Ohtani and the Dodgers are headed to the world series. It will be their 22nd time there and Ohtani's first trip. This is both why he moved to the Dodgers and how they made it so far: he carried the team almost entirely himself through parts of the season, and the rest of the team rallied to win anyway even when he was fighting through his own slumps.

They will be facing the Yankees. This will be the Yankee's 41st World Series, their first since 1981. It will also be the 12th time the two teams have met in the World Series. Yankees have won 8 of those previous meetings. This meeting might go either way. The Dodgers have the edge offensively. Ohtani might be matched well against Judge, but the Dodgers have an assortment of other weapons—more than the Yankees do. The Yankees have the edge in pitching, though. The Dodgers had a good roster of pitchers on paper at the start of the season, but injuries have decimated that roster, leaving them struggling so much that it has fueled rumors that Ohtani himself will pitch, despite the fact that his shoulder is still recovering from surgery.

As a great pitcher and amazing hitter, Ohtani's entire career he has been drawing comparisons to Babe Ruth. They have always been favorable comparisons. With his amazing season this year, he has started to move beyond that, with some calling him better than Ruth and the greatest of all time. The latter is obviously subjective and impossible to prove, but the mere fact that it keeps coming up shows how impressed with him everyone is. A World Series win would really help that claim.

Most baseball fans not in New York will probably be cheering for LA. Ohtani has an amazing image and he makes everyone want him to win, whereas many people hate the Yankees. I bet you can guess which team Japan wants to win.

It will be a good series.

Me? I'm a Cubs fan from birth, so of course I hate the Yankees. I live in Japan and my kids are half-Japanese, so I have a fondness for Japanese players in MLB. Imanaga on the Cubs is doing amazing. I followed him here too when he played for Yokohama. But anyway, I have been cheering for Ohtani since he joined MLB and of course I'm pulling for his Dodgers in the World Series.

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.