews make for great content.

Celebrate good times

When you’re watching the World Series, you might notice the Dodgers break out some unique celebrations. For example, you’ll likely see this one when a Dodgers hitter gets on base:

It’s believed to have been started by Kiké Hernández during Spring Training this year, and while it’s not exactly clear what its origins are, the internet believes it’s a nod to a dance from the popular anime series Dragon Ball Z.

And if (OK, when) the Dodgers hit a home run, you might see them get showered with sunflower seeds when they return to the dugout after rounding the bases:

This celebration was started by outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who reportedly brought it with him from his days with the Toronto Blue Jays. Which may explain why others on the team don’t quite have the hang of it yet:

We still love you, Mookie. Here’s hoping we see a lot of sunflower seeds flying in the coming week. Go Dodgers!

The game of musical chairs in the race to be California’s next governor lost another player last week.

After Democratic businessman Stephen Cloobeck — who was polling at below half a percent — dropped out of the race and endorsed Rep. Eric Swalwell on Monday, at least 10 candidates remain.

Voters are hardly to blame if the names don’t ring a bell. Though it’s wound on for more than a year now, the 2026 governor’s race remains unexpectedly wide open. In one poll released last month, 44% of surveyed voters did not have a preference for governor and no candidate polled above 15%.

The primary election is next June. Here’s a look at the field right now:

Xavier Becerra

If former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was looking for attention for his campaign, he found it in the form of negative headlines.

Last month, federal prosecutors indicted a Sacramento powerbroker in an alleged corruption scandal that rocked the state’s Democratic establishment. At its center? A dormant campaign account held by Becerra, from which prosecutors allege Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff Dana Williamson conspired with other political consultants to steal $225,000. Williamson is charged with helping to divert the funds to the wife of Becerra’s longtime aide, Sean McCluskie, who has pleaded guilty in the alleged scheme.

Becerra was California’s first Latino attorney general before serving as a cabinet secretary for former President Joe Biden. He is running primarily on a platform of lowering health care costs.

He has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case and has said he was unaware of what was happening. But it’s still possible the association — and the implication he wasn’t paying attention — will taint his campaign, already polling at just 8%.

The controversy is one of a few moments of intrigue in an otherwise quiet race.

Katie Porter

In October, former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, was caught on camera trying to walk out of a TV interview with a reporter who pressed her on whether she needed Republican support in the race. A second video followed, showing Porter berating a staff member during a Zoom call. At the time considered the front-runner, she rode out the news cycle and later said she “could have done better” about the behavior in the videos, but they appeared to have dropped her approval ratings. She is essentially tied with the top Republican candidate.

Porter made a name for herself as one of a “blue wave” of female, Democratic lawmakers elected to Congress during the first Trump administration in 2018. A law professor at UC Irvine who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate last year, she gained attention for her tough questioning of corporate executives using her signature whiteboard.

Tom Steyer

Joining a wide field of other Democrats, billionaire investor and climate activist Tom Steyer announced last month he is jumping into the race.

Then-Democratic presidential primary candidate Tom Steyer addresses a crowd during a party in Columbia, South Carolina, on Feb. 29, 2020.

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Steyer, who made his fortune by founding a San Francisco hedge fund, has used his wealth to back liberal causes, including the environment. He’s never held public office before, but ran a short-lived campaign for president in 2020.

Chad Bianco

Pro-Trump Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is neck-and-neck with Porter in the polls, though he is unlikely to last near the top of the pack in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly two-to-one and a GOP candidate hasn’t won a statewide seat in nearly 20 years.

The cowboy-hat-toting Bianco has heavily criticized Democratic governance. He argues for loosening regulations on businesses and says he wants to overturn California’s sanctuary law that restricts local police from cooperating with federal deportation officers.

Eric Swalwell

Other Democrats have focused on their biographies and experiences in government to try to distinguish themselves in a race where name recognition is low across the board. All have said they want to make California more affordable and push back on the Trump administration’s impact on the state.

Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks to reporters after a campaign event on Proposition 50 in San Francisco.

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Swalwell, a former prosecutor and Bay Area congressman, will likely lean heavily on his anti-Trump bonafides. He was one of several members of Congress appointed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to help lead the second Trump impeachment after the attempted Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection and is now the latest Democrat under attack by the Trump administration over his mortgage.

Antonio Villaraigosa

Former Los Angeles mayor and former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa is among the more moderate of the Democratic field. He boasts of his time running the state’s largest city, during which he boosted the police force. He ran for governor unsuccessfully in 2018.

Betty Yee

Former state Controller Betty Yee emphasizes her experience with the state budget and the tax system, having been a top finance office in ex-Gov. Gray Davis’ administration and having sat on the state Board of Equalization.

Tony Thurmond

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a Democrat, is the only candidate currently in a statewide seat. He emphasizes his background as a social worker who grew up on public assistance programs in a low-income family. He has stated an ambitious goal of building two million housing units on surplus state land.

Ian Calderon

Ian Calderon, a former Democratic Assembly majority leader, is emphasizing his relative youth. He was the first millennial member of the state Assembly, and is part of a Los Angeles County political dynasty. He has some ties to the cryptocurrency industry and has name-dropped it in ads and debates.

Steve Hilton

Republican Steve Hilton, a Fox News contributor, was an adviser for British conservative Prime Minister David Cameron before pivoting to American politics. Before launching his campaign he released a book this year calling California “America’s worst-run state.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

The crisp, cool weather continues Tuesday as the region prepares for another Santa Ana wind event on Wednesday.

Highs along the coast on Tuesday will be from 63 to 69 degrees, and up to 72 degrees for the valleys.

The Inland Empire will see daytime highs of up to 71 degrees.

In the Antelope Valley, there will be some areas of frost in the early morning, with temperatures ranging from 56 to 62 degrees.

Beach hazards

You'll want to avoid swimming in the ocean because of strong rip currents and breaking waves from high surf. Minor flooding of beach parking lots is possible. These conditions will last until Friday morning for the Orange County coast, and until Saturday morning for L.A. County beaches.

No burn alert in effect

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a no burn alert for most of SoCal until 11:59 p.m. because of high air pollution. That means you should avoid any burning of wood, including fireplaces or manufactured logs made from wax or paper. The alert applies to O.C. and L.A. County's non-desert areas, as well as Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

After Los Angeles moved to significantly lower yearly increases in most of the city’s apartments, some City Council members now want to change the rules again. This time, they’re hoping to give small landlords the ability to raise rents more than their corporate counterparts.

On Tuesday, the council is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would let small landlords — those who own 10 units or fewer — raise rents by an additional 1% each year. The idea was put forward by Councilmembers John Lee and Monica Rodriguez.

“This modest adjustment recognizes the difference between a family that owns a few units and a large corporate operator,” Lee said in a statement to LAist. “Our goal is to keep small landlords in the system and prevent the loss of rent-controlled homes.”

While the idea is gaining support from landlord groups, tenant advocates say the proposal would create a cumbersome and unfair, two-tier system in which some renters have to pay more than others.

The changes coming for LA rent control 

In a culmination of years of debate, the City Council voted last month to lower the maximum allowable rent increase in the city’s rent-controlled housing to 4% per year. That’s down from the previous maximum of 10%.

Lee, whose district includes the northwest San Fernando Valley, voted against the changes after expressing concern about how the lower increases would affect the bottom line of small rental property owners. Rodriguez, whose district includes the northeast San Fernando Valley, supported the changes, but said more should be done to keep “mom-and-pop” landlords afloat.

“The motion proposes a modest adjustment to help ensure these small landlords remain viable, rather than being pushed out and accelerating the further corporatization of housing in Los Angeles,” Rodriguez said in a statement to LAist.

Landlord groups said the proposed 1% increase could help at the margins, but small landlords would still have to contend with insurance premiums and maintenance costs that have been rising faster than overall economic inflation.

“Throwing a bone in the form of an additional 1% to smaller owners is necessary but will be insufficient to keep many owners in the housing business,” Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, said in an email. “More and more, owners are being forced to look for the exit ramp in the city of Los Angeles.”

Do small landlords really have it harder?

But researchers paid to investigate the issue have not found evidence that small landlords face stronger headwinds than corporate owners. A city-commissioned report by the Economic Roundtable, an independent research nonprofit, found no significant differences between the financial health of small and large landlord operations in L.A.

“The study found that, in general, small landlords are not suffering greater distress,” Anna Ortega, who is with the city’s Housing Department, said during a recent City Council meeting.

Tenant advocates with the group Keep L.A. Housed opposed the 1% bump for small landlords, saying it would be unfair to charge some tenants more every year simply because they’re renting from a non-corporate owner. The coalition also said enforcing the rules would be difficult.

“Allowing small landlords to self-certify creates the opportunity for abuse, as some will fraudulently claim the status and charge incorrect (and potentially illegal) rent increases to already rent-burdened tenants,” said Pablo Estupiñan, a Keep L.A. Housed member and an organizer with the nonprofit Strategic Actions for a Just Economy.

The rules in LA and beyond

The city’s rent control rules generally apply to rental units built before October 1978, though some newly built apartments are covered as well. About 70% of the city’s apartments are subject to the rent hike caps.

Some other Southern California jurisdictions with rent control allow small landlords to increase rents more than larger owners.

L.A. County allows small landlords in unincorporated areas to increase rents an extra 1%. The city of Inglewood allows owners of buildings with four apartments or fewer to increase rents by an extra 5% compared with owners of buildings with five or more units.

Santa Ana’s Ayuda Sin Fronteras — a fund to support immigrant families affected by ICE sweeps — could more than double with an additional $150,000 influx of city dollars if approved by the City Council Tuesday night.

The federal immigration sweeps have increased fear among immigrant families, prompting some to avoid workplaces and other public areas. The fund goes toward helping those families pay for up to one month’s worth of housing expenses, including past due rent and utility bills.

The program was created in July following heavy immigration enforcement that rattled many communities in Southern California, including Orange County’s only sanctuary city — Santa Ana.

When it launched, the city approved an initial $100,000 for housing assistance. In October, the City Council directed the city manager to seek additional funding for approval. Those funds were pulled from several city department employee vacancies, including the city attorney’s office, the Santa Ana Police Department and others.

Ayuda Sin Fronteras has supported 232 residents as of Oct. 21, according to city officials.

Mayor Valerie Amezcua said she will revisit the fund as much as possible to make sure the city is doing all it can to support community members affected by immigration enforcement.

“We need to make sure that we take good care of our community because there is a need,” Amezcua told LAist. “There's a need for rental assistance, for food, for utilities. As the mayor and council, we're committed to helping out our community.”

Who qualifies? 

The funds are reserved for Santa Ana families with members who have been detained, deported or financially hurt by immigration enforcement. Families will need to provide proof of immigration enforcement activity or a signed third-party verification form.

The program requires identification of all household members, but the city says it does not require proof of citizenship.

Applicants need to be renters at or below moderate income. A family of five, for example, needs to make no more than $177,000 a year. The city’s income chart can be found here.

Other help is available 

In Orange County, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento created the Orange County Liberty Fund in partnership with community organizations, bringing together $1.5 million to support immigrant families in navigating the legal system.

In September, the Costa Mesa City Council launched a $200,000 immigrant legal defense fund to help those detained by ICE within the city.

Outside Orange County, the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach, along with L.A. County, have asked for support from local philanthropists to donate to immigrant support funds.