Brian Markley
Sports Editor
The Los Angeles Dodgers are 2020 World Series Champions.
The title has been an elusive one for the Dodgers over the last decade, but the drought is finally over. The Dodgers were the best team in baseball over the 60-game sprint that was the regular season and they dominated every team they faced up until the NLCS in the post-season.
Game six of the World Series gave plenty of story lines, from Justin Turner testing positive for COVID-19 a few innings into the game to Tampa Bay Rays’ manager Kevin Cash pulling former Cy Young winner Blake Snell after allowing his second hit of the night. Are analytics ruining baseball? What would have happened if the Rays forced a game 7? What type of punishment is Turner facing for not following league guidelines regarding COVID? Those are for another day.
This moment is about celebrating the greatness that is the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers.
Firstly, we no longer have to worry about Clayton Kershaw retiring without a World Series ring. Kershaw was haunted over the past years of play-off failures, choking away performances and not being able to make it to the promised land. Kershaw is now undoubtedly a lock for the MLB Hall of Fame, and his legacy is now enhanced with the addition of a World Series ring.
Secondly, a resurgence in World Series MVP Corey Seager over the regular season and in the post-season played a big role in the Dodgers success. Seager hit .400 in the World Series, tallying two home runs, five RBI, a stolen base and drawing six walks. He posted an OPS of 1.256 and led the offensive charge for the Dodgers.
This ring is also a testament to the perfect balance of home-grown talent and going out of the organization to craft the best team possible. The likes of Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Walker Buehler were raised within the Dodgers organization and all made major contributions to the Dodgers’ World Series run.
Combine this home-grown talent with the perks of being a big market team that is able to spend outrageous amounts of money on players, say, the best player in baseball not named Mike Trout in Mookie Betts, you are able to form a nightmare of a lineup. Betts is now locked in with the Dodgers for the next 12 years, and it extends the Dodgers dynasty window.
Speaking of dynasties, the Dodgers have an opportunity to go on a historic run with the team they currently have. Sure, Kershaw is not getting any younger, and the likes of Muncy, Bellinger and Buehler are all eventually going to want to get paid. However, windows of success are few and far between in baseball, and the need to strike while you can is essential to putting together a run of championships.
Will the Dodgers be in the conversation to win the Fall Classic again next year? Absolutely. Their window is far from being closed, and they will reign havoc on the National League West for the foreseeable future. That’s the future, and as of the writing of this piece, the Los Angeles Dodgers are defending World Series Champions.
