The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it. On Tuesday night, the Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game 6 of the World Series to win their first championship since 1988. The Dodgers had finished the regular season as the best team in baseball, and it was the same story during the postseason.
Dodgers have waited a long time for this. The last time the Dodgers won the World Series, the current players on the roster were either young children or not born yet. Los Angeles had their share of disappointing playoff runs as they lost the World Series in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, the Dodgers lost in the NLDS to the Washington Nationals, who went on to win the World Series.
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The moment when the @Dodgers finally won their first #WorldSeries since 1988. pic.twitter.com/biLJDkEqAE
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 28, 2020
But the Dodgers were looked at as the best team in all of baseball coming into 2020. In a 60-game season, the Dodgers finished with a 43-17 record, the best in all of MLB. In the playoffs, the Dodgers got past the Milwaukee Brewers in the wild-card series and the San Diego Padres in the NLDS. In the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers were down 3-1 but were able to rally back thanks to clutch hitting and baserunning mishaps by the Braves in Games 5, 6 and 7.
“It’s just the mentality we have: Show up that day, win that day,” Dodgers outfielder Cory Seager said after Game 7 of the NLCS. “This team does a very good job being in the moment. You gotta stay in that moment, be in the moment and let the chips fall where they may.”
Seager is a big reason the Dodgers are world champions. During the regular season, Seager hit 15 home runs and 41 RBIs. In the NLCS, Seager was named MVP after hitting five home runs in seven games. Mookie Betts, who was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Dodgers earlier this year, is another player that had a monster season, hitting 16 homers and driving in 39 runs. He also stole two bases in Game 1 of the World Series which led to free tacos from Taco Bell for everyone in America. Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young award winner, has been with the Dodgers since 2008 and can now finally call himself a champion.
