Every interleague game – big or small – is a possible preview of the World Series

The Dodgers’ visit to Yankee Stadium three weekends ago provided an opportunity to daydream about what it would be like if baseball’s two coastal superpowers – who haven’t faced each other in a World Series since 1981 – met in a rematch in October.

Even the June edition – which pitted the team with the best record in the American League against the second-best team in the National League – generated far more excitement than most regular-season series.

The June 7 opener, which went scoreless until the 11th inning before the Dodgers won 2-1, was broadcast on Apple TV. (Of course, the unnecessary switch to streaming so infuriated fans that Major League Baseball quietly allowed Yankees-owned broadcasters YES and SportsNet LA to broadcast the games on their respective networks.) The Dodgers’ 11-3 victory on June 8 was broadcast nationally on Fox, while ESPN carried the finale, a 6-4 Yankees victory.

Media members surrounded the area in front of each dugout. The Dodgers’ dugout was cleared Sunday night so ESPN could interview the ever-elusive Shohei Ohtani, which meant nearly 20 people crowded into the visiting manager’s office for Dave Roberts’ pregame press conference.

“I think playing with that media attention — sold out, the energy, you feel it (against) a team you might face in the World Series — is kind of a barometer,” Roberts said. “And I think also, at the end of the day, nobody wants to be embarrassed. It’s been built up and then you want to put your best foot forward.”

But the marathon nature of the regular season and the increasingly random nature of the now 12-team playoff tournament mean that the likelihood of preparations stretching into October is slim – although the new scheduling matrix, in which each team plays each of the other 29 teams at least once, ensures that a World Series rematch will occur somewhere in an interleague matchup.

Thirty-eight percent of Major League Baseball’s schedule this month consisted of interleague games. Only two days did not feature at least one interleague game, offering a potential preview of the World Series.

None were as enticing as Yankees-Dodgers, but Orioles-Braves (June 11-13), Orioles-Phillies (June 14-16), and Yankees-Braves (June 21-23) all offered some interesting #EastCoastBias possibilities. There’s a slim chance that either the Yankees-Giants (May 31-June 2) or Red Sox-Braves (June 4-5) series was a reference to upcoming rematches of the old World Series. We probably don’t need to remember anything about Athletics-Braves (May 31-June 2), Twins-Rockies (June 10-12), or White Sox-Anyone to potentially use it in late October.

But if the last two seasons were any indication, the World Series return will be the one few see coming. The 2022 season was the last played in this format, which pitted teams against a natural interleague rival and a division from the other league, but by coincidence, the Astros and Phillies met in the season’s final series just over three weeks before meeting in the World Series, which the Astros won in six games. And while Houston entered the playoffs with the AL’s best record, Philadelphia didn’t secure the final NL wild-card spot until a 3-1 win in the series opener on Oct. 3.

Last season, the Rangers and Diamondbacks — both coming off 100-loss seasons two years earlier — played each other in two two-game series on May 2-3 and August 21-22. The latter series ended with the Rangers a half-game lead in the AL West and just one game out of the third wild card, while the Diamondbacks were virtually tied with the Cubs for the last two wild card spots and a half-game ahead of the Giants and Reds. A little more than two months later, Texas won its first World Series with a gentlemen’s sweep of Arizona.

The last three weeks have provided ample evidence of the haphazard nature of the Yankees and Dodgers’ ability to win their rematch. The Yankees have a record of just 9-13 since June 7, a span that has seen them lose Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo to the injured list and endure two scares involving world-class player Juan Soto.

The Dodgers are 13-8 but will play most of the summer without their top pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and former MVP Mookie Betts, who suffered shoulder and hand injuries, respectively, on two consecutive days from June 15-16.

The stars should be back by October, when the Yankees and Dodgers will likely be among the favorites for the World Series. But just to be on the safe side, check out the game reports for Royals-Padres (May 31 – June 2), Guardians-Reds (June 11-12) and Astros-Mets (Friday – Sunday).

“It’s still a long way from here to there,” Roberts said.