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Historic performances in 2024 generated record increases in viewership and MLB’s highest attendance in seven years. It all culminated in a classic and unforgettable World Series between the Yankees and the Dodgers. But while the sports’ two most storied franchises entertained us in late October, there were several other fascinating developments throughout the year and across the league.
That list includes a pair of pitchers recording triple crown seasons, another posting one of the best rookie campaigns ever, and the consummation of the largest contract in sports history.
Here’s a look back at the 10 biggest MLB storylines of 2024:
1. A hobbled Freddie Freeman comes through with iconic Fall Classic
There were two lasting memories of the 2024 World Series: the Yankees‘ calamitous fifth inning in the deciding Game 5 and the iconic blast off the bat of a hobbled Freddie Freeman in Game 1. Freeman was unable to play in two of the Dodgers‘ final three games of the NLCS due to a lingering ankle injury and was also battling broken rib cartilage. He was held without an extra-base hit through the Dodgers’ first two postseason series, but the time off before the Fall Classic allowed him to find his power again. The Dodgers were down to their last out in Game 1 when Freeman conjured memories of Kirk Gibson as he launched the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. Freeman would go on to homer in each of the next three games as well, giving the series MVP a major-league record six straight World Series games with a home run dating back to the Braves‘ 2021 championship run. — Rowan Kavner
2. Even without pitching, MVP Shohei Ohtani keeps making history
There’s enough material from Ohtani’s first season with the Dodgers to create an entire top-10 list of his achievements alone, so we’ll just take the whole thing here. Unable to pitch in the first year of his $700 million deal, Ohtani tried to find a way to make more of an impact as an offensive juggernaut with his speed and did it to unprecedented and awe-inspiring levels. He became the fastest player ever to reach 40 homers and 40 steals in a season, and he got there with a walk-off grand slam. Then he became the first 50/50 player in MLB history, hitting the milestone in one of the all-time great single-game performances (6-for-6, 3 HR, 2 2B, 2 SB, 10 RBI). In his first taste of the postseason, Ohtani won a World Series in his first year with the Dodgers and then was crowned the first league MVP who served strictly as a DH. — Kavner
3. The return of the Bronx Bombers
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto produced historic numbers we hadn’t seen in 93 years in their lone season playing in pinstripes together. Their combined oWAR of 19.6 became the highest for a tandem in baseball since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig recorded 20.0 for the 1931 Yankees. Judge and Soto also combined for 99 home runs and finished in the top three in AL MVP voting, with Judge bringing the trophy home for the second time in his career. The two titans took the Yankees to the World Series; Soto’s 10th-inning pennant-winning home run off Hunter Gaddis was the ultimate highlight of their October, while Judge’s record 223 OPS+ during the regular season set the foundation for the Yankees’ championship run. We didn’t know at the time that Game 5 of the Fall Classic would be the last time they played together. Since Soto switched boroughs in free agency this December, it already makes the spectacle of Judge-Soto that much more nostalgic. For a single season, they were an iconic duo. But in the grand scheme of baseball’s history, they’re just a blip. Oh, but what a year it was. — Deesha Thosar
Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani: Who had the more impressive season?
4. MLB’s homecoming at Rickwood Field
Major League Baseball’s decision to celebrate the historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala. this summer became an unforgettable tribute to the Negro Leagues and Willie Mays, who died the day before the event kicked off. Mays’ presence was felt at the nation’s oldest professional ballpark, where the Hall of Famer’s legacy began and veterans of the Negro Leagues returned in wheelchairs and high spirits as the Cardinals edged the Giants. Mays’ son, Michael, told the crowd: “Let him hear you!”, before a series of “Willie! Willie!” chants enveloped the field. From issues of race and segregation, to a meeting point for families and communities, to a birthplace of some of the sport’s most talented athletes of all time, Rickwood Field is a relic that will always hold a special place in baseball’s long and complicated history. While the event was held over a few days, the celebration of the beloved ballpark was a sentimental and unforgettable chapter of the 2024 season. — Thosar
5. Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes even better than advertised
Massive expectations followed Paul Skenes after the Pirates made the LSU national champion the top overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. He somehow managed to exceed them. Ten months after he was drafted, Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11. His first 11 big-league starts were so extraordinary that he earned the start in the All-Star Game, becoming the first player ever to go from the No. 1 overall pick to an All-Star the following year. The rest of his season was similarly overpowering. He finished the year with a 1.96 ERA, which was the lowest mark for any rookie with at least 20 starts in the live-ball era and the lowest mark of any big-league pitcher in 2024 with at least 130 innings pitched. Skenes, who struck out 170 batters in 133 innings, was named Rookie of the Year and finished third in Cy Young voting. — Kavner
‘MLB on FOX’ crew discusses significance of Skenes’ All-Star start
6. Cy Youngs are triple crown winners
From 2012 to 2023, the only pitcher to win a triple crown (leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts) was Shane Bieber during the shortened 2020 season. Then came Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal, who this year became the first tandem triple-crown winners since Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander in 2011. Sale and Skubal, both left-handed pitchers who’ve persisted after Tommy John surgery, posted eerily similar totals — Sale went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in his first year in Atlanta, while Skubal was 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in Detroit — though their paths to award-winning seasons were vastly different. Sale had finished in the top five in Cy Young voting every year from 2013 to 2018 before being limited by injury over the past four years in Boston. The 35-year-old finally won the award in a bounce-back season in Year 14. Skubal, meanwhile, is still an ascending star. The 28-year-old won the AL Cy Young Award unanimously after helping lift the Tigers to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. — Kavner
7. Mets‘ late-inning magic
Whether it was Pete Alonso’s go-ahead ninth-inning home run off closer Devin Williams, or Francisco Lindor’s game-winning grand slam against the Phillies that sent the Mets to the NLCS, it was a fairy-tale season full of humor, whimsy and joy for the Amazins. Their late-inning heroics became a staple of their deep postseason run, which included an MLB record four consecutive postseason games in which the team with the lead entering the eighth inning lost. After putting together an expensive and disappointing roster in 2023, the Mets with tempered expectations battled their way all the way to a NLCS Game 6 against the Dodgers, when their capacity for comebacks finally ran out. But a season that featured a glove being thrown into the stands, a goofy McDonalds character, a banger of a Latin pop song performed by their infielder, and a special team culture that overcame setback after setback made for an internal belief that the Mets were always going to fight to stay in the game. When the curtain finally dropped, baseball was left to appreciate a truly remarkable season from the Mets. — Thosar
Dodgers vs. Mets: MINI-MOVIE of 2024 NLCS
8. Witt, Henderson, De La Cruz headline golden era of young shortstops
If you want to get excited about the future of the sport, just look at the shortstop position. Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson and Elly De La Cruz all ranked in the top 10 in wins above replacement in 2024, and all three are under the age of 25. Witt and Henderson finished second and fourth in American League MVP voting, respectively, while De La Cruz finished eighth in the National League. Witt orchestrated one of the greatest all-around seasons from a shortstop ever and won the AL batting crown with a .332 batting average. Henderson had 28 homers before the All-Star break. De La Cruz had 45 steals and 15 homers in his first 91 games, and there are plenty more young talents behind them. C.J. Abrams, 24, was an All-Star and finished with a 20/30 season. Ezequial Tovar, 23, earned down-ballot MVP votes after leading the NL with 45 doubles. The position is in a spectacular place looking forward. — Kavner
9. Central time in the American League
Sure, we thought either the Tigers or the Royals could have a solid season in 2024, but even as late into the year as the trade deadline, nobody expected both teams to make the playoffs. Detroit traded away four of its best players, including Jack Flaherty, in July and fell to a 55-63 record on Aug. 10 with only 44 games left in the season. Then, behind ace Tarik Skubal, they just kept winning. The Tigers went from fourth to second place in the AL Central in the final week of the regular season, defeated the Orioles in the wild-card round, and advanced to the ALDS for the first time in 10 years while ending the longest postseason drought in baseball.
The Royals, who also just finished a long rebuild, relied on their mix of youth and veteran leadership to surge into the playoffs for the first time since their 2015 championship run. Kansas City fell to the eventual AL champion Yankees in the ALDS, but its future looks promising with AL MVP runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. on the books until at least 2030. The Guardians, meanwhile, finished with the second-best record in the American League and required late-inning heroics from the Yankees to be eliminated in the ALCS. Detroit, Kansas City and Cleveland combined to win four playoff series — no division won more — while the Twins also finished above .500, making the AL Central the only division to boast four teams with a winning record. The rise of the AL Central arrived ahead of schedule, but we’re definitely here for it. — Thosar
Mets, Juan Soto agree on 15-year, $765 million contract
10. The $765 million man
The biggest contract in professional sports — an unprecedented moment in the history of MLB — looks a little something like $765 million paid to Juan Soto over the next 15 years. As if the contract wasn’t mind-boggling on its own, the generational slugger stunned the world when he traded his Yankees cap for a Mets jersey, ending what was the first head-to-head battle between the two New York teams for a free agent under the Steve Cohen era. It was a distinguishing moment in baseball that will be discussed, analyzed and scrutinized for decades to come.
For Scott Boras, too, this was a peculiar year that ended on the highest of notes when he helped Soto sign the massive contract. The year began with his top free agents remaining unsigned deep into the offseason, eventually agreeing to low-priced deals when spring training and even the regular season had already started. Perhaps because of the late start, most of those players suffered injuries or had disappointing seasons, and Boras entered this winter facing skepticism on whether the super agent could still deliver huge contracts. In the end, we got our answer in the form of three quarters of a billion dollars. — Thosar
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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