THIS IS A MAGICALLY GLORIOUS WORLD SERIES, WITH MONSTROUS POWER (SEE SOTO)

We have waited 43 years for the Yankees to play the Dodgers in October, a good reason for America to watch, and if you do, Soto’s longballs might join Judge and Stanton in overcoming Ohtani and Betts

     Ramble on from the rollicking magnetism. This is not only the most compelling World Series in eons, from Dodger Stadium to Yankee Stadium and flyover spots in between, but the collision brings us a storm of power freaks. We haven’t remarked enough about Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, who won the American League championship for the New York Yankees while Aaron Judge mostly watched.

     One hit 62 home runs. Another hit 59 home runs. The other is about to make more than $600 million.

     Let Dodgers fans frolic in the ballpark as they celebrate a National League title. How long will the pleasure last? Do they know Donald Trump is planning a stop in the Bronx? Will Kamala Harris drive 15 miles in southern California? Does anyone care?

     “This is what the world wanted,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday night after a 10-5 victory. “You guys want a parade in Los Angeles? Four more wins!”

     “I’ve dreamed of playing here my whole life,” said Shohei Ohtani, who somehow spent the previous six years in Anaheim. “Hopefully, we can win it, my next goal.”

     Embrace baseball’s two titanic brands, based on a chilled coast and a warm coast. When they meet Friday night in Chavez Ravine for Game 1, the Yankees will face Ohtani and Mookie Betts and … Tommy Edman. It’s possible some in the mad audience weren’t sure about his identity as he homered and drove in four runs, but at 5 feet 10 and 180 pounds, he must bring thunder with everybody else if the Dodgers have a chance. The Yankees will be favored because they have Soto, whose next deal will approach Ohtani’s $700 million, and because they follow with Judge and Stanton, who joined Soto in hitting three homers in the same postseason series.

     They matched Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

     They matched Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra.

     Those are majestic names from yesteryear, and suddenly, the Yankees are lined up as possible champions for the first time since 2009. “I’ve been mumbling my words the last five minutes,” said owner Hal Steinbrenner, son of George, as in The Boss. “I’m a little emotional. It’s been 15 freaking years. This means a lot.”

     “I remember just going, ‘Oh my God.’ Did the prayer sign,” general manager Brian Cashman said.

     My columns dwell on the Dodgers because I live by the ocean and watch them play. But as Roberts keeps skimming through his bullpen like a crazed multitasker, he is left to hope that Yoshinobu Yamamoto can keep up with Gerrit Cole while an offense — with ankle-hobbled Freddie Freeman — challenges another functional relief staff. Above all, opposing manager Aaron Boone ships Soto, Stanton and Judge to home plate in what could be a mashing. If their teams didn’t reach the Series, Roberts and Boone might be looking for jobs. They are here. And they will measure the distance to the outfield seats. Do the Dodgers have any idea how to deal with such authority? Said Roberts, undaunted by the power: “There’s no script on how a game is going to go. We have 27 outs.”

     Best of luck.

     “We always talk about it: We want the big one, we want to be in the World Series, we want to go all the way,” Soto said.

     And the pitcher he mauls, such as Cleveland’s Hunter Gaddis in Game 5 of the ALCS: “I said to myself, ‘You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything.’ I just wait for the mistake. I say, ‘I’m all over every pitch. I’m all over every pitch. Be ready, be ready, he’s going to make a mistake.’ ’’

     Only five years have passed since Soto, at 21, won a championship in Washington. How about another in New York, where he dominates the tabloid back pages and has overtaken the beloved Judge as a pinstriped hero? When he won the ALCS clincher with a three-run homer in the 10th inning — he finished the series at .368/.478/.895 — Boone couldn’t stop raving about the slugger acquired from San Diego in the offseason.

     “In the biggest moments, that’s what he does. And it shouldn’t be taken for granted,” Boone said. “He loves the game of baseball. That’s usually a common trait for great players, but not everyone loves it like Juan Soto. He’s just easy to be around. You bring a superstar player in, how is he going to look? What’s he going to be like? He’s just one of the guys. That’s been rewarding to see, man. I don’t have to go out of my way to worry about him. He’s good.”

     His teammates spent the post-game party demanding Steinbrenner empty the same pockets, two years after he paid $360 million to Judge. “All I can say to that is, ‘Pay that man.’ I think we should re-sign Soto, $700 million,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “That’s my number. Final offer.”

     “We need him to stay. He’s going to stay,” said Stanton, MVP of the series. “We’ve got to bring it home and then we’ll bring him home also.”

     Said Soto, anticipating the future and thanking his bosses for the trade: “Thank you. I’m really happy to be here. Traded me to one of the best teams.”

     The Dodgers have won seven World Series, but only one came in a pandemic since 1988. They win NL pennants. “Four pennants in eight years says a lot about these guys,” owner Mark Walter said. But there is no comparison to the Yankees, who are shooting for Series title No. 28. There was a time when Walter O’Malley decided relocating a club made more sense than staying in Brooklyn. They haven’t played since 1981, when the sport was gargantuan in America. Today, in their 12th hookup, they expect people to stop watching the NFL, college football and the NBA. This feels like a killer World Series, unlike a year ago, when Texas and Arizona did something odd.

     It will take on a larger sensibility — and turn people on — if observers choose a favorite and root. Who didn’t grow up hating the Yankees or Dodgers in another town, right? The biggest context will come when Soto and Judge and Stanton and Ohtani and Betts and … Tommy Edman go ding-dong.

     “Judge is a really good player. So is Soto and all the players on the Yankees,” Ohtani said. “It’s going to be tough to win the Series.”

     By trying in two venerated stadia within America’s two supermarkets, 2,797 miles apart, your eyeballs have no reason not to behold.

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     Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.