This summer, we heard the talk: the Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t the team we thought they were, the Dodgers are finished, the road to the World Series no longer goes through Chavez Ravine. The “experts” all thought that. To quote the Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War when he talked to Thanos: “We all think that at first…we are all wrong…”
The world of baseball was reminded of why the Dodgers had such high expectations of them going into this season. They swept the Cincinnati Reds, they knocked the Philadelphia Phillies aside, and now they’ve swept the best regular season team in MLB, the Milwaukee Brewers. Thanks to this postseason surge of dominance, that we haven’t seen since the Kobe and Shaq era of the Lakers, the Dodgers are heading back to the World Series.
I usually reserve this phrase for my NFL articles, but after looking at what Shohei Ohtani did in Game Four…HOLY MOLE HOLES! Hitting three home runs and striking out 10 batters in one game is something that only happens when you’re playing Mario Superstar Baseball. I saw several videos of one “expert” in particular who was critical of the lack of production from Ohtani (while heaping praise on anyone else NOT wearing a Dodger uniform). Now, I will not name this particular “expert”, but this person was most CERTAINLY wrong. I will say this, this “expert” may have done their impression of Bob Costas: motivating Ohtani to arguably the greatest performance in postseason history.
It wasn’t just Ohtani that was brilliant, the whole starting pitching corps had a magnificent performance in the series against the Brewers. Blake Snell threw for eight innings in Game One and allowed one hit while striking out ten. Yoshinobu Yamamoto followed that up in Game Two with a complete game shutout, allowing three hits, walking one, and striking out seven. Tyler Glasnow had “the worst outing” (I put in in air quotes because…well look at the stats): he only went 5.2 innings, allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out eight (see what I meant?). Overall, it was a great outing by the starting pitching, who recorded a combined 0.63 ERA against the Brewers.
It’s not just the pitching that’s coming alive…the bats are, too! The Dodgers scored a total of 18 runs over two games against the Reds, 19 runs in four games against the Phillies, and 15 runs in four games against the Brewers. Overall, that’s 52 runs in three series. Let me really drive this home by pointing out that the Brewers and Phillies had good pitching going into this postseason. The “experts” hyped how amazing the Brewers played for a good chunk of the season, and they believed the Phillies bullpen and starters could ride them far into the postseason. Again, these “experts” are wrong a good majority of the time.
It’s a little baffling to me why these “experts” have been down on the Dodgers’ chances this whole time. It’s not like they do the same thing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL. So why? It’s not an easy question to answer except that there is a favoritism in sports. It doesn’t seem to favor west coast teams, as they play late enough that east coast reporters have already gone to bed. I’m not saying this as an excuse for anything, it is merely a criticism and a statement based on observations.
Nevertheless, the Dodgers are heading back to the World Series, and there is a lot at stake. They are putting their championship back on the line, they have the chance to cement themselves as a legitimate dynasty, and they have the chance to be the first repeat champions since the Yankees at the turn of this century. But this is the most important reason: this is the chance to send future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw out as a champion. We all know he’s retiring this season, and even the “experts” agree on the obvious fact that Kershaw is getting into the hall on his first ballot. What better way to put the frosting on this amazing cake that is Kershaw’s career by giving him one last ring? There is still some work to do: after all, they still need four more wins.
But the Dodgers’ fans, ever loyal and possibly the best fans in all of sports, have always maintained their faith in their “beloved bums”, and that is not likely to change. Last year, the chant was “they’re not like us,” this year it appears the chant is “we are inevitable…”
