Dodgers-Yankees battle of titans an absolute must-watch all weekend long

We, as a sport and a species, are perhaps prone to hyperbole. Everything is “the best this” or “the most important that,” in an effort to cut through the noise and elevate the topic at hand.

It’s with that preamble in mind that we know exactly how it sounds when we say this: When the Dodgers and Yankees start a three-game series at Yankee Stadium, be ready because the action is going to be full throttle right from the first pitch. It starts Friday night at 7 ET on Apple TV+. Saturday is at 7:30 on FOX and Sunday is at 7 on ESPN.

After all, it could have the greatest collection of top-of-the-lineup hitters to share a field in nearly half a century. (Probably.)

All numbers below are through Wednesday’s games.

Combined, that trio has a .917 OPS this season. Thanks almost entirely to them, the Dodgers have a .915 OPS from the top three spots of their lineup, the seventh-best mark in AL/NL history. It is better than more than 99% of every other team season on record.

That would belong to the Yankees and their .936 OPS, thanks to this trio, which has topped every single Yankees lineup since Gleyber Torres was bumped out of the top spot in the second week of the season.

No pressure, Anthony – you’re just the only member of the top three hitters on either side this weekend that isn’t on an all-but-assured Hall of Fame track. (Yet.)

The second-place Dodgers’ top three outpaces the third-place Orioles’ top three by 61 points, and it places both clubs among the top seven in AL/NL history — on a list that includes lineups featuring Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr., Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, and two different DiMaggios.

Best OPS from 1-3 hitters, AL/NL history

There’s some necessary context there, too, because we’re just looking at raw OPS, without the extra step of comparing to the offensive environment of the time. The NL OPS this year is .698, but in 1929, it was .783. The Dodgers are outpacing the league average by 217 points, while the ’29 Phillies did so by only 171.

These two are so strong at the top, in fact, that they’re also among the most top-heavy lineups in history, at least comparing the top three to the bottom six. Only six previous times had the top three ever had an OPS gap of at least 200 points over the bottom six.

Top-heaviest lineups, AL/NL history
OPS 1-3 compared to OPS 4-9

(That’s right. It’s the second time an Ohtani team has done this.)

This says a little about the occasional weakness of the bottom of these two lineups, to be sure. On the other hand, given that the Dodgers have one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball batting cleanup (Will Smith, 148 OPS+) and the Yankees’ four-five is usually an outfielder having a solid year (Alex Verdugo, 108 OPS+) or the 2017 NL MVP still hitting laser beams (Giancarlo Stanton, 117 OPS+), it’s not just that, either. It’s the aircraft carriers atop the lineup.

But remember this, too: For decades, the AL didn’t use the DH, and for decades after that, the NL didn’t either. Those 1997 Astros had a mere .405 OPS from the ninth spot in the lineup, because it was mostly pitchers. It was easier to stand out from the bottom than it is now.

At the end of the season, it’s possible neither top trio will still be at such lofty heights. For now, we know this: Two of the top seven lineup toppers we’ve ever seen, in the same season at the same time, sharing a field together, this weekend.

But: What about those Hall of Famers?

As we said, it seems pretty clear that five of the top six – Betts, Ohtani, Freeman, Soto, and Judge – have an outstanding-to-guaranteed path to Cooperstown. Don’t forget, however, who the Yankees have in the middle of their lineup. At 34 years old, Stanton’s last few years have been rocky, and what once seemed like a chance to challenge for the all-time home run record now seems like something of a long slog just to get to 500.

On the other hand, he still has the fastest bat in the land, and even this post-peak version still reliably runs into 25 homers a year. His shot off of Caleb Thielbar on Tuesday was the 417th of his career, and it’s not hard to imagine him getting to 435 or so by the end of the season. Still only 34 years old, it’s not that difficult to see him getting to 500, and if he does, he’d be an MVP with a sparkling postseason record (where he’s hit 11 additional homers) and a big, round, magical homer number. Every single eligible 500-homer hitter has made it to Cooperstown, aside from those associated with PED controversy.

It’s not out of the question, is the point. Nor is it unlikely that he bats in the first inning, given the stars ahead of him. So then the more fun question is: When was the last time six Hall of Famers batted in the first inning? Or any inning?

The answer to both, thanks to some data wizardry from MLB.com’s Jason Bernard is: It’s been more than 40 years.

The last time six HOFs batted in any inning: Sept. 14, 1983

In the top of the third inning of a game the Phillies would take 9-5 over the Expos, Montreal sent (among others) future Hall of Famers Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, and Gary Carter to the plate against Steve Carlton. The Phillies would answer with Carlton, Joe Morgan, and Mike Schmidt. It could have been more: The “Wheeze Kids” Phils also had Tony Pérez on the roster, though he didn’t appear that day.

If it seems like cheating to include Carlton, a pitcher – though he did lead off a four-run inning with a hit – then fortunately for us, the last time six Hall of Famers batted in specifically the first inning came only weeks earlier, this time in the American League.

The last time six HOFs batted in the first inning: July 31, 1983

In a 7-5 Brewers win over the Red Sox, Milwaukee had Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, and Ted Simmons hit in the top of the first, while Boston’s Hall of Famers in the bottom included Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, and Carl Yastrzemski. This total may yet bump up even more, as Dwight Evans still has an enduring case to get inducted.

It’s been decades since we’ve seen this, is the point.

There’s also a version of this where in 20 years we look back and realize that the 23-year-old Volpe, who was a 20/20 Gold Glove winner as a rookie and has markedly improved in his second season, was just beginning his Hall of Fame journey. Maybe we see that Smith, who has merely been one of the 10 best-hitting catchers though age 29, keeps on hitting all the way to Cooperstown. It’s not impossible. Maybe it’s five Hall of Famers. Maybe it’s eight.

It’s also not necessary to dream about the future, either. Right now, this weekend, we know exactly what we’re going to see. We’re going to see a young star and five living legends, all in the same place, all in the same inning. That’s not a spectacle that comes around every day.