LOS ANGELES – It’s often hot air when teams say their goal is to win the World Series every year. Most teams are really happy with a postseason appearance. But for the Dodgers, winning the World Series every year is not just their goal and their mantra. It is also your only goal.
The Dodgers spend more than other teams. They also develop players better than other teams. And over the last decade, they have become the best organization in the sport. When it comes to improving their roster, it’s never enough for the Dodgers.
With their star-studded roster and roster, whether the Dodgers are in the World Series or failing is no big secret. But to win the World Series, you have to get there first.
For the fourth time in eight seasons, the Dodgers did at least that. On Sunday they clinched a spot in the Fall Classic against the Yankees, defeating the Mets 10-5 at home in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series to reach the World Series for the first time since 2020.
“It feels like we’re finally here, I’m finally here,” Shohei Ohtani said after earning his first World Series berth in his first season as a Dodger. “A lot of the games we played were really tough and hard to win. “It was truly a team effort to get here.”
After being down two games to one against the Padres in the NLDS, the Dodgers made a significant change with their season on the line. They seemed to understand that one name wasn’t going to save their season, but 26 could.
From then on, the Dodgers were a team on a mission. They beat their rival Padres in five games and headed to their next test: the New York Mets and their magical season.
Taking down the red-hot Mets would require determination similar to what the Dodgers showed in defeating San Diego. The mentality that all 26 players were essential came into play immediately, with star first baseman Freddie Freeman continuing to be hampered by an ankle injury and the rotation seemingly in flux.
While it would have been easy for a team with so many injuries to make excuses, Los Angeles continued to find ways to win. And after returning home to Dodger Stadium with a 3-2 lead in the National League Championship Series, Game 6 ended up being quite fitting for this team’s journey, both in the regular season and postseason. , with the group rallying to score 10 runs and get 27 outs. a collective effort.
“They showed themselves how tough they are,” manager Dave Roberts said of his team’s determination. “When you find yourself in the position we were in against a division rival, it becomes a street fight. Either you lose and go home, or you fight like hell. I think that’s what got us to the top in the DS and also what allowed us to finish (the Mets) in six games.”
In what is becoming a signature move for the Dodgers this postseason, they used a bullpen game to get to the World Series. One by one on Sunday, seven relievers hit the rubber, limiting the damage and trusting the Dodgers lineup to produce, which it did. Eight of the nine Dodgers starters recorded a hit and/or a run scored in the Game 6 victory.
“They are deep. They’re good,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “They have faced a lot of adversity. They are missing many key pieces. And they’re still a really good team; That’s why they are moving forward. You have to be able to weather the storm, and they did. When you look at the team and the entire organization, they’ve been doing it for a long time, year after year. And that should be our goal.”
When you spend on the game’s biggest superstars like the Dodgers have, acquiring players like Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman, you not only improve the team exponentially but also increase the margin for error. What makes these Dodgers unique within baseball is their ability to consistently win on the margins along with spending that other teams can’t or won’t.
Look no further than the man who won NLCS MVP, Tommy Edman.
When the Dodgers landed Edman in a three-way deal with the Cardinals and White Sox at the deadline, which also brought them reliever Michael Kopech, the former Cardinal had not played in a game this year and was still rehabbing from a ankle surgery in the offseason.
Fast forward to the postseason and Edman showed exactly why Los Angeles wanted him. When he replaced the injured Miguel Rojas in Game 3 of the NLDS, no one knew what an important role he would play over the next 10 days. But in addition to starting at shortstop in every game, the versatile Edman crushed Mets pitching in the National League Championship Series, hitting .407/.393/.630 with one home run and 11 RBIs, tying him with Corey Seager. in the franchise record in a postseason series. . While manning the team’s cleanup spot in Game 6, Edman hit a two-run double and a two-run home run in the pennant-clinching victory.
“We had very good at-bats throughout the series. Our entire lineup was good,” Edman said of the LA NLCS performance. “We had a lot of guys who could have won the MVP. “I kept getting up with guys on base and had a lot of opportunities to drive guys.”
Ohtani disagreed. “I think Tommy is clearly the MVP,” he said. “He does things, not just in this postseason but during the regular season, contributing in places where it’s not really reflected in the statistics.
“But I think the common theme this season has been that a lot of people, different guys have been stepping up throughout the season.”
Now the Dodgers will face the New York Yankees in the World Series, with Game 1 on Friday in Chavez Ravine. It will be the first time the two historic franchises have met in the Fall Classic since 1981 and their 12th meeting of all time. It’s also a rare clash between the number one seeds in each league, as the two teams with the best records in their respective leagues face off.
The Yankees look like a true “bottom boss” for Los Angeles, as they can match the Dodgers’ star power as well as any team in baseball. But as Los Angeles learned in its first two postseason series, winning the World Series won’t come with a Herculean effort from a single player.
Rather, their depth will be needed now more than ever, especially with the continuing unknown that is Freeman’s ankle and a fragmented rotation that will face its toughest challenge yet against a Yankees rotation that can go four deep.
“This year, man, whether it was free agency, trade or waiver claim, whatever, it seemed like we kept adding the right piece,” Kiké Hernández said. “Right piece after right piece, after right piece, to get a club that is not just a complete club, but that has the character and, I’m sorry, mom, I’m sorry again, but that has the dedication that it takes to endure a 162. -game season.”
Through everything they’ve faced so far, the Dodgers have taken every hit and still ended up exactly where they wanted to be. We’ll soon find out if they can do it once again in the next round.