How many times have the Yankees and Dodgers played in the World Series? Matchup history, more

It's hard to ask for a more marquee matchup than this: The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, two of the most iconic and successful franchises in baseball history, squaring off in the World Series. While this year's Fall Classic will feature plenty of big names looking to finally capture their first ring — from Shohei Ohtani to Aaron Judge to Gerrit Cole — these two franchises are no strangers to success. The Yankees have won a record 27 championships, while the Dodgers are tied for sixth with seven trophies of their own.

They're also no strangers to meeting on the sport's biggest stage. It's been 43 years since New York and L.A. played in the World Series, but Game 1 on Friday will mark a renewal of arguably the most storied postseason rivalry in baseball. With Round 12 on deck here's a full breakdown of the rich history between the Yankees and Dodgers.

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How many times have the Yankees and Dodgers played in the World Series?

Yankees-Dodgers isn't just the most common matchup in World Series history — it's the most common matchup in postseason history, period. This will be the 12th meeting in the Fall Classic between New York and L.A., well ahead of second place on the list (a tie between Yankees-Cleveland and Yankees-Giants, each at seven series apiece).

The rivalry began as an intracity feud, when the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in five games in the 1941 World Series. That kicked off a 15-year feud, with New York as the big, bad powerhouse and the Dodgers as the plucky underdogs. The Yankees won the first five meetings, before Brooklyn finally broke through in memorable fashion with a seven-game win in 1955. Overall, the teams faced off seven times before the Dodgers headed west in 1958, then four more times in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The Yankees lead the all-time series 8-3, although L.A. took the most recent meeting way back in 1981.

When was the last time the Yankees and Dodgers played in the World Series?

It's been a long time since these two teams squared off in October: 43 years, to be exact, when the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the 1981 World Series to capture their fifth title in franchise history. It was sweet revenge for L.A., who had fallen to New York in consecutive seasons in 1977 and 1978 thanks to the heroics of Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson.

The same script seemed to be playing out in '81, with New York winning the first two games at home to take a 2-0 series lead. But back-to-back homers in the seventh gave the Dodgers a 2-1 win in a pivotal Game 5, and Los Angeles blasted the Yankees in Game 6 to capture the Commissioner's Trophy. The two teams have combined for seven World Series titles since then, but none have come at the expense of the other.

Who leads the all-time series between the Yankees and Dodgers?

The Yankees also hold a slight edge in the all-time series between the two teams: including both the regular season and postseason, New York leads with a record of 48 wins to 40 losses. The two teams have met for a single three-game series in each of the last two years, with the Yankees taking two of three at Dodger Stadium in 2023 and Los Angeles returning the favor with a series win in the Bronx back in early June.