This past week, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in game 6 of the World Series, securing their first title since 1988. Game 6 itself was a baseball purist’s dream. The Rays took an early lead in the top of the first thanks to a home run from Randy Arozarena. LA’s boys in blue fought back, bolstered by short outings from seven pitchers, most notably Julio Urías, Alex Wood and Victor González. Offensively, the Dodgers benefited from Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash’s decision to prematurely take ace Blake Snell out of the game after an Austin Barnes single. Up until that point, Snell had struck out nine and managed to throw 5.1 innings of shutout work. Once Nick Anderson replaced Snell, the script was flipped. On the strength of a Mookie Betts double, a wild pitch and a solid piece of situational hitting by Corey Seager, the Dodgers took a 2-1 lead. This lead was later padded by a solo shot from an emotional Mookie in the bottom of the eighth inning. With a 3-1 lead, the aforementioned Julio Urías struck out Willy Adames in the ninth to end the 2020 season. Shortstop Corey Seager took home World Series MVP, and the Dodgers were officially champions for the first time in 32 years. Overall, this year’s Dodgers deserve to be lauded for a fantastic season. LA was propelled by a fantastic regular season and clutch performances during the postseason.

A typical, 162-game MLB season is a marathon filled with high points, low points and a whole lot of in between. Given the pandemic, this year’s 60-game schedule was more akin to a full-on sprint. The Dodgers went an outstanding 43-17 and had the best record in the National League. As a cohesive unit, the club was statistically elite. They led the league with 118 home runs and finished as one of top five clubs in terms of both slugging and on-base percentage. On the mound, the Dodgers had the lowest team ERA (3.02), which is quite a feat in an increasingly offensive-minded sport. This team was an absolute juggernaut in every sense of the word.

The Dodgers were clearly a dominant force during the regular season, so when the postseason came, it was no surprise that they were many people’s pick to win it all. However, for as good as they were, most expected the Dodgers to fall victim to their old habits and choke away another postseason. After losing in the 2017 and 2018 World Series and falling to the Washington Nationals in last year’s NLDS, these Dodgers had not been able to get the job done. To win in the postseason, a team needs players to step up in every facet of the game, and historically this has not happened for LA. However, this year was very different. Individuals at all positions did what they could to make a long postseason run. This team was always talented, but now they can also be considered clutch. Corey Seager, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, Will Smith and so many more contributed in the quest for a championship. They were easily baseball’s most complete team. 

LA trailed 3 games to 1 in the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, but they never stopped fighting and rallied to win the series. A talented group of players stepped up. No one may personify the Dodger’s grit more than Clayton Kershaw. Throughout his career, Kershaw has always been considered an elite regular season pitcher, but has not enjoyed the level of postseason success he would have liked. This year, Kershaw won not one, but two World Series starts and posted a more than respectable 2.93 postseason ERA. He finally got the metaphorical monkey off of his back. Kershaw’s success can be seen as a microcosm of what worked for the Dodgers in 2020: a highly talented group of ball players who all fought for the same goal and came in clutch when it mattered most.

After LA’s epic comeback in the NLCS, manager Dave Roberts screamed, “This is our year.” He was right. After all of the close calls, heartbreaks and utter disappointments of the past, the Los Angeles Dodgers are finally World Series champions.