The Dodgers are establishing themselves as the best team in baseball

NEW YORK – You guessed it, right?

An improbable season in which the Dodgers posted the best record in baseball even as the injured list grew, came to an improbable end Wednesday night in the Big Apple.

Consider this: According to the people who look for such things on Fox Sports, no team has been able to come back from a five-inning deficit and win the deciding game of the World Series. By the end of the second inning of Game 5, the Dodgers were leading a 5-0 deficit, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto was probably already mentally preparing to play Game 6 on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

Step aside, Yoshinobu. Your next duty will be Friday, OK, but it will be a parade through the streets of Los Angeles

Yes, the Dodgers are World Series champions. Or perhaps they could be described as world champions, a team comprised of representatives from Japan, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic – and, considering their affiliation with the World Baseball Classic, Canada, although Freddie Freeman was born and raised in Orange County.

They got here even by using 40 pitchers during the season, having pitchers on the injured list for two full starting rotations, and having Max Muncy and Mookie Betts out for extended periods of the season and Freddie Freeman hobbled by an ankle injury in the first two postseason series , and Shohei Ohtani is struggling with a partially dislocated shoulder in the final three games of the match.

It was unbelievable until the end. There were three starting pitchers left after the season, and one of those three, Walker Buehler, tapped into his inner Orel Hershiser and finished the ninth inning, and the Dodgers used all of their leverage reductions to hold on for a 7-6 victory that ended the World Series in five games.

What did the late Vin Scully say after the out-of-nowhere home run in 1988 that led the Dodgers to their last full championship season before that event? “In a year that was so unlikely, the impossible happened.”

Can we suggest that maybe there is an invisible hand that guides these things? In 1988, Kirk Gibson’s home run decided Game 1, and the Dodgers defeated the mighty Oakland A’s in five games. In ’24, Game 1 was decided by Freeman’s grand slam in the 10th inning, and the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in five games.

One similarity between the two: In 1988, the Dodgers were short of players due to injuries. In ’24, the putter’s staff, seemingly held together by chewing gum and ironing wire, made it to the end. It hasn’t always been pretty, and there have been times in the postseason – including Tuesday’s Game 4 – when manager Dave Roberts has had to marshal his resources, choosing to sacrifice the present in pursuit of his ultimate goal.

It worked.

As unlikely as it may seem in many ways, the Dodgers are truly the best team in baseball. They finished the regular season with the best record in the game, faced elimination in the first round against San Diego, which turned out to be the toughest team they faced in the postseason and easily could have been a contender for the second best team in baseball (but, sorry , no parade) – and then swept through New York, eliminating the Mets in six and the Yankees in five.

“There are a lot of fingerprints all over this victory,” President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said during a postgame on-field ceremony. “The scouting department, player development… there are a lot of people. This is a special group.”

Game 5 showcased several reasons why the Dodgers are the best team in the game. They are relentless on offense. And they took full advantage every time the Yankees opened the door.

Losing 5-0, they took advantage of New York’s mistakes by sending 10 players onto the pitch and tied the game in the fifth game. Aaron Judge allowed Tommy Edman to break his glove in center field, shortstop Anthony Volpe made a throwing error while trying to get to the top of third, loading the bases.

Pitcher Gerrit Cole, who had held the Dodgers hitless for four innings, started to cover first and then inexplicably grounded out to Betts in right, scoring the first run of the inning and opening the door for Freeman with a two-run double and Teoscar with a double-run Hernández means a draw.

After the Yankees got back in front on a single by Giancarlo Stanton in the sixth, the Dodgers responded with two in the eighth. Gavin Lux singled to center and scored for Muncy, and the rally was further boosted when Ohtani – who hadn’t had a really good at-bat since injuring his shoulder in Game 2 – reached first base after catcher interference. Betts’ fly shot scored Tommy Edman and the Dodgers continued to lead.

Even when Judge broke out of his postseason fun by hitting a mammoth two-run homer in Game 1, and Jazz Chisholm and Stanton also scored, the Yankees had too many flaws. And the Dodgers took full advantage of it.

I ended up throwing in relief. Blake Treinen, the last leverage pitcher the Dodgers had, pitched 2⅓ innings and threw 42 pitches. Buehler, who pitched and won as a starter two days ago and had a ticket to pitch a possible Game 7, left the arena to make sure there would be none, cleaned up the Yankees and ended it with a hit by former teammate Alex Verdugo.

No, there won’t be a Game 7, or even a Game 6. But there will be a parade on Friday. Maybe they can invite some of the guys from the 2020 champions to join them.

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Originally published: October 30, 2024 at 10:02 pm PDT