Dave Roberts Shouts Out 2020 Players Who Didn’t Get to Celebrate Dodgers World Series Parade

Many of the players who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series previously contributed to the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. The 2020 World Series was the first championship for many Dodgers players, including Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes, Walker Buehler, Brusdar Graterol, Will Smith, Blake Treinen, and Kiké Hernández — but for most of those players, the second championship the sweetest.

The 2020 World Series victory, of course, came during the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Series championship is viewed by some as not as legitimate as a typical World Series win because the regular season was shortened and there were no crowds. The pandemic also meant that there was no parade or celebrations for the 2020 title.

When the Dodgers won the World Series this week, they celebrated in grand fashion. The Dodgers rode through downtown Los Angeles on parade buses, and brought the party back to Dodger Stadium. Even Kershaw, who did not pitch in the 2024 World Series because of injury, called this victory a happier one.

“It’s certainly made up for 2020,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the 2024 celebration. “But obviously there’s a lot of players in 2020 that didn’t get to appreciate and experience what we experienced. But this is for them too, and that’s why, for me, I really wanted to highlight Clayton, because of what he’s meant for the Dodgers and these fans for so many years.”

Several players from the 2020 squad are no longer with the Dodgers, and never got a chance to celebrate with the parade in Los Angeles. Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, AJ Pollock, and Corey Seager were among those players who didn’t get to celebrate this time around.

The roster changes between those two championships did allow other players the opportunity to become victorious. Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández, Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tommy Edman were among the players to get the chance to become champions, and rightfully earned their rings this season.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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