Best Moments of 2024 MLB Season

What a year it was for baseball! So many memories were made. It was an absolute joy to watch my favorite team, the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 2024 MLB World Series. It was a great moment for myself as I was jumping up and down in pure joy. This season had many unforgettable moments that will live on forever, many moments I will be telling my grandkids about.

The first best moment I want to talk about is Freddie Freeman’s walk off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 MLB World Series. The Dodgers were down 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning. Freddie Freeman who came up to the plate with the bases loaded was battling a gruesome ankle injury and a fractured rib. Freeman was struggling all postseason, and many people were starting to doubt his abilities at the plate. Well, the first pitch he would see from Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes, he hit into the stands for a walk off grand slam. Freddie Freeman hit the first ever walk off grand slam in MLB World Series history. This moment will live on forever as Freddie Freeman did a pose with the bat right after he hit that will grant a statue of the exact play when he retires. This moment also reminded me of when Kirk Gibson hit a walk off home run for the Dodgers in the 1988 World Series. Gibson was battling injuries in both of his legs and managed to somehow hit a walk off home run off Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley and he could not even run the bases. The best part is both Kirk Gibson and Freddie Freeman’s home runs both happened at 8:37 pacific time. With this walk off grand slam, Freddie Freeman solidified himself as a Los Angeles and Dodger icon.

The next best moment of the 2024 MLB season belongs to another Dodger. He goes by the name Shohei Ohtani. What a crazy 12 months it has been for Ohtani. In December 2023, Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This contract was the biggest contract in MLB history and sport history. However, after the first game Ohtani played with the Dodgers, he was thrown into a scandal. This scandal broke the internet. Essentially Ohtani’s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara had access to all Shohei Ohtani’s information and money as the two were very close friends. Ippei gambled approximately $16 million of Shohei Ohtani’s money. Some baseball fans believed Ippei was a scapegoat of Ohtani however that was not the case. Ippei is now in jail and Ohtani has been cleared of any wrongdoing. After this, Ohtani went on to have the best year of his career and one of the best seasons baseball fans have witnessed in MLB history. Shohei Ohtani became the first player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. The game he did it, Ohtani went 6-6 with 3 home runs, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This was one of the greatest individual performances for a game played ever. Shohei Ohtani finished the game with 51 home runs and 51 stolen bases on the season. When he hit his 50th home run which clinched his amazing record, the announcer Joe Davis made a great call saying, “One of a kind player! One of a kind season! Shohei Ohtani starts the 50/50 club!” Then when he hit his 51st home run, Joe Davis called live on air, “The greatest day in baseball history!” I want to give credit to Joe Davis here, two iconic calls on two iconic moments. The calls made the plays even better and they are two calls I will forever have memorized in my brain.

The last best moment I want to look at is when Juan Soto hit a go-ahead 3-run home run vs the Cleveland Guardians that sent the New York Yankees to the World Series. Juan Soto was traded to the New York Yankees in December 2023, as he and Aaron Judge, who hit 60 home runs in 2024 would team up together. Coming into this season, many people like to say he is overrated which is just simply not true. Juan Soto is a generational talent, and he had a monster year to prove the haters wrong by hitting 41 home runs, knocking in 109 RBIs and collecting a WAR of 7.9. Juan Soto stepped up to the plate in a tie game in the top of the 10th inning vs the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the 2024 American League Championship Series. The Yankees were one win away from going to the World Series. Juan Soto took a fastball and launched way over the fence silencing the crowd putting the Yankees ahead 5-2. This home run upped his contract in free agency by a good $50 million. Not to mention, he is projected to get a 14-year, $650 million contract as a free agent. However, the Yankees have not made the World Series in 15 years and Juan Soto ended the drought for New York.

What a year 2024 was for Major League Baseball and I cannot wait to see what 2025 has in store for all of us. Baseball is the best!