Dodgers: This World Series May Have an Asterisk, but Only for Being the Toughest Yet
There’s been a trending topic making its rounds on social media following the conclusion of last night’s game: the Dodgers didn’t win a real title. People seem to believe that because it was a unique season that it counts less than others; that it’s tainted in some way.
And while it is definitely true that this season needs to be thought of differently than the rest, it is in no way accurate to say that this title isn’t legit. On the contrary, the 2020 Dodgers may have just won the most difficult postseason yet.
Let’s go over some of the reasons why.
Thirteen Playoff Wins: The Most Ever
The minimum number of wins that a World Series Champion needs is 11. For teams that have won as a Wild Card, that number becomes 12.
This 2020 Dodgers team just rattled off 13 wins to secure their trophy, winning an extra game en route to becoming World Champions. Whichever way you try and spin it, more games equals more opportunities to lose, and this team didn’t falter.
Best Record, but No Home Field
The Dodgers ended the season with 43 wins, 3 more than any other club. This should have meant that the road to a title would run through Los Angeles again, but the pandemic had other plans.
With Texas serving as a home away from home for the Dodgers, they lost out on many of the perks of being the number 1 seed: more games on your home field, a sold-out Dodger Stadium, and so much more. While the NLCS and World Series both allowed fans to be in attendance, there is no comparison for a raucous Dodgers Stadium on an October evening. And seeing as they still won without their well-earned advantages, this title seems to mean even more.
They Played Through a Pandemic Year
Forget about baseball for a second, what these players just did was incredibly difficult on so many other fronts. Not only did players leave their families behind for multiple months, but they also left society behind.
Asking someone to live in isolation for an extended period is hard, regardless of how much you get paid to do it. With everything going on in the world this year, what this team did to make it all the way definitely deserves recognition.
They were the Best Team All Season
From pre-season favorites to World Champions, the 2020 Dodgers never slipped from the number one spot in any major rankings. That kind of consistency would be incredible in any year, but it definitely needs to be applauded a little more this year.
With a rotation that lost David Price before the season even began and then Clayton Kershaw on the eve of Opening Day, they never faltered and showed that they deserved to be called champions.
They Didn’t Have to Cheat to Win
Your honor, I rest my case.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are 2020 World Series Champions: Reactions
Good attempt to justify the Dodgers winning the World Series as being legit. They’re frauds and the 2020 season is an absolute joke. Need proof….the Astros had a losing record and were one game away from winning the American League. Maybe the Dodgers would have won it all during a full regular season but we’ll never know. The Dodgers are
even less legitimate than the 1982 Washington Redskins.
I’ve been following major league baseball since 1956 or so. Our next door neighbor was an unemployed spaghetti salesman from Brooklyn who came to Houston to play for the AAA Buffs in the Cardinals organization. Though memories fade, this playoff season and World Series ranks among the very best. No asterisk in my books, though I can’t say the same about a couple of recent champions.