NEW YORK – “Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”
For the Los Angeles Dodgers, that phrase has rung true since they last won the World Series in 2020. Their roster has never been devoid of talent; in fact, they have continued to increase in recent years. But while Los Angeles has been one of the most talented MLB teams on paper for a while, if not the most talented, something was missing. The Dodgers often lacked a certain type of grit or toughness to take them over the top.
However, time and time again this season and postseason, the 2024 Dodgers have proven they are not the same team. They are stronger, tougher, better and that is why they are now World Series champions.
“It’s just a special group of guys,” Dodgers first baseman and World Series MVP Freddie Freeman said after the team clinched the title with a 7-6 victory Wednesday in Game 5. .
New York had momentum after its blowout victory in Game 4. And after the Bronx Bombers built a 5-0 lead in the third inning on Wednesday, it looked like the Dodgers would return to Los Angeles for Game 6. Neither team has never done it. They were up 3-0 in a World Series and then were pushed to a Game 6, so the Dodgers were on the verge of a high-pressure, down-and-out story. With the Los Angeles offense faltering against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and the bullpen needing 23 outs after starter Jack Flaherty lasted just 1⅓ innings the night after a designated bullpen game, it was a steep uphill battle. .
But this wasn’t the first time in October that the Dodgers had their backs against the wall, without momentum on their side. They were battle tested and ready for this moment.
Facing elimination in the NLDS against the Padres in a hostile environment at Petco Park, the Dodgers needed a similar resolve. When no one thought they had enough to fight back, they did so, not only forcing a win-or-go-home fifth game, but also winning it to advance to the National League Championship Series.
And when the Dodgers needed to be tough in Game 5 of the World Series, they were able to take advantage of their toughness once again. The Los Angeles offense woke up in the fifth inning, thanks in large part to a horrendous defense by the Yankees to load the bases. With consecutive two-out RBI singles by Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers cut the deficit to 5-3. Then Teoscar Hernández delivered the big hit, hitting a two-run double into the left field gap to score Betts and Freeman and tie the game at 5.
“Gerrit was throwing the ball really well,” Freeman said. “He still threw the ball really well the entire time. When Mookie came up and hit the squibber and was able to beat it, you could feel the excitement. … I got one right there, and I was able to foul and see the next pitch and luckily hit the ball up the middle. And then credit to Teo. The righty against Gerrit Cole is a very difficult at-bat to put in the hole like he did.
“When you get extra outs and you capitalize on that type of play, that’s huge. For us to tie it again, you could feel the momentum coming.”
Within minutes, the momentum that seemed to have abandoned the Dodgers was back on their side. They carried that into the eighth, when they scored not once but twice to take their first lead of the game against Yankees closer Luke Weaver, who owned the Dodgers in Game 4 and had been virtually unhittable all postseason.
What made the Dodgers the best team in baseball this year, en route to their second World Series title in five years, wasn’t just that they had more talent than other teams (although they did). Most years, the team with the best record in baseball doesn’t win the World Series; That had happened only twice in the 10 seasons prior to this one.
No, these Dodgers were simply tougher than the other 29 teams. And it seemed that from the beginning of the season nothing would deter them from their ultimate goal. Every obstacle, distraction, inconvenience and injury, they faced head on. At many points, Los Angeles might have fallen apart, but this team would not be denied the pursuit of greatness.
When the team opened the season in South Korea against the Padres, they received a bombshell. Prized free agent acquisition Shohei Ohtani was caught up in a federal gambling investigation at the hands of his former performer, Ippei Mizuhara. However, through increasing media attention, speculation and the FBI investigation, Ohtani and the Dodgers never missed a beat. The Dodgers’ $700 million man had one of the best seasons in baseball history and will win the National League Most Valuable Player award in a few weeks.
“I think we were able to get through the regular season because of the strength of this team, this organization,” Ohtani said after the Dodgers’ victory in Game 5. “And the postseason success is very similar to how we were able to achieve it during the regular season.”
“When you start rooting for a teammate in their first year, like we did, to go out and have the best season ever, I think that’s pretty special,” Freeman said.
“(Winning the World Series) took a little longer than I expected and I hope I can do it every year.”
Shohei Ohtani shares his emotions after winning his first World Series championship. pic.twitter.com/3HKQpGLjYj
– MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 31, 2024
Then there were the injuries, which plagued the Dodgers from the start of the season until the end of the World Series. Losing a player of Mookie Betts’ caliber for two months would be enough to throw the best of teams off their game. Now try adding an entire rotation, including Clayton Kershaw, Gavin Stone, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Tyler Glasnow and River Ryan, to the injured list. No matter, the Dodgers finished the regular season with 98 wins.
“We went through a lot, but I will say we still had the best record in all of baseball this year,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t easy, but our guys fought and played every day the right way, they played to win.”
“We’ve had a number of things going on this year, and it’s something that certainly made it more challenging,” Dodgers president Andrew Friedman said. “But it’s also been very rewarding, I think, for our scouts, our player development staff, our major league coaching staff because of the number of guys that have come in and contributed and played a big role in where we are now.
“It’s difficult. It’s difficult to get to this point. “It’s hard to endure things that can happen over the course of a season.”
In October, Freeman’s sprained right ankle limited him in the first two rounds, a shorthanded rotation was doing its best to keep things going, and the bullpen was depleted. However, when the Dodgers needed his best, he was there. The team even received some surprise contributions from players like Walker Buehler, who, after a difficult return from injury this season, pitched 5 scoreless innings in Game 3 and closed out Game 5, recording his first career save in so far. which could have been his last appearance as a Dodger and leaving an impression on Los Angeles that will last a lifetime.
Now the Dodgers are back on top of the baseball world. It’s a stark contrast from where they were just a year ago, when they were embarrassed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in an NLDS sweep. Unlike that team, this group of Dodgers believed the whole was greater than the sum of its parts, even with so many expensive parts. The 26 players, the coaches, the manager and the board believed that they could not be defeated.
“One thing is that we moved forward,” Roberts said. “Even in the postseason, I don’t think anyone picked us. I don’t think we were chosen to leave the first series. “To go out and fight, scratch, claw and win 11 games in October is a credit to our guys.”