The Los Angeles Dodgers are back-to-back World Series Champions! This is their third WS Championship in six years and the Dodgers’ fifth appearance in nine years. Whether you like it or not, the Los Angeles Dodgers have built a modern-day dynasty and they are not going anywhere.
The Series!
If you’re a fan of baseball, this series gave you everything. From an 18-inning thriller, bench clearings, complete games, game saving catches, a review of the rule book, a walk-off home run, and record setting moments. This series will be remembered as one of the greatest World Series ever. Resting heart rates were elevated, prayers were prayed, tension was high, and the drama was epic.
Twice, the Toronto Blue Jays were one win away from winning the series at home. However, the Dodgers had to fight and claw their way back to win the series on the road. The Dodgers are the first team to ever trail in the 9th inning of a World Series Game 7 on the road and come back to win it all.
Game 3
Game 3 was one of the most exciting (and stressful) games in a World Series, ever! It was basically a double header because it lasted 18 innings! Tied for the longest World Series. Six hours and thirty-nine minutes later, Game 3 ended in a walk-off home run from the Dodgers Freddie Freeman. Shohei Ohtani set a record by getting on base nine times. Ohtani started the game 4-4 with two doubles and two home runs, but then he never swung again. The Blue Jays intentionally walked him his last five times at the plate.
Dodgers
Dodgers’ pitcher and World Series MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto won Game 2 (a complete game and he also threw a complete game in the NLCS- this is not normal), Game 6, AND Game 7. He threw a total of 17.2 innings in the series. He pitched in Game 7 on zero days rest. HOW? Yamamoto became the first pitcher in more than 20 years to throw back-to-back complete games in the playoffs.
Shohei Ohtani led off Game 4 AND Game 7 and then he stepped on the mound to pitch. What a time to be alive! The two-way player is the greatest player to ever play the game. See previous blog https://alisonstclair.com/sho-time-in-october/
Will Smith isn’t just the most underrated player on the Dodgers; he might be the most underrated player in baseball. In my opinion, he’s the most consistent, clutch player. Smith set a record for catchers by squatting behind the plate for 74 innings in the World Series and ultimately ended the series by hitting the final go-ahead home run in the top of the 11th in Game 7. Fun fact: for the sixth time in a row, the World Series winner has had a player named ‘Will Smith’ on the roster. (Will Smith the pitcher or Will Smith the catcher.)
Dodgers’ manager, Dave Roberts deserves massive credit. He made lineup adjustments, managed a struggling bullpen, and he trusted his players every game. Adding Miguel Rojas to the Game 6 and Game 7 lineups may have changed the outcome of this series.
Payroll
When haters keep making payroll comments, they are only highlighting that they don’t understand the business of baseball. The Dodgers aren’t dipping into anyone else’s pockets. The Dodgers have earned their payroll. With record-breaking attendance at Dodger Stadium year after year, massive TV deals, and one of the most loyal fanbases in sports, the team’s revenue matches its spending power. Basically, if you build it, he will come.
The Dodgers aren’t breaking baseball. They’re simply doing what every franchise could be doing if they were managed and marketed as well. They’re not overspending out of desperation; they’re reinvesting in their success. When a team drives that much local, national, and international interest, it’s only fair that the profits go back into the product- the players and fans who make it all possible.
Salary Cap
The Dodgers haven’t broken any salary cap because baseball doesn’t have one. They operate completely within MLB’s luxury tax system and pay the penalties that come with it. They’re playing by the same financial rules as everyone else. The difference is that they just do it better.
If the system allows it and a team has the means, why wouldn’t they maximize their potential?
The New York Mets entered the season with the highest payroll in MLB history, hovering around $340 million, outspending even the Dodgers. Yet despite all that money, the Mets missed the postseason entirely! Proof that spending alone doesn’t buy chemistry, consistency, or championships. Even with billionaire ownership, the Mets are learning the hard way that you can’t buy instant success.
Kershaw
Hollywood couldn’t write a better ending for Clayton Kershaw. The future first ballot Hall of Famer spent his entire 18-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He announced that he would be retiring after this season. Dang, we were lucky to have watched the southpaw grow up and win three World Series Championships. His legendary career with five ERA titles, three Cy Young Awards, an MVP, a member of the 3,000-strikeout club, and retiring with back-to-back World Series Championships is simply incredible.
Kershaw said “I will be able to say for the rest of my life that we won Game 7 of the World Series, the last game I ever played. You can’t script that. You can’t write it up. Even if I was not throwing 88 [mph], I still would be done. It’s just the perfect way to end it.”
Grab a tissue. Thank you, Clayton Kershaw, for being a Dodger!
Enjoy the parade, LA you earned it.
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