After 1966’s loss to the Orioles, the Dodgers would have to wait 8 years before returning to the World Series. Many changes happened in the interim. Koufax retired after the 66 season, and Maury Wills, who asked out of the team’s tour of Japan to rest his legs, and heal a little, incurred the ire of owner Walter O’Malley when he learned Wills was playing banjo in a club in Las Vegas. He ordered Bavasi to trade Wills ASAP. Wills was traded on December 1st to the Pirates for 3B, Bob Bailey and SS, Gene Michael. Jim Gilliam permanently retired as a player to be a full-time coach. Tommy Davis was traded to the Mets along with Derrell Griffith for Ron Hunt and Jim Hickman. 
Don Drysdale had to retire after the 1969 season at the age of 32 due to a torn rotator cuff. In 68 he had set a record with 58.2 scoreless innings in a row. They would finish 8th, then 7th. 4th in 1969 and then four straight 2nd place finishes from 1970-73. They won the pennant in 1974 after winning the LCS over the Pirates but lost to the A’s who won their 3rd series in a row in 5 games. That was Walter Alston’s last pennant winner. He would retire at the end of 1976 and turn the team over to Tommy Lasorda. Lasorda was 180 degrees different than Alston, well known as “The Quiet Man.” Tommy was boisterous, fiery and known for using some very colorful language. His outburst when removing Doug Rau from a World Series game is pretty epic and available on You tube. 
Lasorda only platooned when he had to. He sent the same 8 guys out there every night. He had them running together in the outfield in the pre-game warmups. It helped that he had managed several of his players in the minors. So, he knew what each brought the table. They won the pennant in each of his first two seasons and lost both World Series to those expletive Yankees. Much like last year when the players dedicated the series to Fernando, the players on the 78 team were playing for the memory of Jim Gilliam, who passed away just before the series started. It would be 1981 before they made it back. It was a strike season, and they won it behind a 19-year-old kid from Mexico who started a mania named after him.
There was unrest in the baseball world when the season began. The players and owners were at odds on many subjects, but the main one was the issue of compensation for free agents. Originally planned for May 29th, it was postponed while MLB’s unfair labor complaint was heard by the National Labor Relations Board. It was then scheduled for June 12th. The strike resulted in the loss of 712 games. They finally reached an agreement on July 31st, and the season resumed on August 10th.
The agreement allowed for there to be a first half and then a second half champion in each division. In the first half, the Dodgers edged out the Reds by half a game winning 36 to the Reds 35. They both lost 21 games. The second half winner was the Astros. They topped the Reds by 1.5 games. LA was 6 back. The loser in all of this was the Reds, they won 66 games for the year, the Dodgers 63 and the Astros 61. 
But the story for the Dodgers was the emergence of the kid from Mexico. At the end of the 1980 season, he had been called up and pitched in 10 games, recording 17.2 scoreless innings, helping LA catch the Astros before being eliminated in a 1 game playoff. The kid made the team out of spring training in 1981. Jerry Reuss was scheduled to make the opening day start for the Dodgers. Reuss was injured 24 hours before the game, and Burt Hooton was not yet ready to fill in, so Lasorda rolled the dice and named the kid, Fernando Valenzuela, the opening day starter. He was the first rookie to ever pitch as the starter on opening day. He beat the Astros 2-0 and what happened afterwards will forever be known as Fernandomania.
The Dodgers had to face the Astros again in the first round of playoffs. The first two games were in Houston. LA lost to Ryan 3-1 and then dropped a heartbreaker in 11 innings, 1-0. They had 9 hits and 4 walks but could not push a run across. Back in LA, they won game 3, 6-1 behind Hooton, game 4 was a 2-1 thriller with Fernando outdueling Vern Ruhle. Game 5 had Jerry Reuss pitched a complete game 5-hit shutout besting Ryan and a couple of relievers. They moved to the LCS to play the Expos.
#28 Guererro
Game 1 in Los Angeles had Burt Hooton against Bill Gullickson. The Dodgers struck first with 2 in bottom of the second. Cey doubled to drive in the first run and Russell laid down a squeeze bunt for the second. It stayed 2-0 until the bottom of the 8th when Guererro hit a 2-run homer and Scioscia followed with a solo shot. Hooton went 7.1 innings, Welch 2/3rds of an inning and Howe closed it. Expos scored a run in the 9th for the 5-1 final. Game 2 had Valenzuela against Burris. Burril pitched a complete game 3-0 shutout to tie the series.
The teams flew to Montreal for games 3-4-5. Expos Ace, Steve Rogers shut LA down in game 3 with a 4-1 win. LA scored first in the 4th on a single by Cey that scored Baker. The Expos struck for 4 runs off of Reuss in the bottom of the 6th. The game 1 pitchers were back on the mound for game 4. Once again Hooton would best Bill Gullickson, but until the 8th inning it was a tight game. LA scored 1 in the 3rd and Montreal tied it in the 4th. Both pitchers kept the other team off of the board until LA came to bat in the 8th. Dusty Baker doubled and Garvey slugged a 2-run homer to put LA up 3-1. That knocked Gullickson out of the game. Woody Fryman came in and got the last two out. But in the top of the 9th, LA jumped all over Fryman scoring 4 runs on 3 hits and a walk. Baker drove in 2 with a single. Howe finished off the 7-1 win with a scoreless 9th. 
A rainstorm forced a 1-day postponement, and the game was played on October 19th. It was cold and drizzly. It was Valenzuela against Burris again. This time Fernando matched Burris for 8 innings. He gave up 1 run in the first and then shut the Expos down. LA scored in the 5th when Monday singled, went to third on a single by Guererro and scored when Valenzuela grounded out. The Expos pinch hit for Burris in the 8th, and Rogers came in to relieve him. With 2 outs, Monday hit a 3-1 pitch for a homer to put LA ahead. The Expos got a couple of 2 out walks, but Howe came in and got the last out. LA was off to the World Series to face, you guessed it, the Yankees.
1981 World Series
The series opened at Yankee Stadium on October 20th with Ron Guidry facing Jerry Reuss. In the bottom of the 1st, Bob Watson crushed a 3-run homer off of Reuss and the Yankees never looked back. By the 5th inning it was 5-0. Guidry gave up a homer to Yeager in the in the 5th and left after the 7th with the Yankees up, 5-1. Ron Davis walked the first two hitters in the 8th and was relieved by Gossage. Gossage gave up a run scoring pinch single to Jay Johnstone and a sac-fly to Baker to make it 5-3. He shut LA down in the 9th for the 5-3 win. Yankee 3rd baseman, Graig Nettles suffered a hairline fracture when he made a diving stop. He would play in game 2, miss all the games in LA and then return for game 6. 
Game 2 had Burt Hooton pitching against former Dodger, Tommy John. This game was a pitcher’s duel until the Yanks scored in the 5th. John shut LA out for 7 innings with Gossage working the last 2 for his second save. LA never got on the board and had just 4 hits. The teams flew back to LA with the Yanks in control, 2-0. Game 3 belonged to Valenzuela who faced the AL ROY, Dave Righetti. LA jumped on Righetti for 3 in the bottom of the 1st on a 3-run homer by Ron Cey. NY got back into the game with 2 runs in the 2nd and 2 more in the 4th for a 4-3 lead.
A Watson homer and Milbourne single driving in runs in the 2nd and a Cerone 2-run homer in the 3rd. Valenzuela would be in trouble almost every inning after that, but he would get out of it. LA came back against reliever George Frazier in the 5th. Scoring their first run on a Guererro double scoring Garvey. Cey then scored on a ground out by Mike Scioscia, pinch hitting for Yeager. With Scioscia now in the game, Fernando seemed to settle down. Scioscia was his regular catcher, and he spoke some Spanish. Valenzuela pitched a complete game, making 149 pitchers, striking out 6, walking 7 and allowing 9 base hits including 2 homers. NY now led the series 2-1.
LA started Bob Welch in game 4 against former Cub, Rick Rueschel. Welch did not make it out of the first inning. He faced 4 batters allowing 2 runs and was replaced by Dave Goltz. Goltz gave up 1 in the 2nd and 1 in the 3rd on a Randolph homer and NY led 4-0. This was Reggie Jackson’s first game of the series. He was held out due to an injury the first 3 games. The Dodgers knocked Rueschel out of the game in 3rd scoring 2 runs. One on a Lopes single and the other on a ground out by Cey. Rudy May came in to pitch in the 4th for NY. 
May gave up a run in the bottom of the 5th on a double by Garvey with Cey knocking him in. NY got 2 in the 6th off of Niedenfuer, on singles by Gamble and Watson. The Yankees with a 6-3 lead, brought in Ron Davis. Davis walked Scioscia with 1 out and then Jay Johnstone hit a 2-run PH homer. Lopes hit a fly ball to right that Jackson lost in the sun and dropped for an error. Lopes then stole third and scored on a single by Russell.
Baker led off the 7th with an infield hit off of Frazier. He went to third when Monday’s line drive to center got past CF, Bobby Brown who tried to make a shoestring catch. Guererro was walked intentionally to load the bases and Yankees skipper, Bob Lemon, brought in Tommy John to face Scioscia. Yeager pinch hit for Scioscia and hit a sac-fly scoring Baker with Monday moving to 3rd. Lopes then had an infield single scoring Monday for an 8-6 Dodger lead.
John managed to strand Guererro at 3rd and would pitch the last 2 innings. Gossage, the Yankee closer never made it into the game. The Yankees made it a 1-run game on Jackson’s homer off of Howe in the 8th. It was his 10th and final World Series homer, tying him with Lou Gehrig. The series was now tied 2-2. Supposedly after the game Steinbrenner confronted Davis in the locker room and asked him why he threw a fastball to Johnstone. The Yankees were hampered some in the games in LA because there was no DH in any of the games in this series. 
Game 5 had the game 1 starters, Ruess and Guidry facing off again. This one was a nail biter and a real pitcher’s duel. The Yanks struck first in the 2nd on a double by Jackson who moved to 3rd on an error by Lopes. LA would make 3 errors in this game, then scoring on a single by Pinella. Besides that, the Yankees would not score again. Guidry totally baffled LA until the bottom of the 7th. After striking out against Guidry, Baker suggested to Guererro and Yeager that they move up in the box, thus taking away Guidry’s late breaking slider. It worked as Guererro, then Yeager both homered off of sliders to almost exactly the same spot in left-center field. LA led 2-1. A tense moment occurred when Gossage hit Cey in the head with a pitch in the 8th. He left the game with a concussion, but was cleared to play in game six, which would be delayed 1 day by rain. Ruess pitched a complete game and the Dodgers headed to New York up 3 games to 2.
Because of the rain out, this series ended on October 28th, the latest ending series to that point in time. This allowed Lemon to start Tommy John. LA countered with Hooton. Randolph hit a homer in the 3rd off of Hooton for an early Yankees lead. LA tied the game on a single by Yeager in the 4th. In the bottom of the 4th, Nettles led off with a double. Hooton then retired the next 2 hitters. He then walked Milbourne to get to John. Lemon then made a much-debated decision to PH for his pitcher in the 4th inning of a tie game. Mercer lined out to center to end the threat.
Three Los Angeles Dodgers players named as MVP, the most valuable players in the World Series against the New York Yankees, celebrate after the Dodgers win in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1981. From left, outfielder Pedro Guerrero, catcher Steve Yeager and third baseman Ron Cey. (AP Photo)
George Frazier came in to relieve John in the 5th and the Dodgers pounced. He gave up an RBI single to Cey and then Guererro hit a 2-run triple. LA now led 4-1. LA jumped-on the Yankees relievers in the 6th for 4 more runs. He walked Hooton and Lopes. Russell singled to short left field and Hooton unexpectedly kept heading for home. Dave Winfield slipped on the wet grass and uncorked a wild throw allowing Hooton to score. Lemon pulled Davis for Reuschel. Lopes and Russell pulled off a double steal, so Reuschel walked Garvey to load the bases. Thomas hit into a force out scoring Lopes. Baker reached on a Nettles error and Guererro singled scoring 2 more LA now led 8-1. The Yankees scored 1 in the bottom of the 6th on a Pinella single. Guererro ended the scoring with an 8th inning homer, capping a 5-RBI night. Hooton went 5.1 innings for the win, and Howe finished up for a save. LA won its 4th title in LA and its 5th overall. Three Dodgers were named Tri-MVPs, Cey, Yeager and Guererro.
From 82-87, the Dodgers were division winners twice, 83-85, finished 2nd in 82, and had two 4ths twice, 84-87 and 5th once, 1986. They lost the 83 LCS to eventual World Champs, the Phillies, and the 85 LCS, which had expanded to 7 games, to the Cardinals in 6. Two of those losses came on late homers. One by Ozzie Smith in St. Louis, and the other, a 3-run shot by Jack Clark in game 6.
So, Dodger GM, Fred Claire went hunting some new talent in the winter of 1987. In December, he made a 3-team trade with the Mets and A’s. LA sent Bob Welch and Matt Young to the A’s and Jack Savage to the Mets. LA received Alfredo Griffin and Jay Howell from the A’s and Jesse Orosco from the Mets. The A’s sent Wally Whitehurst and Kevin Tapani to the Mets. Four days later he signed OF Mike Davis, the former Athletic, as a free agent. In January he signed Don Sutton, and then on the 29th of the month, he added slugger Kirk Gibson. 
Just prior to the end of spring training he added C, Rick Dempsey. During spring training, Orosco played a prank on Gibson that backfired. Gibson stormed off of the field and declared he was there to win, not to play games. It changed the entire clubhouse culture. For this season, the team would be all business. By the end of May they were 27-20 .5 games in first place. They had a good month of June going 17-11 and by the end of June they had a 4.5 game lead. By the end of July, they were 60-43, still holding the 4.5 game lead over the Reds. Meanwhile, Orel Hershiser was putting together a Cy Young season.
When Hershiser beat Jim Deshaies on the 31st of July, he was 15-5. Claire made one major in-season trade, on the 16th of August he traded Pedro Guererro to the Cardinals for John Tudor. He made his last addition to the roster on the 30th of August acquiring LHP Ricky Horton from the White Sox for Shawn Hillegas. At the end of August, they were in first place by 6.5 games. On Tuesday, August 30th, Orel Hershiser shut out the Expos the last 4 innings of a 4-2 win.
He would not be score upon the rest of the regular season. He threw a 3-0 win over the Braves on the 5th of September, beat the Reds 5-0 on the 10th, Braves 1-0 on a walk off on the 14th, Astros 1-0 on the 19th, and the Giants 3-0 on the 23rd. His last start on the 28th of September was in San Diego on the 28th. He pitched 10 scoreless innings running his streak to 59 innings. But the Dodgers could not score off of Andy Hawkins. As a matter of fact, they did not score at all until the top of the 16th inning. But Ken Howell allowed a runner with 2 outs in the 16th. Horton relieved him and gave up a walk-off homer to Mark Parent. Gibson would later be named NL MVP.
The Dodgers finished the season 94-67 and would face the Mets in the NLCS, the only team that had a winning record against them, winning 10 of the 11 games. The Dodgers finished with a .248 team average, and they hit just 99 homers on the year. They scored just 628 runs. They were carried by their pitching which had a team ERA of 2.96. They also were stingy allowing just 84 homers. Hershiser won 23 games, Leary 17 and Belcher 12. Howell had 21 saves, Alejandro Pena 12, and Orosco saved 9. Gibson and Mike “Moose” Marshall had 25 and 20 homers respectively. CF John Shelby added 10.
The series started at Dodger Stadium on the 4th of October. Hershiser started for LA against Gooden. LA scored in the bottom of the first on a single by Marshall. LA would score again on a single by Griffin in the 7th. Hershiser was rolling and had the Mets shut out going into the 9th, running his scoreless inning streak to 67, although these 8 innings did not count on the record. In the 9th, Gregg Jeffries led off with a single. He went to second on a ground out. He then scored when Strawberry doubled to left center. Lasorda brought in Howell. Howell walked McReynolds and Howard Johnson struck out. Gary Carter then hit a 2-strike pitch to center that John Shelby dived for, but it bounced. Strawberry scored and McReynolds was close behind him bowling over Mike Scioscia as the ball skipped by him. LA went down quietly in the 9th and the Mets won the first game.
Game 2 had Belcher against Cone. Cone had given the Dodgers some bulletin board fodder by saying that Howell’s stuff looked like a high schooler. Marshall tagged him for a run scoring single in the 1st. In the bottom of the 2nd, they scored 4 times, the big blow a 2-run double by Hatcher, LA’s only extra base hit. The Mets got 2 on a Hernandez homer in the 4th, but LA got 1 of those back in the bottom of the 5th. Belcher went 8.1 innings striking out 10. He allowed another run in the 9th, but Pena got the last 2 outs for the win. The teams flew back to New York for games 3-5.
Hershiser started for LA against Ron Darling. Neither pitcher was sharp. LA jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the top of the 3rd. The Mets got 1 back in the bottom of the 3rd and tied the game in the 6th. Hershiser went 7 innings allowing 3 runs, 1 earned, on 6 hits and 4 walks. He struck out 4. In the top of the 8th, the sloppy field caused McDowell to throw wide on a Scioscia grounder and Mike went to 2nd. A single, and a walk brought a pitching change with Myers replacing McDowell. He walked PH Mike Sharperson to force in a run. LA led 4-3. Howell came in to relieve Hershiser.
With a 3-2 count on McReynolds, Mets manager Davey Johnson came out of the dugout and asked the crew chief, Harry Wendelstedt to inspect Howell’s glove for an illegal substance. They found pine tar on his glove, and he was immediately ejected from the game. He would later be suspended for games 4-6. The Dodger pen came unglued. The Mets scored 5 runs in the 8th and won 8-4.
Game 4 was the pivotable game of the series. Gooden pitching for the Mets, allowed a 2-0ut 2-run single to Shelby, but then shut the Dodgers down completely. John Tudor started for LA and kept NY in check until the 4th when Strawberry launched a 2-run homer off of him. McReynolds followed with another homer putting the Mets ahead. Carter knocked Tudor out of the game with a triple in the 6th. Holton restored order allowing just a walk and striking out 1. 
Meanwhile Gooden had the game under control going into the top of the 9th inning. But Gooden walked Shelby to open the 9th. Mike Scioscia, who hit 3 homers all year, then hit a 2-strike pitch into the Mets pen to tie the game. Pena came in for the bottom of the 9th and shut the Mets down for the next 3 innings. In the top of the 12th, slumping Kirk Gibson hit a solo shot off of Roger McDowell putting LA up 5-4. Tim Leary came in to pitch the 12th. He got 1 out but allowed 2 hits. Orosco came in to face Hernandez and Strawberry, 2 LH hitters. He got 2 strikes and a ball on him and then threw 3 straight balls. Lasorda went out to the mound and asked, what the eff is wrong with you? Orosco got Strawberry to pop out with the bases loaded and with McReynolds coming up, he summoned Hershiser from the pen. On his third pitch, McReynolds hit a short fly to CF that Shelby raced in and caught. LA tied the series at 2 and game 5 was starting in about 11 hours.
Belcher faced Sid Fernandez in game 5. LA jumped-on Sid for 3 in the 4th on a 2-run double by Dempsey and another double by Griffin that scored Dempsey. Gibson slugged a 3-run homer in the 5th, and LA led 6-0. The Mets struck back in the bottom of the 5th with a 2-out 3-run shot by Dykstra. Dykstra doubled in the 8th and Jeffries scored him with a single chasing Belcher. Horton relieved and gave up a soft single to Strawberry after striking out Hernandez. With 2 on and one out, Holton relieved Horton to face McReynolds. McReynolds hit a slow grounder that Jeffries kicked as he tried to jump over it making him automatically out. Holton then got Carter to fly out ending the threat.
In the 9th, Gibson beat out a slow roller for an infield hit. On the next pitch, he took off for second but injured himself on the slide. He immediately asked to be taken out of the game. He did not know that the ball had gotten away from the catcher, so his slide was not necessary. Already battling a bad hamstring, he tore his left meniscus. It would hamper him the rest of the playoffs, and for all practical purposes, would knock him out of the World Series. Jose Gonzalez, the pinch runner, then scored on Marshalls third hit of the game, making it 7-4 LA. Holton shut the Mets down in the 9th for the win and a 3-2 lead in the series.
The teams flew back to LA for games 6-7. Leary against Cone in game 6 and LA was never really in the game. Cone coasted to a 5-1 win giving up just 5 hits. Hatcher drove in Holton who singled with the only run. Game 7 would pit Hershiser against Darling. LA scored 1 in the 1st and 5 in the 2nd chasing Darling who did not record an out in the 2nd. Hershiser rode that lead to a complete game 5-hit shutout, clinching the pennant for the Dodgers. He was named the series MVP and LA advanced to face the Oakland A’s team led by the Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco, and Mark McGwire.
1988 World Series
On paper, it was a huge mismatch. The A’s won 104 games, hit 156 homers, led by Canseco’s 42 and his 124 RBIs. They scored 800 runs and had very good starting pitching beginning with their Ace, former Dodger, Dave Stewart who had 21 wins. Bob Welch added 17 in his first year with the team. Storm Davis, their #3 starter won 16 and Curt Young added 11 wins. They had a lock down closer in Dennis Eckersley who saved 45 games, just 4 less than the entire LA bullpen.
Game 1 was at Dodger Stadium on October 15th. Belcher started for LA because Hershiser had to pitch game 7 of the playoffs. Stewart who was well rested, started for the A’s. Gibson was listed as day to day. Belcher got out of some trouble in the first. He loaded the bases on a hit, then he plunked Canseco, and walked McGwire. He wiggled his way out of that. In the bottom of the first, he plunked Sax on purpose in retaliation for Canseco. He retired Stubbs and then balked Sax to 2nd. Mickey Hatcher, who hit 1 homer all year, then hit a shot to deep left putting LA up 2-0. In the 2nd, Belcher gave up a single to Hubbard, then struck out Weiss. He then walked Stewart and Lansford. He got Henderson on a strikeout. Canseco then hit a 1-0 pitch to almost dead center, denting an NBC game camera in the process. Oakland led 4-2. It would be Canseco’s only hit in the World Series.
Stewart settled down through the next 4 innings. Belcher was lifted for Tim Leary who shut down the A’s on 3 hits through the 5th. After Holton shut the A’s down in the 6th, the Dodgers scored their 3rd run on 3 straight singles from Marshall, Shelby and Scioscia, who drove in Marshall. Stewart retired Hamilton and Griffin, stranding Shelby on 3rd. Holton pitched a clean 7th and Pena took over in the 8th. Stewart pitched through the 8th with the score still 4-3.
Unknown to fans and media was the fact that Gibson was watching the game in the clubhouse while getting physical therapy. At one point the TV panned into the Dodger dugout and Vin Scully said Gibson was nowhere to be seen. Gibson then got Mitch Poole, the teams ball boy, to set up a tee so he could take some practice swings. After a while he told Poole to go get Lasorda for an evaluation. Tommy appeared soon after and shortly, Gibson was seen in the dugout wearing his batting helmet.
LaRussa brought in Eckersley to pitch the bottom of the 9th. He got Scioscia and Hamilton out and Lasorda sent former A, Mike Davis, who had an awful year, up to pinch hit for Griffin. He walked on 5 pitches. Gibson popped out of the dugout to pinch hit for Pena. The crowd went nuts. Gibson hobbled up to the plate and dug in. He fouled off a couple of pitches, one a dribbler down the first base line that barely went foul. On ball 3, Davis stole second. Just before Eck threw his 8th pitch, Gibby called time and backed out of the batter’s box. He was remembering that he had been told by a coach that Eck loved to throw a backdoor slider to lefties on a 3-2 count. Eck did just that and Gibson hit the ball into the right field pavilion for a game winning walk off. I remember watching the game at the time and just being so elated. I also remember seeing hundreds of brake lights on cars that were leaving because they thought the game was over. 
Gibson hobbled around the bases, pumping his arm up and down and was mobbed at home by his mates. It was the first time in MLB history that a game ended on a come from behind homer. It was also Gibson’s lone series appearance. That game is also the only time in which a team that hit a grand slam did not win the game or the series.
Game 2: Hershiser started game 2 and again continued his brilliant 88 season. He shut out the A’s on just 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 8 as LA won 6-0. LA scored 5 runs off of Davis in the bottom of the 3rd. Stubbs and Hatcher singled in runs and then Marshall unloaded a 3-run blast to left with 1 out making it 5-0 LA. They scored off of Davis again in the third when Hershiser drove in Griffin with a double, chasing Davis. Hershiser became the first pitcher since 1924 to get three hits in a game.
Game 3: Now in Oakland, Welch started for the A’s and pitched 5 innings giving up a run on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8. Stubbs doubled in Hamilton in the 5th. The A’s scored a run in the second off of Leary, who had relieved Tudor who left the game in the 2nd due to tightness in his pitching shoulder. Both bullpens kept the other team off of the board until the A’s batted in the bottom of the 9th against Howell. With 1 out, McGwire got his only hit of the series, a solo homer to CF to win the game. LA had the bases loaded in the 6th after Danny Heep doubled, Shelby singled, but Heep held up at 3rd. Cadaret replaced Welch and got Scioscia to pop out. Nelson replaced Cadaret and Hamilton forced Heep at home, then Griffin grounded out to end the inning.
Game 4: Belcher against Stewart. LA broke the ice with 2 runs in the first. Sax walked, went to third on a Hatcher single and scored on a passed ball. Hatcher then scored on a ground out by Shelby. The A’s got 1 back in the bottom of the 1st. Polonia singled, went to second on a passed ball and would score on a Canseco groundout. LA scored another in the 3rd when Stubbs doubled and then scored when Weiss made an error on a line drive by Davis. Oakland scored their second run in the 6th when Lansford singled in Henderson. LA scored their 4th and final run in the 7th. with Griffin on 3rd and Sax on 1st, Hamilton hit what looked like an inning ending double play. But Lasorda had put on the hit and run, so Sax was moving, he barely beat the throw to second, but the relay got Hamilton for the second out. Griffin scored and it was 4-2 LA. Oakland answered in the bottom of the frame when Henderson scored Weiss, who had singled, with a 2-out double. Howell shut down the A’s over the last 2.1 innings for the save. LA led the series 3-1. 
Game 5: It was LA’s Ace, Hershiser against Davis. LA struck first in the 1st when Hatcher hit a 2-run homer to left off Davis. The A’s got a run back in the 3rd on a Javier sac-fly. Mike Davis hit another 2-run homer off of Davis in the 4th. LA scored 1 more in the 6th when Dempsey hit an RBI double off of Nelson. Hershiser cruised until he allowed a Javier RBI single in the 8th. In the 9th, Hershiser retired Hassey and Lansford before striking out Tony Phillips to end the game and the series. Hershiser was named MVP of the series. The unsung hero of the series was Mickey Hatcher, who stepped in for the injured Gibson and brought energy, enthusiasm and unexpected offense. He hit .368 for the series with 2 homers and 5 driven in. Dodger pitching held the mighty A’s to a .177 BA and just 2 homers. LA hit 5. Hatcher hit more homers in the series than he did all year. LA had their 5th title in LA and the 6th overall.
The Dodgers would not return to the World Series until 2017. 28 years, the longest drought in team history. During those years they had 3 ownership changes, 8 different managers, 5 consecutive Rookies of the Year, 92-96. 9 playoff appearances, 4 straight where they did not make it out of the first round. There were no playoffs in the 94 season due to the strike, LA was in 1st place when that happened. 9 West division titles. 
They had a very good farm system, so they had many very good players who came up through the system. Piazza, Karros, Mondesi, Konerko, who would be used in a trade for closer Jeff Shaw, Ted Lilly, Shane Victorino. The 2002 draft netted Loney, Broxton, and Russell Martin. 03 brought Billingsley, Kemp, and A J Ellis. Logan White was the scouting director at the time. 05 saw them draft Ivan DeJesus, and Scott Van Slyke. Their first-round pick in 06 would be the rock of the rotation for years to come, Clayton Kershaw.
#99 Manny Ramirez
LA made it to the NLCS in 08 after Colletti engineered a trade that brought Manny Ramirez to LA. He had one of the best 53 game stretches in Dodger history hitting .396 with 17 HRs and 53 driven in. He then led LA over the Cubs in the LDS, but they lost the LCS to the Phillies. They won the west and made it to the LCS again after beating the Cardinals in the LDS only to lose to the Phillies again. 
McCourt’s personal problems finally caught up with him and his much-publicized divorce brought financial instability. MLB took over daily operation of the team and forced him to sell the team, which he did in early 2012. The Guggenheim Group was now the owners. Colletti was allowed to go after some name players without worrying about how to pay them. He signed a young Cuban outfielder, Yasiel Puig in June. He then traded for Randy Choate and Hanley Ramirez in July. But the big trade came on August 25th when he traded Jerry Sands, James Loney, Rubby De La Rosa, Ivan De Jesus and Alan Webster to the Red Sox for Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Nick Punto and cash. LA finished 2nd, but the future of the franchise was now in the hands of an ownership that wanted to win and win consistently. 
#21 Greinke
That winter, they signed Korean pitcher, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Zack Greinke the very next day to team with Kershaw and give LA two Aces at the top of the rotation. They were loaded and won the West by 11 games over the D-Backs. Kershaw won his second Cy Young Award and led the league in ERA with a 1.78 mark. Ryu finished 4th in the ROY voting and won 14 games. Hanley Ramirez who was injured in the WBC, hit .345 in 83 games. The beat the Braves 3-1 in the LDS but lost the LCS to the Cardinals in 6 games, losing Ramirez when Joe Kelly plunked him in the ribs. 
That started a string which would last until 2020 of the team winning the division. In 2014, Beckett no hit the Phillies in May. Kershaw then no-hit the Rockies in LA on June 18th, missing a perfect game because of a Ramirez error. Rookie Miguel Rojas made a great play late in the game, preserving the no-no. Kershaw won his 3rd and final Cy Young and was the league’s MVP. They got knocked out of the LDS in 15 by the Mets. In 16, they lost to the eventual Champion Cubs in the LCS. The good news was that Corey Seager was named the ROY. Their first since Hollandsworth.
Before the 2015 season, they hired Andrew Freidman to be the President of Baseball Operations. He wasted no time shaping the team the way he wanted it to be. He loaded up on pitching and prioritized versatility in many of his trades and signings. His first two big deals in December of 15 sent Kemp to the Padres for Grandal, and then he traded Rojas, Dee Gordon and Dan Haren to the Marlins for Austin Barnes, Kike Hernandez, Chris Hatcher, and Andrew Heaney, he then flipped Heaney to the Angels for Howie Kendrick the next day. 
Before the 2016 season, they hired Dave Roberts to be the manager. His 2016 team would eventually lose to the Cubs in the LCS. But the Dodgers had another ROY as Cody Bellinger, who came up when Adrian Gonzalez went down with an injury, slugged 39 homers, breaking Piazza’s Dodger rookie record, and drove in 97. The 2017 team won 104 games. They beat Arizona in the Division series. Then beat the Cubs in 6 games for the pennant. Kike Hernandez hit 3 homers in the game 6 rout, including a grand slam and he drove in 7 runs. They traded for Yu Darvish to boost the pitching staff, and Kenley Jansen was the closer in his 6th year in that role. 
We all know what happened in the series that year. The Dodgers would lose in 7 games. Then later it was revealed that the Astros had cheated. 18 was another good season. They won the west, then defeated the Braves in the LDS. They were taken to 7 games in the LCS by the Brewers. Bellinger was named series MVP despite hitting just .200. They faced the Red Sox, a far better team, and were defeated 4-1. Their only win was a game 3 18-inning affair won on a walk off homer by Max Muncy.
In 2019, they won 106 games, setting a new team record for wins, passing the 53 team. But they would lose the LCS in 5 games to eventual champion, the Nationals. They were simply outpitched. That winter, Freidman struck a deal with the Red Sox that brought Mookie Betts to LA. Shortly before the season began they would sign Betts to a 12-yar extension. The team headed to spring training and then the Pandemic struck. It looked like there would be no baseball season at all. But they finally agreed to have a 60-game season in which you would only play teams in your division and the American League version of your division. You would play 40 of those games against teams in your division. Also, there were no fans, and social distancing and wearing masks was mandatory.
The Dodgers led the majors with 43 wins. They won the West easily by 6 games over the Padres. In order to win the World Series, a team would need 13 post-season wins, since the added a Wild Card round. LA beat the Brewers in 2 games at Dodger Stadium. The next round would be at a neutral site, Globe Life Field, in Arlington Texas, the home of the Rangers. They swept the Padres, Will Smith getting 5 hits in game 3, the only Dodger to have 5 hits in a playoff game in team history. 
They met Atlanta in the LCS. They lost the first two games. In game 3, they scored 11 runs in the first inning and cruised to a 15-3 win. They got hammered in game 4, losing 10-2. They came from behind to win game 5, 7-3. They scored 3 in the first inning of game 6 on a 2-run homer by Seager and a solo shot by Justin Turner. Buehler and 3 relievers made those 3 runs stand up for a 3-1 win. In game 7, they fell behind 2-0 and then 3-2. Kike tied it with a homer in the 6th and Bellinger hit the eventual game winner in the 7th. Urias shut out the Braves in the last 3 innings, and the Dodgers won the pennant and would face the Rays in the World Series. Seager was named the series MVP.
2020 World Series
They finally allowed fans in for the LCS, about 12,000 per game. The series would be played under the same rules. This series is still fresh in many of our memories, but I am going to recap what happened. Game 1 had Kershaw against Glasnow. The game was scoreless until LA scored 2 on a Bellinger homer in the bottom of the 4th. Kiermaier homered off of Kershaw in the 5th for the Rays first run. LA then chased Glasnow with a 4-run 5th. Muncy drove in the first run with a fielder’s choice. Smith, Taylor and Kike then all followed with run scoring singles. LA got 2 more in the 6th on a Betts homer and Muncy doubling in Turner. Kershaw left after the 6th allowing just 2 hits and a walk and striking out 8. Victor Gonzalez allowed 2 in the 7th and LA won 8-3.
It was Snell against Gonsolin in game 2. Gonsolin allowed a homer to Brandon Lowe in the 1st and left the game after pitching just 1.1 innings, the shortest Series start since 2014. Floro and Gonzalez kept the Rays off of the board in through the 3rd and then May came in to relieve. He was touched up for 3 runs in his 1.1 innings of work. 2 of them came in the 4th on a 2-run homer by Lowe, his second of the game. Snell was lifted with 2 outs in the 5th after Taylor slugged a 2-run homer. The Rays added a run off of Kelly in the 7th. LA got solo homers from Smith in the 6th and Seager in the 8th for the 6-4 win. 
Buehler faced Charlie Morton in game 3. He would pitch 4.1 innings and was tagged for 5 runs, including a 1st inning solo shot by Justin Turner. Buehler pitched 6 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 10. Barnes homered off of Curtiss in the 6th for LA’s final run, and Jansen gave up a solo shot to Arozarena in the 9th for the 6-2 win. Game 4 was a see-saw affair started by lefties, Ryan Yarbrough and Julio Urias. Urias left in the 5th after pitching 4.2 innings and allowing 2 runs on homers by Arozarena and Renfroe. Yarbough lasted 3.1 innings giving up 2 runs on homers by Turner and Seager. LA scored 1 off of Fairbanks on a Muncy single in the 5th. They went up 4-2 on a run-scoring single by Kike in the 6th. Lowe blasted his 3rd homer of the series, a 3-run shot off of Pedro Baez for the Rays first lead in the bottom of the 6th. Joc Pederson then drove in 2 in the top of the 7th with a pinch hit single off of Anderson. Kiermaier hit his second of the series against Baez in the bottom of the inning, tying the game. Seager, with his 4th hit put LA up 7-6 in the top of the 8th. Then came the bottom of the 9th inning. Jansen came in to try and get the save. Zunino made the first out and Kiermaier singled. Diaz made the second out and Jansen walked Arozarena. Brett Phillips PH for Choi. With a 1-2 count, he hit a single off of Jansen for his first career post season hit, as Kiermaier scored the tying run, Taylor misplayed the ball in CF, as Arozarena rounded third, he fell and began to head back to third base, but Muncy cut the ball off and his relay to Smith went off his mitt and Arozarena slid home with the winning run. It was first series game to end on an error since game 6 in 1986. The Buckner game. 
Game 5 had Kershaw against Glasnow again. LA once more got to Glasnow early scoring 2 in the first on a Betts double, a Seager single scoring Betts. Seager then went to 2nd and then 3rd on wild pitches and scored on a Bellinger infield single. They scored another in the second on a homer by Pederson. The Rays got 2 in the 3rd on a triple by Diaz, driving in a run, and he was driven in by Arozarena. Kershaw walked Margot in the 4th. He stole second and then went to third on an error by Taylor. With 2-outs he tried to steal home and Kersh threw him out at the plate with Barnes applying the tag. Charlie Steiner pointed out that with the stands as empty as they were, Kershaw could hear his teammates yelling about the attempt. Muncy hit a solo shot in the 5th, setting an MLB record for the most players hitting homers in a post season series, 9. Kershaw’s K of Kiermaier in the 5th pushed him past Verlander for the most strikeouts in a postseason career. LA now led the series, 3-2. 
Game 6 had Snell for the Rays and Gonsolin for the Dodgers. It would end up being a bullpen game for LA. Arozarena hit his 10th homer of the playoffs leading off the first. Gonsolin pitched 1.2 innings and was replaced by Floro to finish the 2nd. Alex Wood then made his first appearance in the 3rd and would pitch 2 scoreless innings striking out 3. Meanwhile, Snell was dealing for the Rays. He was in total control, striking out 9. With 1 out in the 6th, Barnes singled to center. AJ Hinch then made a much-debated decision and pulled Snell after just 73 pitches. Snell was in disbelief. LA was just relieved to get him out of the game. Nick Anderson came in and gave up a double to Betts moving Barnes to third. He then uncorked a wild pitch scoring Barnes and moving Betts to third. Seager then hit a slow grounder to first and Betts beat the throw home putting LA up 2-1. Betts hit a solo shot off of Fairbanks in the 8th to make it 3-1. Baez, Gonzalez, who got the win, Graterol and Urias totally shut down the Rays allowing just 2 hits between them. Urias pitched the final 2.1 innings and struck out Willy Adames to end the game and the series. 
Kershaw in 2020 had his best postseason ever going 4-1 in the four series. Seager won the MVP award for the series. There was a lot of chatter about Justin Turner who had to leave the game when he tested positive for Covid. Turner joined his teammates on the field for their celebration and received much criticism for that. There has been a lot of sour grapes too because many have said that the Championship was not a legitimate one due to the length of the season. Kike signed with Boston after the season. I have always said all of the teams played under the same rules, so it is definitely legitimate. 
Someone else finally won the West in 2021. The Giants, under new manager, Gabe Kapler would win 107 games. LA would match their 2019 total and win 106. The Dodgers had added 2020 Cy Young winner, Trevor Bauer on a huge 3-year deal. They resigned Blake Treinen, traded Floro to Miami for Alex Vesia. They also brought back post-season hero, Justin Turner. With Kershaw being injured and Corey Seager going down with an injury in May. The second time in his career he missed significant time to injury. He had missed most of 2018 with TJ surgery. Freidman made a deadline deal with the Nationals landing Max Scherzer and Trea Turner for Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, and 2 minor leaguers. Another reason they added pitching was because of Bauer being placed on administrative leave while allegations of sexual assault were being investigated. Bauer, who went 8-5 in 17 games, has not pitched in the majors since. 
Despite that, LA never could catch and overtake the Giants. But Turner and Scherzer were outstanding in their short time with the team. Turner hit .338 in his 52 games with 10 homers. He also stole 11 bases, which added to his total with DC gave him 32 to lead the league. He also won the batting title with a .328 mark. He also wowed fans with a slide he made on the road, which in 22 the Dodgers would make a bobblehead of. Scherzer went 7-0 in 11 games and recorded his 3000th K at Dodger Stadium against the Padres in September. LA had made another pickup in May that had a positive impact on the clubhouse, the fans and the players. They signed Albert Pujols after he was released by the Angels. Pujols would play in 85 games, hitting .254 with 11 homers. He had some huge clutch hits for LA. 
LA had to play the Cardinals in a wild card game. Adam Wainwright pitched for the Cardinals and Scherzer got the start for LA. Scherzer gave up an unearned run in the first. LA tied it on a homer by JT in the 4th. Scherzer, who was not sharp, left after 4.1 innings, replaced by Joe Kelly. The LA pen held the Cardinals in check on just 2 hits and a walk the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Wainwright was pulled in the 6th, and the Cardinals kept LA off of the board through the 8th. In the bottom of the 9th, Bellinger walked with 2 outs. Alex Reyes came in to relieve McFarland. Chris Taylor, batting for the second time in the game then slugged a 2-run walk off homer for the win.
LA faced the Giants in the LDS. SF won the first game, 4-0 as Webb beat Buehler. Game 2 in SF had Urias for LA against Gausmann. LA took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd and never looked back for a 9-2 win. Smith hit the only homer. Game 3 must have felt like it was being played in a wind tunnel. The wind blew fiercely all game long. Scherzer started for LA against former Dodger, Alex Wood. Scherzer pitched 7 innings giving up just 3 hits and walking 1 while striking out 10 Giants. One of the hits though was a homer to left by Longoria in the 5th. Meanwhile LA could not mount anything against Wood and 3 Giant relievers and were shut out 1-0. There were several balls hit deep by Dodger hitters, but they all were knocked down by the wind. 
Game 4 had Buehler starting against DeSclafani. LA scored 1 in the 1st and 1 in the second, chasing him from the game. LA scored 2 more off of Garcia on a Betts 2-run homer in the 4th. Buehler was pulled for Kelly with 1 out in the 5th after giving up a run. Kelly would get the win. LA scored again in the 5th on a Betts sac-fly. Bryant drove in the Giants second run in the 8th with a single. LA finished the scoring with a 2-run homer by Smith in the 8th. Bickford pitched a scoreless 9th. LA won 7-2. The teams headed back to SF for game 5. Another pitcher’s duel, Webb against the Dodger bullpen. Neither team scored until the 6th inning when Corey Seager doubled home Mookie Betts. The Giants answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning off of Urias when Ruf homered. Urias was the bulk guy that night. The pens kept the teams off of the board after that going into the 9th inning. Camilo Doval, who had entered the game in the 8th, hit Turner with 1 out in the 9th. Lux singled sending Turner to 2nd. Bellinger then hit a single up the middle to CF and Turner scored the go ahead run. Max Scherzer came in to try to save the game and retired the Giants in order for the win.
LA played the Braves in the LCS for the second year in a row. But it was not to be the Dodgers year. They lost game 1 on a walk off single by Riley, 3-2. Treinen got the loss. They lost game 2 on another walk off after blowing a 2-0 and then 4-2 lead. Seager’s first inning 2-run homer had started the scoring. Joc Pederson tied the game with a 2-run shot off of Scherzer in the 4th. Taylor doubled in 2 runs in the 7th making it 4-2. The Braves tied it with 1 out in the 8th, scoring 2 runs on a single by Albies and a double by Riley. Graterol came in to pitch the 9th. He allowed a single to Swanson with 1 out and he moved to second on a groundout. Jansen replaced him and gave up a walk off single to Eddie Rosario. They headed back to LA down 2-0.
Buehler and Morton faced off in game 3. LA scored 2 in the first Betts walked and Seager hit his second homer. In the 4th, the Braves scored 4, chasing Buehler. They scored another in the 5th to lead 5-2. Bellinger hit a 3-run homer off of Jackson in the 8th tying the game. Betts then doubled in Taylor who had singled for a 6-5 lead. Jansen would close the game out and LA had their first win. The Braves jumped all over Urias in game 4. Scoring 2 runs in the 2nd on solo shots by Rosario and Duvall. They scored 2 more on a Freeman homer and a Pederson single making it 4-0 Urias was gone by the 6th inning giving up 5 runs. LA got 2 in the 5th on a Pollock single. But this game was all Braves, they hit four homers, 2 by Rosario and now led the series 3-1. 
LA had their last hurrah of the 21 season in game 5. Faced with elimination, and forced to use a bullpen game, Max Scherzer was unavailable because of what was described as a dead arm, Joe Kelly was the opener and immediately put LA behind the 8-ball allowing a 2-run homer to Freddie Freeman. LA was without Justin Turner as he was removed from the roster for a lingering hammy issue. Max Freid started for Atlanta. He got LA out in the 1st. In the second, Pollock led off with a solo shot. Pujols then singled and Taylor homered to left putting LA in front 3-2. In the bottom of the 3rd with 1 out, Pollock, Pujols and Taylor all singled for another run.
They chased Freid in the 5th after Pujols walked with 2 outs. Martin replaced Freid and immediately gave up a 2-run shot to Taylor, his second of the game. The Dodger pen was doing their job keeping the Braves off of the scoreboard. In the bottom of the 7th, Taylor hit his 3rd homer of the game, a solo shot off of Dylan Lee. He became only the 10th player ever to do that in a postseason game. The first was Babe Ruth in 1926. The only other Dodger to ever do that was Kike Hernandez in game 6 of the 2017 NLCS. LA scored 4 more times in the 8th, 3 of those coming on Pollocks second homer of the game, and the Dodgers won 11-2. Two days later in Atlanta, the Braves won the pennant with a 4-2 win. Buehler got the loss giving up all 4 Braves runs in 4 innings of work. Eddie Rosario was named the MVP. Taylor, Bellinger, Betts, and Pollock, all hit over .300 in the series. LA outhomered the Braves 9-8. But with their depleted pitching staff, they just could not silence the Braves bats. 
Many changes to the roster came after the 21 season. Seager left as a free agent and signed with the Rangers. Other free agents, Jansen who signed with the Braves, Scherzer, Mets, Kershaw, who resigned, Pujols, Cardinals, Kelly, White Sox. They brought in Daniel Hudson, resigned Taylor to a 4-year deal. The big signing though came in March when they inked Freddie Freeman to a 6-year deal. They now had 3 former MVPs on the team. Just before the season started they traded Pollock to the White Sox for Craig Kimbrel to replace Jansen. The 22 Dodgers were a juggernaut. They won 111 games and lost 51. Far and away the best record in the majors. They slugged 212 homers and scored 847 runs. They had 9 players with double digit homers led by Betts with 35. Freeman, Muncy, Smith and Trea Turner all hit 20 or more. Urias had a 17-7 record and led the league in ERA with a 2.16 mark. Kershaw was not far behind him. No pitcher threw more than 178.2 innings which is what Tyler Anderson led the team with.
So why did this 111-win team get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Padres? They won the division by 22 games, which means they clinched on September 14th. The players were well rested; the starting pitchers were lined up exactly like the team wanted. So, what happened. Myself, I blamed it on the layoff between the end of the season, October 5th, and the first game which was played 6 days later on the 11th. Ballplayers are creatures of habit. Baseball is a game of timing, and there is no way you can simulate game situations in practice against you own team or minor leaguers. But the bottom line is that your stars have to perform. After winning the 1st game, 5-3, the Dodgers blew two games where they had leads, including a 5 run outburst off of the pen in game 4. Freeman, Trea Turner, Muncy, all did well, Smith, Betts, Bellinger and JT, did not. Of the 15 runs the Padres scored, 8 came off of the pen. 
Several players left in free agency that winter. Trea Turner, Phillies, JT, Red Sox. Bellinger was non-tendered and signed with the Cubs. Freidman began retooling the team by signing Shelby Miller for the pen. He then signed Jason Heyward who had been cut loose by the Cubs. He was a bargain because the Cubs were paying the bulk of his contract, so LA got him for 750,000. They signed reclamation project, Noah Syndergaard. J.D. Martinez was signed to be the DH. They traded Jacob Amaya to the Marlins for SS Miguel Rojas. Basically, a lifeline for the possible failure of Lux as the new SS. 
Trevor Bauer was reinstated by the league and LA immediately released him, eating the final year of his deal. They signed another veteran outfielder, David Peralta. During spring training, CF, James Outman showed enough to make the team opening day. Early in spring, Gavin Lux tore his ACL on an awkward slide in a game against the Reds and was lost for the year. Rojas became the starting SS by default at age 34. Another rookie, Miguel Vargas, was the opening day 2B.
Heyward
Betts, Freeman, Smith, Outman, Muncy and Martinez were in the lineup every day. The rest of the time it was mix and match. Roberts used matchups a lot. Taylor was the Swiss-Army knife on the team, filling in at various positions. Betts 39, Muncy 36 and Martinez 33, led the team in homers. Freeman had 59 doubles, a team record and hit 29 HRs. As a team they hit 249 homers and scored 906 runs. They won 100 games for the 3rd straight year. They again clinched early beating the D-Backs by 16 games. Outman finished 3rd in the ROY voting and hit 23 homers. They also had four players, Betts 107, Muncy 105, Martinez 103 and Freeman 102, drive in 100 runs or more. 
They brought back Kike in a trade in July, and also traded for Amed Rosario, Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly. If there was an Achilles heel, it was the pitching. Injuries hit the staff hard. Kershaw pitched in just 22 games, and no starter pitched more than his 131 innings. Bobby Miller made his debut and pitched well winning 11. Julio Urias won 11 before he was suspended for spousal abuse. Gonsolin won 8 before he was lost for the year. Grove won 6 as a spot starter. Syndergaard was a bust and was traded to the Guardians. Evan Phillips emerged as the closer. He was a waiver wire pickup. He had 24 saves.
In the LDS they faced Arizona. It was like they never had a chance. Kershaw imploded in game 1. Miller then Lynn lost games by identical 4-2 scores, Lynn gave up 4 homers for all of Arizona’s runs in his game. They were eliminated again in the most embarrassing fashion. Why? Again, they had a long layoff between the end of the season and the first game. Five days. But the reason this series was very obvious, the offense was awful. The team batted .177 for the series and were outhomered 9-1. J.D. Martinez hit their only homer. None of their stars hit. 
It was obvious to fans, and many around the league that changes were coming. Martinez, Rosario, Miller, Peralta, Urias, and Kelly were all free agents. Kershaw resigned for 1 year with an option. Heyward and Kelly were resigned. Then on December 11th, they reeled in the biggest fish in the lake, Shohei Ohtani, signed a massive 10-year-700-million-dollar contract. It was obvious that ownership was committed to reversing the trend of the last couple of years.
That was not the end of the big spending. They traded for Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot and immediately signed Glasnow to a 5-year extension. 11 days after that deal, they signed RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year 325-million-dollar deal. In January they traded Almonte and Busch to the Cubs for 2 prospects, Zyhir Hope and Jackson Ferris. They signed Teoscar Hernandez to a one-year deal and brought back Kike. They also signed LHP James Paxton for the rotation.
They began the season with a 2-game series in Seoul Korea against the Padres. They split the two games. The big 3, Betts, Ohtani and Freeman hit in that order in the lineup. Betts got off to a very hot start to the season. The injury bug hit the team early. Every one of their starting pitchers would end up spending time on the IL. Rookie Gavin Stone was the only pitcher with double figure wins, 11. Bobby Miller fell off of a cliff and had an ERA over 8 in 13 starts. Glasnow pitched a career high 134 innings before he went down for the year. They would use 38 pitchers during the year. Betts, broken hand, missed more than 6 weeks after being hit in June.
Because of Lux’s throwing issues, he was moved to 2nd and until the injury, Betts was the starting SS. Rojas took over the bulk of those duties after he was injured. Smith was banged up much of the year. Muncy had oblique issues and missed significant time. After Outman suffered a severe case of the Sophomore jinx and was sent to the minors, rookie Andy Pages took over in CF. Freddie Freeman missed time due to his son’s illness and then had a severe ankle injury late in the year. The fight for the division was a lot closer than they had anticipated. 
The bright spot was Ohtani. He had a historic season hitting 54 homers and stealing 59 bases. He hit .310 and led the league in just about every offensive stat. He drove in 130 runs and scored 134. Hernandez added 33 homers and 99 RBIs. Smith and Freeman added 20 and 22 respectively. Mookie despite being injured hit 19. They made several moves at the deadline sending Vargas to the White Sox for Michael Kopech as part of a 3-team deal that also landed Tommy Edman in LA. They made 2 trades on the 30th of July bringing Jack Flaherty from the Tigers, and Kevin Kiermaier from the Jays. Kiermaier mainly for late inning defense, and Flaherty for the starting rotation.
Unlike the previous 2 years, they did not clinch the West until the last week of the season. They did so by winning their last 5 games, including taking 2 of 3 against the Padres who were breathing down their necks, just 2 back after winning the first game. The Padres had to play the Wild Card series, so the LDS began 6 days after the season ended. LA had home field for the series. They won game 1, coming back from 3-0 and 5-3 deficits for a 7-5 win. Game 2 was all Padres, 10-2. They went to San Diego and lost game 3, 6-5. The Padres scored all their runs in the second inning off of Buehler. Forced because of a thin starting staff to use a bullpen game in game 4, they jumped on Cease, knocking him out in the second inning and cruised to a8-0 win.
They went back to LA for game 5. Yamamoto started and went 5 shutout innings, a much better start than his performance in game 1 where he was tagged for 5 runs in 3 innings. Yu Darvish meanwhile was almost as tough allowing just a solo homer to Kike in the second. In the 7th, the other Hernandez, Teo, crushed a mammoth homer to left, and LA won a 2-0 thriller to advance to the LCS against the Mets.
Game 1 in LA was another LA shutout. They tied the MLB record for the most consecutive scoreless innings in a playoff with 33. Flaherty shut down the Mets over 7 innings, and the Dodgers chased Senga in the second. The capper was a 3-run double by Betts in the 8th. NY won game 2 against the Dodger bullpen on a bullpen game. They ended the scoreless streak on a first inning homer by Lindor. NY won, 7-3. Muncy had a homer and Edman was 3-4.
They went to NY for games 3-4-5. LA got its second shutout of the series. Buehler started and went 4. He was followed by Kopech, who got the win, Brasier, Treinen and rookie, Ben Casparius. The hitting star was Shohei who blasted a 3-run shot in the 8th. Muncy and Kike also homered. LA put the Mets on the brink with a 10-2 win, beating Quintana. Betts drove in 4 runs with a homer and a double; Edman had 3 RBIs with 2 doubles. Ohtani led off the game with a solo shot in the first.
The Mets retaliated in game 5, scoring 12 runs, chasing Flaherty after the 4th scoring 8 runs off of him. Honeywell mopping up allowed 4. The Mets scored all of those runs despite hitting just 1 homer. The Dodgers hit 3 homers, 2 by Pages and 1 by Betts. The teams headed back to LA for game 6. LA went the bullpen route again, saving a possible game 7 for Yamamoto. Manaea went for the Mets. Edman hit a 2-run double off of him in the first, and LA chased him with a 4-run third, the big blow a 2-run homer by Edman.
The Mets got 2 back in the 4th, LA scored in the 6th on a Smith homer. They put the game away with a 3-run 8th. Edman was named the MVP. LA now would face the Yankees for the title.
2024 World Series
This series is so fresh in the minds of all Dodger fans. It was an exciting series featuring walk offs, clutch pitching, solid defense and two iconic franchises. Game 1 pitted the Yankees Ace, Gerritt Cole against Jack Flaherty. Both pitchers were dominant early. In the 5th, Kike tripled down the line and then scored on a sac-fly by Smith. NY got on the board in the 6th when Soto singled and Stanton hit a mammoth shot to left for a 2-run homer, knocking Flaherty out of the game. LA scored their second run when Ohtani doubled off the top of the walk in the 8th and then went to third when Soto’s throw went wild. He then scored on a sac-fly by Mookie. Kopech came in to pitch the 9th. He got 2 quick outs and then Torres hit a ball to left that a fan caught. Initially it was thought to be a homer, but the umpires ruled fan interference, and he was held at second. After intentionally walking Soto, Treinen replaced Kopech and got Judge to pop out ending the inning. 
The Yankees scored in the top of the 10th the Yankees had Chisholm single off of Treinen. He stole second. Rizzo was intentionally walked and Chisholm stole 3rd. He scored on RBI force out by Volpe when Edman bobbled the ball. Yanks led 3-2 going into the bottom of the 10th. Cousins came in to pitch for NY. He got Smith to fly out and then walked Lux. Edman got an infield single putting 2 on with 1 out. Cousins was removed for Nestor Cortes, who had not pitched since September 18th. Cortes got Ohtani to hit a foul ball down the left field line that was drifting towards the stands, Alex Verdugo raced over and made a great catch but went into the stands. The runners were allowed to move up one base putting them on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and Betts coming up. Playing the percentages, they walked Betts intentionally to face Freeman. On the first pitch, Freeman hit a deep drive to right for a walk off grand slam homer.
Rodon faced Yoshi in game 2. Edman hit a solo homer in the 2nd for a 1-0 lead. Soto got the run back with a solo shot of his own in the 3rd. In the bottom of the 3rd, Betts singled and Teo hit a 2-run shot. Freeman followed with a solo shot and LA led 4-1. Rodon left in the 4th inning with what seemed to be an arm issue. Yoshi pitched 6.1 innings allowing just the Soto homer. In the 7th, Ohtani separated his shoulder on an attempted steal of second. He was out and removed from the game. 
Treinen came in to close the game in the 9th but ran into trouble. Soto singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Judge struck out and then Stanton hit a ball that hit the third base bag scoring Soto. Rizzo was hit by a pitch and Chisholm singled loading the bases. Volpe struck out and Vesia came in to relieve Treinen. Vesia got Jose Trevino to fly out on the 1st pitch and LA led the series 2-0. The teams went to Yankee Stadium for the next 3 games
Buehler got the start in game 3 against Clarke Schmidt. Ohtani, who would be hampered by his shoulder the rest of the series, walked to lead off the game. Betts made an out and then Freeman hit his 3rd homer of the series to deep right putting LA up 2-0. They scored again in the third chasing Schmidt on a walk to Edman; he advanced on a groundout and scored on Betts single. They threatened again in the 4th, but Lux was thrown out at home attempting to score on an Edman bunt. In the bottom of the inning, Stanton doubled. Volpe singled, and Stanton raced home only to be thrown out at the plate on a great throw by Teo to Smith. LA scored again in the 6th when Lux singled, stole second and scored on Kike’s single. The Dodger pen kept the Yankees off the board until the 9th, when Kopech gave up a 2-out-2-run homer to Verdugo. LA now led the series 3-0 and Dodger fans had visions of a repeat of the 63 sweep of the Yankees. The Yankees had other ideas.
Game 4 had the Dodger pen against Luis Gil. Freeman did it again with another 1st inning 2-run homer. It was his 4th of the series and his 6th series game in a row with a homer, setting a MLB record. In the bottom of the inning, a strange play happened when Torres hit a ball down the RF line and Betts, who jumped and caught the ball, had some fans try and strip it out of his glove. They would end up being ejected from the game. Mookie said later it was the first time he ever felt like going after a fan. 
The Yankees scored in the second on a Verdugo ground out. In the 3rd, they scored 4 on a Volpe grand slam off of Hudson, basically putting the game away. Wells and Torres also homered later in the game. LA scored 2 more in the 5th when Smith homered and Edman scored on a fielder’s choice. NY won going away 11-4. The game 5 starter for the Yanks was Cole. LA had Flaherty for the rematch of game 1. This time the Yankees jumped all over Flaherty for 3 in the first on a 2-run shot by Judge and a solo blast by Chisholm.
It was the first time in the series that the Yankees scored first. It did not get any better in the 2nd as Volpe doubled and scored on a Verdugo single, extending the lead to 4-0 and chasing Flaherty. Stanton hit a solo shot off of Brasier in the 3rd and the Yankee lead was 5. Cole shut LA down without a hit through 4 with just 2 walks. Then came the top of the 5th. I still don’t believe the series of events during that inning. 
Kike led off with a single. Edman hit what looked like an easy fly ball out to center, but Judge dropped the ball for his first error all year, talk about bad timing. Smith hit a slow grounder to short that Volpe threw away trying to get Kike at third. LA had the bases loaded with nobody out. Cole struck out Lux and Ohtani, bringing up Betts. Betts hit a routine grounder to Rizzo, but Cole did not cover the base and Rizzo did not run to the base to get Betts who he had beaten on the same play earlier. Kike scored and it was 5-1. Freeman then singled to right center scoring Edman and Smith. Teo then crushed a double to deep left center off of the wall for a game tying 2-run double. Yankees fans were stunned. The Yankees announcers said if the Yanks lost the game, they had only themselves to blame.
The Yankees kept the pressure on forcing the Dodgers to burn relievers like a tank burns diesel. In the bottom of the 5th, Vesia escaped a 2-out bases loaded jam keeping the game tied. The Yankees went ahead in the 6th, 6-5 when Graterol allowed the first two runners to reach base. Soto scored on a sac-fly by Stanton. Treinen came in with 2 outs and closed the door. He also pitched a scoreless 7th. Cole pitched into the 7th and the Yankees entered the 8th inning with the lead. Kahnle came in to pitch the 8th. He had not given up a run in 8 postseason games. Kike singled leading off the inning. Edman then had a broken bat single. Smith then walked on 4 pitches. Weaver replaced Kahnle and was pitching in his 3rd straight game. 
Gavin Lux, in his final at bat as a Dodger, hit a sac-fly to center tying the game with Edman advancing to third. Ohtani then reached on catcher’s interference, loading the bases again. Betts then hit a long fly to Judge scoring Edman with the go ahead run. Treinen went back out to pitch the 8th. He allowed a 1 out double to Judge then he walked Chisholm. Roberts went to the mound. After a short conference and with really no one left in the pen, he left Treinen in. He was rewarded when he got Stanton to fly out and then struck out Rizzo to end the inning. He had thrown 2.1 innings. His longest stint of the year. LA went down in the 9th.
Before the 9th, Walker Buehler had told Roberts he could pitch, he also told Gomes. He went down to the pen and began warming up in the 9th. Roberts, with really no other options, Brought Buehler in to close the game. Walker got Volpe on a grounder to 3rd. He then struck out Wells and Verdugo to close the game and the series. LA had their 7th title in LA and 8th overall. It was their 4th series win over the Yankees. LA batted just ,206 for the series, the Yanks .212. The Yankees hit 9 homers and the Dodgers 7. LA scored 25 runs and the Yankees 24. 
Freeman was the MVP of the series. LA won without a strong series from Muncy who went ofer the series, and Ohtani hobbled after game 2. Teo hit .350 to lead all Dodger hitters. Betts did not have a series homer, but he drove in 4 runs with the last one being the most important. It would be the last game as a Dodger for Lux, and Buehler. The Dodgers would hand out full shares to 79 people. Many players, Heyward, Lux, Flaherty, received their rings when their teams visited Dodger Stadium, or if they were not coming to LA, when the Dodgers were in town.
Not content to sit on their laurels, ownership dug deep again in the winter of 24. Kershaw was resigned. They signed Snell to a five-year-deal. Then they signed Michael Conforto to a one-year-deal. They resigned Teo for 3 years, extended Edman for 5. They signed Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim. They traded Lux to the Reds fora minor leaguer. Buehler signed with the Red Sox. They signed highly sought Japanese pitcher, Roki Sasaki. Then they gave closer Tanner Scott a 4-year deal. They also signed Kirby Yates. Brasier was traded to the Cubs. 
Everyone believed that this was a Super team and that they might break the Mariners record of 116 wins. They opened the season with a 2-game series in Tokyo against the Cubs. They won both games with Ohtani getting his first homer of the season. Mookie Betts was now the starting SS. But Mookie got sick on the Tokyo trip, and it would affect his performance for some time. The team started the season with an 8-game winning streak. The starting rotation featured Sasaki, Kershaw, Snell, Glasnow, May and Yoshi. The pen had Dreyer, Scott, Yates, Treinen, Vesia, Banda, Garcia and Casparius. The starting 9 were Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Smith, Teo, Pages, Conforto, Muncy and Edman. At least, that was how it was supposed to look most of the time. Barnes, Taylor, Kike and Rojas made up the bench. Like most of the years before, the roster would fluctuate a lot. Kim was sent to AAA. Sasaki was not impressive, and he went to AAA also. It started happening a lot sooner than the team would have liked. The injury bug bit early and often. 
Snell went down after just 2 games and would not return until August. Glasnow lasted 5 games and was out until August. Guys like Sheehan, Knack, Wrobleski, all got shots at starting. Will Smith led the league in hitting through May. Betts started off okay but got progressively worse. Some blamed it on the switch to SS which is much more demanding than playing the outfield. Ohtani was Shohei, a lot of homers, a lot of Ks and he scored a lot of runs.
The team was 1.5 games up by the end of April with a 21-10 record. By the end of May they were up by 3. One big disappointment was the performance of Michael Conforto. He did okay for about 3 weeks and then his numbers started diving down. Fans became very frustrated because Roberts kept running him out there night after night. Injuries affected performance too. After starting the season very hot, Edman had an ankle injury that caused him to miss more than 60 games.
Teo had a hamstring problem, Muncy battled several ailments. Freeman, although he also started off on fire, was bothered by several small physical issues that started affecting his production. For June and July, he hit right at .225 with just 2 homers and 20 driven in. July was also the team’s worst month; they won 10 and lost 14. It seemed that all of the players were slumping at the same time. AF reacted by DFAing both Taylor and Austin Barnes, and calling up Kim and #1 prospect, Dalton Rushing. Taylor signed with the Angels and Barnes signed a minor league deal with the Giants. His signings of Scott and Yates were not proceeding according to plan. Scott would end up with 22 saves, but he also blew 10 games. He would miss postseason games because of a surgical procedure. Yates was just simply not the lockdown pitcher he had been in 23 in Texas. Sasaki came back up in September, and they started using him out of the pen. 
The OKC shuttle was working overtime with players being called up and sent down, mostly pitchers. The Dodgers once again used almost 40 different pitchers. They had an abundance of arms at AAA who had some MLB experience. Sauer, Trevino, Diaz, Davis, Miller, Stratton, just to name a few. They had several pitchers on the IL, Phillips, Kopech. Gonsolin, the list seemed to be endless. At the end of July, they were 19 games over .500 with a 7-game lead. Freidman still decided to make a couple of trades at the deadline sending Outman to the Twins for reliever Brock Stewart, and two minor leaguers to the Nats for Alex Call, a corner outfielder with good bat to ball skills and not much power. He then traded AAA catcher, Hunter Feduccia to the Rays for Ben Rortvedt, and two minor leaguers, Paul Gervase and Serwinowski. Rortvedt would prove valuable when Smith got injured. Ohtani had returned to the mound in June, tossing 4 innings in 3 games. He pitched 11 innings in July 17 in August, getting his first win and loss as a Dodger. He pitched just 14 innings in September with no decisions. But he vowed he would be ready for full starting duties in the playoffs. They also traded Dustin May to the Red Sox for two minor league outfielders,
By the end of August, the lead was cut to 2 games. As usual, they were fighting to get the best record so they could have a bye and home field for the playoff. The Brewers though were having the best year in franchise history. They would finally clinch at Seattle during the last series of the year, but they were the 3 seed, so they had to play a Wild Card series, and their opponents would be the Reds.
The Dodgers finished the year with 93 wins, their lowest total since 2018. For the year, Ohtani finished 2nd with 55 homers, beating his previous LA record by 1. He scored 146 runs, far and away the most in the majors. He drove in 102, the only Dodger to hit the century mark. He also struck out 187 times, just 2 shy of his career high. The Dodgers had 9 players with 10 homers or more. Betts, Freeman, Teo and Pages finished with 20 or more. Freeman was second with 90 RBIs. Ohtani led the team with 20 steals.
Yamamoto was the Ace. He had a 12-8 record with a 2.49 ERA in 30 starts. Kershaw, who announced his intention to retire after the season, won 11 games, lost 2 and pitched 112 innings. He struck out 84 but reached 3000 Ks. He finished his career with 223 wins, second to Sutton on the All-Time win’s leader list for the Dodgers, 3052 Ks, most ever in Dodger history, a career 2.53 career ERA and a reserved seat at the Hall of Fame table. Scott finished with 23 saves, and Vesia was 2nd on the team with 5. 
They beat the Reds in the Wild Card series winning both games, 10-5 and 8-4. They outhomered the Reds 5-0. The bullpen had trouble closing out games and had meltdowns in the 8th twice. They then faced the Phillies and like what happened many times during the season, the offense disappeared. They took the first two in Philly by 5-3 and 4-3 scores. Snell and Ohtani got the wins. Back in LA, the Phils crushed LA, 9-2 in game 3. Yamamoto got lit up in that one. Schwarber hit two bombs, one of them leaving Dodger Stadium. Game 4 was a tense 2-1 game that LA won when the pitcher panicked on a bases loaded comebacker in the 11th inning. LA had 2 homers in the series, 1 by Edman and the other a 3-run shot by Teo that won game 1.
They played the Brewers, who were 6-0 against them in the regular season in the LCS. They got some outstanding pitching in the series from Snell, Yoshi and Ohtani and the Dodger staff held the Brewers to just 1 run in each game. Snell threw a 1-hit 8 inning gem in game 1. Freeman homered for the first run in the 6th. They scored another in the top of the 9th on a fielder’s choice from Betts. Sasaki relieved Snell and got two outs but loaded the bases on a hit and 2 walks. Treinen came in and got the last out. Yamamoto gave up a solo homer to Churios in the first inning and then allowed no runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, striking out 7 in a complete game win. LA got to Peralta for 3 runs in his 5.2 innings. They added 2 more off of the pen for the 5-1 win. Teo and Muncy homered off of Peralta.
Game 3 back in LA had Glasnow pitching for LA and a bullpen game for the Brewers. Ashby started and allowed a single to Ohtani. Betts then doubled him home. Jacob Misiorowski relieved him. LA would not score again until the 6th when they pushed across 2 runs against the Mis and Uribe. The Dodger bullpen shut down the Brewers on just 2 hits after Glasnow left with 2 outs in the 6th and LA was up 3-0. 
Game 4 had Ohtani making his first ever post season start. It was a special one. It was basically the Ohtani show. Like the game in which he had reached the 50-50 club, Shohei was a one-man wrecking crew. He led off the game against Quintana with a homer. Edman and Teo drove in 2 more. In the 4th, Ohtani launched a ball against Patrick that left Dodger Stadium, going over the pavilion roof and it was measured at 469 feet. He would hit his 3rd homer in the 5th off of Megill. This one merely landed in the left field pavilion. Not only did he homer 3 times, the 3rd Dodger to do so in a playoff game, he pitched 6 scoreless innings allowing 2 hits, 3 walks and striking out 10. The Brewers got a run against Treinen in the 8th for the 5-1 final. The Dodgers continued their quest for back-to-back titles by advancing to the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Ohtani was the series MVP.
2025 World Series
This series is so fresh in our minds. It would prove to be one of the most exciting 7-game World Series ever. I will just do a recap instead of a game-by-game narrative. LA was clearly outmatched in game 1 as the Jays crushed them with 11 runs. The Dodgers actually led in the game 2-0 after the 3rd. But the Jays tied it in the 4th and put it away with a 9-run 6th. 5 of the runs were charged to Snell. Banda gave up a grand slam to Barger and a 2-run shot to Kirk. Ohtani’s 2-run shot in the 7th changed nothing. 
LA won game 2 as Yoshi threw another complete game win, 5-1. He allowed 4 hits, and 1 run. He struck out 8. Jays only run came in the 3rd on a Kirk sac-fly. LA scored 1 in the first on a Smith single scoring Ohtani. Smith homered in a 2-run 7th to give them the lead, Muncy homered in a 2-run 8th capping the scoring. 
Game 3 would match the record for the longest World Series game by innings at 18, which the Dodgers had been a part of, and it also ended the same way with a walk-off homer by a Dodger left-handed batter. Scherzer started against Glasnow and neither pitcher made it out of the 5th inning. The Dodgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 3 on homers by Teo and Ohtani. The Jays struck for 4 in the 4th off of Glasnow, the big blow, a 3-run shot by Kirk. Freeman and Ohtani drove in runs in the 6th to tie it. The Jays went ahead on a Bichette single in the 7th. Ohtani hit his second homer of the game to tie it in the 7th. After that it became a matter of which pen would give up a run first. 
After Glasnow left it was Banda, Wrobleski, Treinen, Dreyer, Sasaki, Sheehan, Kershaw, in his last ever appearance at Dodger Stadium for crucial 3rd out in the 13th. Henriquez then pitched 2 innings and Will Klein, a late addition to the roster because of Scott’s surgery, went the final 4. There was plenty of traffic on the bases for both teams. The Jays had 10 hits and 6 walks against the Dodger relievers, but only 1 hit and 2 walks over the last 6 innings. The Dodgers got 11 hits and 9 walks from the Jays relievers. The Dodgers left 18 men on base and were 22-14 with RISP. The Jays stranded 19 and were 2-12 with RISP. Freeman ended the game leading off the 18th inning with a homer to dead center field. Just like Muncy did against the Red Sox in 18.
The Jays won the next 2 games at Dodger Stadium taking a 3-2 series lead back to Toronto LA’s offensive woes continued as they scored just 3 runs in the 2 games to the Jays 12. Ohtani lost game 4 and Snell took his second series loss in game 5. Yoshi against Gausmann in game 6. Toronto scored in the top of the 3rd when Barger doubled and was singled home by Springer. LA struck for 3 when Edman doubled and Ohtani walked. Smith singled, driving in Edman, and Betts singled driving in Ohtani. That was it. Wrobleski, Sasaki and Glasnow, who pitched the 9th for the save, shut down the Jays the rest of the game. LA was outhit by the Jays, 8-4.
With the series now tied at 3 wins each, it set up one of the more exciting game sevens ever. Ohtani started but he was not sharp. The Jays chased him on a Bichette 3-run homer in the 3rd. Scherzer started for the Jays, He went 4.1 innings, allowing 4 hits, a run and a walk, while striking out 3. Teo drove in Smith with a sac-fly in the 4th. Edman drove in Betts with a sac-fly in the 6th. Gimenez drove in the Jays 4th run with a 6th inning single. Muncy homered in the 8th off of Yesavage to cut the lead to 4-3. Clement led off the 8th with a double off of Sheehan. Snell replaced him and got Giminez to hit a sharp liner to Muncy at 3rd with the infield pulled in. Snell then got the last 2 outs. Hoffman, who had come in with 2 outs in the 8th, got the first two Dodger hitters, Edman and Kike out. Miguel Rojas stepped in. Hoffman got 2 strikes on him making the Jays just 1 strike away. But Miggy ruined their plans with a line shot over the left field fence to tie the game. Bedlam at the watch-party in LA. 
Snell went back out in the bottom of the 9th to try and force extra innings. Roberts sent Andy Pages to center replacing Edman. Meanwhile Yoshi started to warm up in the pen. Guererro flied out on a 3-0 count and Bichette singled. Kiner-Falefa ran for him. Barger walked and Roberts brought in Yamamoto. He hit Kirk loading the bases. Varsho came up and with the infield drawn in, he hit a sharp grounder to Rojas who slightly juggled the ball but fired home to force Kiner-Falefa. They reviewed the play since the Jays thought Smith’s foot was not on the plate, but his toe clearly touched the plate before Falefa did. Clement came up with the bases loaded a hit a long drive to deep right center. Kike and Pages raced towards the ball; Kike would have had to make an over the shoulder catch. Pages, who ran a long way just to get to the ball, made a great catch and ended the threat. 
LA loaded the bases in the 10th but failed to score. The Jays went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 10th. Shane Bieber came in to pitch for the Jays. With 2 outs, Smith lined a homer to deep left field putting LA up 5-4. Yoshi gave up a leadoff double to Guererro. Falefa sacrificed him to 3rd. Barger walked bringing up Kirk. With the count 0-2, Kirk hit a broken bat grounder up the middle, Betts was right there stepping on second and firing to Freeman for the double play and back-to-back titles.
The Dodgers would have their second parade in two years. Yoshi was the series MVP with 3 wins. First pitcher to do that since Randy Johnson in 01. He was also the first pitcher to record all 3 wins on the road. If you take a step back and look at the series without consulting your heart, the Dodgers were clearly outplayed in many aspects by the Jays. LA hit just .203 for the series. The Jays, .269. The Jays outscored LA 36-26. But the Dodgers outhomered them 11-8. Both teams squandered many scoring chances, it was just that the Dodgers got clutch hits exactly when they needed them. The Jays staff struck out more batters than LA did, but they also issued more walks. Ohtani had a great series batting .333 with 3 homers and 5 driven in. 
What will 2026 bring? Some changes for sure, it will be the first team without Kershaw on its roster in 17 years. Will they bring back Miggy or Kike? Conforto and Yates are most likely history. The next chapter is out there waiting to be written. Let’s hope it has another happy ending for Dodger fans. Also, a huge thank you goes out to Kershaw. 17 years of excitement and some tears. He goes out a 3-time Champ.
Naylor contract finalized. Nice weekend for LA fans, SC and the Rams win.
Fuck SC
Fuck U must be your Alma Mater
More like DooFuss U. 😂
Now that is hilarious.
Good for you. A simpleton cogent argument. You’re progressing.
With such a response, I am sure your Alma Mater is proud.
Thank you
University of Phoenix?
Trojan, Rams,kings,Lakers,Dodgers, who says no
Lakers not so much since James joined the team. But I really loved the Los Angeles Thunderbirds roller derby team. Show time Lakers I loved.
The T-Birds! Ralphie Valaderes, Danny Reilly, Terri Lynch, Judy Sewinski…
I actually met the villianous Big John Hall once. (He wasn’t that big.)
But the real test….
What number did Dick Lane tell us to dial to get tickets to the Olympic Auditorium for both Roller Derby and wrestling?
Think back… You might still remember it…
For a hint, think of a city in the State of Virginia…
I used to go to the Olympic auditorium in the late 70s early 80s With my Family I’m not a James fan either.
I went there just once to see a night of wrestling with my aunt and uncle when I was really into the sport. We had second row ringside seats. Got to see Don Leo Jonathan wrestle Mr. Moto. Jonathan was like 6’7″ 310. Moto was 5’8″. Freddie Blassie wrestled that night to. We could see Lane broadcasting from the booth up in the rafters. It is a Korean church now, I think.
“Whoa, Nellie!”
Awesome stuff…
Red Smart
Ralphy Valaderus…
Valladares was one of my favorites. Shirley Hardeman and Ronnie “Psycho” Rains. George Copeland, who also skated for the T-Birds, was in my basic training unit at Ft. Bliss in 65.
And who can forget the announcer, Dick Lane. He also did wrestling on local TV— I think channel 13, KCOP. I remember him using “whoa Nelly” way before Keith Jackson.
Wrestling was on channel 5 on Wednesday nights. Freddie Blassie, Mr. Moto, Gorgeous George, the original, Ricky Starr, who was a ballet dancer before entering the ring and Haystacks Calhoun who weighed over 600 pounds. Lane actually began his career as an actor and is best known by movie fans as Inspector Farraday in the Boston Blackie series. He also played that part on radio.
Come on… the best were Bobo Brazil and Pedro Morales.
I watched those guys when I was a kid in the 1960s,,,,
Twenty years later, I was in a second-rate hotel in NYC, turned on the cheap TV–and there was Pedro and Bobo, still wrestling, but now in the NYC market…
No in my area. I only read about those guys in the wrestling magazine. Early 60’s, Blassie was the big stud bad guy in LA. The good guys were Starr, Jonathan, Haystacks, Cowboy Dick Hutton and Lou Thesz. Close on Blassie’s heels was The Destroyer whose killer hold was a figure 4 leg lock. Oh, the Original Shiek was around then too.
Terri Lynch, Judy Sowinski, and of course Dick “Whoa Nellie” Lane
Didn’t see your Dick Lane reference prior to my response. I seem to remember him sometimes getting in the middle of skirmishes while interviewing skaters and wrestlers-/ ending up with his glasses being knocked off his head.
The Destroyer, a 60’s wrestler, actually took his glasses off and crushed them.
Dick Lane was a legend.
Indeed. And I do remember Lane using his microphone as weapon when the heels crossed the line in interviews…..
Also remember how Lane was flummoxed when a bunch of rowdy frat boys (from USC, I assume) started showing up at the Olympic to cheer for Freddie Blassie.
“BITE, FREDDIE, BITE! BITE, FREDDIE, BITE!”
The classic tale of good vs. evil had taken an unexpected turn….
Dick Lane was always happy to report when Gene LeBell served as the referee. LeBell was a judo champ and Hollywood stuntman who, some 50 years later, helped inspire the character Brad Pitt played in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” LeBell used to spar with Bruce Lee–but I doubt he ever threw Lee into the side of a producer’s luxury sedan.
I’m still wondering if anybody else remembers the phone number to call to order tickets at the Olympic… because “NO TV!”
My father actually made the call one time to reserve tickets for himself and his bride, my mother, for their wedding anniversary.
Such a romantic.
No love for the Chargers, Clippers, UCLA or the. UC Irvine Anteaters?
Chargers and Clippers are displaced orphans. I know the Chargers were originally in LA but only for one season.
A few pro teams in LA came from somewhere else. That would include the Rams, the Dodgers and the Lakers.
I read somewhere that Los Angeles area sports teams have won 105 championship titles. Since 2000 9 of the area’s 12 pro teams have won a combined 24 championships. Pick a sport and somebody from the LA area won the title.
I know, but back when those teams moved it was because of declining attendance or a ballpark in need of replacing, or simply because the city they were located in could not support two teams in the same league. Leagues did not start expanding until the early 60’s. Rams left and came back, just like the Raiders did to Oakland. I was surprised the fans accepted them so openly. As for UCLA< I loved Bruin basketball when Wooden was the coach, just like I loved the Lakers up until James showed up.
That’s the longest post I’ve ever seen Bear. Thanks for the work.
“Dodgers Trek to a Three-peat Will Be an Endurance Test”. Jack Harris’ column this morning. He goes on to talk about load management issues with an aging roster that plays an extra 30 games every year. A bump in that load management plan is the WBC Tournament scheduled in March. A few of our stars will be requesting to leave for those 12 days of intense competition. Gomes said they will deal with those requests when they are made.
Any thoughts?
Thanks Badger, but there was no way to not tell the story leading up to each series. I saw I had left some things out, like a photo of Pages catch, so I had to update the post, I also somehow deleted the part about the first two games of the 81 NLCS> I added that back too in the updated post.
The four aces will get tons of bulk inning replacement this season as a host of young dynamic arms eat outs by the bunches. I’d like to see four/five guts in the pen with multi-inning potential. Chunk the game.
The question was how do you feel about 3 of those aces, and others, wanting to play highly competitive games in March?
For the record I would rather they all report to Camelback and cruise slowly and quietly through Spring Training.
Today players offered the QO have to make their decisions. MLBTR believes that Torres will be the only one who accepts.
Epic post today!
Reading about past Titles reminds me that they never come easy.
Each series had roller-coaster emotional moments, clutch hitting, pitching, defense, etc. But there were also games when our bats were silenced, we made errors, and pitchers could not hold leads.
Makes 2025 even more incredible!
Having been alive to see all of them has long made me understand that in sports, anything is possible.
In LA that’s true. It has proved to be less likely in cities like Seattle, Milwaukee, San Diego, Buffalo and Cañon City.
Canon City’s high school football team has been pretty good. This county leads the NATION in prisons. There are seven separate prison facilities in Fremont County, including Federal Max where the Uni bomber is. Right here in Canon is the old territorial prison which is still in operation.
Big ol guards spawn big ol kids. I used to coach in that conference. They were always big and strong.
“There are seven separate prison facilities in Fremont County.”
Yeah. I know.
Main source of employment here. LOL.
Great post and photos. I miss stirrup socks….
I remember wearing them in high school.
Another great write up Bear. Thanks for the memories.
My pleasure. I enjoy this kind of thing.
I enjoy reading them. I really thought the Dodgers would win a WS or two in the 1990’s with Orel and all the Rookie Of The Years we had. Very disappointing decade. Perhaps if they had kept Pedro??
Orel was not close to being the same pitcher after the 89 season. He had his surgery in 1990 and did not pitch all that well the first couple of seasons back. His last year in LA, 1994, he was 6-6 and pitched in just 22 games. He left as a free agent after 94 and signed with the Indians. From 95-99 he won in double figures each year, but his ERA was in the 4.50 range. By 1990, the teams Ace was Ramon Martinez. Their first chance at the playoffs came in 95 after Hershiser left as a free agent. Had the 94 season not been cut off by the strike, they might have made it then. As for Pedro, he was 31 when he was traded and only played until 1992.
Pedro Martinez was only 23 when he was traded. He had some of his best seasons in the 1990’s. Unfortunately, only 2 as a Dodger.
That was all Tommy Lasorda and a need for a closer. Tommy dd not think Pedro was big enough to be a consistently good starter. He won his 10 games for LA as a reliever. At one time, the Dodgers had all 3 Martinez brothers. All 3 were pitchers. Jesus Martinez was left-handed though. He never made it to the majors. He made it to AAA. He was 18 when he joined the organization. He won 10 games just once. He passed away in 2016 at just 44 years of age.
A closer? I thought the Dodgers were enamored with Delino DeShields as a leadoff hitter–and they stupidly assumed that Pedro’s brother Ramon was the better Martinez and that Pedro was too small to succeed as a starter.
That is correct. Pedro was dealt to acquire DeShields. The Dodgers dealt Konerko and Dennis Reyes to acquire Jeff Shaw.
You are right, I got my trades mixed up. Konerko went for Shaw, when Tommy was the GM for a short time. They wanted DeShields because Jody Reed would not resign for what they offered. MY bad!
I don’t know if anyone watches the Dodger Daily videos. Chris Gutierrez was interviewed. He’s the minor league infielder coordinator, but has a lot to say about OF defense. He says Ryan Ward has actually turned himself into a good fielder but has a reputation that stuck. Take it for what it’s worth…
I hope he gets a legit shot to play next year.
interesting info about Ward!
Incredible piece Bear. It’s quite an effort. Thanks for all your work.
You are most welcome. I love writing so much.
Great defense and good pitching in the post season has been difference makers. It’s surprising to me that the Dodgers don’t make defense more of a priority.
Maybe with winning two WS with older players with marginal defense they are fine with elite pitching and the occasional and timely slug.
However, I agree with you. I miss Ozzie Smith, Davey Concepción, Luis Aparicio, Brooks Robinson, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., César Cedeño, Andre Dawson, Andruw Jones, Jim Edmonds, Paul Blair, Dewey Evans, Dave Parker, Roberto Clemente, Ryne Sandberg, Bill Mazeroski, Mike Schmidt, Scott Rolen… I loved 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s baseball. Great defense, excellent bat to ball skills with just enough power, the running game, and great pitching where the starters went deep into the game and still dominated.
Not to mention most outfielders had strong arms and could actually hit the cutoff man.
I miss Gilliam. Made some great plays when most needed, especially in the 65 Series.
They prefer guys who hit the ball over the heads of good defenders.
I like speedy CF’s who catch em before they go out! LOL>
Jeff Passan said one of Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu is almost surely to be traded.
I agree that Boston will trade one of them. But they do not have to. The rumors are that Boston could move their GG CF, Ceddanne Rafaela, to 2B, slide Duran to CF, and have Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu in LF/RF respectively. I think they prefer to keep Rafaela in CF and hope for an improved Kristian Campbell at 2B. Boston is going to be young and good. Only one position player north of 30, Trevor Story. Kutter Crawford who turns 30 in May, is the only 30+ SP.
They also have DH spot open, right? Or are they stuck with Yoshida.
They will try to unload Yoshida, but if they cannot, he will be their DH. He has two years of $18MM each year remaining on his contract. I am not sure what tean is going to want to trade for that level of DH for $36MM remaining. So they might be stuck with him.
Apparently the Red Sox are also looking to land one of Kyle Schwarber (Jon Morosi) or Bo Bichette (WEEI Rob Bradford). Bichette would make a lot of sense as they try to overtake NYY and Toronto. That would definitely make one of Duran and Abreu available. If they instead sign Schwarber (longshot IMO), Yoshida would be gone. DFA if they could not trade him. They are also looking to trade 1B Tristan Casas and perhaps sign one of Murakami or Okamoto to play 1B. Boston is making all of the right sounds as if they want to go for it this year.
BTW, Morosi is also reporting that Toronto could sign both Bichette and Tucker.
Speculation about Alonso too.
Well said. Always appreciate your stuff, Jeff
Japanese RHSP Tatsuya Imai has been posted. Teams can begin to bid on him beginning tomorrow and the window closes January 2. He is going to get paid. He turns 28 in May, so a 6-7 year deal is not out of line. Contract amount in the $150MM range. Posting fee, sure. But no QO penalties. I am not predicting the Dodgers will sign him, but I would not be surprised. That would free up Emmet Sheehan for a trade for a CF, or big bat OF, or big bat 3B in a trade. I suppose it could also mean SS so Badger can move Mookie to 2B.
Signing that level of front end starting pitcher would open plenty of doors for trades for LAD. Again not predicting it, I just see possibilities that only cost $$$, something the Dodgers can do.
Kazuma Okamoto posting begins tomorrow as well, and will run thru Jan 2.
I see you’ve brought up Sheehan a few times as a good trade chip. Are you thinking that they should trade him now because his value is at its peak or are you just figuring that he’s worth more in trade than, for example, Stone or Ryan, and that you expect him to have a very good career either here or somewhere else?
Sheehan is a #6 pitcher for the Dodgers. He has more trade value than Stone or Ryan because they have not returned from their injuries. They may return as they were before surgery, maybe not. I am not anxious to lose Sheehan, but what other Dodger could be traded that will get a significant return? If Sheehan stays with the Dodgers, that puts Stone and Ryan back at OKC where they become trade deadline options next summer.
DodgersNation has a fun article about 5 ways the Dodgers can ruin baseball, speculating about trades for Skenes, Skubal and Tatis….
The most realistic: a blockbuster with the Twins for both Buxton and Joe Ryan.
That seems like gilding the lily. A trade for Buxton would be bold enough, and makes sense for many reasons.
While I keep reading that the Dodgers are in on Tucker, I wonder if they have a serious interest in Murakami or Okimoto. Trading for Buxton (or Abreu or ??) could save $$$ for a reliever and a new Japanese import….
I think the Dodgers need Sheehan more than Glasnow based on reliability.
Here are a few crazies
Glasnow and Pages for Tatis
Glasnow and Teo and $$ for Hall.
Money aside (because the Pads aren’t going to want a pitcher who costs them 30 mil per year), you and I might be the only ones around here who wouldn’t mind trading for Tatis. Most of our LADC friends hate his guts just about as much as if he were a 2017 Astro.
SD would probably say give us Sasaki instead of Glasnow and AF would laugh and hang up.
On your second trade, excuse my brain freeze but who is Hall?
Not your brain freeze. Mine.
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Really. Just how reliable has Sheehan been? There is no evidence that he will not be injured again. We are at opposite ends as to how we feel about Glasnow. Glasnow’s ceiling is way higher than Sheehan’s. When the pressure was the greatest, Glasnow delivered and Sheehan not so much.
Apples to oranges. Sheehan suffered from mid inning insertion while Glasnow’s best came in a scheduled start.
You are right though about the value we each place on the two.
Not true. Glasnow started three games and relieved three. One start against Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Toronto. One relief against Philadelphia and 2 relief appearances against Toronto. He recorded a save in WS Game 6, his first save in professional ball. His three starts – 16.1 IP, 9 BB, 21 K, 1 HR, 1.65 ERA. The Dodgers won all 6 games Glas appeared in. He inherited 4 runners and none scored.
Sheehan alson appeared in 6 games, all relief. In those games, he only came in with runners on in one game. He relieved Snell in WS Game 1 in a 2-2 tie and the bases loaded. All three runners scored, and he allowed 3 others. In his other five appearances he started the inning. Only 1 game was he a mid-inning insert.
He pitched 11.0 innings, allowing 17 hits and 7 BB. He inherited 3 runners, and all 3 scored. In his 1 relief appearance in the 2023 playoffs against Arizona, he pitched 3.2 innings, allowing 3 runs, on 4 hits, 2 BB, and 1 HBP. So when the team needed him most, he did not pitch well at all. Hopefully he grows from it. He is a good back of the rotation pitcher.
Quoting from above via Bear
Game 3 would match the record for the longest World Series game by innings at 18, which the Dodgers had been a part of, and it also ended the same way with a walk-off homer by a Dodger left-handed batter. Scherzer started against Glasnow and neither pitcher made it out of the 5th inning. The Dodgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 3 on homers by Teo and Ohtani. The Jays struck for 4 in the 4th off of Glasnow, the big blow, a 3-run shot by Kirk
NYM has released Frankie Montas. He is owed $17MM for 2026. I do not think he will have to wait long for a team looking to add Montas at MLB minimum.
Isn’t Montas not expected to pitch in 26? He is recovering from a torn ACL.
Yeah. I thought it was earlier than late August. He still has a chance to come back in September, but point taken.
Grisham, Torres, Woodruff and Imanaga accept qualifying offers.
All four make sense.
Just saw a rumor on bleacher report that the Dodgers Jays and yankees are interestedin Belli I for one would love to see him back in la
Personally, I would love to see Bellinger back in blue. Just not sure how he fits in. He grades out better as a corner outfielder than in center these days, but I consider him a better option than Conforto was. He is still a solid defender, and he has cut down his strikeouts, which used to be a big bugaboo, considerably. He has struck out under 100 times the last 3 years in a row after averaging around 130 every year. He also makes perfect sense to give Freeman a break now and then at first. Much better option than Max or Kike, who got a lot of time there last season.
I believe the Dodgers will check into Bellinger. But after he was non-tendered, how do you think Bellinger feels about the Dodgers? He still makes sense for NYY, even with Grisham. He is from Arizona, and the Dbacks apparently have interest. Maybe he’d like the opportunity to pay back the Dodgers? Alex Thomas and Jake McCarthy are umored to be non-tender candidates. Just guessing, but I would be surprised if he signed with LAD.
Not everybody wants to play for LAD.
I don’t know if hed ever come back, if we even want him, or what hed cost.
However i think as a player hed be a really good fit on a 3 year deal.
Looks like the Dodgers are adding Kopp to the 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He has huge strike out numbers but unfortunately also huge walk numbers. Hopefully he can fix the walks.
Angels traded Taylor Ward to the Orioles for Grayson Rodriguez. Ward is a free agent after the season, Rodriguez has not pitched since 2023.
I’d take Tatis in a heartbeat. Hell if we had to take Manny to sweeten the deal I’m down with that too. 2 areas of need addressed.
Belli and Bo would also be nice additions for 26.
I would like to see Bellinger back. Doesn’t seem likely though. Neither does Tucker or Bichette and those are the guys I would like to see brought in. What I think is more likely is a trade. Who for I don’t know. It would of course be preferable if it’s a player, or players, with some thunder that don’t require a platoon or a lot of load management.
We have a few players in our own system that read like they would be great additions but they are all allegedly a few years out. That feels like the case every year now. Do the Dodgers keep them or move them for the players that can step right in? This organization is not really a patient one. They are going for the ring every year which suggests to me everyone in the minor league system is expendable in the right trade scenario.
For many baseball fans this is something of an agonizing time of year. Not a lot going on. And it could be months before anything significant happens. It’s a time of waiting. Especially middle of the week. The NBA doesn’t move my needle much anymore. Lakers don’t play for days. Hockey? Kent State football? College basketball? Maybe for some. The rest of us?
We wait.
What happened to the Orioles? They amassed a wealth of prospects and were poised to become a contender. But now they’re… not so good. Mismanagement? Injuries? Prospects not.performing?
Makes it even more amazing the run that the Dodgers are on. Sustained excellence for this long, even with this budget, is a real testament to the entire Dodger organization. What a ride!
Reports are swirling that the Rangers want to shed payroll and could deal Jacob deGrom…
The Dodgers don’t need pitching, but if a Cy-winner like deGrom is on the market, why not kick the tires?
He’s 37, but just had a strong season, throwing more than 170 innings with a WHIP below 1.00.
Per sources, Raisel Iglesias received offers from the Dodgers and Blue Jays worth around $16 million, but ultimately chose to return to the Braves.
It’s been reported that Murakami and Yamamoto had dinner together. What could that mean? Are they friends? Is Yamamoto on a recruiting trip? Most importantly, there was no mention of what they had for dinner.